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bachar
Gym climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Apr 25, 2009 - 10:13pm PT
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Hudon's right. If ya' got a route wired it ain't no big thing to solo it and get a picture.
Soloing all the time for weeks, months, and years all the time gets kinda' tricky.
The Laws of Probability start adding up. Your mind knows it too.
That's when it starts to get ballsy.
On sight solo...
as ballsy as it gets.
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Oxymoron
Big Wall climber
total Disarray
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Apr 26, 2009 - 12:57am PT
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Porter-Asgard.......Nuff said.
Boldness incarnate.
Holy freaking Cow. Pure Death.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Apr 26, 2009 - 01:19am PT
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I was drinking beers with Dave Yerian at Tenaya beach one afternoon and we decided to go solo the Great White Book just for the hell of it. When we passed these two Brits that were climbing it, one of them said bollocks among some other choice words and Yerian said something like go back to England. Bollocks is kinda like ballsy. Does that count?
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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Apr 26, 2009 - 01:48am PT
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Like JB said- onsight soloing is where it's at. Definitely the best stuff I've done has always been onsight. The magic dissipates when you repeat a route. Dialing the moves on a climb and then going cordless brings false feelings of security and therefore an increase in danger due to possible carelessness- at least that's what I've always felt. Stay on your guard out in the high lonesome.
Ballsy is a rather subjective term. Honnold's solo of Moonlight buttress was definitely rad but that route is pretty secure if you climb solid 5.12 like Alex. His solo of Half Dome...now that was putting it out on the line. On the slab pitch by the top, Honnold stepped up and down, stabbed his finger through the hole of a fixed biner, and finally committed, smearing his foot on a tiny rugosity and nailing the finish jug. Scary.
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Evel
Trad climber
Rocky mountains
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Apr 26, 2009 - 02:44am PT
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I've seen one mention of Paul Pruess(sp). He did some rad sh#t way back in the day. As for myself, I onsighted the Casual route on the Diamond a couple years ago. Made it back into town for lunch beers.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Apr 26, 2009 - 10:45am PT
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A couple months ago while on Olive Oil at Red Rocks, we watched a guy coming off Jackrabbit Buttress to our left. He was climbing solo unroped and downclimbed over the edge of a overhang, down a overhanging crack and into a long chimney that looked very burly and then down. I conject he must have soloed Geronimo possibly and was descending but what a hairball descent as it is normally 4 raps to get off that thing.
Anyone have any idea who that could have been??? It was wild to watch him on it.
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Blakey
Trad climber
Newcastle UK
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Apr 26, 2009 - 02:13pm PT
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Porter's 11 day solo of Mt Asgard and its 60 mile approach. It took him 4 trips in to get all the gear to the base, and then he had to crawl most of the way out with frostbitten feet after the fun was over.
I was in the Pang valley that year - 75 was it not and we met Porter as he was ferrying his loads in. All very strenuous and about as remote and committing as you could get....
I spent most of my time in the valleys looking out for bears!
Steve
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marv
Mountain climber
Bay Area
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some Alaskan fare:
first Charlie Porter and then Mugs Stump on the Cassin
Waterman on Hunter. Unreal.
alex Honnold has been tearing it up on rock lately (Moonlight Buttress).
how about Norman Clyde for just about everything in the Sierra, done "onsight" with no "beta" in primitive gear
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enjoimx
Trad climber
SLO Cal
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Honnold soloing the Nose in 5+ hours.
Myself soloing Oak Tree Flake TO Bay Tree Crack, Swan Slab.
Just spectacular.
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Johnny K.
Mountain climber
Southern,California
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Derek Hersey- The naked edge O_O
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the kid
Trad climber
fayetteville, wv
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Barber- the sentinel- mid 1970's?
All Bachar solos..
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DanaB
climber
Philadelphia
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Lots of impressive soloing was done with primitive equipment. In 1937 Emilio Comici soloed his route on the Cima Grande in 3.5 hours. It's almost 2000 feet long and the first 1/2 (more or less) overhangs a bit.
Claudio Barbier, in 1959, soloed the Cassin route on the Cima Ovest (1500+ feet) the Comici route on the Cima Grande, and three other long routes in the area in 14 hours. Messner soloed The Phillip-Flamm in 1969, 40 pitches, 5.10, 1969. And Michel Darbellay, first solo of the Eiger north face, 1938 route, 1963.
Don't forget Peter Haan's solo of the Salathe.
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Johnny K.
Mountain climber
Southern,California
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Nov 10, 2010 - 11:21am PT
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Yup Dingus,that is the only footage I have seen and familiar with.
Amazing thread.
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Fat Dad
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Nov 10, 2010 - 02:37pm PT
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So much radness. I am not worthy. I got totally gripped soloing Snake Dike.
Anyways, did anyone mention Michael Reardon's solo of the Edge at Tahquitz? Not nearly as hard as some of his solos, but man oh man, talk about insecure.
Also, did anyone confirm Vogels's solo of Stoner's Highway? No offense to the guy, but that sounds a bit too out there. I think of the press Charlie Fowler got for soloing the DNB. Have to imagine Randy would have received greater accolades (assuming anyone knew about it).
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MisterE
Social climber
Bouncy Tiggerville
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Nov 10, 2010 - 03:35pm PT
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Just read this whole thread, and didn't see Derek Hersey's triple solo of the Diamond in a day. I think he had a single Big Mac for food.
Great solos all around on this thread.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
SoCal
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Nov 10, 2010 - 03:47pm PT
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Spider Savage - Motzart's Wall - 1990 - 5.7
(okay, well- it was a big deal for me)
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bubble boy
Big Wall climber
topanga, CA
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Nov 10, 2010 - 06:03pm PT
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Met a guy out in JT a decade ago, just going through his circuit - "I try to do about 3000 feet" he admitted after I my hounding. No spray, no press, no internet blog, no sponsors to please. Don't know who it was and never found out. Just somebody out there running up 3000 feet of 5.9 a day, for himself.
Sometimes the ballsiest thing about soloing is doing it, but never telling.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Nov 10, 2010 - 06:50pm PT
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Charles Cole on "Queen of Spades".
Andy Kirkpatrick (if I remember right) on "Reticent Wall"--wasn't that his first visit to the Ditch?
Jeff Lowe on the Eiger, recounted in David Robert's superb "Moments of Doubt"
Steve House's FA of "Beauty is a Rare Thing" on Denali
Any of that stuff J.C. Lafaille did in the Alps
Lots of under-the-radar stuff that never makes the trades
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Johnny K.
Mountain climber
Southern,California
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Nov 10, 2010 - 06:57pm PT
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bubble boy
Met a guy out in JT a decade ago, just going through his circuit - "I try to do about 3000 feet" he admitted after I my hounding. No spray, no press, no internet blog, no sponsors to please. Don't know who it was and never found out. Just somebody out there running up 3000 feet of 5.9 a day, for himself.
Sometimes the ballsiest thing about soloing is doing it, but never telling.
Sounds like he is enjoying life in peace.=D By chance was he a smaller fellow,dark hair/complexion with a very soft spoken voice?
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Levy
Big Wall climber
So Cal
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Nov 10, 2010 - 07:24pm PT
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I can't believe it's not in here already but Alex Honold's solos of:
Crucifix 5.12 b
Rainbow wall 5.12 a/b
Prince Of Darkness 5.10+ & downclimbed Dream of wild Turkeys 5.10a
How about soloing the Crucifix? A Bridwell, et al. route that saw free attempts rebuffed until Peter Croft free climbed it in the early 1980's. So if I am correct, Bard, Kauk & Bachar were never able to free climb the route & now alex solos it in an easy day outing.
Total radness!!
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