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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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Nov 19, 2016 - 12:12pm PT
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The Dawn Wall is so obviously the hardest big-wall climb in the world, so that was the challenge. I was inspired by what Tommy and Kevin did, and I wanted to check it out myself. I must say that it’s definitely more difficult than I expected.
Such refreshing humility
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Nov 19, 2016 - 12:25pm PT
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Nice climbing. Great epic. Cool reporting. (I hadn't caught up to Ondra's effort until I read about it in the NY Times this morning.)
To Jim's point, after Astroman was free climbed in 1975, I thought it was safer, and saner, to assume that eventually everything would be freed. (Not a great leap for Astroman since we could see how it might go even if we ruled ourselves out.)
Royal (no slouch himself for doing the what no one else had done) kept saying that the East Face of Washington Column would never go free; and I kept saying none of us will live long enough to see what happens when never arrived so how could we know.
Then never arrived, in our lifetime no less, (the next season) when RJ&J climbed it all free. Royal was as ecstatic as everyone else.
Lynn's Nose felt the same way. The Dawn wall--Tommy and Kevin and now Adam--feels the same way.
Pretty cool.
Never is overrated.
Happens all the time.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Nov 19, 2016 - 01:00pm PT
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I would like to add that this is a 'sport climber' that is sending this route, the world's hardest big wall (by technical difficulty).
There is a certain point on the spectrum of difficulty where nobody - however good - is going to do onsight, ground-up trad. At that point routes have to be cleaned and pitch-by-pitch worked with sport tactics as Dawn has been.
While not endorsing over bolting it should be recognized that safe training grounds are also part of the equation.
Using Adam on Dawn to essentially justify 'safe' climbing for the masses is pretty weak.
Huge props to Tommy and Kevin for their restraint with fixed gear on the route, treading lightly and yet still getting it done.
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Nov 19, 2016 - 01:10pm PT
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I'm not worthy! Should have gone into bowling.
Love that interactive photo stuff! Pretty soon we all will be able to feel like Tommy and Kevin and Ondra -- it'll be by proxy but it will feel like it's real.
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slabbo
Trad climber
colo south
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Nov 19, 2016 - 01:41pm PT
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Yes, but what about the Shield ?!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Nov 19, 2016 - 01:45pm PT
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the Dawn Wall, which is probably the culmination, was just the latest of a decade long project by Tommy to free Yosemite Big Walls. Other's have been at it, but I don't think anyone else has been involved in so many.
It's actually quite amazing to think that he's done it all relatively quietly.
Props to all that venture up on such projects, and big props to Tommy.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Nov 19, 2016 - 02:52pm PT
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Tommy and Kevin could only do what they did with Sport Climbing training on multiple 5.14s...they started in gyms and sport climbing. Actually Kevin is more of a boulderer - I don't think he sport climbs much.
Adam is a great boulderer also.
Imagine both these guys cranking with Gill, Ament or Holloway in the 60s/70s - they'd do fine.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nov 19, 2016 - 02:56pm PT
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They would do more than fine.
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i-b-goB
Social climber
Wise Acres
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Nov 19, 2016 - 04:17pm PT
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And without question sport climbing techniques are used to "work" the moves on all of these routes.
Except the runout!
Thanks for posting this jonbrooks!
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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Nov 19, 2016 - 05:00pm PT
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I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall up there.
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Nov 19, 2016 - 06:43pm PT
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So fun a watch.
Probably not a bad career move either, I bet his sponsors are enjoying this.
(Not saying that is/isn't why he's doing it as I obviously have no idea)
Hope he gets it
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PSP also PP
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Nov 19, 2016 - 07:50pm PT
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If sport climbing had more run outs it would be significantly less popular. Most people don't like increasing their stress levels over the weekend!
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Roger Breedlove
climber
Cleveland Heights, Ohio
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Nov 19, 2016 - 08:05pm PT
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This concept of "working" moves after resting on pro is anathema to "traditional" climbing aka "dogging".
I can only qualify as a traditional climber--has been chapter--but excluding working the hard moves is too restrictive for traditional climbing on the margin. Maybe there is a pure form of both traditional and sport where there are clear cut differences, but in real climbing--whether traditional climbing before gyms and bolting on rappel or the sort of brilliant Big Wall Free climbing on El Cap--it is not so clear cut. Yosemite climbing difficulty jumped a huge step with hangdogging, which lead to skill sets that produced great on-sight leads.
This is great climbing in a very traditional sense.
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nah000
climber
no/w/here
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Nov 19, 2016 - 09:45pm PT
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damn... dude continues to absolutely crush it:
Made it to the Wino tower tonight! Deep satisfaction, peace and fire at the same time in my heart and soul. Perfect conditions today and perfect focus. That means only 11 "easy" (5.10 - 5.12) pitches left. We would have continued, but looks like it will rain soon. Which means forced restday tomorrow and hopefully finishing it off on Monday.
if i'm reading that correctly he completed another six pitches today [2 X 5.14 and 4 X 5.13] and considers the penultimate pitch to be 5.12 not 5.13a...
regardless, my jaw is kind of on the floor. he red points two 5.14+ one day and then follows that up the next day with six more 5.13/14 pitches...
if there was any doubt whether at a certain point it all becomes climber dependent difficulty and one person's 5.14 is another's 5.15 and vice versa, adam is definitely putting that to rest.
he is most certainly one of the few all round comprehensive 5.15 climbers as the only way he could be eating 5.13 and low 5.14 for breakfast the way he is [and of a style which he hasn't spent years, or even months perfecting to boot], is if he really was heads and tails beyond it...
amazing to watch from the armchair.
glad he and pavel decided to take us along for the ride...
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Nov 19, 2016 - 10:53pm PT
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"He [Adam] is the strongest I have ever seen." ... Heinz Zak
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Nov 20, 2016 - 12:20am PT
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Adam Ondra is the Mozart of climbing - a climbing prodigy - as long as he's committed to climbing or driven by the joyful struggle of climbing, Dawn Wall is another milestone on the way...
Some people are climbing, some people are at their very core climbers: that also includes Tommy and Kevin...
To be free you must be free to succeed and free to lose and committed to the moves. That's so in every aspect of life.
Many easy pitches are left. Dawn Wall is done. If the snow falls, let it snow...
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Nov 20, 2016 - 12:31am PT
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Current point forecast for El Cap summit (7400', different from Valley floor 4200'):
Overnight: Rain and snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 34. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Sunday: Snow showers. High near 35. East southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.
Sunday Night: Snow showers, mainly before 4am. Low around 30. Calm wind. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 32. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. North northwest wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of snow showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 35. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. North wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening.
Thanksgiving Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 38. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: A chance of rain and snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 24. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-119.63572033064719&lat=37.74050304853188#.WDFeJrIrLcs
I remember the past years when Tommy and partners got stopped by the first big snows of the season.
So John was right; Valley includes both floor and rim....
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Rattlesnake Arch
Social climber
Home is where we park it
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Nov 20, 2016 - 03:08am PT
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From the photos it appears the upper route climbs through some water streaks.
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Nov 20, 2016 - 07:25am PT
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Awesome, no matter what.
These guys are going to get to more incredible feats, one way or the other. I appreciate that they are trying to keep it bold and still get all the pitches clean.
I'm just jealous that I spent all those years trying to stick religiously to onsighting things and slowly working my way from one grade to the next. The most we ever did was work moves on toprope areas and the occasional hang to look at something longer before lowering off.
It was appropriate for me, at the times and places I was, but it also meant that I barely got to the 5.12 realm. If we could've gone for the same "rules", I never would have made it to some of the stuff these guys are doing, but at least I would've gotten further!
But as Donini has many times reminded us, it's not about the number, but the adventures. I count myself lucky to have had so many great ones with so many great climbers.
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