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Rock Climbing

Glenn MacGrady

Glenn MacGrady

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This is OT, but since we discuss hunting, fishing, winter camping and trekking, it's not that far removed from canoeing as an accompanying outdoor hobby. Mainly, I'm curious as to whether we have rock climbing or technical mountaineering experience here.

I've been watching for several days videos of world class rock climbers such as Alex Honnold, Adam Ondra, Tommy Caldwell, Chris Sharma and Magnus Midtbø—and even some old footage of Royal Robbins and Yvon Chouinard, both of whom later became expert whitewater paddlers—and have been stunned by the expertise and bravery of these climbers.

The free climbers, and especially the free solo (no ropes or equipment at all) climbs by Honnold, are just unimaginable to me. I have acrophobia when I go 10 feet up on a ladder. I almost have to turn away from the videos in fear, even though I know these climbers survived.

Honnold.jpg

Honnold Half Dome.jpg
 
Yes a rock climber in my younger years, and my son climbs now. So I follow things somewhat.
I read that Alex has a brain that doesn’t register fear. It allows him to do some of the things he does but doesn’t protect him much. He also climbs a lot, many time roped up, the hard parts over and over till he has it memorized.
Jim
 
Boatman53 said:
Yes a rock climber in my younger years, and my son climbs now. So I follow things somewhat.
I read that Alex has a brain that doesn’t register fear. It allows him to do some of the things he does but doesn’t protect him much. He also climbs a lot, many time roped up, the hard parts over and over till he has it memorized.
Jim
Click to expand...

Yes, Alex Honnold also makes a distinction between "consequences" and "risk". He says what he does has big consequences for failure (i.e., certain death), but the actual climbs are not all that risky for him, given his level of skill and training.

The only thing I can compare that to is making big solo crossings in a canoe. The consequences would be really bad for me, alone and far from shore, since I don't think I've had the ability to self rescue for decades, but the risk of my dumping is less than crashing my car while driving on a trip. I'm talking about crossings in calm waters.

I highly recommend the Oscar-winning movie "Free Solo", which documents with exquisite photography Alex Honnold's unprecedented and so far unrepeated free solo of El Capitan in Yosemite. It's scary.
 
I love watching the climbers as well, it has always intrigued me. Living in Michigan, climbing gyms are the only option and then I realize it's not my thing. ;)
 
Right there with you Devil. In my sporting goods days we would head out after trade shows for local recreation. I went up in the Sierra's with some climbing guys, they got me geared up and I climbed a very easy (for them) 20' pitch. I knew halfway up this was not for me. Actually I knew when I put those climbing shoes on. At the show these guys were doing pull-up's using the trim at the top of the doorways. Pretty impressive.
 
The first person to free climb The Nose route on El Capitan in Yosemite was a woman, Lynn Hill, in 1993, which she then did again in 1994 in less than 24 hours. The Great Roof and Changing Corners are the two hardest moves ("the cruxes") on that route, which continue to deter free climbing The Nose.


Lynn Hill had moved to New Paltz, NY, in mid-80's so she could climb in the famous Shawangunk Mountains ("The Gunks"), and graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 1985, as my wife did in 1986 when we lived nearby in Woodstock, NY, from 1982-91. New Paltz is on the WallKill River and near other Catskill Mountain Rivers, all of which I used to paddle in the 80's, and I also used to buy canoe and camping equipment at climbing/paddle shop in New Paltz, which is still there.

Yosemite is probably the most beautiful place I have ever visited and we used to go there all the time when I lived in Northern California from 1979-82. It's also where I set the altitude record for outrigger canoe paddling in 2004 at 10,080 feet on Saddlebag Lake, which is actually just around the corner from the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Tioga Pass.
 
I did a lot of climbing in the White Mountains in NH during college: Rumney, Cathedral, P-way, Cannon. Lots of ice climbing and mountaineering in the Notches too. Fun times!
 
And I thought I was the Man climbing the Saddleback cliffs during my 46. I am getting dizzy just watching this video.

For those in the know, how much would all of that hardware Lynn is starting out with weigh? I love the sunglasses on her forehead. Death defying casualness.
 
I climbed (both rock and ice) actively for several years, mostly in the Adirondacks, but also in New Hampshire and Vermont some, and a few trips down to the 'Gunks. I miss it. Stopped because there were a few times when miscommunication with my partner could have been fatal (for them, in these cases). By the grace of good fortune there were no injuries, but the last incident came much too close. I couldn't live with it if I lost a partner while belaying, so I thought it best to give it up, though sad to do so.
 
For us fans of water, here is Natalija Gros deep-water soloing (DWS) at Kamenjak, Croatia. DWS, also known as psicobloc (from "psycho-bouldering"), is a form of free solo climbing where any fall should result in the climber entering deep water below the route.

Natalija_Gros_in_Kamenjak,_Croatia,_2009.jpg
 
Evidently, there's some great climbing on Selden Island in the lower CT river. Who wants to combine a weekend of paddling, climbing, and camping? 😝
 
"For those in the know, how much would all of that hardware Lynn is starting out with weigh?"


Good question. I don't recall an actual weight, but my best guess for what she started with would be 10-12 lbs. Noticeable for sure, and it affects your balance. She's also dragging the length of rope from her harness down to her belayer, and the additional friction of it running along the rock and thru the 'biners. And Lynn is all of 5'2" and 110 lbs. She's also kind of quiet, and totally unassuming, from what I know and recall of her. Respected by all.
 
“Rangers recently discovered evidence of a black bear’s presence on the summit of Half Dome. Yosemite bears are excellent climbers and can easily tackle the 46-degree angle — no cables needed!”

gripped.com

A Bear Climbed Half Dome in Yosemite - Gripped Magazine

Yosemite National Park has said that evidence of a black bear has been found on top of the iconic peak
gripped.com gripped.com
 
I started climbing in 1975. No gyms, and pretty much anyone that was worth tying on to was, to some point,
self-taught. It kept the numbers down for sure. Mostly, you either figure out how to do it right, or you scared yourself and quit.
I liked alpine climbing best. The mix of rock, ice, weather, and the objective hazards made one feel small. What people do now in
rock climbing doesn't relate much to me, it's just so way out there. It really is.
I can still fathom what alpine climbers are doing. And don't ask me that BS everest stuff, that's not climbing.
Here's a pic. That's me. 1976 on the south side of Mt Blackburn. I was 18. I was either invincible or the dumbest one in the party. No radios, about 5 days from the road, it was still BLM land, not a national park. We parked the van by the side of the road and walked in. 23 days round trip. Didn't reach the top, but no one has been in the spot since, or before.
 

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I've been climbing since about 1980, and still do--ice, rock, mountains. Of course I've slowed down (now 65), but I still get out, less so primarily due to a lack of good partners and just waning interest (primarily due to a lack of good partners--partnership is a big thing with older climbers. My best partner I've been climbing with for 22 years, but I have to make an annual trip to Alaska to climb with him). Climbing can be safe, or it can be foolhardy and/or lethal. Experience and motivation are prime factors on deciding which route it takes. Risk is a function of a) probability of something going wrong, and b) the consequences of something going wrong. Tied into that is "objective" hazards and "subjective" hazards. Subjective hazards are those you have control of, e.g. your abilities, etc. Objective hazards are those you don't have control of (e.g. lightning, bad rock, avalanches). Of course, you have some control over how much objective hazard you're willing to accept--e.g. is this slope too unstable to cross, am I climbing underneath loose rock, etc. Most try to minimize objective hazards by where/when they climb, etc. But still people get caught and pay the price.

For Honnold, he has supreme confidence in his abilities--he doesn't climb to the "scared" part. And he usually climbs below his absolute maximum capacity, and in conditions where objective hazards are minimal (such as don't climb with a storm about to hit).

Your analogy to big solo crossings is pretty apt (but only to solo climbing). The risk in such crossings, whether solo or in a group, changes with canoeing ability (subjective hazard), and environmental conditions (objective hazard, i.e. squalls, changes in wind direction, etc.). And the same applies to whitewater--you may be a hot kayaker, but the strainer you missed on the scout doesn't care how good you are.

When I started climbing, the adage was "the leader should not fall". Falls commonly resulted in injuries (or worse). With modern ropes, protection, belay devices, etc. etc., falling is commonplace ("if you're not falling, then you're not trying hard enough"). This is especially true now, with bolted sport routes that are commonly steep enough that you don't hit anything on your way down. Falling is more problematic on less steep routes where you're more likely to hit a bulge/ledge during the fall, and on climbs where bolts for protection aren't available.

Everyone has their own tolerance for risk. Those that live the longest are those that understand those risks, and have the abilities to work effectively with that understanding.
 
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