Sex, Drugs, and Rock... Climbing? | Stonemasters Pt. 1, John Long & Rick Accomazzo | Ep. 002

In the 1970s, a pirate group of climbers descended on the big walls of California’s Yosemite National Park and changed the world of rock climbing forever. They dubbed themselves “The Stone Masters.” This week, we’re talking to the original Stone Masters, John Long and Rick Accomazzo. CHAPTERS 00:00 Teaser 00:27 Intro 4:00 The Stone Master’s Joshua Tree genesis 11:12 John Long describes Rick 13:30 How to become a Stonemaster 27:56 Feuds between climbers and rangers 30:56 Attempted rescue of Bob Locke 36:50 Sport climbing vs. traditional climbing 42:25 Tobin Sorenson 56:45 Risk, ethics, & responsibility 1:01:50 Legacy 1:05:52 Tobin, The Stonemasters, and Me LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE Order Rick’s book: https://stonemasterbooks.com/products... TBM LINKS Catch up with Hayden on IG, TikTok, and more: https://linktr.ee/Hayden_Sammak Follow TBM on Youtube, IG, and everywhere else: https://linktr.ee/BackcountryManifesto SPONSORS Special thanks to our partners at Shared Pour! Visit SharedPour.com! Use code BACKCOUNTRY for 10% off your entire order. CREDITS Featuring Rick Accomazzo and John Long Intro and Animations by Barry Thompson Photograph Contributions for Animation by Carver Weeks Additional Graphics by Andrew O’Neill Production Assistance by John Stock “Welcome to the Backcountry” theme song by Logan Roth, Will Brown, Arjun Dube and produced at Treacle Mine Studios, Phila, PA Note: This video contains a photo of Tobin Sorenson juggling on the shoulders of a strapping young man. Mistakenly (yet understandably), we identified this individual as the still-very-strapping John Long. Alas, it is not. Instead, it is Gib Lewis, who -- in addition to being mentioned by John Long as one of the original Stonemasters -- has been cited online as one of the most interesting of the original Stonemasters. Of course, if it says it on the internet, it must be true. We are deeply regretful of the oversight, sorry Gib! Copyright Outdoor Visions Media LLC, 2025