Discussion Topic |
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jfailing
Trad climber
Lone Pine
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Whoa... Wicked gnarly send boys... That thing looks heeeeinous!
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TKingsbury
Trad climber
MT
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I remember crusher posting of a pic of that thing a few years back, so rad it got the send!
freakin wild!
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Cross posted from the other thread.
Oh my feckin' achin' root ! !
I just threw up on my keyboard.
Those dudes are truly badass and appear to be in a league of their own.
Sick f*#kin' Brits anyway......
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cleggy
Trad climber
Derby, UK
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Century Crack has preplaced gear?
In the photo on the wide Brit blog the guy is chalking up and there's a cam in the crack above him with a biner on it.
I call lame ...
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Ooooo, a Brit calling the Brits lame!!
This is gonna get good.
{sound of popcorn munching...}
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eeyonkee
Trad climber
Golden, CO
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Holy crappoly Batman!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Maybe I missed it reading that report on a phone in home depot, while ordering flooring... Did it say how many placements (round figure) they made?
What a line!
What a send!
Cheers!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Wow. The training pays off!!
Great shots, Alex.
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scuffy b
climber
dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene
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Wow, that's a big effort. Kudos.
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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WOW!!!
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edejom
Boulder climber
Butte, America
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We're seeing Off-Width climbing action at its near maximum potential with these Ladds--way to be true Jedis to the stone UK Wide Boyz !!!!1111
With the kudos out of the way, I must say...
...an OW with controversy surrounding it? Sadly, that seems to be happening all too much these days it seems :-(
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Gal
Trad climber
a semi lucid consciousness
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Pretty Amazing!
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scuffy b
climber
dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene
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I think it's got an asterisk attached to it, not a controversy.
A controversy would result from false claims, which have not happened.
Obviously, when someone comes along and climbs it first try carrying the
whole rack, everybody will recognize that as better.
So far, this is the kick-ass achievement.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Just run it out. That's what Dean and Werner would do ! !
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Yes, missed Tom's performance, but watched Pete sending the beast: incredible. Must have been fifteen or twenty minutes of hanging upside down, patiently shuffling across the main part of the roof for about 80+ feet. Then, seemingly as fresh as if he'd just stepped off the ground, he shifted gears, and methodically crushed the tricky end sequence up the merely 45 degree, sandy section and on through the entertaining lip finish.
This was just their second day on the route. I think they both had lots in reserve, could climb something considerably longer and harder; but, alas, I don't think there is anything harder....
Tom Randall, in the photo above, is working the route. First day, Tom and Pete took turns extending their "high" point. Except working is the wrong word; they are so adept at this upside-down pony-riding stance, a better word might be cantering. Or trotting. Or simply grazing, given the effort they seemed to be putting out.
This photo shows Pete Whittacker sending the route, second day. Pose is the "yeehaw" wide pony. This went on for, like, 20 minutes, across the roof. The crux comes after this, where you dismount and start wrestling the merely overhanging finish. The suspense was hard to take.
The lip, if you get to it, is a classic, severely undercut thrutch.
Turning the lip is a fittingly grim finish to the route.
After, the weather put on a great show:
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Alex_Ekins
Trad climber
Sheffield
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 7, 2011 - 05:40pm PT
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Nice pics!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Stevie Haston may call foul play.. .. . like, he already did ..."I leave it to you to try and understand the absurd comment that it is ok to leave this gear in, and not carry it. Trad climbing is absurd nowadays, the climbers are good but their approach is silly."
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goatboy smellz
climber
Nederland
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hell yeah,excellent job fellas!
thanks for the pics crusher & Alex!
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O.D.
Trad climber
LA LA Land
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A send like this is nearly incomprehensible for a master of mediocrity like myself. WOW is a huge understatement.
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Prod
Trad climber
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Cool!!@!@
Prod.
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James
climber
My twin brother's laundry room
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bolt it?
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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As someone who loves having their feet higher than their head as often as possible this seems like a dream romp of linear proportions almost hard to imagine existed. Pretty damn cool...
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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What Scuffy said!, Cheers again guys!
I hear that on a groundup attempt carrying the rack, Stevie did it with one(?) fall/hang.
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go-B
climber
Sozo
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Dang!
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Kalimon
Trad climber
Ridgway, CO
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Smokin'!
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philo
Trad climber
Somewhere halfway over the rainbow
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Crunch man what an incredible find. I have never seen any thing like it.
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Acer
Big Wall climber
AZ
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The pictures on the blog are crap.
The pictures on this thread make the route outstanding.
I am impressed now. Sweet.
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edejom
Boulder climber
Butte, America
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Unfortunately, I don't think that they are photo-worthy enough to be Golden Piton recipients though, in spite of the spectacular send...
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ec
climber
ca
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It'd be nice to have a bit more info to lay some perspective on this wildness. Pics, check, basic history, check, spray, check...Length...?
edit: ok the uk link had 120 feet...
 ec
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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stevie haston is the more British, more trenchant version of werner
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ec
climber
ca
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Whilst it would be ideal to have placed the gear on lead during each of our attempts, the practicalities of it made it almost impossible.
Uh, doesn't that mean that you weren't destined to get the actual FFA?
'Just sayin'
ec
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Ha ha!
Stevie, like Werner?
Stevie is more like Walt.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
San Francisco, CA
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bumping, and also saying what a wonderful and stunning milestone in rock climbing!! How fun that this was Brits, too!
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Norwegian
Trad climber
Placerville, California
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swollen head at the end of that ascent,
literally.
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MTucker
Ice climber
Arizona
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Pre-placed gear?!?
Calling it 14d?!?
I call bullsh#t.
Their new found fame is getting the best of them.
Does either have a record of doing 14s in two days?!?
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Reeotch
Trad climber
Kayenta, AZ
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Badass Brits
So you preplaced the gear. At least you were honest. Still an FFA in my book.
Of course now, there is still the challenge of a true redpoint ascent that still awaits.
Probably, the only way that will happen is if someone really sacs-up and runs it out a bit . . .
Calling it 14d?!?
Perhaps extreme OW should have its own rating scale.
I always liked the PDW rating (Pretty Damn Western)
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go-B
climber
Sozo
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? If anyone doesn't put in their own draws on an overhanging face did they lead it free, is free, free?
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Reeotch
Trad climber
Kayenta, AZ
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If they didn't hang on the gear they free climbed it. A no falls toprope ascent is a free ascent. Could it be done in better style? Of course it could!
But, did you see the rack that Haston had around his neck? Ridiculous!
You could always free solo it . . .
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Got to side with Reeotch on this one. If someone can do it in better style, do it and set the standard, but it counts for now.
Clymbing the wyde is a special talent.
Cheers mates!
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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regarding the rating:
Pete and Tom did not claim 5.14d.
Stevie Haston, who has not, and did not climb the thing, "guessed" a rating of 9a. Which means nothing, as he did not climb it. He may have been trying to frighten other people off, as much as anything.
Tom and Pete, who earlier flashed Lucille, a 5.13a, and Trench Warfare, 5.12d, spent 1.5 days on this.
After, they reasoned that Century Crack was considerably harder than either of these. How much harder? They discussed this, after the climb.
They came up with more of a broad range of possibility than a specific rating. Definitely harder than low-to-middle 5.13. Their estimates did NOT range as high as 5.14d.
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Relic
Social climber
Vancouver, BC
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Nice pinkpoint guys.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Wonder how long it will be until we get a consensus on this one? ; )
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Levy
Big Wall climber
So Cal
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Proud sickness! Looks really cool, I'd be surprised if it doesn't get a repeat soon from some of the wide honesters out there.
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ec
climber
ca
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My comments up thread aside, it was a remarkable effort.
Now, Jaybro will you please set the record straight and climb this thing in this century?
LoL, ec
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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yikes!
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ec
climber
ca
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Awesome! That's the true spirit, IMO!
ec
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Baggins
Boulder climber
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wow. THIS is climbing
I agree, "chocolate starfish" was a better name
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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I feel Pamela's pain. This one was just waiting for her.
I think the pre placed gear is called a pinkpoint, as said above. Given that so many yo-yo's used to be counted as FA's, and how many trad routes have had the rope pulled between burns, leaving the gear in, it is an FA. I dunno how you could go pull the gear between burns.
Those guys are burly. One of them soloed Trench Warfare. They are laying waste everywhere they are traveling.
What's next for them? I heard they were headed to Zion for Gabriel and then to the Valley for who knows what.
-Herndie (fan of the wide climbers. They rule)
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MH2
climber
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What's next for them?
I heard they had to get back to their jobs as WHO docs in Mauritania but they will train in the basement to build a fusion reactor while continuing to explore Mars.
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go-B
climber
Sozo
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The Boyz can have their Pudding now, Cheers!
They should have called it the, Pony Express!
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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No disrespect meant at all in my post above. These two guys are doing unreal stuff.
Like my opinion even matters.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Looks like you could do it by putting a bunch of Logs accross crack and then dropping cordage from the logs through the roof. Would eliminate the climbing around the gear factor. Racking logs on your harness would definately increase the grade.
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portlandclimber
Trad climber
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Oct 10, 2011 - 01:13pm PT
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Dear Stevie,
how are you? it seems that you forgot to attempt this route on pre-placed gear and are thus feeling a little silly at not getting the first ascent. that's ok, we all make mistakes! however, you did tentatively grade it at 9a! oh dear, you're probably only a number grade out- but like age, grades are just a number eh? .
perhaps next time you should shut your mouth about grades and routes you can't actually climb, and stop compounding the error by spraying about it afterwards. Im sure Tom and Pete are very pleased to have done this route and are having a chuckle at your expense- i know i am.
Lots of love
PC
p.s. i couldnt climb it either- lets have a beer sometime and share stories of routes we cant do
xx
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BillWright
Trad climber
Boulder, Colorado
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Oct 20, 2011 - 08:12am PT
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These two are obviously amazing and their rampage through the hardest offwidths in the US has been inspiring and unprecedented. It has me all reved up to go work 5.10 offwidths! :-)
But, they severely lose credibility and respect with this line here about doing the route with pre-placed gear:
"It's always difficult to say conclusively how different it all is, but I'm certain we've taken no short cut here!"
That is just plain, flat out, dumb. They have taken a HUGE shortcut. The ascent is still super impressive but I'm quite disappointed that their egos have prompted them to write something just so ridiculously dumb. They had seemed so cool up to that point...
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Boz
Trad climber
Davis, CA
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Oct 20, 2011 - 11:22am PT
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I'm going to say it, it's going to sound preposterous, but I'm going to do it.
Hard OW isn't hard. We've all been made to believe it is, but it isn't. Sure, you need to train for it differently than you train for other styles of climbing, but that isn't unique.
Someone who has never climbed on slab, only hucking up V8's on the gym's 45*wall, would likely get on a 5.12 slab and be sure that it is 5.14d. We haven't seen a 5.14OW, this isn't it, not by a long shot.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Oct 20, 2011 - 11:45am PT
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I'm confused. These guys, according to their blog, are sending 12+ "conventional" routes, but rating these OW's up to 14b? Then they justify the grade and their very short project time by saying they "trained hard" (for a measly piss-short 2 years..) as if the guys flailing on all the other 14b's out there don't? These ratings sound even more like BS at this point, to me.
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Mike Friedrichs
Sport climber
City of Salt
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Oct 20, 2011 - 12:32pm PT
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Yeah that's right. The only really good climbers are in California.
Why don't you guys go repeat these routes and then weigh in?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Oct 20, 2011 - 12:38pm PT
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There is a good deal of parochialism in Cali that is evidenced on this forum daily.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Oct 20, 2011 - 12:57pm PT
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lots of parochialism in lots of places. st just happens to have a lot of cali posters so we get a special cali version.
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Stainless
Social climber
SLC, UT
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Oct 20, 2011 - 01:09pm PT
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Re-post from the Gabriel thread.
//I have no doubt these OW's are difficult routes, but some of these ratings sound like bullsh#t.
How many other super talented climbers send 14d (Century Crack) on their second day, 2nd or 3rd attempt, after never having climbed any other route in the area (or anywhere else) at that grade, nor even several letters below? Why not rate it 5.16?//
** There are a stack of people climbing this hard now. Most are Spanish, Euro, or ex-pat (Sharma) but it's hardly uncommon amongst the elite. Ramon Julien just onsighted most of Rifle's hardest routes over a weekend while recovering from a comp and probably still jet lagged.
I also believe that they have yet to rate Century Crack. 9a was Haston's guess. Not sure how hard the Wide Boyz climb in other diciplines regularly but I saw Whitaker do the FA on the direct start to Braille Trail and it's one of the more impressive things I've ever seen in climbing. Keep in mind this problem had repelled all the top Brits (some not so weak) forever... on toprope. Pete did it with ground fall consequences. He is not particularly lacking in the talent realm.**
So they've climbed a lot of hard stuff in many styles, including Greenspit, a 5.14 rated crack that they have downgraded (and Haston flashed). So there is some perspective.
Yes they didn't carry the gear. They go into that, too, and rated it accordingly. Would be a bit harder, probably, but they did have to climb around the gear which seems pretty grim to me.
Maybe offwidths aren't "hard" but given the cracks that have been climbed and rated it all seems to make good sense. I'd say go tick yourself an easy 14 then.
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JLP
Social climber
The internet
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Oct 20, 2011 - 01:47pm PT
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I'd say go tick yourself an easy 14 then. Exactly. Why can't the various OW superstars send anything near the same grade on any other type of climbing?
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caughtinside
Social climber
Davis, CA
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Oct 20, 2011 - 01:58pm PT
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Hmm, a lot of people seem hung up on the fact they did the Century Crack with preplaced gear. I don't see what the big deal is? They came out and said what they did, and why they did it that way (only had a couple days to try the route.) Seems reasonable? Climbing is littered with FAs that have been done on TR or with preplaced gear.
Of course it's still sitting there for someone to go and do in better style.
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Elcapinyoazz
Social climber
Joshua Tree
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Oct 20, 2011 - 02:14pm PT
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Would be a bit harder, probably, but they did have to climb around the gear which seems pretty grim to me.
No probably about it. Why would you need to climb around the gear? THat would be really stupid tactics. You don't climb around it, you climb to it, pull it out, stick it back in behind you and carry on. This is a roof we're talking about.
Does anyone really think if these dudes had another week they wouldn't both be able to do it carrying and placing the gear? They were honest about the style, feel free to go one-up them and improve the style on your ascent.
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FrankZappa
Trad climber
80' from the Hankster
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Oct 21, 2011 - 10:34am PT
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Incredible send!
I can say after climbing on a lot of routes that in some cases it's important for me to place all of the gear on the lead and other cases it just doesn't matter; kinda route-dependent. If they are happy with their achievement, we should be happy for them, and if we want to see it done in "better" style, all we gotta do is go do it, and then we can confirm the grade while we're at it.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Oct 21, 2011 - 10:37am PT
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The UK Wide Boyz are taking OW to a new level.
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scuffy b
climber
dissected alluvial deposits, late Pleistocene
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Oct 21, 2011 - 11:33am PT
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It seems to me that there are plenty of California climbers praising or
acknowledging the accomplishments of Tom and Pete.
The skepticism seems to be coming more from people who don't think offwidth
should be rated with high numbers.
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survival
Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
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Oct 21, 2011 - 11:39am PT
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I....think....they....are....tougher....than....I.....am......
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edejom
Boulder climber
Butte, America
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Oct 21, 2011 - 11:59am PT
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Numbers are for notoriety--the real grade of an off-width is in the enjoyable suffering...
It's all 5.9+ !
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eagle
Trad climber
new paltz, ny
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Oct 23, 2011 - 07:05pm PT
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mad cool
hey crusher me dave lanman here...good to here you are still out and about. we met years ago
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YoungGun
climber
North
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Nov 11, 2011 - 09:55am PT
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Trailer for a film about the Wide Boys. Includes footage of them sending Century Crack. Check it out:
http://vimeo.com/31873646
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crunch
Social climber
CO
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Nov 11, 2011 - 10:00am PT
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hey crusher me dave lanman here
is that really you, eh?
Cool. Always wondered what happened to you. I was just in Canada, in Banff, for the festival. Fun times.
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Nov 11, 2011 - 11:20am PT
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frickin' great accomplishment...
..as for the ratings, these guys are in a unique position having just climbed most of the hardest OW's in the southwest, in a relatively short time, I'd trust their opinion on the ratings...
I don't have an answer on why OW ratings seem "soft" to people who don't get on OW, I could see climbing harder in OW than I can climb other stuff, part of it is motivation, part of it is learning technique.
After about a year and a half of training Gary and I went back to Sacherer Crack, Gary lead and I heard him say at the top of the final offwidth, in a quiet voice, "that was cruisey." He made two or three moves and dispensed with a section he had flailed at, unsuccessfully, many times before. I went up and it was over in two rather easy moves. Not only was it no longer the crux of the climb, it wasn't even notable... to me the climb became a thin hands crux... the rating in Reid's is "5.9O.W." but I find it much easier than that now...
on the other hand, many people still have trouble getting through that section, and dislike it intensely...
The point is, I think, that if you train like maniacs at this sort of climbing you can get good at it, I still find all sorts of other climbing hard to do, and I doubt that I would be as motivated to get better at them to train for them... and I might also be physically more adept at OW then other styles....
and finally, not a whole lot of people want to do them, which is fine by me, keeps them free of lines.
The bottom line for the doubters is to go and climb all those climbs and rate them appropriately... this is a consensus rating system, but you have to send them to rate them. Certainly if you do that you've got a much more valid point... otherwise it's just uninformed opinion, like "how hard could that be?"
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Nov 11, 2011 - 11:52am PT
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There are threads on that here and on the fetish. Old news. They're on to new things now
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Nov 11, 2011 - 01:36pm PT
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That looks like So much fun!
Funky sox though...
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