Claude Suhl Roman Sadowy
(aka Clawed Sool) (aka Fantastic Fooly Bear)
High Exposure
Dave Craft
(Too exalted to have an alias)
The Vulgarian Chronicles 1957-2016
The Horseman
The Original Vulgarians
Rock & Sky
Well, despite whatever else you may have heard from rumors & the assorted second hand articles splashed around the web & in printed matter, some quite well written, but inaccurate, the three characters shown above are the original Vulgarians. Dave Craft arrived at the Gunks (known as the Shawangunks to the original Indian inhabitants & the Trapps to the Dutch settlers who came later) in 1957 & was followed by Roman & Claude in 1958. Dave was a local boy who lived a short ways from the Gunks & worked in construction as a carpenter while Roman & Claude were attending the College of the City of New York (CCNY) a free school for smartasses in New York City, where they both lived. All three were the sons of working class families as opposed to the genteel class of doctors, lawyers, scientists & businessmen that preceded them. These predecessors were by nature bred to a high degree of organization & most if not all were members of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). In fact all three of these celebrated bad boys started their climbing careers under the aegis of the AMC & their members (known as Appies). In particular, Art Gran (then an Appie himself) took Roman, Claude & later Pete Geiser under his wing & jump started our climbing careers. There was a peaceful relationship during this time while the future Vulgarians quickly outstripped the Appies in their climbing ability & climbed all of the old horror climbs. They also quickly gained a reputation for out partying the Appies. The Appies all tended to sleep & eat at this cute country inn called Schluters while the future vulgarians ate their meals & drank beer at Charley’s Trail Inn, a local restaurant-bar & then camp out in the woods at night. All major parties were held at the base of the cliffs & because of their rowdy nature soon became known as Raves. All things considered, although the Vulgarians helped to push the level of climbing to a higher level in the Gunks, they never took themselves quite as seriously as the Appies, the Yosemite crew and other clubs and organizations in North America. The key word here which cannot be applied to the Vulgarians is organization. The Vulgarians never were and never will be an organization of any sort, serious or not.
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Skytop Tower