Josh

Tim’s legendary prowess in raving skills is only exceeded by his knowledge of climbing lore and Zambonis.

Ted Welser was also a big influence in my setting career, as well as his friend (protoge?) Bill Kelly. Ted has at least one PhD and two kids now, so I’m not sure if he’s setting much, but I think Bill is setting again a little bit at some lucky gym in the Pacific Northwest.

And to clarify–ALF stands for American League of Forerunners.

I began setting under Tim Steele and Ted Welser’s informal tutelage at Miami University in 1994, and gained a lot of experience primarily just through learning to climb around these guys. I chose to go to school there based on the Radwall they were building at the time, and it proved to be worth it. Tim’s energy always motivated me to stay at the gym long nights to campus with him, and get outdoors on my first trips to Hueco and the Red – way over my head. I never would have roped up for my first outdoor lead on the classic Ro Shambo if it weren’t for Tim telling me I was strong enough to try it. If Tim believed it, I guess I could.

In 1995, I was endlessly impressed that anyone could ever climb the V8 natural problems that were designed in the small bouldering cave at the gym, much less Mushroom Roof.

Tim was so excited about climbing all the time, that he had to run me around Hueco and show me Martini Roof, at the time one of the hardest climbs in the world, so I could begin to see what was possible. On that trip I was just psyched to manage V3, but Tim’s energy is part of what kept me incensed about bouldering and in the longer run eager to teach myself more about how to create movement. I was at that Nationals at Rockquest and it was my first time watching Sharma climb and seeing competition at that level, and that event never would have happened if it weren’t for Tim.

Thanks Tim.