He has more than one pan in the fire. Besides being one of the skinniest guys around (salivate, O Hungry Wannabee No-Fat Sport Climber, Tony's there and he doesn't even have to try!!), he's also met all of the Big Boys 'round here you probably only dream of bumping into!
It seems like everytime I run in to Tony, he's headed to his spiritual hinterland (The Dolomite Alps... that's in Italy, folks...)... or he's gonna go dress up like Lloyd Bridges and ride the gales of some gorge-bound river.
"Oh!" he would gesture toward the kitchen counter, "You have coffee! Can I have some?"
"Sure, help yerself," I would mutter, not having had enough of the black stuff to wake up. The ritual was practically written in stone. I always had a fresh pot on the burner. He always said the same thing when he saw it. He always grabbed one of the large-mouthed cups to drink from, (there really wasn't any other kind of cup in the flat). He always sloshed big puddles of coffee on the counter as he poured. I always watched helplessly, thinking that if I were a proper host, none of my coffee would ever get spilled, all the while being too lazy to get up and actually be said Proper Host...
© 1997 gnorga@aol.com
Plus, he's got a fancy clip stick.
That means he can clip some protection to a bolt that was either unthoughtfully installed, or a bolt that was installed because some idiot thought climbers should risk severe injury to climb a route on rock.
We have a few folks around who like to do that sort of thing, regretfully...
Another thing he does is contribute Intangible Good to his fellow man. (Let's just leave it at that, and if you know what I mean, then you know what I mean...)
Plus he has good grub at the crags. Probably one of the most important things in climbing...
Working out the exit moves of his route Suddenly Stephanie in Fremont Canyon.
August,1993.
Tony leading the first ascent of Suddenly Stephanie, August 1993
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