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Date:         Fri, 8 Mar 2002 13:41:36 -0800
Reply-To:     Matthew Pollard <poll7356@UIDAHO.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Matthew Pollard <poll7356@UIDAHO.EDU>
Subject:      WOB, NVC: Yosemite climbing icon dies
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII

Thought some of you might be interested in this. As a long time valley bum and wall rat, this caught my attention. -mattthew

http://sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/history/story/1776289p-1855584c.html

Yosemite climbing icon dies

In 1958, Warren Harding captured one of the greatest mountaineering prizes: El Capitan. By Ted Bell -- Bee Staff Writer Published 5:30 a.m. PST Wednesday, March 6, 2002

Warren J. Harding, one of international rock climbing's pioneers and icons best known for his climbs in Yosemite, died Feb. 27 of liver failure.

Mr. Harding was 77 when he died in his home near Anderson in Shasta County.

Mr. Harding was one of a few young men, seen by some during the 1950s as rebellious and thrill-seeking and by others as stark-raving mad, who began challenging peaks and rocks, especially in Yosemite Valley, that were considered unclimbable.

Mr. Harding was best known for the first ascent of El Capitan, an expedition he led up the "Nose" of the peak that reached the top on Nov. 12, 1958.

Among other "firsts" in Yosemite and the Sierra attributed to Mr. Harding were the conquests of the east face of Washington Column, the south face of Mount Watkins, the south face of Half Dome, the Porcelain Wall, Keeler Needle, the west face of Mount Conness and the Wall of the Early Morning Light, a blank section of El Capitan.

The latter climb in 1970 was a high mark of his rock climbing career. Mr. Harding, then a resident of West Sacramento, and partner Dean Caldwell spent 27 days in the climb. It took that long due to bad weather, and national media gave daily reports on their progress.

The climb also spurred a nasty battle between Mr. Harding's fans and critics who were put off with his use of expansion bolts (some 300 rivets and bolts were left in the rock face) and some scathing remarks he directed at those critics.

An army of reporters mobbed the two when they made it to the top. To this, Mr. Harding quipped: "Instead of an unemployed construction worker, I'm (now) an unemployed television star."

Born in Oakland, Mr. Harding was reared in Downieville, where he attended a one-room schoolhouse. His father worked for the then-state Department of Highways, and the family moved to Marysville, where he graduated from Marysville Union High School in 1941.

Mr. Harding worked as a propeller mechanic at Sacramento's McClellan Field during World War II. After the war, he began a career as a surveyor, first for the state and then for the private construction industry.

After retiring in 1988, Mr. Harding moved to Utah. He moved back to California in the Happy Valley area outside Anderson in 1993.

"He was the ultimate individualist," said Yolo County Supervisor Mike McGowan, whose wife was a niece of Mr. Harding. "To him rock climbing was an individualist's sport and authority be damned."

"He had his own way of doing things," said his longtime companion, Alice Flomp. "He didn't take himself seriously, and he urged others to think the same way about themselves. He felt people should be left to make their own decisions."

Asked once by a Bee reporter about people who have a passion for climbing things best left to birds, Mr. Harding replied: "Actually, we're just glorified flagpole sitters."

And why did he climb mountains?

"I don't know, and I don't think I want to know. I would probably find it's insane," he said.

News of his death prompted many expressions of admiration and regret on rock climber Web sites both in the United States and Europe.

Mr. Harding is survived by Ms. Flomp of Happy Valley; his sister, Ardeth Barber; and nieces Sue McGowan and Debbie Barber, all of West Sacramento.

A memorial service is scheduled for noon Sunday in the VFW Hall, 905 Drever St., West Sacramento.

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