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golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
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crazyfingers,
your job is to now sift through all of this, dump some of the advice you deem unworthy and go fire that thing. Thats right, I been stuck behind a PC for 24 of the last 48 hours and am tired of all this bater. Lets see sum action man! And then report back with a few pics on how it went.
My own experience at attempting it in a day was about 20 years ago and unfortunately we got stormed off the thing after several pitches. Back then it was not as well known to fire it in a day and I was a solid 5.11 leader. So excuse me if I have a teeny weeny thread of doubt about a 5.9 leader doin it in a day. Kill the doubt! Go do it dude!
Now another bater question for you guys (sorry). Can you retreat off the thing safely with one 60meter rope without leaving a bunch of gear. There is a fine line between going for it and requiring rescue because you were doing it in a day and didnt bring a second rope. Food for thought. First time I tried the NIAD we found ourselves rapping off from the Great Roof. You aint gonna retreat from there with one rope.
Be responsible, be worthy have fun...
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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"I'm surprised to hear advice against short-fixing on the free pitches. Why wouldn't you want the second to jug as many pitches as possible? If the leader can start the next pitch before the second arrives at the belay, this would be almost as efficient as simul-climbing."
If you are climbing hard aid, the leader can, with practice, safely self-belay (short-fix) almost as fast as with a normal belay. On hard aid, progress is slow, so after ~15 minutes of short fixing (while your second jugs and cleans), you won't have covered much physical distance before your second makes it to the belay. But 15 minutes of progress is 15 minutes saved.
On a 5.9 free pitch, if you short-fix in full on aid mode, you will still only cover a short distance that could have been very quickly free climbed once your belayer made it to the anchor (so your 15 minutes of aid may only save literally a minute or two of free climbing). But isn't a short distance better than nothing? Not necessarily because you lose time trying to get the gear that was cleaned by the second back up to the leader. Self-belaying while free climbing is trickier to do quickly and safely and if you make it a greater distance it makes it that much more tricky (and time consuming) to get the rack back to the leader. For halfdome in a day, you aren't going to have much of a rack to short fix with either.
If you don't have short fixing already dialed, I think you would be better off ignoring it. Not that there is anything wrong with the leader trying to get in a piece or two above the anchor and then coming back down to the belay. Furthermore, if your second isn't used to jugging, they would probably be able to climb most pitches more quickly and with less effort than jugging.
But if you think short fixing can save time, try it out ahead of time. Trying a new system for the first time on your route-in-a-day attempt is a recipe for failure.
Good luck.
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crazyazid
climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Do you really need two sets of cams if you bring a full set of hexes? So one set of cams, one set of hexes and no nuts or two sets of cams and no nuts?
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handsome B
Gym climber
SL,UT
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Passive protection is too slow to be used for a In-A-Day attempt.
2 sets of cams. No nuts, no hexes.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Raise your hand if you think hexes go in faster than cams.
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Alexey
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Good tread. Please share your experience attempting HD in the day . Success / fail all interesting.
Please mention of your level of free climbing too.
My friend and me decided to try it this year - we are planning to french free /aid everything harder than 5.10
crazyfingers - since you started this tread in 2006 - did you climbed it? How it was?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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I'd seriously consider getting the free climbing skills up, you'll have more fun. 5.9 Valley leader is pushing it, you have energy and ambition, upping your free climbing shouldn't take long. If you have to fix pitches you shouldn't be there.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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kick ass Alexey
fire it!
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WBraun
climber
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Half Dome in a Day is pretty much defacto standard now a days.
If you haul bivy gear and bivy on the on the route now a days you're considered way out of it.
Most people now a days whip the route off in a few hours.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Not if they lead 5.9 Werner.
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WBraun
climber
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There's the Valley LEO rangers now a days who drive around in their cars all week and then run up to Half dome on their day off and do it in a day easily.
They do the Nose in a day on their day off too .....
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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I would recommend starting at first light, not three hours after first light like I did. And even with a first light start, I would recommend a good head lamp plus a micro headlamp spare.
I was more than a 5.9 leader when I first did it, but I still happily yarded through a lot of 5.10 moves. But if you break the aiders out on all those pitches, doing it in a day will be tough.
Make sure you can keep the upward progress at a reasonable rate through the aid climbing and chimneys. Have belay changeovers well dialed and then all you pretty much need is endurance (and enough water).
And despite some comments from grouchy old wise men, there are still plenty of multi-day parties on it.
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Jordan Ramey
Big Wall climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Hey August. I like that your advice from three years ago is still a point for you ;)
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GoMZ
Trad climber
Eastern Sierra
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The first time we tried it we planned on one bivy on the route. We got to the top of the sixth pitch and had been passed by 3 parties already (it happened to be a day when several valley hardmen were just out for a leasurly stroll on the route). Needless to say we were a bit discouraged and decided to go down. I remember while rapping down I shared a belay with yet a fourth party. This guy and his partner were going up to "work the free climbing a bit". He did give me some encouragement though when he said, "Hey man don't be bummed if you weren't haauling that bag you guys could do it in a day."
Well we trained hard and did several link ups in the valley and high country learning to lead in blocks and increasing our endurance and suffering threshold. The next season we did the route in 15 1/2 hours. I know it is no record and probably slow by modern standards but it is one of my proudest climbing accomplishments. If that anonymous guy at the belay had not said those encouraging words to me I probably wouldn't have gone back.
BTW-it is a good idea if at least one person in your party is a solid valley 5.10 climber but if you are fast at easy aid I imagine being solid on 5.9 would work also. Have fun, and remember if an out of shape weekend wannabe warrior like myself can do it so can you:)
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Ihateplastic
Trad climber
It ain't El Cap, Oregon
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A 5.9 climber who can do 5.9 on the first few pitches of a climb will be struggling to do 5.9 after 10 or 12 pitches. If you are a only (sic) 5.9 climber then you might be whipped by the time you get into hour number ten of any "_ in a day" attempt.
So, did this boy ever succeed?
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monolith
climber
Berkeley, CA
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My partner and I were slow 5.9 leaders 10 years ago and did it in a day.
Hiked up from Mirror lake at sunset, rested at base till midnight, finished at 8pm.
Staggered down and slept in both stalls of the outhouse at Nevada Falls till the first hikers arrived. The wake up call was the scream from the women who opened the door.
Good times.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Hey August. I like that your advice from three years ago is still a point for you ;)
Crap, didn't even see that. I guess I will take it as a good sign that I'm not changing my stories in old age...
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