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Brad Gobright, a Throwback Climber on the Fringes ofa Sport

Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

The premiere of a new climbing documentary starring Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell, two of the most famous climbers in the world, came to San Francisco in late October. The Castro Theatre was packed, but neither Honnold nor Caldwell was there.

Instead, two other climbers prominently featured in the film, “The Nose Speed Record — “little-known climbers Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds,” the promotional material called them — came from Yosemite National Park and charmed the audience.

Gobright, who died Wednesday after a fall during a descent in Mexico, was a self-described dirtbag, the fading term of endearment for climbers who live simply, and raggedly, for the single pursuit of climbing.