Split Beaver 5.10b New video, nice shooting

[squamish climber]

Came across this new video by Dale Sood of Arts and Rec Productions. This climb looks like a wide crack grovel fest.
(vimeo say may not show up on iPhone or IPad).


Anybody want to relate a story climbing this?

[Fish Boy]

Nice vid, did this a couple of days ago and it was great...take something bigger than a 4 camalot. Good, safe intro to wider cracks and most of it isn't wide.

[Brendan]

??

[DaleSood]

Thanks for posting, Dave! It was shot in a bit of haste, but turned out alright. More people should get on this classic route. Easy to set up a TR for those who may not have large gear.

Cheers everyone!

[slopr]

the rack for beaver needs nothing bigger than a 4, as u can see on the vid he overcams the first 5 & then it's in his way.

Climb up 10 feet place a green, then a red, then a gold, then a blue or 2, place a 4, maybe 2 if you really have to. The ow section @ the top is very short & not too bad compared to the off fist section below, the gear is at your feet & so bomber- just chicken wing right side in a few times & flop on top, if you mess around with too much/big gear you are going to get pumped & thrashed & say take. Not your avg smoke bluff 10b.

cool vid, awesome climb. Do asleep @ the wheel & Orfice fish to warm up for it.

" i felt like dean potter in the last section there" ???????

[t-bone]

I gotta disagree slopr...I think the #5 is very useful at the top....it's definitely not an easy move.
great climb though...

[davidbr]

Naturally, all trad climbing, and especially crack climbing, is a balance between keeping a climb safe and not gettting too tired placing gear. Taking this climb as an example, it is the climber most likely to pump out on the off-width who will want the #5 in there the most. This isn't a balance-oriented face route, and the weight of a couple more cams, even large ones, is unlikely to be the reason a person comes off it. Running it out from the last #4 would risk a long enough fall. With a sharp belay it may or may not be dangerous, but if the climber happened to kick the last #4 out of position on his way by (not a difficult thing to do on such a width), it certainly could be risky. In this particular video it also seems that there is quite a weight discrepency between the climber and the belayer - without a #5 and had this climber fallen, he'd have gone for some ride. Think it's a bit irresponsible to reccommend a climber go up it with nothing larger than a #4. As you said, Slopr, it's not your average Smoke Bluff 10b.

[slopr]

You guys can cry about it being run out all you want, fact of the matter is that it is a steep perfectly parallel sided crack that takes the most bomber gear possible whenever you want. Climb it however you want i really don't give a sh!t, my rack recommend was just that. It's not your avg smoke bluffs 10b in the fact that it is burly, but it is far from unsafe- or runout. You think the guys who did the FA 30 years ago had a #5? All i know is that my personal experience with the beaver was first trying it with a friend who had a 5. We tried it a few times & i would always pump out & want to puke, then take @ the top or fall on the 4 before it got wide enough for the 5. A few days/weeks/months later (cant remember) i was back, but not with my large gear buddy. I went up there with the rack i described and once above the 4 guess what- OH MY GOD I FELL, it must have been a 12 footer!!! A totally clean, safe fall , well maybe even 13 feet. Wow. Then i went at it again, not wanting to repeat the outcome of the previous attempt i sacked up a little harder, stuffed the & sent, yay for me. As a side note my belayer was a malnourished 7 year old, that i gave a grigri to & tied to my dog so i wouldn't hit the ground. Next stop for the beaver safety squad should be forgotten wall to complain about how the bolts are too far apart, i can hear it now "oh man rugmunchers is dangerous, if you fell after the last bolt from up on the slab you could totally hit the ground! They should have put another bolt there!"

[NateDoggOG]

On that note, what about the first bolt on No Name Road at Pet Wall.......?

[davidbr]

That's great Slopr. As you said, yay for you. I'm not against running it out at all, if that's what you want. Knowing the route, I just can't, with any sense of responsibility, read a post like your first one and not add what I did. My point stands - I believe most climbers will want some gear larger than a #4, and, like you said, you had it, too, on your first attempt. If the climber gets to the 5 inch bit and feels comfortable running it out, an extra couple of cams on the belt isn't likely to matter - most climbers trying a 5.10 offwidth will have the discipline to decide whether to stop and place a piece or not. If they aren't comfortable running it out, they'll be glad they had the larger gear. Once a person has seen the route, they may, as you did, want to leave that larger gear on the ground (right - you didn't say you wanted to leave it on the ground, just that you didn't have it with you that day).

[t-bone]

wow slopr you are such a hard man....leading the Beaver without a #5.
no one here is suggesting adding bolts to anything so your comments about Rug Munchers are just ridiculous.
All we are saying is that an honest rack recommendation for the Beaver should include a #5. Of course you don't NEED it, but depending on your skill and mental strength, you don't NEED any gear. I'm sure Honnold doesn't very much gear....

[jipstyle]

I thought slopr's reply was a good description of what he recommends bringing for the climb. The fact that it differs from what you guys would bring is hardly a reason to piss on his cornflakes.

If I was racking up for this route, given the beta provided here, I'd take slopr's advice and leave the #5 on the ground. I've pumped off a route placing unnecessary gear more than once and if the choice is between risking a 15ft. fall and sending or pumping out placing gear ... I'll risk the 15ft. fall.

[davidbr]

Who's pissing on whose Cornflakes?

Yes, Slopr's reply is a good description of what he recommends for the route. Some of us would recommend something else, and such debate is what a forum like this is for. It was Slopr who started getting personal, insinuating that others were crying, and calling us the 'safety squad'.

[RossManning]

Nice video and it is a classy route as well. I agree that if the choice is between risking a 15ft. fall and sending or pumping out placing gear ... I'll risk the 15ft. fall too!! That makes far more sense to me