Smoke's first association with nationally and internationally renowned climbers had started years earlier while still climbing the slopes of Mount Hood and continued after his move to Bishop. His friendship with uber-climber and California mountaineering legend Norman Clyde is well documented. Smoke was one of Clyde's last great friends in life and saw to the man's needs during the illness and decline that led to his death. In 1972, Smoke led a group that included his son Robert and Jules Eichorn to the top of Clyde Peak to scatter Clyde's ashes from that summit.