This story begins with a text I sent to Jim on 1/16/2025. Jim said to keep it all in Perspective.
Jim Waugh - Phoenix Rock Gym course setter photo
Marty Karabin - Phoenix Rock Gym course setter photo
From Marty - "Yes I turned 60 and wow, suddenly I am filled by God more and more with love, compassion, humbleness and wisdom. As I reflect back on my life past, I feel that there is a lot I need to say to people that helped form me into the person that I am today. One of these persons is Jim Waugh. I recently sent Jim a text that I wanted him to know that I was sorry for being a tough manager to him while he was working at the Phoenix Rock Gym.
Jim returned the text stating that I should keep it all in Perspective.
When I look at Jim’s response, the word perspective really sticks in my mind. I feel that I need to explain to Jim that I am in the correct perspective. In the 1980s when I first started rock climbing in Arizona, there were no rock gyms. Climbers had various outdoor crags to explore which all had a few routes already developed. These routes were incredible, but were put up in the traditional style meaning, very bold and very runout between the gear placements. My friends and I got very used to running around the back of the mountains to get to the top of the walls to be able to set up top ropes for the routes, so we didn’t have to lead them, and could practice the moves before we risked the actual leads.
As this process was being done, my climbing partners and I continually saw other rock walls that could be climbed, that were yet developed. We had a few guidebooks to the crags and I personally always admired the climbers that were in the photos in the guidebooks, as they were risking the bold leads. To me these climbers became heroes, and this guy Jim Waugh authored a few of those guidebooks.
The day came that my climbing friends and I were ready to establish routes so we could add a few more routes to the crags and our names will be preserved in history as well. This was a great time but there was only one rule that was being held upon us from the veteran superstar climbers. That the route development started at the bottom of the wall, and protection, placing bolts etc was done as the climber actually lead the route going upwards. This is a terrifying process since nobody had ever even been on that stone before, and it was unknown if the route actually could be climbed. One of the sheriffs in town was this guy named Jim Waugh. We knew that if we did any bolting in a top rope method, our bolts would be chopped and our names will become tainted.
In today's climbing, the ground up method still happens, especially on the much taller mountains. But climbers now enjoy top roping everything, placing the bolts on top rope, because for sure it is much safer. But what I have noticed speeding ahead here 35 years, ego has replaced the boldness. Climbers are bolting every rock they come across whether it is quality stone, or if it is even worth having a route on it. Having their name as the First Ascentist is most important over it even being a worthy route. I am even noticing that the “First Ascent” true meaning is even fading as climbers are putting their name in the books since they established the route, and then calling themselves the First Ascentist, where the climbers have not even lead the route themselves.
My friends and I started developing routes in the traditional style and I was usually the boldest climber in my group of friends. I still pushed myself higher and higher up the walls in the traditional method and found myself in tears many times, or feeling I was going to be sick since I was 20 feet above my last protection, had nowhere to place hooks as I stood on tiny edges in perfect balance hammering away with a hand drill, drilling as fast as I could to get that bolt placed and clipped before I fell again. At times it was absolutely terrifying.
As we came across many situations in our climbing, that we were really getting closer and closer to deaths edge, we then started to put up the routes in the ground up method. The top rope method didn’t require any boldness and it was completely safe. No tears, no feeling of getting sick, and only the ego was getting bruised if the route didn’t have the available holds to allow the route to be climbed. The rule we held was that Nature controlled the route and if the route didn’t go as it was made by nature, we left the route to a stronger climber, and moved on to a different possibility. But in this days way of developing, climbers are actually using their drills to create the missing holds so now wherever climbers are developing, all routes can be climbed.
I too feel into the bolting trap and next thing you knew I had developed 500+ routes and was out to develop 500+ more. But over time I saw that I had not truly lead some of these routes that my name was on as a First Ascent, and I became ashamed of myself. I also looked back and saw that a percentage of the routes I developed, were just crap routes with crumbly stone etc. Luckily for me, I only created one hold on one route out of all of the routes I developed to this day.
I went back and lead the routes to be able to personally move forward and truly be proud of what I created and call myself, a great climber. When I put things into perspective, I now look back upon the many hundreds of routes I developed, and the routes that stand out to me the most, are the earlier ascents where the adventure took courage, the route method that the superstar climbers forced upon me to do. The method that Jim Waugh showed to me, and demanded. To me this does not show me that Jim was a jerk, but is a guy that actually has a lot of wisdom.
During this process there was a yearly climbing competition named the Phoenix Bouldering Contest (PBC) that Jim Waugh was the director of. All it took was me being in one of these comps, and already I was hooked on being a competitor. I got really psyched and got stronger and stronger to actually get good enough so someday I could stand up on the stage in front to the crowd of climbers, and accept my prize. Already Jim saw my passion and roped me in to being a staff member of the PBC, and gave me tasks to do as a unpaid volunteer. This Phoenix Bouldering Contest was so huge, that it had around 100 volunteers to assist in making this completion move smoothly. Jim was the director overall of everybody calling forth all of the direction.
The comp was a three day event where 600+ climbers were competing with another 2000+ people spectating and working. Manufactures were showing their goods in booths in the campground, rock bands were playing up on the stage, a climbing gym wall was build in the campground for a dyno competition for the crowd to cheer on. There were clinics run by the superstar climbers that were shown on the front cover of the climbing magazines. I mean there were over 100 of these super climbers that you could shake hands with, watch them climbing, and were camping next to me. Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden always camped in front of me, Chris Sharma was a few tents down….. and the big list goes on and on.
My staff duties included helping with hanging up the ropes for the taller boulder problems, building trails, I was the clinics supervisor making sure the super climbers where on time for their clinics, I was in charge of the media, and helped with what ever Jim threw at me. But there was only one rule that I had with Jim, that during the event time where the climbers were competing, I was a competitor in the event as well. Before and afterwards I was simply a lackey for Jim. Eventually I found myself up on the stage helping with the raffles, and helping with the prizes with Sandy and Susan. I was flipping pancakes for Malcolm at the company Trango in the mornings to make sure the competitors had a meal, and helped with the overall cleanup as the 3000 or so people headed away at the end of the comp.
Being a volunteer for Jim was not that easy. I was raising my two baby sons at the time and Jim was desperate for getting the comp areas prepped to make his events a success. Jim every year increased the responsibilities until I reached a breaking point. There was no pay for this work and after 12+ years of it, the work was becoming habit over it being a passion. I needed to get back to my kids.
In the early years of the Phoenix Bouldering Contest, Jim invited me to go with him to a event called the Outdoor Retailers Show in Utah. This is the place where Jim talked to many company owners to lock down their sponsorships for the event. Since at that time there were not many competitions happening in the USA, Jim had a good thing going and many companies wanted to be a sponsor for the event. I was brought in to assist Jim with wrangling in new sponsors for the event. My first impression of this Outdoor Retailers show was that it is huge. So many manufactures showing their goods, and wow, at each booth is a superstar climber. Jim said follow me, lets quickly run up and down the isles of the climbing section to give you a idea of what the show is about. Ten minutes later I was falling over and was quite dizzy of what I was experiencing.
Jim left me in a chair, went to the nurses office and got me some aspirin for me. He then loaded me up with many Phoenix Bouldering Contest Sponsorship kits, for me to hand out to the manufacturers as I tried to get their interest in the competition. The Outdoor Retailers show was a four day event so Jim and I would separate and then meet later in the hotel room or other, to see what came together for his competition. At the end of the first day as Jim and I met in discussion, I could not smiling. Jim probably thought that I just landed a million dollar account or something. But in reality I pulled out my Queen Creek Canyon book and showed him 20 or so signatures I got from the superstar climbers as I shook their hands and gave them hugs. OMG: Bobbie Bensman, Lynn Hill, John Long, Randy Leavitt, Boone Speed, Lisa Gnade, Royal Robbins, Jim Bridwell, and so on and on and on. They are all here I exclaimed! Jim looked disappointed at me since I totally forgot all about what I was really there for. I didn’t even hand out one sponsorship kit because I was so star struck. (Laugh)!
Over the years I did a better job and landed a few sponsorships in between the time of me still chasing around the superstar climbers. There are many stories of the hotel room itself where I guess I snore loudly when I sleep, and when I awoke Jim had already got another hotel room in the middle of the night to get away from my snoring. On the years that there were no other rooms available, I awoke and Susan was sleeping in the bath tub, one person out on the hotel balcony, Tim Penner with pillows covering his ears, etc. Neo, Robert and Jaime were smart and slept with head phones on. I am sure that everybody that was with me has a Marty snoring story.
Anyways, where I am going with this is that if it was not for Jim Waugh introducing me to this Outdoor Retailers Show, there may not be a Karabin Climbing Museum in existence today, and at the amount of gear that the museum has in it today. Jim and I did not always see eye to eye with each other on stuff, and Jim did not see eye to eye with many of the other PBC volunteers. But without Jim at the helm of the event, the event would have been considerably lesser.
Besides the Phoenix Bouldering Contest, Jim was the director in charge of the climbing at the XGames, in charge of the Gorge Games, the World Cup, the Great Outdoors Games, and in charge of so many other events so Jim Waugh is quite a big name within competition climbing events. The last PBC was in 2004. Over time Jim moved to Thailand and was gone for a few years, but he still was in charge of the Asian XGames etc.
During the years that Jim was away, myself and friends created the Thrash & Dangle Fest competition at the Phoenix Rock Gym. This was a indoor competition/ climbing festival that I directed and designed through the passion that I experienced with Jim’s Phoenix Bouldering Contest. Now I was wearing the directors shoes! Now I was being the guy that was cracking the whip. Now I was being the guy that was losing friends. Now I was being the guy that was losing sleep every night. Now I was the guy that was reflecting back to that guy Jim, who’s event was ten times bigger than my event. But the underlining aspect of these competitions, was that I felt the directors chair was a personal reflection of me, and if something was out of place, even if it was the littlest item, I failed in my leadership. Over time the Thrash & Dangle Fest was getting over 100 sponsors, and it was only a indoor climbing event. I didn’t have to call up sponsors to be involved, the sponsors wanted to be involved. The Thrash & Dangle Fest was created through heart, and it really showed!
Jim moved back to Phoenix and was in search of a job and I hired him to be a course setter at the Phoenix Rock Gym. Jim was already affiliated with the Phoenix Rock Gym since when the gym opened in 1992, Jim was a setter for the gym at that time. When Jim came to me and asked if he could have a job working for me, I really felt that the tables had turned. Dief the owner was 50/50 to hire him and left the decision up to me. I could not say no to Jim since we had so much past history together, and I see myself not being the person who I am today without him. Jim is also a historic climbing figure in Arizona and that said alone, he is the best person for the job!!
Jim asked me of how I became the strong climber that I am, and I told him that I stopped complaining on how routes were set at the gyms, and just applied myself to the presented challenges. If I could not do the routes, it was my personal fault for not being strong enough or flexible enough to accomplish climbing the routes. Through this process I was able to tame my ego, and just concentrate on the Adventure the routes provided me with.
These days the bouldering routes at the gyms are becoming more set where the climber has to do Parkour or carnival tricks to accomplish climbing the routes. These type of routes are great for audiences to be amazed at as the climbers hold on for all they got. But these type of routes now limit a percentage of the overall public to even want to try the routes within the gyms they climb at. It is cool to see the progression differences that the routes have become, but at the Phoenix Rock Gym we still center setting the routes based on technique and strength, over running and jumping and hoping to commit enough to not becoming injured within the discipline presented.
Jim was a course setter and helped run a few of the last Thrash & Dangle competitions that I had. It was really honorable that the Universe set things up the way that it did. It brought me to a place where I am today in saying, “Thank You Jim! You are the mentor that molded me into a being a great climber. So when you state to keep things all in perspective, I give you PERSPECTIVE.”