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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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May 22, 2009 - 08:30am PT
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Reilly, that pic is mindblowing. Baaaaaad Assssss!
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deuce4
climber
Hobart, Australia
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May 22, 2009 - 04:36pm PT
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What's pretty clear is that Ueli Steck just made history, and sets the bar for the future flash ascents.
Coz-mamma, if there was ever a "Free-Climbing Council of Elders" you'd be my choice for a board member. BTW, how's that writing coming along?
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drljefe
climber
Old Pueblo, AZ
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May 22, 2009 - 04:57pm PT
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Big respect.
Even though he blew the onsight, his new wife was probably happy that HE had to deal with the 'wet spot' for once!
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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May 22, 2009 - 05:34pm PT
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The reason onsights are so coveted is because you can slip on one "easy" wet section and it no longer counts. Someone will onsight El Cap and they'll be pysched when they do.
Hats off to Ueli for an impressive send.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 22, 2009 - 08:10pm PT
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Something unclear; One fall? or Free? only one applies.
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GDavis
Trad climber
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Topic Author's Reply - May 22, 2009 - 08:15pm PT
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He took a fall on a pitch then re-climbed it clean. A carabiner is an aluminum snap-link that the rope is clipped through as protection. A seat harness is a protective diaper made out of nylon webbing designed to protect the wearer in the event of a fall. A stopper is an aluminum wedge designed to fit itself into constrictions of a crack in solid rock.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS SISSY BOY!!!!!?!?!?!??!!?!/1/1/1/1/1/one/1/1/11//1111slash
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scuffy b
climber
Sinatra to Singapore
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May 22, 2009 - 08:20pm PT
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I'm tired of having to place stoppers.
I want the ones designed to fit themselves into constrictions.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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May 22, 2009 - 10:57pm PT
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More points if he pooped his harness and still redpointed. don't know if that's kosher 'free' , but prolly more Badass!
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FBOMB
climber
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May 23, 2009 - 07:54am PT
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All you nig-nogs are missing the frickin' POINT.
Yuji, TC, Alex Honnold -- all those boys spend MONTHS in the valley every year, specifically training for hard granite free climbing, and on-sighting El Cap in particular. It's their home turf.
Uli strolls into the valley and cranks out Golden Gate... when was the last time he was in the valley? '01? and back then he did just did a "normal" ascent of the nose? This send is in a whole different league, the only other "newbie" free ascent of el cap that comes to mind is Leo and Patch on El Nino.
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bob
climber
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May 23, 2009 - 10:20am PT
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Didn't some Australian guys do an early ascent of El Nino? THey said the climbing wasn't the hard part, but the hauling was. Am I off on this one? Clint?
Bob J.
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coward
Trad climber
Boulder, Wyoming
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May 25, 2009 - 09:57am PT
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Yuji did a ledge-to-ledge, no falls, free ascent of the Salathe in 13 hours a while back (after his onsight attempt, obviously).
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
North of the Owyhees
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May 25, 2009 - 10:11am PT
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Bad ass is badass.....Walk up or rehearse.
More than I can muster.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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May 25, 2009 - 11:19am PT
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It was 30 years ago this month that Max and I went up to free climb the Salathe.
and as far as the "should we just give it to him" comment. Well, did he do a "perfect" ascent? No he did not, he made one small mistake. If we give this to him, what do we say to the guy who in fact does the first "perfect" ascent?
I can't imagine that Uli wants it "given" to him.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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May 25, 2009 - 12:28pm PT
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Is there a consensus now that true free ascents use stances rather than sling belays?
Saw Deuce and others mention it. It wasn't that long ago that many objected to the exclusion.
So much the better.
A noteworthy ascent. I'm sure he'd be happy not to be "given" anything.
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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May 25, 2009 - 12:45pm PT
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HIs ascent is amazingly impressive but:
Did he fall or did he not fall?
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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May 25, 2009 - 01:16pm PT
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Well, we can say that Golden Gate has been onsighted, which is pretty bad ass, cause it's a notch above Freerider for sure.
Problem is, Golden Gate isn't a complete El Cap route, so somebody could add "luck" to their rad skills and get another 'higher' feather in their cap (for what that's worth)
The Man got his experience and knows what it meant to him and we all know it was rad and how the details figure into the big picture. Nit picking "who was first" is for egos.
"Who was first" is significant for new trends, quantum leaps, new visions, new gear, and jumps in standards, not for slips, near misses, and lucky/unlucky breaks.
Peace
Karl
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Mark Hudon
Trad climber
Hood River, OR
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May 25, 2009 - 01:25pm PT
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It's the most badass ascent of an El Cap free route to date. Unfortunately, it wasn't a perfect ascent. If we start modifying perfect, where do we stop.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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May 25, 2009 - 02:13pm PT
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Definitions are for competitive minds. Where do you draw the line of 'perfect"
Free solo, no falls, onsight is perfect right?
Everything lower than that is playing games with the game. Ledges or sling belays? Touching the chipped holds or pin scars? Preplaced water or bivy gear? It goes on and on.
Would it have been a more perfect ascent if he hadn't slipped on the easy 11 but had gear and water stashed so he didn't have to haul? (by a friend to save the onsight?)
Peace
Karl
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JakeW
Big Wall climber
CA
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May 25, 2009 - 02:18pm PT
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Nice job, sounds rewarding and fun! He must have felt healthy! Isn't that pitch .10a...oh no, does that change his experience! Probably not.
WOW, nitpicking the semantic details of the relative radness of what someone did on their bourgeois vacation??? I wonder how long Ueli thought about this stuff. The experience really only happened to him, and had only to do with he, his wife, the rock, and...oh yeah...all the other people that inspired him with their ascents and attempts and helped elevate his level of belief in himself and helped change his perceptions of the possible...and oh yeah, all the people that grew his food, made his gear, and flew his airplane. Why do so many people want to assign recognition to individuals for funny little activities that are only made possible by large industrial societies and thousands of years of slavery. Hopefully Ueli experienced an extremely high relative level of FUN! Until someone does an onsight nude free-solo, or, even harder, makes all their own gear and food, and all their own tools to make their own gear and food, and all the tools to make those tools, its all kind of a bunch of aiding, requiring a large group effort, like most of life for most of us whether we're aware of it or not. Most of the work behind all of our ascents was done by people trying to survive in the strange societies of an overpopulated world, who didn't have much opportunity for recreation. Thanks and empathy for them(that includes you too most likely, although probably not as much as others)!
Isn't climbing about the feeling and fun during the activity? When you're struggling to ascend, are you thinking about a list of climbers with your name on it somewhere, or about falling and cracking your skull, or about nothing...and you realize you don't have many memories of it later and just want to be doing it again.
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bob
climber
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May 25, 2009 - 02:31pm PT
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Jake, sounds like you've been to the Ridge. I do feel that we all help each other in so many ways and that we don't even know it at times. The breakdown to the last cell. I'll see you tomarrow, and I'm sure we'll make a "perfect" ascent of something, eh?
Jensen
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