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elcap-pics
climber
Crestline CA
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Apr 15, 2006 - 08:32pm PT
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Yo... Dihedral wall... straight up... straight forward... ez off if necessary... Bev Johnson was no fool... later Tom
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elcapfool
Big Wall climber
hiding in plain sight
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Apr 15, 2006 - 08:53pm PT
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If you're a lefty...
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alik
Big Wall climber
edmonton
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Apr 15, 2006 - 10:49pm PT
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I think Eagle's Way would be a bit much for someone who had only climbed the tower. It's probably about the same difficulty as zodiac post-cleanup. Bailing would a Major PITA after the initial low angle pitches, since the whole middle section of the route leans to the left. Helluva good route though, with lots of quality nailing. You can do the whole route in 10 pitches, so it goes pretty quick for the soloist.
Lurking fear is really easy technically, but also is a trade route so it's quite popular at times, with most people trying to do it in two or three days. Clusterf*#k potential here... Also the hauling on the last 6 or 7 pitches would suck moose cock.
I'd say go for a moderate less popular SW face route like Muir, Dihedral, the shroom, double, triple, or quadruple direct. Sure their longer, but like Ron says that's kind of the point of climbing el cap.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Apr 16, 2006 - 01:20am PT
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Specially if there are lots of ledges.
I've done plenty of bad hauls but the closest I've come to moose c*#k is cowering on top of a boulder in the Tetons.
Research concluded.
There's a big jump from the tower to the stone. I don't want to pop any balloons but perhaps a few more Vs might make EC more fun.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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Apr 16, 2006 - 01:22am PT
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Hey! How come YOU can say moose c*#k but I can only say moose &%$#*!
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alik
Big Wall climber
edmonton
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Apr 16, 2006 - 01:35am PT
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Probably cause I'm in canada. Moose c*#k is a common phrase here. Not at all offensive.
edit: What the f*#k? now I'm confused... what's the difference between the word c*#k at 7:00 and the word c*#k at 11:00? What a mystery...
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darod
Trad climber
New York
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Apr 17, 2006 - 06:07pm PT
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Andy, nice reading, thanks...
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Landgolier
climber
the flatness
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Apr 17, 2006 - 06:23pm PT
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I'm the wrong guy to answer this question, but since you're not terribly far away from ditchville, I would go back and do the tower again. Yeah you're climbing the same route when there are tons of other possibilities, but I think you'd get your technique a lot more dialed and El Cap ready if you go back and do the same route, trying to correct the mistakes you made the first time.
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atchafalaya
Trad climber
California
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Apr 17, 2006 - 07:06pm PT
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wait until aug/sept/oct. for the zodiac, the fixed gear will be back in place...
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ricardo
Gym climber
San Francisco, CA
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Apr 17, 2006 - 07:57pm PT
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my $0.02 ..
Tangerine Trip...
1 - the hauling is easy
2 - if you do the alternate start then you will have done the crux before you even get onto tangerine
3 - the last few pitches go fast
nothing on the trip is hard.. its all there. -- there is limited nailing .. (i only nailed on the 5th and 7th pitch)
cautions:
bailing can be difficult -- dont bail
be ready to bust out some cool free moves towards the top.
.. average speed i'd say is 7 days on the rock ..
mike email me if you want a pin rack .. i brought a totally wrong set of pins .. (its the story of my climbing life -- i always have the wrong set of pins)
===
as far as crows .. TT will be crowded .. especially the first 4 pitches .. (because thats where everyone bails) .. -- be prepatred to have extra time to sort that out ..
i let 2 parties pass when i climbed it -- worked out ok since it happened on the same day. wasted most of the day, but after that i had the route to myself.
.. when a party offers to pass, let them do it, specially if they want to jug your lines, it will speed them up.
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kevin Fosburg
Sport climber
park city,ut
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Apr 17, 2006 - 09:49pm PT
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Consider Mescalito. I did it as my first solo and had some problems but only because of improper planning/ineptitude. On the upside:
1)No terrifying pitches, though all seemed to have a little spice (bring wide gear for the Bismarck).
2)A nice long route up the proudest part of the wall. You look over at the top of Zodiac and still probably have a few days of "fun" left. Consequently, very satisfying.
KF
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Apr 17, 2006 - 10:09pm PT
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If you are planning on bailing from your first El Cap solo, then Lurking Fear is a great route. You can rappel from there anytime.
However if you want to commit to a real adventure, where the outcome is uncertain, and bailing would be quite difficult but not impossible, thus spurring you to success because it is easier to climb than it is to bail, then you should climb the Trip.
Another option is to spend lots of time talking about it on internet forums without ever committing, go up, faff around for a few days, and then bail without ever committing to the wall. This is extremely popular among soloist.
However the Better Way is to announce to the world - right here on McTopo - that you intend to solo a route on El Cap that is higher, longer, and harder than anything you have yet climbed.
You would be amazed at what sort of motivational power such a statement can have on you!
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lazide
Big Wall climber
Bay Area, CA
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Apr 17, 2006 - 10:19pm PT
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Also think about what you want to get out of the experience. Lurking fear will have pretty nasty hauling (as will most things on that side), so you had better go light or suffer.
Mescalito, Zodiac, the Trip are much steeper and more difficult to retreat from, but hauling isn't so bad and you can bring more stuff (i.e. take longer).
I did mescalito as my first wall (solo), and it was... well... 'an experience'. as kevin said, it never really lets up, but it is also never really THAT bad - by the end of it, you will KNOW you earned the summit.
Langolier has some really good advice above - do the tower again, if you can. The faster and lighter you can move on the tower, the better off and more comfortable you will be on the Captain.
I know I suffered pretty hard on mescalito (first week of sept) - boiled, abraded, and beaten. I've done a couple more walls since then, and I know it would of been a lot more fun if I had started small.
But half the fun is getting in over your head, eh?
-J
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Mike Libecki
climber
the moment of now
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Apr 17, 2006 - 10:20pm PT
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Dihedral wall is mellow for a solo.
I would recommend Aquarian Wall or Never Never Land to add some spice. Should not be too difficult but will make you think about some random equations. Can help with future difficult solos, good training.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Apr 17, 2006 - 10:39pm PT
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Holy! Look who's here! A welcome addition. You Young Bulls know who Mike is, eh?
Hey buddy! What's on your hit list this year? What's this I hear about a secret gear cache in Venezuela? Is Kat as hot as she looks? Are the mosquitoes in Greenland as big as they say? Might we see you in Yosemite this spring. I, would like, buy you a beer, eh?
Cheers,
Pete
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bringmedeath
climber
la la land
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Apr 17, 2006 - 10:40pm PT
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Is he the guy who wears animal masks???
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Apr 17, 2006 - 10:48pm PT
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Hi Mike, welcome to whatever this is. I remember you from your Mountain Shop days.
Just doesn't seem to me like recommending the Trip as a first El Cap solo is such a good idea. For an inexperienced soloist, it would be hell to bail after pitch 4 and not a peice of cake to bail earlier (Cause I did once and you have to really get a bounce going to reach the anchors on the way down)
Sure you can be manly and say, I'm gonna do or die,
but the fact is more folks bail on their first EL Cap solo than don't and so you better make sure you're the exception to the rule.
OF course, if you've climbed El Cap a few times being an equal partner, your chances are much better. Problem is, unlike some who have posted challenging route above, folks are often trying to solo El Cap before they have a lot of experience climbing EL Cap.
Now on one hand, I'm talking smack cause I soloed El Cap as my second Grade 6. But I had practiced a lot and was willing to accept do or die (and almost did)
Come to think about it. I wrote a trip report
http://www.yosemiteclimber.com/Zodiac%20Solo%201982.html
Peace
Karl
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Mike Libecki
climber
the moment of now
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Apr 17, 2006 - 10:48pm PT
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Pass the Pitons Pete,
Greetings. Everyone once in a while I like to check this forum out. It blows me away with how many different climbers and thoughts are posted. I love the comment on splitting the forum up into some sections like general climbing, big-wall, other, or something of that nature. Though, having to scroll through some of the fellow unstable mentalities (meaning my own as well) is sometimes a little fun.
Do we know each other?
Kat is a nice girl, a few issues though after I had to pull some 8 foot blocks off the wall.
Stash of gear.....one way to find out.
Those are strange comments, do you know Kat or John that went on that trip?
I hope life is sweet.
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