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Chris McNamara
SuperTopo staff member
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Topic Author's Original Post - Aug 28, 2008 - 01:42pm PT
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Great video, photos and 3-D imagery of Camp 4's midnight lightning here:
http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/yosemite/climbing-photosynth-text
Capturing Midnight Lightning
ADVENTURE photographer Corey Rich and world-class climber Tommy Caldwell team up on Midnight Lightning, the most famous boulder problem on Earth, to unlock the 3-D power of Microsoft Live Lab's new Photosynth.
"For most climbers, Yosemite is the best place on Earth," says 30-year-old Tommy Caldwell, one of the most accomplished rock climbers on the planet. "The rock is perfect, the walls are big, and the place has so much history." As park visitors flock to the Sierra Nevada's granite giants, they also pay their respects to renowned Midnight Lightning, located on the massive Columbia Boulder at Camp 4.
Midnight Lightning's Legacy
"Camp 4 and Midnight Lightning are tremendously important to the cultural history of Yosemite National Park," notes Yosemite park ranger Scott Gediman. "Not only do they represent the origin of the sport of rock climbing, they serve as magnets for visitors from all over the world."
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Flashlight
climber
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Aug 28, 2008 - 01:45pm PT
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Thanks Chris. Those photos look awesome on my new laptop.
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Aug 28, 2008 - 02:18pm PT
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Very interesting! I noticed that Photosynth in a magazine but didn't think more about it. Sounds cool.
I wish my computer/connection wasn't so crappy that downloading the program wouldn't be like slowly asphyxiating the thing.... Hope you speed racers will do it though.
I like how Tommy says (something like)"On a cool day, Midnight Lightning is pretty easy for me."
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Transplant
Boulder climber
Tahoe
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Aug 29, 2008 - 12:50pm PT
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bump…
Check it out - a cool new way to see an old friend.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Aug 29, 2008 - 01:04pm PT
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Nice video-- thanks for the link.
Two minor pedantic footnotes. Viewers could easily come away believing that modern technical climbing originated in Yosemite and that ML was a major innovation in bouldering levels in the 1970s.
First, modern technical climbing--pitoncraft, aid, pendulums, tension traverses, etc.--came out of the Dolomites and Tirolian Alps in the teens, twenties, and thirties, not Yosemite. Second, ML was ahead of its time in Yosemite, but not in other places. The Tetons and Fontainebleau had routes at that level of technical difficulty (or harder) by 1960.
But it is a really nicely produced video, and it's really enjoyable to watch Caldwell on that mantle because he's so technically perfect-- seems like he uses no muscle at all.
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno, CA
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Aug 29, 2008 - 03:16pm PT
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Very cool video! I like the video tons more than the Photosynth deal. I still thin the photosynth thing ha a ways to go. I think it's a great concept and should yield some cool stuff once people figure out how to shoot for it.
Side note: My housemate was watching Spiderman 3 last night and I watched a couple of minutes as I was talking to him. The scene was playing with MJ and Perter cozying up on the web, watching stars while the evil black glob was making it's first appearance. In that instant, I realized that Tommy and Beth are MJ and Peter. Tommy is pretty much a human spider and a goober. Beth's voice is tremendously more annoying than MJ's could ever be, but there's a lot about her that reminds me of Beth. I think it's the incredibly annoying facial expressions.
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Tahoe climber
Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
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Hahahahahahahahahah!!!!111
Nice wes
Nefarious - super low class to come in and talk sh#t about a couple of the nicest climbers ever. Do us all a favor and keep those sorts of thought to yourself.
Thanks.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Wes - Dude.. it's that one boulder..... The big one! HAHHAHA
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Nice!!!
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clustiere
Trad climber
berkeley ca
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recapturing the romanticism of yosemite, awesome
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AbeFrohman
Trad climber
new york, NY
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am i missing something? where's the cool 3D tool to view the thing?
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Nefarius
Big Wall climber
Fresno, CA
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Tahoe - Your mom!
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Oli
Trad climber
Fruita, Colorado
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Chris,
While the photos are good, and Tommy is a really fine climber, and all, I would have to politely argue your statement that Midnight Lightning is the most famous boulder problem in the world. It's one of the most significant and striking in Yosemite, but the Thimble in the Needles, done in very bold style in 1961 by John Gill, is far more famous, and far more significant, in the context of when and how it was done, etc. It also is bolder than Midnight Lightning and is done far less, even today.
Best wishes,
Pat Ament
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona, Spain
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I think that Midnight Lightning is definitely more famous "in the world". Some Spanish climbers went so far as to measure it really carefully so as to build a replica.
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DRoots
climber
Lake Tahoe
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Pat,
Your knowledge and expertise in the history of free climbing is unparalleled (as is proven by my favorite on the john reader "A History of Free Climbing in America: Wizards of Rock"), but I would have to disagree about the Thimble being the most "famous" boulder problem in the world. I completely agree that as a matter of boldness and timing of the ascent that it is more "significant" in the history of free climbing than Midnight Lightning. When I shot this video I interviewed many random climbers, most foreign, and I asked "what problem do you want to see when you come to the states or comes to mind when you think about bouldering?". The answer every time was Midnight Lightning & the Mandela, not one mentioned The Thimble.
It's no question that an ascent of the Thimble is more elusive & holds more prestige in inner climbing circles, but no other problem seems to capture the imagination of so many climbers around the world as Midnight Lightning.
Strictly going off the dictionary, Famous = widely known. And it seems that Midnight Lightning is more widely known.
In any case trying to label anything as the "most" will always lead to reasonable objections in any tight nit community. In making the Photosynth and the accompanying video we only tried to show & share Midnight Lightning in a new way, while passing on a little history along the way.
With much respect,
Dane Henry
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Hardman Knott
Gym climber
Muir Woods National Monument, Mill Valley, Ca
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Great post, Dane (and awesome video, BTW).
If The Thimble happened to be in Yosemite, perhaps things might have turned out differently...
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10b4me
climber
the gray bands
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with all due respect to Mr. Ament, there is no way that the Thimble is more famous than Midnight Lightning. I doubt that the Thimble is more famous than White Rastafarian.
Not discounting what John Gill did, it's just that the Thimble is in South Dakota, the other two are in Yosemite, and Joshua Tree.
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Jaybro
Social climber
wuz real!
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I heard about the Thimble first, mainly because Midnight lightning hadn't been climbed yet.
The Thimble is an amazing climb, esp when you consider the times, the style and the 'footwear' (shudder). But they are climbs of two seperate times. Those guys had trained on Gill problems in Co before ML (I think that's the way the temporal sequence goes).
There are a bunch of reasons why Midnight Lightning is going to be more famous to contemporary climbers.
For one thing Midnight lightning is a Lot harder than the thimble. I climbed The Thimble in'88 with Muehl directional beta and a toprope (yeah, yeah, Rope dab) and although I think I once had a shot @ ML those days are probably thankfully gone, I barely get off the ground when I wander by it these days. I think i could do The Thimble on a good day.
The thimble is a long continuos concentration piece. ML is shorter (I'm not calling it short) and very powerful, the kind of climb that is 'In' these days.
On top of that it's gotten a lot more international attention in recent years and and is a easier to find, unless you are already in North Western South Dakota. And, it's the kind of thing young strong climber's aspire to do these day.
The Thimble is (perhaps arguably) of greater historic significance, but Midnight Lightening is getting a lot more attention right now and has gotta be more famous.
Now, if you could crater off ML onto a VistaCruiser™ or find the Midnight Lightning of The Needles, you'd be on to something!
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