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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jan 22, 2015 - 10:35am PT
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I just wanted to give big kudos to tc and kj for pulling off what is undoubtedly the hardest rock climb in the world. there is certainly no multipitch route in the world that comes close to comparison. Twelve pitches of 5.13, and 7 pitches of 5.14(3 at 5.14+). its absolutely gobsmacking.
Tommy's vision of putting this together is amazing. he has told me he likes big projects, so...there you go. he has been free climbing el cap for almost 20 years now, is the only person in double digit number of free climbs on el cap, and this route could only have been put together by him and nobody else in the world. it took an incredible blend of genetics and upbringing(his dad, Mike, is a climbing guide and was an elite bodybuilder), combined with plain dumb blonde stubborness(3 full on attempts over 4 or 5 years) and luck(it usually rains and snows bigtime in Jan in yosemite). i could not be happier for his role in bringing the valley to the forefront of world class climbing.
as for KJ, that's a nice advancement from somebody known primarily for their highballing. Seriously, when kevin worked with us touchstone route setters back in the day, we knew he was going to be good...but not THAT good. and way to go doing the dyno, not that pussy loop thing that tommy did, LOL.
its pretty amazing to me that two people were good enough to both do the route free. i thought tommy would ultimately fail on it with a jug bunny/belayer. not that i didn't think tommy could do it, but that the route is hardly ever in climbable conditions when it is cool enough to do 5.14+. (that's why they were climbing at night in the middle of winter).
the euros will be catching up for a long time
Steve Schneider, big wall poser from oakland, ca
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GDavis
Social climber
SOL CAL
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:38am PT
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Good on ya Steve. Way to share some positive vibes.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:38am PT
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the euros will be catching up for a long time
Yup, forever.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:39am PT
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siht Yeah WHAT SCHneIDER, said, Toatally Titz men great Job!!
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splitclimber
climber
Sonoma County
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:39am PT
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nice post Steve.
BTW - there is no "N" in Kevin's last name, but many make that mistake.
at least you didn't spell it Jorgelove. :)
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Don Paul
Big Wall climber
Denver, Colorado
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:43am PT
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+1. This endorsement, and the recent one from John Middendorf, mean a lot.
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Under Achiever
Trad climber
Los Angeles
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:56am PT
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Funf out of funf Alpenhornen, für sure!
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 22, 2015 - 10:58am PT
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split climber how do you spell keven's last nasme? i'll put in an edit to my op
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MisterE
Gym climber
Bishop, CA
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Jan 22, 2015 - 11:08am PT
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Jorgeson. I don't think you can edit thread titles, though.
Great post, Steve!
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kenny morrell
Trad climber
danville,ca
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Jan 22, 2015 - 11:58am PT
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Hey steve - your right about the euros playing catch-up!
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 22, 2015 - 05:50pm PT
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mister e, that is how i spelled it, but splitzee says that was wrong. ss
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Jan 22, 2015 - 06:17pm PT
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They sure deserve it. Congrats on a futuristic send!
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Jan 22, 2015 - 09:08pm PT
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Nice writing, Steve. You Real-ly have a Nose for what's going down on the Big Stone.
Speaking of which, when are we climbing? And how's your shoulder. [don't make me sneeze]
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Gagner
climber
Boulder
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Jan 22, 2015 - 09:47pm PT
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Nice play on words Pete...😉
Hey Steve - Monga Bona!!
Has arse!!
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Jan 22, 2015 - 10:10pm PT
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What is Monga Bona? I've heard that somewhere else.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Jan 23, 2015 - 04:48am PT
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Great post, and nicely said!
I only met TC once in the Valley, and immediately liked him. He seemed like such a nice, friendly guy, and quite humble.
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pyro
Big Wall climber
Calabasas
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Jan 23, 2015 - 06:03am PT
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Congrats!
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couchmaster
climber
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Jan 23, 2015 - 06:07am PT
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Bravo to both those dudes. Quite the feat. However, I suspect there are 10-12 year olds climbing in gyms now who will be graduating outside soon enough to repeating this free. The next generation never ceases to amaze. I don't think Robbins et al ever thought people would be running up the Nose in a morning. Currently, look at Honnold. As far as Euros not catching up, thought it was the reverse. Anyone else see Leo Holding climb the Prophet? Climbing A4 free ground up no added bolts? That was a few years back, so I can't speak to the "catch up idea".
Are brits even Euros?
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 23, 2015 - 10:39am PT
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brits ARE euros, and they ain't gonna repeat this thing anytime soon, either. although i would be the first to meet them on top with cold ones if they proved me wrong.
while a great effort by leo holding and jason pickles of UK, there is not a single pitch of 5.14 on the prophet. dawn wall has 7 pitches of 5.14, 3 of which are 5.14+, all three of which are way harder than any other pitch in yosemite.
the dawn wall is exponentially way harder than any other route on el cap, because only three other routes have any 5.14 climbing on them, the nose, magic mushroom, and the dihedral wall. and these are ONLY 5.14a pitches, of which there is only one pitch of this grade on these routes(maybe two on the nose).so...
THE DAWN WALL versus NOSE, DIHEDRAL, OR MM
7 pitches of 5.14, including 3 of 5.14+ versus a single pitch of 5.14a
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guyman
Social climber
Moorpark, CA.
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Jan 23, 2015 - 11:42am PT
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Those boys did push the bar up a notch or three.
Steve, good post.
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