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splitter
Trad climber
Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane ~:~
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Dec 20, 2012 - 03:00pm PT
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Karl Baba - Most of my near death experiences soloing long stuff were due to other people or rockfall. Objective dangers are something that you really don't have much, if any, control over and that was my experience also. Like they say, "Sh:t happens."
For instance, this vid of Derek Hersey is titled "Dirty Bird" because during the opening sequence of him soloing Rosy Crucifixion a bird flies out of a crack @0:50 and, although he doesn't appear very alarmed, it could have easily turned out differently (for instance, if his handholds/stance was more precarious, or whatever)...
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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cuvvy
Sport climber
arkansas
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Dec 20, 2012 - 05:06pm PT
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And the spray continues. Im sure when I start passing my best of days, I will want to talk about my hero moments as well, so no more hassling. Spray at will and continue to enjoy life!
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TheSoloClimber
Trad climber
Vancouver
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:23pm PT
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I usually use a QuickDraw to hold my sandals when soloing, although I figured if I ever need something to grab near a bolt, that's available.
One of my early solos, I brought a backpack up with me, disregarding the fact that my chosen route had a chimney section on it. I ended up wedging my pack up the chimney beside me for that entire bit, and then put it back on before mantling out.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:27pm PT
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Go fuk yourself fool .....
Well that's a type of free soloing isn't it?
;-)
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:29pm PT
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It's not spray, knucklehead, it's called story telling.
It's what we use to do BITD in camp four on the long dark nights trying to stay warm and make each other laugh.
Walt and Russ were the kings, long before the net and I phones.
Seconding the reign of those lordships. I can visualize the gesticulations now
Peace
karl
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:37pm PT
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I gotta say, I like Tami and Werner's take...it's the STORIES! That's what I love, and, truly, that's probably what motivated me on my "free solos". I liked the idea, in the story sense, of a man (boy, really)ascending 10 or 15 pitches in a day with just a sling, a couple of carabiners, and a chalk bag. I was a much better crack climber than face climber, and, for some reason, I wasn't bothered by the transgressions cited by Coz. I guess I felt I was demonstrating my crack mastery but was not willing to risk my life for a few feet of scary-ass face climbing on both the Steck-Salathe and the Lost Arrow chimney. Today, I would have to agree with Coz. It's technically not a freesolo. I don't claim being the first guy to free solo (sensu stricto) anything notable except Pipeline. I only have hopefully interesting stories to contribute about what it was like living the climbing life in the valley in the late 1970s...And that's the truth.
 Greg Cameron
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splitter
Trad climber
Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane ~:~
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:37pm PT
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Bruce Kay - ...but it is seldom a matter of "shit happens." My point was that "shit", although rare, does happen. The vid of DH was a simple example of one such event. And although rare, it does happen!
For instance, one of my earliest solos I had a "shit happens" moment.
It was 1972 and I was supposed to meet two climbing buddies (Ken Cook & can't think of his name right now ) at the base of a route at Tahquitz (The Illegitimate) and was a little late getting there and Kenny was already leading the 2nd pitch. So I threw my coiled rope over my shoulder and soloed the first pitch. It follows a crack up to about seventy feet where a rather large Manzinita bush was blocking the way. You had to step over to this steep slab/block, which was the crux of the pitch at 5.7! No big deal, except when I was half way through the two or three crux moves I felt this very strong tug on my hip. I was pulling on two crimps and didn't have much for my feet. It turned out that it was a chain for my pocket watch that I had clipped to a belt loop on my levi's and the watch was in my watch/coin pocket. I pulled like all heck, but was not getting anywhere. I can still recall looking down between my legs at the landing zone some 70+ ft below to see if there was anything I should attempt to miss (like a jagged boulder) because it came that close (i was about to burn out/fall) and suddenly the chain broke and I reached the bucket that had been just out of reach.
And I mentioned the time I had on sighted this 5.10c fist crack that passed through an overhanging bulge at the crux to find out the remaining 10-15 ft to the top was wet and slippery as snot although it was only rated 5.6! So I chose to down climb the crux/route rather than grease off and deck. It didn't really matter where I fell from, the wet 5.6 or the crux below it since the result would have most likely been the same since it was 80+ feet or so off the deck.
And like I briefly mentioned on a post up thread. My partner (Dave Stutzman) and myself, down climbed the SS from the top of the flying buttress (cordless). We started early and by the time we got there the cloud layer had dropped and the upper half of Sentinel was encased in clouds and a snow flakes were falling (early April). We only had a 50 meter rope and a hand full (8-9) chocks. We ended up down climbing the whole thing, because we didn't have any choice in the few spots that we felt we needed to rap (no decent placement with what we were carrying). I suppose that could have been avoided, but that (what we chose to bring) was fairly standard, bitd!
I recall a few parts, but one spot particularly sticks out in my mind. That was the pitch just below the Wilson Overhang. It is a chimney/ or stemming pitch and right at the top of it is a block. I can't remember if I led it, but I did lead the WO pitch, so I probably didn't since we were swinging pitches. But on the way up I recall that I was stemming just below the block, and had nothing for my hands when I had to push off my left foot onto just one contact point (my right foot) and sink a finger lock in the block. No big deal, since there was fairly good pro protecting it and not really that hard (5.8 if I recall).
But coming down, you have only two contact points to begin with at that point; the right hand finger lock, and your right foot on the right side of the chimney. Well, you have to let go of the finger lock and with just your right foot/toe as a contact point, stick the stem with your left foot. I recall it being a stretch and rather dicey. Furthermore, I had chose to ware these F'n PA's that i had never climbed in and that were crappy at smearing compared to my EB's that I was accustomed to climbing in (i thought they would work better in the chimneys). Plus, the snow/flakes had turned to rain/mist at that point and the rock was wet and the wind had picked up and it was cold as hell.
I remember looking down at Dave who was looking up at me from about 40-50 feet below me because he new just how sketchy that move was. He must have read my mind, or the look on my face because I was determining whether or not I was going to land on him and take him with me if I fell, and he suddenly pulled himself in as tight as he possibly could. YIKES!!
Like I said previously, I practiced down-climbing everything I possibly could after that (bouldering, top roping, solos I was comfortable with, etc). In my opinion, down climbing is much harder than up climbing.
Those are just three examples of what I consider objective dangers (perhaps I'm wrong). But there were a number of others over the years. I never was that concerned about them during the day light hours, but I did wake up in the middle of the night, a few times, in a cold sweat and either dreaming or thinking about one of those occurrences and swore that I would never solo again because if it did happen, that was prollie gonna be the reason, sooner or later my luck would run out. But would shrug it off the next day.
And, no one really knows why he fell, but DH was well within his ability on SS. It was probably due to a sudden shower of rain that DID occur while he was on the route and attributed to his demise. Although he had also done the NIAD the day before and may have been not climbing at full potential/strength, or whatever. Dunno!
edit: but then, my life story cud easily be subtitled "Sh#t Happens." I have told many stories here on ST in that regard, and haven't told many more, so maybe I'm just prone to it (or whatever). ...just sayin!!
EDIT: when i felt that strong tug that prevented me from going another inch (and almost pulled me off) at first i thought i had hooked the rope (1st thing that crossed my mind) but i new i had swithed the rope to my outside shoulder. My mind was firing at mach speed for a few seconds trying to figure out what the hell was going on before i realized it was my pocket watch ( i couldn't actually verify that until I got to the top of the pitch and noticed my broken chain)!
BVD - btw, the 10b/c fist crack was at the "Gorge" (Mission Gorge) fwiw. i can't remember the name of it, but it started off of a small ledge on the 2nd or 3rd tier.
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:43pm PT
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Kenny Cook. Now there's a name I haven't heard in awhile. When I split my face open at the Gorge and had to get plastic surgery (110 stitches!) Ken was the attending nurse. Small world.
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10b4me
Boulder climber
Somewhere on 395
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:55pm PT
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imo, this is one of the best ST threads in awhile.
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splitter
Trad climber
Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane ~:~
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Dec 20, 2012 - 07:39pm PT
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BVB - Kenny Cook. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a while. Kenny was a really cool dude and good friend of mine. Climbed, bouldered and hung out with him, etc, alot for a couple of years in the early 70's. Speaking of "swole", the dood was it! He was a really superb climber, super strong & bold, plus a lot of natural ability, etc!
He married one of the cheerleaders at our HS (when i was going there) & her friend, who was also a cheerleader, was my gf at one time. Kenny was a special forces (green beret) in Nam & also a medic. He became a paramedic later on (mid 70's).
Anyway, poor Kenny had an undiagnozed heart condition and suddenly dropped dead at the age of 32 (around 1980). Very sad. I use to see his son bouldering out at the Santee Boulders(& elsewhere) in the mid to late 80's and he was/is also an excellent climber. I don't recall his name, but saw a lot of him as a toddler when Kenny & I use to hang together (maybe he is lurking & will contact me, eh?).
Like I said, Kenny was a great guy and i always had a good time with him...never a dull moment. He would DEFINITELY be one of the five guys i would select to have a beer with if I could!!! Glad that you got to meet him, you were in GOOD hands!
Bruce Kay - "You're right. But so um eye!" -- I agree. A lot of those type of situations can be avoided. Like we could have carried 2 ropes and more gear on SS. Or i cudda not been so cool (lol) & foresaw the risk of having a damn pocket watch with a chain hanging out, etc! And i cudda/shudda checked the route closer since i cudda easily hiked to the top of that fist crack to see if it was dry since it rained only a day or two before, but it was kinda a spur of the moment/impulse to climb it the first time i layed eyes on it, type a thing. BUT, the deal with the "dirty bird" flying out of the crack into his face (Derek's) without any notice is something that is unavoidable, imo! What I would consider as falling under the category of "Sh#t Happens", although rare.
Peace!
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Dec 20, 2012 - 08:23pm PT
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Good documentary on Derek Hersey. He seemed to be a very happy enthusiastic person.
I quit doing my very modest solos years ago because it was too much fun. Kind of like my high school friend who got one of the fastest bikes available (Kawasaki 900? back in 74) and sold it 6 months later.
Mark said "Its too much fun and I will probably kill myself on it"
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BASE104
Social climber
An Oil Field
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Dec 20, 2012 - 08:41pm PT
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Fish and Bill Russell were the masters at one point. They would peg you with the most embarrasing nicknames...mine has stuck with me over thousands of miles and a couple of decades.
Walt use to give play by play descriptions of soloes, complete with vibrations on certain moves. It was hilarious.
Soloing was so common that Coz's nit picking is kinda funny. I guess you can say that if it were some sort of earth-shattering event, but most soloing was binge soloing. A bunch of friends would just play follow the leader until somebody got way ahead on something, then I would drop out.
Rock Climbing on good rock is actually pretty safe, compared to alpine routes with rockfall and differing ice conditions and all that. Rock climbs are rated, have beta, and you pretty much know what you are in for.
I didn't onsight many soloes, but we used to have solo tours almost everywhere we went. It was a social thing, and tons of fun. I never got into trouble. If the next route was one that I wasn't fer sure confident on, I would sit it out even with jeers from the gang. You rarely just solo something right at your level, or a route that isn't well within your ability.
Remember all of the fun, though? Josh has so many solid routes that at one time it seemed like all we did was solo and boulder. Sometimes there would be ten people playing follow the leader.
It wasn't earth shattering, or important in any way, but you could get really solid and really fast. Plus you could climb 2000 to 3000 feet per day. Double Cross was a five minute romp. We would downclimb some 5.7's or 5.8's because we had them ruthlessly dialed, and it was faster than walking off or needing a rope to rap off of something.
It was great fun, but I've lost a few friends to it. Two serious and permanent brain injuries from falls on easy routes that they had done a hundred times.
My take? You can get killed walking across the road, too. Just know what you are getting into. Half the routes we could have soloed blindfolded we had them so dialed.
You didn't even have to be superman.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Dec 20, 2012 - 08:51pm PT
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Well said, Base. Truth be told, I loved soloing. The converse is I sometimes hated all the other crap that goes with leading a pitch. "Free-soloing" (the quotes are for Coz) does allow you to do just fun stuff with out all of the work. It's kind of amazing too (this turned out to be a bonus), that a route that might take you 8 hours with a competent partner can be done in under two. Frankly, there's nothing much else to do but climb. For me, if I had the security of a crack, I was fine. Face climbing is something else. Face climbing is for people lighter than me.
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splitter
Trad climber
Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane ~:~
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Dec 20, 2012 - 09:28pm PT
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PC,
I think it was the Spring of '86 (or maybe '87) that we watched you solo ND. There was a party already on the last pitch, so you opted to finish on/diverted to the crack just to the right of it (forget the name) when you caught up with them. After watching you top out, watched WB solo Midterm.
Super cool day at Arch Rock, one that I will always remember! (prollie just a standard day for you and the Bhagwan, bitd, though)!
Greg/eeyonkee - your solo's of the LAC&SS are legend, bro! As is, Hot Henry's solo of the SS. (sling or no sling). I recall that he had a 20' sling/loop of 1" tubular. Not sure where he used it. He did on sight it. He did it as a tribute/in remembrance of a good friend of his that was killed on it the year before. He was a very good climber from back east also (forget his name) that was 17-18 years old. He fell on that mantle that was protected by a bolt on the second or third to last pitch (or there about/forget) and went over backwards and hit his head.
You also told the story a while back (maybe you retold it on this thread, i haven't read all the posts) of deciding to down climb, rather than do that sketchy off balance move/face traverse around that bulge on the 9th pitch (or there about's) of the NE Buttress of Higher ... awesome story, thanks for sharing it!!
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Dec 21, 2012 - 12:43am PT
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Wow, bump an awesome thread kid comer.
Pipeline is what it is because of Greg's solo FFA, pretty unmatched, much respect. Great stories.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Dec 21, 2012 - 12:48am PT
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Coz is the free-solo police!
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S.Leeper
Social climber
somewhere that doesnt have anything over 90'
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Dec 21, 2012 - 01:17am PT
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Well that's a type of free soloing isn't it?
;-)
what a great line!
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Dec 21, 2012 - 01:18am PT
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@Splitter: Oh yeah, I hung out with Ken a bunch. That was why it was such a trip when he came walking into the room where they were sewing me back up. We'd been climbing with and around each other for years at that point. I was maybe 19 and a little freaked out. He actually reached over and held my hand during the gnarlist part. He was a great guy.
Best day of climbing I ever had with him was when we were duking it out for the first free lead of The Trapeze at the Gorge. He went up, whacked in a pathetic baby angle at the lip, and fell off. I went up, got over the roof, almost through the dihedral and pitched. I was way above the pin and between slack and rope stretch I stopped maybe 6' above the ground. The pin shifted horribly; the stretchy Edelrid rope and all that slack kept it from failing entirely. Galen was shooting photos and he had this bug-eyed "OMFG!" on his face. Ken was not about to get snaked. He tied back in and sent.
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splitter
Trad climber
Cali Hodad, surfing the galactic plane ~:~
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Dec 21, 2012 - 01:45am PT
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^ WOW, FFA of The Trapeze, way cool. What a score. I recall hearing that it went free, but I didn't know that you & Kenny did that. I moved up north (Valley & eastside) in the Spring of '74 and lost track of him.
He was certainly tenacious. We went up to do Keeler Needle around '72 or '73 & he spent a couple hours (good part of one morning) figuring out the moves, then sending this direct start/variation (FA) to the Harding Route, while I belayed him. Just wouldn't give up. It also went through a roof and was harder then hell. Dood was definitely Stonemaster material, imo!
Ken Cook, RIP!
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Dec 21, 2012 - 03:47pm PT
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Coz, all your comments have been appropriate. Thanks again for all the tales, there are many like myself who appreciate them.
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