Discussion Topic |
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 25, 2012 - 01:47pm PT
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Merry Christmas!
My favorite soloing shots are ones that really capture the experience, and sometimes that is in the form of a climbing partner dashing to a pack to grab a camera or a loving wife enjoying an afternoon hike with her husband.
This is the picture from the thread that inspired me to really explore mount Woodson. This problem seemed so impossible to me and the idea of a guy out for an afternoon romp on pleasant classics would be soloing this, YIKES! Of course, I know now more about who Greg is, and even though this would not be a giant peak in his mountain range of bold wide cracks I thought it was outta this world.
I can't do this one justice, so here is 'the man' from http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=566549&msg=570251#msg570251:
We've all heard this one but in the spirit of the JT reunion I'll recount it again....
One day after an early morning bouldering session, me and Yabo were beat. We decided to call it quits and take a rest day. We sparked a doobious cigarette and started yapping. Yabo told me he wanted to solo Spiderline (which at the time had only been top roped, never lead).
I told him he should wait until he got it "really wired". Then he told me he was meditating on the ledge below Spiderline the night before and all of a sudden there was a spider dangling in front of him. It had lowered from the crack above. He then said it was an omen letting him know he could solo Spiderline.
I tried to keep a poker face. I really thought he was getting too lost in this "omen" stuff but I couldn't tell him. I tried talking him into waiting again and he seemed OK with that. I split for camp and told my friend Buck Norden (sp?) about what just happened. He thought Yabo was losing it too.
Our conversation was interrupted by a whooping high pitched, "yay yay yay yay".
What the fuk was that? We looked up and there he was, a third the way up Spiderline.
I grabbed my camera and we ran up to the base to take a picture. Before we got going, Yabo's feet popped out of the crack and his body took a wicked swing outwards. Amazingly enough, he hung on!
I thought, "Cool, he can still downclimb from there". That's not what happened - he kept going.
John Yablonski on the first free solo (and lead) of Spiderline, 11c/d.
The he got near the last move - a funky roll over onto a dicey slab move. It was hot out and Yabo was sweating and shaking fiercely. So he takes his shirt off for the last move!
He was shaking like a leaf in a hundred mile per hour wind and he rolled into the slab move and climbed away. Norden was facing in the other direction - he couldn't watch.
Me and Norden went over to the Scatterbrain boulder and were talking about what we just saw. We both thought we should tell Yabo to cool it or he was going to get killed. Just then Yabo popped up on a boulder above us and said,"Who are you guys to tell me anything. I just soloed Spiderline!". Then he spirited away. He obviously overheard our conversation
When I ran into him later he had cooled off a bit. I did notice the largest hand jam gobie I have ever seen - on the back of Yabo's right hand. It was as round and almost as thick as a half dollar...the dude hung on hard. -John Bachar
This next one isn't really a photo per say, and it definitely isn't amateur, but a moment caught on film all the same. Its from the bad ass flick Masters of Stone VI (available from http://mastersofstone.com/); and is on the video below:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
There is a moment as dean cuts his feet to turn the lip move... almost anyone I know in that situation would be thinking PRECISION! CONTROL! MOVE PERFECTLY AND EXACTLY TO THE LIP AND EXECUTE THE MANTLE! But not Dean... he makes eye contact with you like a lion on top of its fresh kill, and stays there. You realize that Dean wants to be there, that he is thriving. He is in the moment, not 'doing a climb' but having an experience.
I'm not an adrenaline junkie, I can't mountain bike very well or snowboard or ski, even skateboarding scares me. The few dinky solo(ish) things I've done were never about that, and I look for that in inspiration, where I know that the climber is a samurai hopping among boulders in a roaring stream, not a gladiator in an arena.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Dec 25, 2012 - 02:13pm PT
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About to solo bingo world....
NOT!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Dec 25, 2012 - 02:38pm PT
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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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Dec 25, 2012 - 02:44pm PT
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Great thread !
a side note.... before biotch re-sized the Nat.Geo pic , I noticed a
rope piled on the ledge below thank god ledge...? wonder what the story
is on that?
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Dec 25, 2012 - 03:25pm PT
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a side note.... before biotch re-sized the Nat.Geo pic , I noticed a
rope piled on the ledge below thank god ledge...? wonder what the story
is on that?
for the camera crew maybe?
Ron,
that is a classic
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Dec 25, 2012 - 03:36pm PT
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Cool photos, the Bachar photo of Croft on the Rostrum, Bachar on OZ & the one Ron posted above are my 3 favorites & they all blow my mind as much now as they did when I first saw them.
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ryankelly
Trad climber
el portal
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Dec 25, 2012 - 03:46pm PT
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Anyone have the one of Bachar on the final pitch of New Dimensions?
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thekidcormier
Gym climber
squamish, b.c.
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Dec 25, 2012 - 06:02pm PT
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Edit,
Wait a sec, that ain't iconic... Go away noobs!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Dec 25, 2012 - 06:38pm PT
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Dec 25, 2012 - 07:01pm PT
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Dec 25, 2012 - 08:24pm PT
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ryankelly
Trad climber
el portal
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Dec 25, 2012 - 11:24pm PT
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thanks Walleye. Thats the one.
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MisterE
Social climber
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Dec 25, 2012 - 11:41pm PT
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Couldn't find the picture, but the one of Alex Huber soloing "Kommunist", 5.14a sticks in the mind.
So does Wolfgang Gullich's solo of "Separate Reality" before Ron Kauk did it.
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rincon
Trad climber
SoCal
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Dec 25, 2012 - 11:51pm PT
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Dec 26, 2012 - 12:18am PT
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ec
climber
ca
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Dec 26, 2012 - 01:15am PT
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My choice would be the photo (by Phil Bard?) of Croft on the Rostrum.
 ec
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Griffin
Trad climber
Monterey, CA
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Dec 26, 2012 - 01:30am PT
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Peter Croft on tips
Epi: “If you’ve ever climbed Tips, you know that the pitch ends on a blank headwall. Croft just down-climbed the route.”
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Synchronicity
Trad climber
British Columbia, Canada
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Dec 26, 2012 - 01:49am PT
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Dec 26, 2012 - 02:04am PT
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My choice would be the photo (by Phil Bard?) of Croft on the Rostrum.
It's one of Bachar's photos.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Dec 26, 2012 - 02:31am PT
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Nohea
Trad climber
Living Outside the Statist Quo
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Dec 26, 2012 - 02:46am PT
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Damn how to read this thread without your heart rate jumping 37%?
Mine has and big thanks.....a great thread.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Dec 26, 2012 - 02:52am PT
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Yeah this thread is awesome. Synchronicity where is that?! What a powerful place!
I'd have to add that Edlinger shot of him hanging one arm in the Verdon as well to my favs. Now if we could only see that & the Bachar on OZ. anyone???
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Dec 26, 2012 - 11:03am PT
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That picture of Peter on Tips is great
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Synchronicity
Trad climber
British Columbia, Canada
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Dec 26, 2012 - 11:48am PT
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RyanD, that is Honnold soloing the Phoenix 5.13, if I'm not mistaken its probably the hardest single pitch solo that has been done in the valley (Werner can correct me). Still If I had to pick one iconic solo it would probably be Honnold's triple solo of El Cap, Half Dome and Mt. Watkins in a day. I don't think most of the world (outside of us climbers) can really grasp the magnitude of that accomplishment.
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Synchronicity
Trad climber
British Columbia, Canada
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Dec 26, 2012 - 11:52am PT
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Is this the photo of Bachar? I think it was taken by Bard
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snakefoot
climber
cali
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Dec 26, 2012 - 11:58am PT
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yes, bachar on Oz. in reference to ounce... not OZ
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hagerty
Social climber
A Sandy Area South of a Salty Lake
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Dec 26, 2012 - 12:18pm PT
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I remember one of Bachar at the crux of On The Lamb. The poster is somewhere in my basement.
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Dec 26, 2012 - 12:25pm PT
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Bullwinkle took a shot of Bachar pulling the lip of More Monkey Then Funky that IMO is one of his best.
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snakefoot
climber
cali
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Dec 26, 2012 - 12:38pm PT
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^^^^glad you know what you prefer.
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ruppell
climber
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Dec 26, 2012 - 12:55pm PT
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Uli Steck Eiger North Face
5700ft in 2h 27m
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Synchronicity
Trad climber
British Columbia, Canada
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Dec 26, 2012 - 02:30pm PT
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I nearly shat myself when Ueli's tool slipped off in the video....
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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Dec 26, 2012 - 03:48pm PT
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Reeotch
Trad climber
4 Corners Area
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Dec 26, 2012 - 03:50pm PT
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WTF James!
You decked off that thing????
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ryankelly
Trad climber
el portal
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Dec 26, 2012 - 03:59pm PT
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For anyone that doesn't know James' story you should check it out.
Beyond bad. Just plain rad.
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Dec 26, 2012 - 04:51pm PT
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Yeah yeah I know OZ is about drugs, I wasn't referring to the Wizard of Oz, thanks for posting up. Sick shots, way to redeem James, not sure how the redpoint would have felt but I'm sure the word relieved comes to mind. I remember reading your story man, well written but yep ur a lucky guy, way to get back up.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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The vid of Dean P. soloing Sep Reality is a study in intentional relaxation, me thinks.
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Reeotch
Trad climber
4 Corners Area
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I like Monkey Boy the best . . .
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Michelle
Trad climber
Toshi's Station, picking up power converters.
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Baby sends harder than me!
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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G Davis, your clip from Masters of Stone reminded me of how great that series is. I haven't seen VI yet, need to get it. I wish all videos were as Yosemite-centric, but that's just me.
Also reminded me that the series contains what is hands down the worst musical taste in all of climbing videodom. I'd take Euro techno in a heartbeat over that garbage, and I don't like Euro techno.
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dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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That's a great pic you started this thread with. Was at Sickle Crack a few weeks ago TRing. That is a stout free solo for sure. Hard to tell how the rock angles from that pic but that crack keeps wanting to spit you out until you get near the top.
Edit: Thought it was Sickle Crack anyways. Am I wrong GDavis?
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dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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"For anyone that doesn't know James' story you should check it out.
Beyond bad. Just plain rad."
Ryankelly, are any links available for background on this story?
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Found this on the Wheat Thin thread the other day..
"Wheat Thin" is too fragile for bouldering...
I think it's Butterballs
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Oplopanax
Mountain climber
The Deep Woods
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Where is that damn pic with Hamish soloing Clean Crack while the Royal Huds bears down on him?
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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We've all lost friends to solo climbing. We've all lost friends to roped climbing.
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WBraun
climber
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that the first rule of solo club is never to talk about solo club - including photos
There's no such stupid club to begin with.
All this stupid secrecy is stupid.
I've seen plenty of dead soloists.
You cant handle reality that's why you try to invent a stupid club to hide in ......
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 4, 2013 - 01:46am PT
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^^^
ho man...
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karodrinker
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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ho man indeed!... the kind of statement that makes me happy for gear and ropes. Falling to death would suck.
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WBraun
climber
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You're already falling to death.
What are you talking about ......
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Bad Climber
climber
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Werner: You're already falling to death.
You can be pretty whack sometimes, but that line is AWESOME.
CHeerZ
BAd
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ydpl8s
Trad climber
Santa Monica, California
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These 2 photos of Derek uploaded by Crunch and SicMic are pretty iconic.
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karodrinker
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Werner,
Too true! Might as well go soloing! Scrape me off a rock if you find me. Scoop me into a box and throw it in a fire.
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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Here's a link the story I wrote in Climbing. Catharsis
Locker- I wore different shoes that day. The Balley Golds were a pair Way convinced me to buy but I never wore.
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Chinchen
climber
Way out there....
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Who wants to post up a pic of how they looked after they decked....
Stop glorifying stupidity.
Glad you survived James..
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WBraun
climber
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You can't handle reality Chinchen so go ahead and join that hiker guy's stupid club.
You belong in it .....
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Chinchen
climber
Way out there....
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F*#k you.
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Chinchen
climber
Way out there....
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I am probably being overdramatic.
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J. Werlin
Social climber
Cedaredge, CO
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Chinchen-- with Werner you have to elevate things to a level he understands.
Try: I'm rubber and your glue. Whatever you say bounces of me and sticks to you.
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TheSoloClimber
Trad climber
Vancouver
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James - that is one of the most intense climbing stories I have ever read.
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jogill
climber
Colorado
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You need to know when to stop.
;>|
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Chinchen
climber
Way out there....
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...I thought I did Jeremy... ;)
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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i am as bad as anyone else at being interested in this....but it seems totally wrong to glorify soloing. The pic of Derek on Mr. Clean. I suppose it is 11a but it is a very easy climb for someone at their finest, in the zone. but derek died on something easier than this. we should all take pause in that.
as for the dude that fell and survived in JT. i would be embarrassed were i him. thats just me. getting press out of something so sinister as to almost dieing, well, hell...anyone can can die.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 4, 2013 - 09:33pm PT
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as for the dude that fell and survived in JT. i would be embarrassed were i him. thats just me. getting press out of something so sinister as to almost dieing, well, hell...anyone can can die.
You are right - I have some extended family members dying of complications from extreme obesity. That is right, they eat so much that they are dying from it, slowly, and they can't stop.
Suddenly it seems like friends and heroes of people on this site enjoying adventure and their passion isn't such a big problem... every day is a solo, every freeway, every lead - risk is ever present in life, it is ever present in climbing.
Soloists aren't dying right and left. A few good friends of ours have lost their lives to it, just like mountaineering, alpinism, lowering off the rope... climbing is f*#king dangerous. Don't think your danger is better than James'. He put his heart out there and told everyone how it happened, exactly as it happened.
I would be embarrassed to have never truly lived.
edit - not really talking to Hawkeye per say, he has a valid opinion.
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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Soloists aren't dying right and left. A few good friends of ours have lost their lives to it, just like mountaineering, alpinism, lowering off the rope... climbing is f*#king dangerous. Don't think your danger is better than James'. He put his heart out there and told everyone how it happened, exactly as it happened.
I would be embarrassed to have never truly lived.
there is a very fine line between living and dieing. only you can choose. i am not pretending to choose for anyone other than to caution those who do not understand the difference.
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Sierra Ledge Rat on Patio.
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Bullwinkle
Boulder climber
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Coz,
You're wrong, James suffered Brain Damage from his Fall, so he is in fact stupider than the rest of us. He also walks funny, but not in the good funny way. In a few years he'll need one of these.
https://thehurrycane.com
The only reason Alex Hannold hangs out with James is to remind him of the consequence of failure.
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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i am not hating on anyone, assuming that response was directed at me.
i am totally psyched that someone is alive and climbing who lucked out. luck, thats what it is in his case to be alive and with us.
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 4, 2013 - 10:02pm PT
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You are right hawkeye, sorry I saw that through my whatever-tinted glasses and painted it as judgemental. Have a great evening :)
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WBraun
climber
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One day we were at Noby Wall.
I set a top rope.
Coz always free solos it.
He's ready to go and tell him to tie in.
He asks why and I say because it's there so big fuking deal tie in because it's set up already and won't hurt ya.
He's hesitant and finally reluctantly ties in and I belay him.
He gets up to the crux and breaks off the crucial hold and falls onto my belay.
His number wasn't up that day ...... :-)
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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Hawkeye-
Luck is the wrong word. Somewhere between my 7th and 8th week of laying in a hospital bed, Dean Fidelman and Lucho visited me. Dean spun around in a hospital wheel chair performing wheelies occasionally.
"Man, I can't believe you survived," Lucho said, "you got lucky."
"You are not lucky," Dean told me. "You are fortunate. If you were lucky you would not have fallen. You would have topped out gone to Vegas, won a million bucks and done blow off a hooker's ass. You are fortunate-you survived"
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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"You are not lucky," Dean told me. "You are fortunate. If you were lucky you would not have fallen. You would have topped out gone to Vegas, won a million bucks and done blow off a hooker's ass. You are fortunate-you survived"
very good attitude......i sincerely applaud you for that.
but in 20 years when you have seen your kids bouncing off your knee your perspective might have changed.
hats off to you regardless.
i know that i soloed things that at this point in my life were foolish. i was lucky, but i can only really comment about me and my skills at the time.
that pic of Derek on Mr Clean...when i climbed Mr Clean I never felt more solid....it could have been an easy solo.....and while i did some near that league, i was lucky.....but i can only comment on my own self.
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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And in 20 years, when you have seen your children walk away from your knee uninterested, showing total disdain for your boring life, your prospective may change too.
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Hawkeye
climber
State of Mine
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lol
you are young........
there is much to see and learn even from those who you must disdain today.....
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SicMic
climber
two miles from Eldorado
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I've only fallen a couple times, which is twice more than most get. Never had a camera around for the hard stuff, just the fun ones. (thanx SM for the Derek shot, one of my faves)
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Al_T.Tude
Trad climber
Monterey, CA
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Regarding free soloing- falling early is often the best strategy.
- Jim Donini
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Snowmassguy
Trad climber
Calirado
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Our great government needs to ban free soloing....that will stop all this silliness. Bouldering only up to 10 feet, crash pads mandatory at all times. Kinda like the ban on base jumping. This initiative will put thousands to work and save the lives of at least a few people per year. We can start the Fight/Solo Club and solo in secret.
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D Fred
Trad climber
san francisco, ca
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growing up, these were two that always stuck in my memory, can't believe they haven't been posted yet.
and i had to include this one just because the man solo'ed Kommunist 5.14a in mythos (!!!) of all the choices of shoes to wear
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ATS
climber
Mountain Project
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The very first photo in this thread is a pic I posted on Mountain Project of Greg Cameron cruising the Crucible. The photo was taken by Elizabeth Benjamin
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 9, 2013 - 10:37pm PT
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I like that you credited yourself for reposting it on MP before crediting the photographer ;D <3
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briham89
Big Wall climber
san jose, ca
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Me soloing something easy in jtree a few weeks ago. Not quite as epic as the other solos on here but I liked the lighting and the sky in this one.
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brodracula
Trad climber
hawaii
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Jan 12, 2013 - 04:31pm PT
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I don't know about you people ,But everytime i see a picture with exposier my legs and feet tingle and shake.the human mind is an amazing thing.my feet were tingling through out this thread.thanks for the pics and tales
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Jingy
climber
Somewhere out there
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Jan 29, 2013 - 10:23pm PT
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Hey everybody,
Just saw a Joe Rogan Experience Podcast with Alex Hannold.
Just thought it should be out there for others to hear. Pretty cool to hear Rogan go on about climbing from an outsider point of view
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Feb 13, 2013 - 01:02am PT
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Feb 13, 2013 - 12:53pm PT
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gonzo chemist
climber
Fort Collins, CO
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Feb 13, 2013 - 09:04pm PT
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I always really liked this one. I think it was in a 2007 issue of Climbing or R&I.
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S.Leeper
Social climber
somewhere that doesnt have anything over 90'
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Feb 13, 2013 - 09:26pm PT
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Dec 24, 2014 - 10:50pm PT
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Psilocyborg
climber
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Dec 25, 2014 - 09:59am PT
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Chronic-calls of Gnar-nia
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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FRIDAY BUMP.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Nice bump Mouse......
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J R
climber
bend
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Jan 31, 2017 - 11:02pm PT
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bump... just 'cause.
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nathanael
climber
CA
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Great thread, thanks for the bump. I'll add some pics, even though they're not original. There's a criminal shortage of Reardon pics in here..
Romantic Warrior 12a
Air Interlude 10b (naked)
The Pirate 12d
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTf2P4iBTto
Bird of Fire 10a (Naked)
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dhayan
climber
culver city, ca
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That stemming honnold one is astroman.
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brotherbbock
climber
Alta Loma, CA
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I love that picture of Bachar and Reardon...
Those guys were rock stars.
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Scole
Trad climber
Zapopan
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It was hot out and Yabo was sweating and shaking fiercely. Yabo was fine if he was shaking. It was when he stopped shaking that there was a problem
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EdwardT
Trad climber
Retired
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Faux-soloing
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Burnin' Oil
Trad climber
CA
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4:13 of the Honnold/Equinox video - right hand finger locks, reaching with the left and both feet skate. Yikes.
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 23, 2017 - 10:45am PT
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Bump for the Big Lonesome as JL would say...
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| Messages 1 - 109 of total 109 in this topic |
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