Some scary moments on Calculus Crack with a happy ending

[harihari]

Most of these guys (Honnold excepted) are soloing under two conditions
a) they have done the route before
b) it is usually 6 grades or so below their onsight level.
If they are doing this on-sight, it's usually WAY below their onsight level. E.g. Honnold on that 12d in Zion-- the guy has climbed 5.14 trad, he onsights 13+. Ya it's crazy but it's not stupid. Honnold however seems to be soloing closer to his limit than others.

In that '90s vid-- Painted Bird? Painted Spider?-- Croft, just before soloing the Rostrum, says "I backed off a 5.9 in Tuolomne yesterday because I wasn't feeling 100%." Any soloist will tell you the same thing: more important than anythign else is that degree of introspection where you really know how you feel.

I've done some freesoloing (at low grades like 5.9 and under), mostly long alpine routes where I didn't have a partner for the day, and it is without doubt the most memorable thing I've ever done. There are not words for this experience. And it, more than anything, will show you exactly where your head and body are at. But every day that you go out there to do this, you have to take that five minutes at the base of the route, and just sit, and listen, and see what your gut is telling you. I mean, even if it turns out you don't feel good, and you get on the route anyway, soloing at easy grades you will probably not die by falling off (objective hazard however is another matter) cos your weight is on your feet, there's loads of rests, etc. But the experience if you are sketched will feel like sh*t. You do NOT want to feel at the edge, physically or mentally, soloing. A point made by Guy Lacelle.

[jipstyle]

Excellent post, harihari.

Freesoloing is a tough discussion.

On the one hand, I do enjoy it from time to time and in small doses ... but I've never freesoloed where I could be seen by others. I've had the misfortune of watching a man die in my partner's arms as his children watched because he feel from the top of a crag while trying to set up a TR for his kids. Having experienced this, I can't put another in a similar position. The idea of freesoloing above another party of climbers nauseates me a little bit.

Were a freesoloer to ask if s/he could climb past me, I'd ask that they wait until my entire party was secure and then ask them to let us know when they've moved to a point where they won't fall on us. Best I can do, I think.

[squamish climber]

This discussion about soloing is an interesting one. I agree with others soloing as the word implies is mostly a solitary activity. It would be best if solo climbers would find a quite boulder field, deep water solo or an obscure crag in the forest to climb by themselves.

But there must be an appeal to solo long routes how else do you explain the line of soloists on Banana Peel and Diedre? I'm sure most soloists heading up Calculus Crack, Diedre or Banana Peel would rather have the whole route to themselves, but that is not often in the summer.

It must come down to personal responsibility. Don’t solo a route if there’s a chance you would fall when someone else is below you. And like Harihari says, the route should be well below your capabilities and you should have it pretty-well dialed. Also, it's not a good idea to solo when the rock is wet.

I've had the misfortune of watching a man die in my partner's arms as his children watched because he fell from the top of a crag while trying to set up a TR for his kids.

jipstyle - Sorry to hear about this. Did it happen in Squamish?

[jipstyle]

jipstyle - Sorry to hear about this. Did it happen in Squamish?

Nope, this was back in Ontario at a crag called Mount Nemo ... it is along the Niagara Escarpment.

The crag resembles the Smoke Bluffs in the sense that there are anchors at the top of the crag that are accessible on foot. You do have to lean over to clip them, though, and the smart thing to do is to get your harness on and secure yourself to a tree or some pro .. obviously he chose not to do this and slipped.

It was a long time ago and it still causes my stomach to flop around when I think about it. And now it occurs to me that both of those children are now adults .. how odd it seems, somehow, that they've grown up since then but remain frozen in my mind.

And now I'll stop babbling.

[Lurch]

I'm sure most soloists heading up Calculus Crack, Diedre or Banana Peel would rather have the whole route to themselves, but that is not often in the summer.

Not necessairly true Dave. Often it is quite easy to find yourself alone on those routes in the evening after the crowds are done for the day. Most smart soloists will go then.

[NateDoggOG]

When I go out with the intention to solo long routes, as is usually the case, I always scope it first to make sure there are no other parties on my chosen route. There have been times where it's looked clear from the bottom, but then I've ran into one or two groups on my way up.
Even then, I never crowd anyone's a$%; I wait from the prior belay or maybe a good stance that is further up. I ask if it's alright for me to pass them once both people are settled at their belay, and they always have let me. If they didn't want me to pass them, then that's fair; they were there first. I don't mind hanging out and waiting.

If everything I feel comfortable soloing is busy, then I pick a route ie. Banana Peel that has plenty of ledges and room for other people, as well as plenty of options to go around people without inconveniencing anyone.

Still though, why is talking about it a big deal to some people? On Supertopo, there is virtually always something on Honnold on the front page about the last big thing he did, or what he's setting up to do next. Check out his Facebook page; all comments about how amazing he is, how big his balls are, how cool it is that he climbs big walls without a rope.
Then you go to some no name random auk climber's website where he's posted that he just set a personal record for speed soloing his local cliff, and everyone feels it necessary to shut him down.

I'm not saying that this is the case with Nate's blog, as it obviously isn't, but you can see what I mean. People talk about climbing. Soloing is climbing whether you like it or not. Soloists have just as much right to talk about their style of climbing as the next person.

[eldinte]

Oopps I can take credit for this one. Sorry to cause a ruckus. (Nate here) I wasn't having a very good day climbing and mentioned it on my private blog. Rather embarrassing actually I thought only my 2nd cousin read that thing. Sorry to all parties involved, not my finest moment.

* Male/female(Sandra?) partner I passed. Sorry if I misrepresented the situation. Everything looked fine and you guys looked solid. Ping me if you'd like to chat offline, you both seem like good people and looked plenty strong. Sorry if was being a jerk, not my intention.

*Nothing wild going on that day, no close close calls or anything, just me climbing like an idiot. I had some issues the first lap of the day (eeeeekk) came back later and daisy soloed it( I didn't bring the right gear and it to bum a piece from a nice guy at the belay. Double stupid for the day. Later in the day I got in some laps that felt good and hence the blog post. Overall it was a whacky day, I've done that dozens and dozens of time with no issue but I got spooked and had head issues. It happens.

*Not sure what other people think about soloing but I always find it a lot like hiking, good exercise and nice to move the body but not badass. Good activity to do when time is short or you can't find a partner. I wish I was good at climbing, but since I'm not very good at climbing I just stick to the easy stuff. Routes that are fun to do but don't require a partner or a rope. Folks that climb with can attest to the fact that I'm not a brave climber, I'm the first person to call for a "take" Climbing easy terrain is just that, easy climbing. Anyone can and should do it, why not? If you're not falling with the rope on it seems logical to go without.


Anyway... Sorry if I made a scene, my fault. It is tough to get any decent climbing done when you just have a few hours on a sunny Saturday to work with and every easy route is full. I always try to ask nicely before passing and in all the years I've been doing this never had anyone give me a hard time.

-Nate

[dakine]

Still though, why is talking about it a big deal to some people? On Supertopo, there is virtually always something on Honnold on the front page about the last big thing he did, or what he's setting up to do next. Check out his Facebook page; all comments about how amazing he is, how big his balls are, how cool it is that he climbs big walls without a rope.
Then you go to some no name random auk climber's website where he's posted that he just set a personal record for speed soloing his local cliff, and everyone feels it necessary to shut him down

Maybe because there is less chance of the other types of climbing killing others? I think if you want to solo that is fine but don't do it around other people. I don't care how hardcore you are or not the chance of something going wrong (hold breaking, foot slipping) is always there (see below). I do agree with you on the Honnold comment if you are going to slam soloists they should all be treated the same.

"Canmore local Akihira Tawara died after falling while soloing Directissima 5.8 on Yamnuska. While it’s not clear why Tawara fell, most climbers believe it was due to holds breaking on the climb. Originally from Japan, Tawara was a confidant 5.13 climber and had spent much of his time living and climbing in the Canmore area. More details as they become available."

[jipstyle]

I hear very similar arguments on car forums about street racing.

One side proclaims that they are excellent drivers, only race when there is no one else around, don't lose control of their cars, etc. ... and the other side points out that tires blow and people die.

The key difference is that public roads have laws by which we agree to abide.

It really is a never-ending argument. One side will not convince the other.

[jipstyle]

Wow .. the amount of stupid in that video is just staggering.

[MikeViejo]

Tailing is not really what I appreciate and solo climbing can be dangerous. Its is better to sit on the concrete pool deck if you are not a swimmer until you get trained. Save yourself and others from drowning because of you!

[MikeHarsant]

I agree with harihari on the point, "degree of introspection where you really know how you feel" will tell you if you wanna go ahead. It all depends on how how concrete is your assessment of the climb is...