Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
|
|
What was the time line for free climbing El Cap routes? The Salathe went free in 1988,
What was next and when was it?
My point is, for all the nits about the Muir, it was quite early in the El Cap free climbing evolution and really, at it's most basic level, was quite bold and audacious.
The best part of being famous, for me, is all the people who have told me that I inspired them. Coz and the Kid, merely striving for adventure and challenge, can no doubt inspire future climbers to take bold and adventurous steps beyond.
|
|
Captain...or Skully
Big Wall climber
North of the Owyhees
|
|
What ever else folks may say, great effort & GREAT pics, Kurt & Coz.
Super Rad!!
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
Time line to 2001 - El Cap free and nearly free routes and projects, bold = FFA
 Free Blast - 5.11b *** (10p: 2 5.11), First 10 pitches of the Salathe' Wall, FFA - Jim Bridwell, John Long, Kevin Worrall, Mike Graham, John Bachar, and Ron Kauk, 5/75
The Nose, all but 400' freed - John Bachar, Ron Kauk, Dale Bard, 1975
West Face - 5.11b *** (20p: 4 5.11), FFA - Ray Jardine, Bill Price, 5/79
Salathe' Wall, all but 250' freed, Max Jones, Mark Hudon, Spring 1979
The Nose, variations to Camp 4 (including infamous chipped traverse) - Ray Jardine, et al, 1980
Salathe' Wall - 5.13b *** (35p: 7 5.11, 4 5.12, 4 5.13), FFA - Todd Skinner, Paul Piana, 6/88
Excalibur - 5.13a A4 ** (28p: 5 5.11, 8 5.12, 1 5.13, 75% free), 75% FA - Steve Schneider, Bill Price, Jeff Schoen, 5/92
The Nose - 5.13c/5.14b *** (34p: 6 5.11, 4 5.12, 1 5.13, 1 5.13/5.14), FFA - Lynn Hill 9/93
West Buttress 5.12 A2, 85% FA - Steve Schneider, Bill Price, early 90s???
Lurking Fear 5.13a A1, 95% FA - Steve Schneider, Jeff Schoen, Alan Lester, spring/94
Dihedral Wall 5.12 A2, 50% FA - Alan Lester, Peter Takeda, 5/94
The Shaft (Muir/Shaft/Shield) - 5.13 A1 ** (33p: 7 5.11, 14 5.12, 4 5.13), near (99%) FFA - Kurt Smith, Scott Cosgrove, 6/94
The Nose, 2nd FA - Lynn Hill 9/94
Salathe' Wall, 2nd FA - Alex Huber, 6/95
Salathe' Wall, 3rd FA - Thomas Huber, 7/96
Salathe' Wall, 4th FA - Yuji Hirayama, 9/97
Freerider (Salathe' var.) - 5.12d ** (37p: 8 5.11, 5 5.12), FFA - Alex and Thomas Huber, 10/98?
Freerider, 2nd FA - Heinz Zak, Peter Janschek, 9/98
El Nino - 5.13c A0 ** (30p: 5 5.11, 7 5.12, 6 5.13, 1 25' rappel, 99% free), FFA - Alex and Thomas Huber, 9/98
El Nino, 2nd FA - Leo Houlding, Patrick Hammond, 10/98
The Nose, nearly FA - Scott Burke 11/98
Salathe' Wall, 5th FA - Tommy Caldwell, 5/99
Freerider, 3rd FA - Scott Burke, Sam Shannon, 6/99
El Nino, 3rd FA - Michael Mayr, Richard Schipflinger, 1999
Lurking Fear - 5.13c ** (18p: 9 5.12, 3 5.13), FFA - Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden, 6/2000
Golden Gate = Salathe' Wall / Heart Route - 5.13b (41p: 5 5.12, 3 5.13), FFA - Alex and Thomas Huber, 10/00
The Shaft (Muir/Shaft/Shield) - 5.13c ** (33p: 7 5.11, 14 5.12, 4 5.13), FFA - Tommy Caldwell, Nick Sagar, 5/2001
Freerider, 4th? FA - Rob Miller, Nathan Martin, 2001
El Corazon = Free Blast(Salathe') / Flight of the Albatross / Son of Heart / Heart Route - 5.13b (35p: 5 5.12, 5 5.13), FFA - Alex Huber, 10/01
(for climbs after 2001 see page below)
http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/longhf.htm#shaft
|
|
'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
|
|
Did knott know Thomas had the third free ascent of Salathe. Also did knott know Heinz Zak made the second ascent of Freerider. He is an underrated badass, having climbed Half Dome and then El Cap together in under 24 hours. And free soloed Separate Reality.
An apparent omission from the list above, unless it did knott occur during the prescribed time period, is Leo's free ascent of New Jersey Turnpike, all except two pitches which are bolt ladders. I think Leo should have gotten a LOT more credit for that route, in spite of the fact that there are two pitches of not-free-climbable rock.
9 more posts to go...
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
Clint, didn't some climbers free the Waterfall Route (with variations) in 2008? Or something in that area, anyway?
You could add the free ascents of the East Buttress and the Stovelegs, and perhaps also the West Face, to your chronology. The former were signposts to what was to come, the latter perhaps the first long El Cap route to be done with a lot of free on the first ascent. I don't know what the percentage was, but fairly high - although so also was the Salathe.
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
Pete,
Thanks for the tip on New Jersey Turnpike! I hadn't noticed that one. Apparently it was Leo Houlding, Ivo Ninov, Tim Emmy, 80% free. At least that was what I could patch together from a google search on "Leo Houlding" "New Jersey Turnpike" which yielded a DVD description for "Action Adept Yosemite Valley" with "Vivo Nina" (Ivo?), plus some foreign language sites like:
http://www.wspinanie.pl/serwis/200306/25elcap.php
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
Anders,
Lots more has been freed since 2001 - that's just when I stopped my timeline above, as 2001 was when the entire Shaft was freed. Most of the newer stuff should be on my page. I might be missing Waterfall Route - is that different from Secret Passage and Lost in Translation? (I'm pretty sure Lost in Translation is further right - just left of the East Buttress).
I left out Stovelegs and East Buttress because they weren't considered Grade VI. West Buttress is on there (considered V by some now). Free Blast is on there; maybe it shouldn't be, but maybe just for reference....
|
|
the kid
Trad climber
fayetteville, wv
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Jan 6, 2009 - 06:42pm PT
|
tar- good beta i'll try this here:
Clint and the rest- good stores of the later efforts on this route.
The west face free is a big one for that era and i did it with Malcolm Matheson (HB) in 1984, we did it all free, hno fixed ropes in 10 hours and it was a blast! this was the longest route @ the time for me and i was gripped and psyched @ the same time...!
KS
|
|
Lambone
Ice climber
Ashland, Or
|
|
Is that the pitch up to Grey Ledges?
Cool!
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
Yes much better Kurt!!!
Thanks for resizing: if you felt like it, you could resize the one above the Shield Headwall too.
I bet it would really improve the drama in that photo.
Nice work on the timeline too Clint.
In my question to Cosgrove upthread (which I know he is ardently considering) I'm hoping he'll try to reflect on how some of the free efforts right in his time frame affected thinking and so forth. For instance, I'm wondering if Lynn Hill, or others who had tried similar things, were around during this Muir/Shaft bid to offer their opinions or advice to Coz & Kurt. I'm interested to know how the tactics used in previous efforts informed stylistic choices on this particular effort. I'm wondering if the Huber Brothers were perhaps there in '94 watching... and so forth.
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
*Thread Drift Alert*
I just returned from dropping off my recycling and on the way back, up by the graveyard above my house, I spun my car out on a 100 foot sheet of ice. I did at least a full 180, maybe two... and got lodged in a ditch.
A local ski patrolman happened by; we went to the hardware store where I purchased a come-along.
There were some nice trees to anchor to: just for kicks I tried using the euro death knott for the sling.
(FYI It didn't hold).
Luckily we didn't have to girth hitch a tombstone.
So much for life outside of SuperTorpor™, having a beer now and back here where it's safe ...
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
Tarbuster
You should have used pulleys and static line with mechanical advantage to extract vehicle.
Even one directional pulley/maybe beiner tied to a tree to another vehicle to pull. Prussics applied in proper places to keep vehicle from sliding back down in case tow vehicle slips on ice.
Improvising is the rule.
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
Shu-yaaaah.
At least I can spell Prusik.
|
|
wildone
climber
GHOST TOWN
|
|
Very nice dingus. I'm all for some "Git 'er dun" when the time is right.
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
Tou-shay Marty(r)!
Justen,
Absolutely a little input from you on the Muir would be terrific.
Which pitch is that in the photo depicted in the flier above, is it from the Muir Wall?
Don't be shy,
Because, although not nearly as good looking, this is pretty much what most of us SuperTalkos™are:
(except of course for Coz & Kurt ... a.k.a. Chuck Norris x 2 ...so no need to demure on your part)
(Picture ripped from the New Yorker, Jan 12 '09, I have no idea how to render attribution)
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
Tar,
Answers are found in the Justen Sjong slideshow (March 2006) thread which Marty linked:
The version of the Muir they have been working on follows the Muir/Shaft to the top of the p23 lieback (shown in the poster at top). The next pitches on the Shaft var. have some way sketchy death blocks which endanger not only the climbers, but folks below. So they found a way back left onto the original Muir, did a cool pitch on it, then left to Turning Point, and climbed up to the left end of the bivvy ledge on the Muir below its big upper corner. They joined the Shaft again at this point for its left traverse to Chickenhead Ledge and finish on the Shield. With something like 16 5.12-13 pitches, it's hard to comprehend taking on such a tough project, but they seem well on the way!
Justen and Rob were still working on the route at that time.
They linked it all in May 2007.
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
Tar, are you suggesting that we're all in the air so much we've become flight attendants? Or does it have something to do with hot air? This is quite mysterious.
Of course, several of us are males, too.
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
Thanks Clint, for ferrying that little bit of information & resizing the photo.
Anders, I was thinking mundane stylistic & competitive primpers/preeners, but you got some good stuff going there too.
(I would never suggest that to be female would be a "cut")...
|
|
Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
|
|
2 more photos of the PreMuir (5 pitch var. to the Shaft)
The "p24" stemming corner on the original Muir, reached after traversing left above the Shaft p23 lieback.
From Tim Kemple's photography site (Portfolio 2, final image on the far right)
http://www.kemplemedia.com/#
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!