Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
rockrat511
climber
San Jose, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 15, 2006 - 05:19am PT
|
A bit'o background:
I've been climbing around 12 years or so but haven't touched a bigwall yet so I decided it's finally my year. Me being as crazy as I am I'd like to do it solo, even though I wouldn't be against a partner(Stupid machisimo I tell ya!). I lurk here and post occasionaly(like twice) but you all got a lot of good info between the crazy ramblings so I figured I'd run a few things by ya'll.
1st: Question for Fish
How are your ledges, anything need to be done to them out of the box to make them climb ready??? Seam sealing, anything off the wall you recomend???
Oh yeah what's this on the order form,
"Absolute Drop Dead Date:" I'd like it tomorrow!!!
But what's a reasonable expectation?? I'm sure you need time for climbing like the rest of us.
2nd: For everyone else
Yeah, I've gone crazy with,"solo the first wall fever," and I'd like to do Tangerine Trip. You all have some advice for a wall nOOb that assure sucess, anything that would of made you first experiece better?? Any system nuances that you think are crucial??
Anyone got beta on the Trip?? Crux pitches, techniuqes that made em easier? Easy to go clean?? How bad is the mandatory free, any serious runout sections? Are the rumours I've heard about vandalism true, what pitches affected, what's the fix?
I want to get in alot of mileage in before I head up there, anyone know of some good aid climbs in the south bay area, mabybe Pinnacles or elsewhere?
I guess that's enough questions for starters.
|
|
Russ Walling
Social climber
Same place as you, man...... (WB)
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 11:11am PT
|
**1st: Question for Fish
How are your ledges, anything need to be done to them out of the box to make them climb ready??? Seam sealing, anything off the wall you recomend???***
Seam seal the fly.... or die.... (love that rhyme) Besides that all you need to do is set it up a couple of times to get familiar with it. Nothing off the wall, to get you on the wall.
**Oh yeah what's this on the order form,
"Absolute Drop Dead Date:" I'd like it tomorrow!!! **
That is to nip the panic mongers in the bud. I'm not a big fan of busting my hump to get someone gear just to have it sit in their laundry room for 8 months before they do a wall. There are loads of people actually going on a trip, and so they get first attention. We sort orders by the "drop dead date".
But what's a reasonable expectation?? I'm sure you need time for climbing like the rest of us.
As with most things, it depends™™™ At some times in the year you might get one in a week, and others it might be 3 months... or more. A lot needs to happen right to get a ledge out. Right now, you are looking at 4 weeks plus.
|
|
Elcapinyoazz
Mountain climber
Anchorage, Alaska
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 12:07pm PT
|
Dudemanbro asks:
"You all have some advice for a wall nOOb that assure sucess, anything that would of made you first experiece better??"
Keep going up, don't go down...except on that 4th pitch, it goes down a little. Take enough water. Be prepared to suffer. Get a friend on the ground to berate you if you contemplate bailing for reasons other than weather/safety.
"Any system nuances that you think are crucial??"
For soloin' a first wall, you will probably be slow, which means more water, which means a heavy ass haul bag. You might look into hauling ratchet setups, far end hauls, etc and decide whether they are useful FOR YOU.
My best advice is this: Take an extra days worth of food and water, and on the day you wake up saying to yourself "this f*#kin' sucks, I'm bailing", it'll be about the second or third day maybe, just take the entire day off, chill in your ledge, watch the swallows and falcons and other climbers and just generally enjoy the peace and the view. Maybe fix a pitch or two above the ledge if you get bored.
|
|
Robb
Social climber
Flathead Valley, Montana
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 01:05pm PT
|
Watch for the dreaded mud falcons at the base. Pace yourself & have a great time.Last route I did was Zodiac - loved it!!!
|
|
Holdplease2
Big Wall climber
Yosemite area
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 01:11pm PT
|
Sounds like you have some fun plans!
Here's my bail prevention technique:
Carry all yer crap to the base yourself. Count the days/hours it takes, include fixing, racking, packing, driving, losing sleep.
Add this time to the amount of time you expect to spend on the wall.
At the end of day 3 when you get the snail eye and think about going down, and you have 7 more days of climbing to go, look at the *total days of effort* not the total days spent climbing.
You'll realize you're halfway done with the effort and that hauling is getting easier by the minute and the climbing is the fun part.
For important techniques: Far End Hauler. Key for a soloist IMO.
:)
-Kate.
|
|
Jim Leininger
Trad climber
tucson, az
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 01:18pm PT
|
There is a climb on the west side of the Pinnacles called Son of Dawn Wall that makes for good aid practice, I've used it quite a bit myself.. It is a bolt ladder on the first 2 pitches - P2 is a real buling scream - and then some runout 5.8 climbing to the top, if you want to go that far... We used to do laps on the first pitch or 2 pitches to get honed in....
|
|
SoloBolo
Trad climber
groveland, ca
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 01:40pm PT
|
having done what you wanna do (lurking fear though) i'd say the best beta i ever got was from a guy named dave Turner and his GF aimee and that was "just dont bail". when you first start climbing you'll most likely be doing sh#t bassackwards and funky. after a few days you'll pick up on little things to make life easier.
some things i wish i'd have brought?
more canned fruits/peaches.
nutella
something to f*#k me up
music
real rope bags and not those cheap f*#king paint buckets
anything besides the ah "wallhauler"
A CAMERA!!!!!
a sub bag (think atom smasher)
warmer sleeping bag.
|
|
rockrat511
climber
San Jose, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 15, 2006 - 09:33pm PT
|
Awesome Russ, be looking for my order and I'd like it some time between spring and winter please.
Kate when you're soloing do you exclusivly far end haul, apply it as needed or just carry 2 systems with one ready to go on the pig in case??
Glad to hear the free climbing isn't to bad I don't particularly enjoy free climbing with a grigri.
Thanks ya'll, if any of ya got some more advice or specifics on the route go ahead and drop your .02cents.
I was so excited at work today just thinking about this I couldn't stop jumpin' around and singing songs in Major keys!!
Hope to see ya'll in the Valley, maybe even get to climb with some of ya.
|
|
lazide
Big Wall climber
Bay Area, CA
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 09:47pm PT
|
Can't speak for Kate, but the far end haul has saved my ass from some serious pain and suffering on numerous occasions.
You just rig it up, haul like normal (unless you KNOW it will get hopelessly stuck, like in a big chimney or something). If/when the haulbags get stuck under some roof or wedged behind some flake, you rap down on your lead line, and free/haul them until it is clear. It is almost mandatory when soloing with heavy bags, since they almost always swing back into whatever they got caught in the first time by the time you get back up there to haul. (Light bags suck less, in general)
The only time I don't rig it is on speed climbs with partners (when the extra 1/2 lb really matters, and the other guy can free it anyways)
It will also help save your rope on the shitty hauls, which almost every route has atleast one of.
|
|
Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 09:59pm PT
|
RockRat I would recommend a grade V before a VI. More time climbing, less hauling. Work the bugs out to make your VI much more fun.
|
|
Holdplease2
Big Wall climber
Yosemite area
|
|
|
Mar 15, 2006 - 10:13pm PT
|
Hi Rockrat:
I'll just second what Lazide said. When your pig is hanging caught under a little roof 100 feet down the pitch, just spinning there, and stuck...if you rap down to try to free it, but can't move it UP past the roof, you'll be really screwed.
This being really screwed results in you going up and down and up and down your line trying to position the bag, but this doesn't really work. You just need to get it past the roof, and to do this, you just have to be down there, moving it up the line 5 or so feet so that it gets past the lip of the roof.
I did far-end haul one entire pitch, the last pitch of the Prow. It was too ledgy with weird loose rock. It is way more awkward and time consuming, but keeping from knocking lose rocks off could save somebody's life. And going up and down the lines is no fun, either.
Of course, had I not been a dumbass and rigged the haul up and over the right, it might not have been necessary! But I hauled the way I went up. Ugh.
Hope this helps,
-Kate.
|
|
Rhodo-Router
Trad climber
Otto, NC
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2006 - 11:32am PT
|
"My best advice is this: Take an extra days worth of food and water, and on the day you wake up saying to yourself "this f*#kin' sucks, I'm bailing", it'll be about the second or third day maybe, just take the entire day off, chill in your ledge, watch the swallows and falcons and other climbers and just generally enjoy the peace and the view. Maybe fix a pitch or two above the ledge if you get bored. "
This is fantastic beta.
My 2 cents:
Get some pants with big pockets,so you can carry food with you at all times. The biggest crux for me has been self-care, the largest component of which was nutrition; ie stopping to eat. You will go more slowly than you think, and skipping out on meal breaks will feel like an easy way to make up time. Don't do this.
Find a camera that will fit into one of those pockets, lest all your documentation take place at bivies. Boring.
Don't skimp on gloves.
Do not go up under constraints of time.
Gu/power-spooge nice for bonky moments, to get you through a tough hour. Protein and fat in the morning for all-day go power. Sippable water is more efficient than the periodic guzzle/piss cycle.
Highly specific rack beta for each pitch is nice, if it doesn't spoil the adventure for ya. Carrying a giant rack is kind of a bummer.
Stick to the plan. Most clever technical improvisations end up wasting time unless very carefully thought through.
Lightweight nylon butt seat nice for sorting/stacking intervals at anchors, will save wear and tear on hips & legs.
Comfort ingestibles make the whole thing go down a lot smoother. Pick your pleasure, and don't skimp on it.
Steep is good! Avoid haulbag nightmares with good route selection.
"Ah, how interesting! My __ is twisted about my *(^*(, thus preventing me from @@#$#$@." Enjoy the inevitable problem-solving.
|
|
Holdplease2
Big Wall climber
Yosemite area
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2006 - 01:58pm PT
|
Mike. has a good point about hauling on a dynamic. IF you are hauling on a static, tho, this technique does not work and you will want a far end hauler for most routes. (Ive tried to do this, there simply isn't enough rope stretch.)I don't recall any hauling problems on the Trip, tho, so maybe not.
If you have two items that could stick, like a sub bag or edge pull it up and clip it to the main powerpoint while you are down at the bags so it won't get stuck 3 feet later. :)
-Kate.
|
|
rockrat511
climber
San Jose, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 17, 2006 - 03:11am PT
|
Yeah, with the steapness of TT I didn't really expect to need to far end haul except maybe on the pitches closer to the rim.
Thanks for the tension the line and pop it over trick I had never really thought of that and I probably wouldn't of been able to improvise that on the fly.
Now for a question or two about solo anchors. Always good to have a few extra tricks in the bag.
What sysetem do ya'll prefer to use?? Cloves, silent partner??
I've been using an unmodified Grigri, even though it's a bit cumbersome on free climbing.
How do ya normally set up your anchors?
One equalized for up force and one for down? Screamer at the anchor? Haulbag counterwieght?
I saw a pic, from Ammon I think it was, where he used a bunny eared figure 8 at the anchor and then cloved to a screamer on the first multidirectional, that function acceptably in a more traditional, non-speed wall arena??
Just wondering what ya'll do to when you find your self needing an anchor to carry your load and keep your ass off the deck?
|
|
Rhodo-Router
Trad climber
Otto, NC
|
|
|
Mar 17, 2006 - 11:56am PT
|
Numerous threads address these questions... try the Search function.
I've been using an unmodified Grigri--
Stick with that.
How do ya normally set up your anchors? --
When you first arrive at the anchor, rig a haul master point, and a jug master point, each EQ'd in the appropriate direction.
Only later, when it's time to lead out on the next pitch, do I rig the upward anchor. This is easy with all the bolts found on routes like the Trip. The bunny-ear deal sounds fine-K.I.S.S style, like it. A Screamer is good if things are sketchy right away or you like to leapfrog into oblivion and then rip it back to the belay, as Chris suggests is Ammon's frequent practice.
The haulbag counterweight is popular; as for me, sometimes I use it and sometimes I don't. It's pretty easy to tag a sling from the bag to your lead-line master knot to take a bit of weight off a potential fall, or you can run the line straight down to the bag before going up to you for the full monty.
|
|
Mungeclimber
Trad climber
one pass away from the big ditch
|
|
|
Mar 17, 2006 - 12:16pm PT
|
Russ, my love, please send my ledge first.
Thx,
Rockrat, mantra to remember "I must go up, to go down"
say it again
now, say it again
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
|
Mar 17, 2006 - 02:21pm PT
|
"How do ya normally set up your anchors? --"
BOMBER
|
|
rockrat511
climber
San Jose, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 17, 2006 - 06:04pm PT
|
Werner wrote-"
"How do ya normally set up your anchors? --"
BOMBER "
What, don't like my vision of an anchor made from 2 #1 heads and a rurp strung together on clove hitches??
Totaly BOMBER!
|
|
Ed Bannister
Mountain climber
Victorville, CA
|
|
|
Mar 17, 2006 - 06:47pm PT
|
Werner, does that mean you are not going to tell him about duct tape moves?
|
|
Ammon
Big Wall climber
El Cap
|
|
|
Mar 18, 2006 - 01:39am PT
|
Haa haa, Werner... that brought back some memories of you saying that exact thing when Scotti Burk showed you the line that just cut on me. (That was Weazies’ version anyway)
"OH, that's still BOMBER. It still has 2/3d's of its strength left.”
Haa haa, too funny. Scott? Where the ‘ell are ya?
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!