'Urban Ape' goes bananas for climbing buildings

Sex, drugs and rock climbing.

All of the above were on the agenda last night when Timmy O'Neill -- a self-titled "urban ape" -- spoke to a crowd of almost 200 family members, friends and students in Logan Hall.

By the time the Philadelphia native was formally introduced, he had already been interviewing nieces and nephews -- all of whom wanted a chance to try using the microphone -- in front of the crowd.

He even invited his 2-year-old nephew Jimmy to help him with the opening of the show.

"So what we're gonna see first is the climb that Jimmy and I did out of the crib," O'Neill said jokingly.

But Jimmy did not do much more than laugh and say, "Yes!" when his uncle asked if they should show the movie.

And with that cue, Jimmy was whisked back to his seat, and the audience was treated to a screening of Urban Ape -- a short film that showed O'Neill climbing buildings all over Boulder, Colo., including a University of Colorado high rise, without the aid of any ropes or equipment.

O'Neill's presentation proved that although he may physically act like an ape, he has a keener intelligence and quicker wit than the average primate.

Recounting his ascent of the nose of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, O'Neill did everything from a humorous impersonation of the Austrian photographer who climbed with him to regular references to how stoned his climbing buddy was throughout the trip.

When one audience member noticed a Wawa coffee cup in one of the pictures, O'Neill went off on a tangent about other things he brought with him -- from soft pretzels to "some Philly blunts."

O'Neill also had a reassuring comment for the "ladies" in the audience -- "Don't worry," he said, "speed climbing is the only thing I do fast."

But those who came without practical climbing knowledge might have found themselves lost on more than one occasion. When O'Neill was not making outrageous non sequitur comments, he tended to focus on obscure or technical climbing details.

For those who followed the more climbing-oriented points of the talk, there were exciting details of O'Neill's career -- as well as extra humor.

"I'm a climber, so I got all the in-jokes -- it was really funny," College junior Doug McGraw said. "I thought it was a really great show."

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