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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 19, 2006 - 12:18am PT
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This is sort of a thread about Lynn Hill and the covers regarding her First Free Ascent of the Nose.
The significant ascents of the Nose are probably:
First Ascent - 1958, Warren Harding, Wayne Merry, George Whitmore
Second Ascent - 1960, Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt, Joe Fitschen, Tom Frost
First One Day Ascent - 1975, Jim Bridwell, John Long, Billy Westbay
First Free Ascent - 1993, Lynn Hill, Brooke Sandahl
First Free Ascent in One Day - 1994, Lynn Hill, Steve Sutton
Whatever else you think of Lynn Hill, she probably did all that could be done with the Nose on her 1994 Nose in a Day Free climb.
Perhaps the only other ascent of note would be Beth Rodden and Tommy Caldwell in 2005 where they both freed the Nose in a day as a team.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 19, 2006 - 12:42am PT
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The cliff behind (l. to r.) Billy Westbay, Jim Bridwell and John Long, is El Capitan, and the route refered to by climbers as "The Nose" rise up directly above Bridwell's head. The entire route is something like 3000', it is impossible to get a sense of the scale from the photograph.
Climbing the Nose free was something that was around probably since the '60's, Frank Sacherer may have had a notion that it would go... and he even tried it, once at least with Bridwell.
The recent video which has been passed around has a clip of Bev Johnson, Werner Braun and Ron Kauk giving it a try...
...I'd say it probably was something any elite climber in the Valley thought of almost from the time it was put up.
Lynn Hill actually doing it was a huge accomplishment, in my opinion.
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WBraun
climber
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Jun 19, 2006 - 12:44am PT
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Did a bunch of people (maybe she) try it with "aids" first .....?
Yes, kinda close but not that kind of "AIDS" :-)
Anyways Yabo was a very insecure character and always had to prove something to everyone and to himself that he was ok.
So he pushed himself always very far to the edge to "prove" that he was "real".
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 19, 2006 - 01:18am PT
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If you compare the two pictures, the one of Lynn Hill topping out and of the boys posing, you can get a sense of the scale of that stone, pick out features in both, or just look at the size of the trees.
However, until you are there, it is not like anything you can imagine.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jun 19, 2006 - 02:02am PT
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Driving by it riding in the passenger seat of a car on the road at the base, it rises so abrubtly that you can't see it all unless you're in a convertible, or a car with a sun roof.
BTW, Lois, I still think 'Downward Bound' by Warren Harding, is the book you should read.
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T2
climber
Cardiff by the sea
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Jun 19, 2006 - 02:07am PT
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Ed I think your list of significant Nose ascents is just shy of complete without noting the speed in which the Nose gets climbed these days. I know in this arena (speed ascents) that it continually changes. But the fact that it gets done in sub 2 hours, I think (anyone know who and what the current record is?)certainly deserves mention in significant ascents.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Jun 19, 2006 - 02:28am PT
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T2 - I don't know what a signficant speed ascent is for a time less than a day...
perhaps that is the topic of another thread?
I certainly have my bias... what would you suggest?
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the Fet
climber
Earth
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2006 - 02:33am PT
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More firsts and times here:
http://www.speedclimb.com/yosemite/thenose.htm
Some important ascents by the illustrious Werner and Bachar:
First female one day ascent by Merry Braun in 1990, ( partner Werner Braun).
1986 - the route was done in 9:17. (John Bachar and Peter Croft, they then went and climbed the NWRR on Half Dome) - They did The Nose on El Capitan AND the Northwest Face of Half Dome in a day! Visionary!
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bachar
Trad climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
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Jun 19, 2006 - 03:00am PT
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fet - 10 hr. 5 min. on the Nose and 4 hr. 3 min. on Northwest Face of half Dome - just for the record....
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JAK
Sport climber
Central NC
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Jun 19, 2006 - 07:47am PT
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"he entire route is something like 3000', it is impossible to get a sense of the scale from the photograph."
Just to help with a sense of scale, here's a nice pic of a helo from NPS zipping in supplies to a climbing party on the Salathe Wall (also on El Capitan) that wouldn't have been able to continue without them. Word is, that same party later had to be rescued. Anyway, should give an idea of exactly how big a wall we're talking about here.
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wootles
climber
Gamma Quadrant
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Jun 19, 2006 - 09:28am PT
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I think a significant achievement on the Nose is James Kirk's free solo. Of course he did fall from the boot flake but that wasn't really his fault; Spock spooked him. I suppose too, that it really isn't going to happen for another, what, 200 years or so.
Seriously though, while I have the utmost respect for the ground breaking, milestone setting, and record setting of all the ascents already mentioned, the most significant ascent of the Nose to me is my own.
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David Nelson
climber
San Francisco
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Jun 19, 2006 - 04:01pm PT
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Lois,
No one really answered your question, "Why is it called The Nose?" The answer is in this picture. The Nose is a prominent ridge separating the west and east faces:
The route starts just left (west) of the Nose, crosses over to the promiment pillar (El Cap Tower) on the right side of the photo, about 1/3 of the way up the photo, then crosses into the sunlight (the Grey Bands)and then up the Upper Dihedrals. The map below is one I drew and is probably not too far off:
Check out http://www.supertopo.com/rockclimbing/route.html?r=ybelnose.
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nature
climber
Flagstaff, AZ
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Jun 19, 2006 - 05:23pm PT
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Werner is right about the mag cover photo being upside down. When I look at the cover I turn it around all the time. The one thing I notice when you look at it that way is Lynn looks seriously baked. (Not that there's anything wrong with that)
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JuanDeFuca
Big Wall climber
Stoney Point
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Jun 19, 2006 - 05:47pm PT
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Rotating photos is bullsh#t.
It really is misleading and it must be stopped.
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nature
climber
Flagstaff, AZ
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Jun 19, 2006 - 06:08pm PT
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LEB - I don't understand what her hair has to do with her looking really stoned.
Please advise.
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the Fet
climber
Earth
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2006 - 06:18pm PT
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Lois, - Largo has written a lot more than one book. I'd suggest this as a first read- Long on Adventure: The Best of John Long
I actually prefer the photo "upside down". It reminds me of the view if I were belaying from above. Down is down, up is up. Looks more natual to me.
I have taken photos "upside down" knowing that I would turn them around to view them, because it's easier to frame the shot that way.
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the Fet
climber
Earth
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 19, 2006 - 08:12pm PT
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Lois, one viewpoint many climbers hold to one degree or another is that you shouldn't sensationalize your climbs with publicity. So some people may feel accomplishments are diminished by writing about them, they despise climbing magazines and other things that can glorify climbing which can detract from the real reasons you climb. Of course there is full spectrum of feeling on this from all publicity is good to don't even talk to anyone about a climb you did. My personal feeling is that you shouldn't be climbing to write about it, but it adds icing to the cake so why not (as long as seeking publicity doesn't lead you to do dumb things)?
Is the 70s incident the airplane crash full of weed? If so that is another author working on it. Interestingly though (and this is just on things I've heard and read so take it with a grain of salt) John Long wrote a screenplay premise on the incident, which was re-written as the screenplay for the Stallone movie Cliffhanger. I would love to hear the real story straight from the horse's mouth so to speek. I can't help but imagine the screenplay in Largo's head would have been much better than what they ended up with. Largo care to fill us in?
On another note I noticed a current climbing magazine has an article written by Mr. Long about his group of climbers in the 70s, the Stonemasters. I haven't had the chance to read it yet. I hope it's an appetizer for a full book :-)
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David Nelson
climber
San Francisco
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Jun 19, 2006 - 09:39pm PT
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I think it is important to give credit where credit is due: the killer photo of El Cap in red with the helicopter was taken by Mike Shore. He graciously allowed the Friends of YOSAR to use it on their site, and later it hit the cover of one of the mags. It is copyrighted and Mike does not want it used freely. Please respect his wishes.
Great photo, Mike.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 19, 2006 - 11:10pm PT
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Yes Lois, John Long is a writer and has worked very hard at it over the years. Lynn pretty much wrote a memoir with the assistance of Geg Child, a published climber of solid stature.
Hopefully and rightly so, you would choose JL's work over Lynn's when making a direct comparison.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jun 19, 2006 - 11:11pm PT
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This thread has widened to include Stonemasters, Yabo, and LEB's inquiry as to the fundamental or particular nature of a climber's psyche and drive (last bit to paraphrase you Lois, if I have that right)...
Here's a somewhat telling picture of Yabo,
(Seen with Stonemasters Richard Harrison and Kevin Worral):
To my mind, Yabo was a bit feral. Here he perhaps displays the insecurity which Werner portrayed upthread. If not feral or insecure he at least looks fetching; probably he wanted a cigarette! The idea that Yabo leveraged his exploits as a climber to prove himself to the rest of us to "show that he was real" seems apt.
Yes, being real (and accepted) is something he was preoccupied with; I'm sure that drove him to do all kinds of silly things.
He said to me that there's a particular aspect to the nature of a place that presents itself as a super reality (no he was not on drugs at the time, but a lot of us fancied the readings of Carlos Castenada, "A Separate Reality" and all that Brujo stuff). He was characterizing the beauty of Yosemite at that moment and said that it was characteristically very real (well, ya, can you say National Park?).
There was a self-destructive aspect to the man, no doubt. I was once hanging around Camp Four (Yosemite) with Yabo and Werner -and Yabo was repeatedly flicking a pocket knife into a tree. Werner said to him something like, "Yabo Man, you are inflicting harm to that tree because you are unhappy and you have these destructive feelings for yourself".
A lot of us do this climbing thing to satiate a particular need for intensity. Climbing allows us to experience life intensely and artfully so as well. Perhaps Lois, you see similar expressions of drive on the ballet forum that you participate in, of course allowing for quite a few differences amongst the two groups.
Classical ballet practice involves marvelous movement skills, tons of rigor and near excruciating order (but is wonderful and light to watch). The classical rock climber, such as the Stonemaster, was seen to have a taste for the Bohemian and the unstructured, yet not without discipline. Comparisons tend to fall short yes, but the Stonemaster championed more a Martha Graham type of approach: artistic movement, eccentric flair, and unconventional improvisation (modern dance).
Perhaps many climbers have something to prove to others; I'd say that varies and has currency at least to the degree that we all enjoy support and recognition for our efforts. There is satisfaction in mastery and mastery bestwows upon us a sense of value in our efforts, so there is a hard one proof to be attributed to the self there.
To complete my unstructured ramble I'll throw in a quick bit about my motivation and climbing drive. I wasn't a Stonemaster per se but I was close at hand, so I've been thinking about this stuff and observing for quite some time. (I was in one of those pictures in John Long's recent Rock and Ice article about the Stonemasters).
My father raced sports cars in the 50's, so there is a risk-taking legacy there. When I was six or seven, he told me we were going to meet a man and have a talk. I asked what kind of man and he said a scientist. As it turns out he was taking me to see Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". This was based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke, who authored great science fiction.
My father told me that when I was in my 40's I would be just about the right age to do this astronaut stuff. I found at a young age that I had a certain aptitude for balance, yet this did not correlate to competitive sports. The long and short of it: I must say that climbing has blended and focused that loose collection of initial vectors and served me quite well.
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