Climber’s Life

While “dirtbagging” looks very different today than its heyday in the 1950s and 60s, its spirit, albeit altered, is alive.

// BY MOLLY ABSOLON

noun: dert•bag:

A person who is committed to a given (usually extreme) lifestyle to the point of abandoning employment and other societal norms in order to pursue said lifestyle. Dirtbags can be distinguished from hippies by the fact that dirtbags have a specific reason for their living communally, and generally non-hygienically; dirtbags are seeking to spend all of their moments pursuing their lifestyle. The best examples of dirtbags … are the communities of climbers that can be found in any of the major climbing areas of North America.

Dirtbagging looks different today than during its heyday, but at its heart it's the same: climbing as much as possible.

Culture

Irecently found myself behind a shiny new, fully outfitted Sprinter van that sported a sticker proudly proclaiming its driver to be a “dirtbag.”

Huh? To me, Sprinter vans, which range in price from $45,000—completely stripped down—to pretty much as much as you’re willing to spend (there are $300,000 Sprinters driving around Jackson Hole) and dirtbags are diametrically opposed. One connotes wealth, the other poverty, albeit voluntary poverty. And yet, my guess is that, at their core, vanlifers are the descendants of dirtbaggers, as they, too, are people who have opted out of a 9-to-5 lifestyle in order to pursue their dreams.

The first-known media reference to the term “dirtbag” dates to the trial of actress Claudine Longet, who was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the 1970s. Her victim, professional skier Spider Sabich, called himself a dirtbag, according to a Climbinghouse.com article by Gabriel Grams. But Sabich wasn’t the originator of the concept. That honor undoubtedly goes to climbers, who as early as the late 1950s began dropping out of society’s rat race to climb full-time.

For many, the archetypal dirtbag is Yvon Chouinard, who, in 1973 founded Patagonia, Inc. Chouinard first came to the Tetons to climb in 1956, and he spent many summers camped in the Civilian Conservation Corps’ campground (the former bathhouse of which is today the headquarters of Exum Mountain Guides), the Tetons’ version of Yosemite National Park’s famed Camp IV. Chouinard described the vagabond lifestyle of the CCC camp in the introduction to Glenn Exum’s 1998 book Never a Bad Word, or a Twisted Rope: “The dirtbag climber’s life existed on the fringes of society, climbing hard and sleeping in an old CCC camp incinerator. A mainly oatmeal diet was supplemented with the occasional poached (not a cooking term) ‘fool’s hen,’ marmot, or porcupine. On special days there was spaghetti with a can of cat tuna from the dented can store in San Francisco.”

Chouinard was not alone. There were countless climbers foregoing college degrees, homes, and regular jobs. The late 1950s and 1960s could be called the Golden Age of dirtbagging. In part, this phenomenon may have been a reaction to World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust, the nuclear bomb, and the devastation of war. In the 1970s, it may have been in response to the Vietnam era and the rise of the hippie movement. Like dirtbags, hippies rejected established institutions and opposed social orthodoxy. Most lived very simply and didn’t hold regular jobs. But there were distinct differences. Hippies didn’t climb, and most climbers of the era didn’t really care about protesting the war. They just wanted to get on the rock.

Joe Kelsey, the author of Climbing and Hiking in the Wind River Range and an Exum guide for many years, says that as an Easterner who learned to climb in New York’s Shawangunks, the Tetons were “the magic realm” and the Grand the magnet. Kelsey was part of the infamous Gunks’ Vulgarians, a notorious group of hard-living, hard-climbing elite. He joined the influx of Vulgarians coming to the Tetons in 1964 and landed in the CCC camp during the height of its decadency.

“The park decided it was best to keep climbers away from tourists,” Kelsey says. “Probably because of the substance abuse, among other things. Well, the Vulgarians mixed with the California climbers there. … And the Vulgarians learned to use the Yosemite decimal [climbing] rating system, while the Yosemite climbers learned about drugs, sex, and rock and roll from the Vulgarians. Those famous Yosemite climbers were shy social misfits; they were way behind in terms of sex and drugs.”

Another local legend, Bill Briggs (the first person to ski the Grand Teton, in 1971), was also hanging out in Jackson

SKILLS FOR TODAY’S DIRTBAG WANNABES

(adopted from ridgemontoutfitters.com

Wear used and hand-me-down clothes. Look for free boxes, peruse brown-bag sales, and shop at Goodwill (not Jackson’s high-end consignment shops). Don’t worry about size, smell, or style; the key factor is price. Cheap is good, free is better.

Eat free food. In Jackson, check out Food Rescue, and in Teton Valley, look for Food For Good. Both organizations give away perfectly good food saved from the landfill. Sometimes you also can find leftovers at hostels or in campground bear boxes to supplement your diet. Or shop the clearance racks. Again, cheap is good, free is better.

Fun, family-oriented adventures designed to help you see the iconic wildlife and scenic landscapes and experience the must-do activities in Jackson Hole, Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks.

Be dirty. Be willing to forego showers and freshly washed hair. The best way to get clean as a dirtbagger? Jump in a lake and scrub (sans soap), or get to know where you can find inexpensive showers— recreation centers, truck stops, and RV-campgrounds are all options.

Use public libraries for WiFi or free computer time.

Know your public lands and where you can find free and legal camping. Don’t arrive late and expect to find a site. There are a lot of us out there in vans these days.