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M E E T H A N G D O G ' S G U I D E S !
Hangdog Mountaineering is the oldest single-owner guide service in the Southern U.S. Hangdog has guided thousands of clients on hundreds of trips across the United States and abroad. For a listing of some of our experience, see our (brief resume') at the bottom of this page.
| Chuck Lohn - Chuck Lohn brings over 25 years of experience to the hangdog classes and trips. He started climbing at the tender age of 14 in the Davis mountains of Texas in 1974. His original trips involved nothing more than rappelling, but he soon developed an interest in lead climbing and he ventured into aid and free climbing in January of 1975. By the time he was 19, he had completed over 100 first ascents on rock routes throughout west Texas, and he had multiple alpine summits under his belt including ascents of Mt. Rainier and Mt. McKinley. At the time, he was one of the youngest people to have climbed the West Buttress of McKinley. Today, Chuck holds two engineering degrees in petroleum and electrical engineering, and he divides his time between engineering work and climbing guiding. He typically spends over 100 nights out of the year in a tent. Chuck has leveraged his love of travel and climbing to bag peaks and rock routes in the Swiss and French Alps, Western Spain, Ecuador, Canada, Alaska and the Himalayas. He has climbed at hundreds of rock climbing destinations throughout north America, and his big wall experience includes ascents of El Capitan in Yosemite and multiple routes in the bugaboos of Canada. He also lead the American expedition to the north face of Thalay Sagar in the Himalayas in 1994 (a 5000' big wall with a 23,000' summit elevation). Chucks alpine experience includes successful ascents of Mts. Chimborazo and Cotopaxi in Ecuador, multiple ascents on all of the significant peaks in the Canadian Rockies and the Pacific Northwest, and a solo ascent of the Matterhorn in Switzerland. His favorite climbing medium is vertical ice, and he has climbed hundreds of vertical ice routes throughout Colorado and the Canadian Rockies. Chuck loves sharing his experiences with new climbers...introducing people to the sport is just as fun as bagging that next summit. Select the Gallery Button on the bottom of this page to see some of Chuck's photographic work. Chuck is currently on an engineering assignment in Chennai, India and is not expected to return until May of 2001. If you want to contact him, write to hangdog@flash.net |
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| Marcus Garcia - Marcus Garcia is one of those gifted climbers that seams to excel at every new route he tries. His quiet demeanor and gracious style often camouflage his many achievements which include a 48 hour ascent of The Nose route on El Capitan, followed by an 18 hour ascent of Half Dome...both in the same week. He has also completed many other big wall routes including the Shield and Zodiac, and it won't be too long before his can claim the title of "Biggest Big Wall Fool in the Southern US." His goal is to complete five big walls this year. An avid sport and traditional climber, Marcus has traveled extensively around the country and he has flashed many routes across the U.S. that are considered to be "test pieces." Marcus is also an excellent instructor who can communicate well with people and motivate them to improve their physical skills. Marcus is currently working as a climbing guide in Durango, Colorado. He is expected to return on......?? |
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| Brian Clark - Brian is one of those guys that's just too damn nice, and we keep him around to offset Chuck's grumpiness (just kidding). An established trad climber, Brian has climbed extensively in Southern California, and he has the beads and laid back attitude to prove it. He counts the Nose and Zodiac Routes on El Capitan as two of his big accomplishments, and he is also trained in paramedics and wilderness rescue skills. An outstanding athlete, Brian is addicted to all of his fitness routines, and he finishes each climbing weekend with a run up and down Mt. Scott. A real sicko. Brian is also an outstanding communicator, and he works very well with beginners as well as experienced climbers who want to learn all about the technical details of rope handling, and anchor setting. Brian instructs the beginning and intermediate level courses, and he also helps guide trips to our rock climbing destinations in Mexico and Texas. |
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| Jimmy Forester and Monica Monroe Forester - Jimmy was one of the original "hangdogs" who was with us from the very beginning. When we first met Jimmy and his brother Joel, we referred to them as "those two happy guys" because we could not remember their names. But when we started watching Jimmy check off some of the significant big wall routes around the country we began to take notice, and we soon heard Jimmy's name all over the place. If we were to come up with two descriptions of Jimmy, it would have to be that he is an incredible "people person," and he is always "driven" to improve his personal bests and rack up more big wall accomplishments. Jimmy is a big wall aficianado with over six ascents of El Cap and Half Dome to his credit. He has also hit all of the major sport climbing destinations in the rockies. Although Jimmy has mostly retired from Hangdog, he still spends every spare moment out on the rocks. Monica Monroe was also a staple figure in the Hangdog beginning courses for a number of years, and today she is Jimmy's "other half." Should we say the much better looking other half? Monica still gets out and climbs on a regular basis with Jimbo, and he even lets her lead when he's not too busy hogging the routes. Of course we would like to see them both come out of retirement and help guide some more trips!! |
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| Steve Hunt and Kim Duren - Steve Hunt was also one of the original Hangdog crew. An ex gang member and kick boxer turned nice guy, Steve brought along the attitude to the hangdog classes. He had a way of getting people to let loose and "just climb it." One of Steve's best traits was that he was a "technical" guy. One of those people who could set up an anchor system with utmost simplicity and ease so that when people watched him work, you could tell that they trusted him a hundred percent. You knew that when you were with Steve, you had someone good on the other end of the rope. Someone who was going to keep you safe (but just don't piss him off....har har). Today, Steve is living in Austin with his girlfriend and well-known climber Kim Duren. Kim has also helped us guide some of our classes and trips, and we like to refur to her as the "Blond Zena Warrior Princess" behind her back. We don't call her that to her face because we are afraid that she might break us in half. One time we were guiding a trip to Hueco Tanks with Kim and after guiding all day, we watched her out drink us over dinner, and then she woke up the next morning at 6:00am and ran six miles while the rest of us were all still asleep....and then she guided again till dark. No problem. We heard that she eats nails for breakfast. We like to call Steve and Kim the "hard man, and his harder woman." |  |
| Lavon Weighall - Lavon started climbing in California back in the early eighties. A seasoned sport climber, Lavon brought along pure skill and raw talent to the Hangdog trips and classes. Greg Epperson once called one of Lavon's routes in Baha "one of the hardest routes that he has ever done." A sufferer of MS, Lavon was a stunning example of someone who just refused to slow down. He was absolutely posessed with his workout routines and he was almost always in the indoor gyms or working out when he was not out on the real rocks. We were always envious of his strength and tallent. Lavon has now moved back to California where he lives with his wife and three kids. He still climbs as much as he always has, and he comes into town from time to time to visit. |
Abbreviated Resume of Hangdog Mountaineering's Guiding Experience*
Rock climbing locations that we have guided:
Hangdog has guided clients to dozens of alpine destinations including:
Hangdog has guided clients on hundreds of vertical ice climbs in Southwest Colorado including:
* This list only describes locations which Hangdog has guided. It does not
include the individual resume's of any of our guides.
Hangdog Mountaineering, at:
hangdog@flash.netWeb site design by Redpoint Graphics
