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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Jan 15, 2015 - 04:00pm PT
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Good insights, Vitaliy. I respect your view, simply because your "learning curve" seems lots shorter than that of many others. You have done and will do more awesome things.
And you take it all seriously but have the happy soul of a man climbing within his boundaries, all the while extending them subtly.
Let's see...if you started projecting a free second ascent of the DW now, you might could finish it quicker than you think...like in only 4 years.
BOOM! :0)
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FTOR
Sport climber
CA
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Jan 15, 2015 - 05:05pm PT
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awesome to see climbing get some major media coverage unlike ever before. things pretty slow on the world front no doubt.
also awesome that it's positive coverage of a milestone achievement as opposed to the usual deaths on the stone.
agree though its unlikely to see a repeat any time soon, unless the fa team go back up to better their style. how about a day send swinging leads?
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Todd Eastman
climber
Bellingham, WA
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Jan 15, 2015 - 05:16pm PT
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Needs to git done again before the tick marks wash off...
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jan 15, 2015 - 05:45pm PT
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5.16 may be less work and more recognition.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Jan 15, 2015 - 06:04pm PT
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I think the new route has enormous and never-before-seen cred and cache; these are attached forever to it. Saints have passed our way or "Holy Mother Whore" as Roper used to quoth.
The motivation will eventually arise for our vanguard to go take a look, a few maybe even apply themselves. Some may even find that they can climb in the daylight and climb it in an endurable amount of time. All such stuff, the voodoo, can fall away given time and new insights occurring, at least from my observations over the last 52 years.
I think geniuses are abundant in our clan and it is just terrific to be a member of our community especially today. But if we look at Clint's comments, it might be one hell of a long time that we see the right people approach this particular journey, given how Tommy's other free El Cap routes are not becoming trade routes any time soon, either.
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Jan 15, 2015 - 09:32pm PT
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Some europeans probably have a big hard-on for the 2nd ascent, but with so much press etc of the FA you would be an idiot to get on it very soon.
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duncan
climber
London, UK
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Jan 16, 2015 - 02:42am PT
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Dawn Wall will get a repeat when Ondra has got as far as he feels he can with pure difficulty sport climbing and wants to branch out a bit. Or perhaps when he just fancies a change of scenery from Spain in December. Not a question of if, just when. He’s at College at present, Economics - smart lad, so too busy in December and January for long trips. He’s currently focusing on comps. at least partially because this fits with studying. In two years he’ll be free to go further afield. He has already done a number of long sport routes in The Alps and Madagascar and the hard bits of Dawn Wall are sport climbing, sometimes a bit run-out (clearly doesn’t bother him), sometimes with fixed ‘trad.’ gear. He is on record as being interested in going to Yosemite and you can be sure it isn’t the fourth (sixth?) free ascent of The Nose he has in mind.
I don’t see Sharma or Megos or (insert generic Euro 9a+ limestone wad here) being so interested, Dawn Wall is not steep enough for them. Ondra is different. Technical fingery vertical wall climbing is totally up his street. The idea that Americans have a patent on it is laughable, this is not being disrespectful to Tommy and Kevin, it’s just reality. Consider Tough Enough in Madagascar probably previously the world’s hardest free wall and - shockingly - not in Yosemite! Vertical technical crimpy granite multi-pitch climbing, just like Dawn Wall. James McHaffie (Meltdown 9a, slate - ie off-vertical technical and crimpy), Sylvain Millet (Realization), Arnaud Petit and others put a lot of time and effort into it but none managed to free every pitch. Ondra climbed the whole thing ground-up in one day – onsighting all but one pitch (which he did second go). When he was 17 years old. He is a lot better now.
Ondra might struggle with the logistics if he jumped straight on it but my guess is that he will team up with an experienced Yosemite hand (Tommy even?) who will set up the portaledge and do the hauling for him. Tommy and Kevin had the vision and tenacity to see the line and work the sequences on the very technical traverse. The difficulty of Dawn Wall is mostly down to those pitches. The rest of the route is like another of Tommy’s 14as that typically take him a couple of weeks. Ondra will have the benefit of all the beta and also the key new knowledge that mid-Winter is the optimum time.
If he went up with an experienced wall-climber (I’d volunteer!) who looked after the vertical back-packing and prepared the route for him - placing the beaks etc. as on Kevin and Tommy’s ascent - I think he could climb it ground-up in six or seven days. Let’s say he will need a day each of the two 9a pitches. He’ll onsight most of the rest and perhaps take one day off to let his skin recover.
It will be great to see when it happens.
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Jan 16, 2015 - 03:13am PT
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Good insight, Kevin. Ron on Astroman, which was the first Yosemite big wall freed.
When we talk about a second, I think we are only talking about motivation, not skill. Or, said another way, climber's with the skill will have reasons to take a pass. I doubt the second ascent would generate the attention TC&KGFFADW has. And, sponsored climbers need to make a living: who was the second team to walk on the moon.
That said, when climbing is so ubiquitous that there are long lines on all routes, spending a week on the Dawn wall will be a fun romp for some 13 year old belayed by her mom.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Jan 16, 2015 - 01:57pm PT
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I agree, it would be cool to see what happens if Ondra tries it.
The granite in Madagascar looks a lot rougher, so I'm not sure if it provides much of a comparison with the slick tinies on the Dike Traverse.
Even if Ondra can't get out in November/December for a few years, he could do a test drive on Freerider / Salathe'. It might even build some public / sponsor interest in him trying the Dawn later.
I think if he tried the Nose, his large frame might make the Great Roof and Changing Corners very tough.
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Psilocyborg
climber
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Jan 16, 2015 - 03:39pm PT
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you would be an idiot to get on it very soon.
And many of these idiots are watching all these news reports. I bet some jerk off gets on it and has a bad day
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chill
climber
between the flat part and the blue wobbly thing
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Jan 16, 2015 - 03:49pm PT
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Technical fingery vertical wall climbing is totally up his street. The idea that Americans have a patent on it is laughable
Duncan - I haven't heard anyone say that Americans have a patent on fingery vertical climbing, just that DW climbing is somewhat specialized and would probably take some time to figure out.
Mostly people over here have been saying that Ondra is probably the best candidate for the second.
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Smokey
Trad climber
Colorado
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Jan 16, 2015 - 04:19pm PT
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TC will be back to lead every pitch in a 6-8 day (or less) push within the next 2-3 years.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Jan 16, 2015 - 04:21pm PT
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Consider Tommy was climbing 14's and winning comps around when Ondra was born.
Yeah, Ondra or some other cool-today, gone-tomorrow Euro limestone wanker is going to come in and totally crush this thing.
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chill
climber
between the flat part and the blue wobbly thing
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Jan 16, 2015 - 04:31pm PT
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I take it back Duncan, American arrogance has indeed raised its ugly head.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jan 16, 2015 - 07:32pm PT
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Where's Lynnie?????
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If
Trad climber
UK
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Jan 17, 2015 - 03:19am PT
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I'm European(uk) was planning an Onsite for my 50th birthday next year but figured that having watched all footage, videos and photos I guess it wouldn't be ethical really :/ dunno
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MAD BOLTER
Trad climber
CARLSBAD,NM
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Jan 17, 2015 - 05:26am PT
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CONGRATS TO TOMMIE AND KEVIN!!! AARE YOU GUYS GOING TO DO THE RAPPEL DOWN THAT WALL? TO MAKE IT A ROUND-TRIP
RAPPING IS A BIG LETDOWN!
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Valerio
climber
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Jan 17, 2015 - 06:01am PT
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I think there are few climbers just around the corner, able to climb DW but the question is... are they really motivated to do such a thing like that? Here we talk about on a big investment in money, time and why not the fingers's skin ;-). Moneys are not a problem ( sponsor? Daddy? Granny? ) however I think that the big problem for the modern climber is time... I think that nobody has so much time to spend in Yosemite to try on a second ascent even if on a big route like DW. I don't really see a climber do that unless he is not an American with many possibilities to stay in Yosemite for a lot of time... I think the Euro hasn't.
The reality is that Tommy and Kevin ( two super specialized Yosemite granite climbers ) have done a thing for the future... I'm agree with Chris about his 20+ years... maybe a few less
In any case...
time will tell, but for now Tommy and Kevin lead us on science fiction's territories.
My congratulations to both... climb 5.14 at night with head lamp on those small pockets... how did they watch their feet in the dark remains a mistery for me.
Valerio
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reason
Big Wall climber
Fort Collins Co
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:05am PT
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I don't know. Can the Hubers read english, if so, they are my huckleberrys to give it a whirl.
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