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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Mar 21, 2006 - 11:05am PT
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If you're going to try El Cap as your first solo ever, the Trip is a pretty good route. You might want to try the Lost In America to Virginia start like Ricardo did. He can tell you about it.
The traversing-down pitch 4 is kind of a pain if you go that way. I think the position of the third belay in the McTopo is silly - soloing you can easily belay from the sloping ledge down lower, much smarter.
There is merit in soloing something that is longer and harder than anything you have ever climbed. My first wall solo was Iron Hawk - I knew nothing about the route except having a copy of the Reid topo, and that Warren Hollinger told me he liked it. It took me sixteen days, but I got up the thing. Had to come out of Free Climbing Retirement near the end, which about scared the piss out of me.
Definitely the best advice is, "Shut up and climb!" Never bail. Never. Don't bail. If you are thinking about bailing, don't do it. You should announce your intention to the whole en-tar world [you can tell I just came back from caving in Kentucky, eh?] that YOU PLAN TO SOLO TANGERINE TRIP, and post about it here and everywhere else, thus making the consequences of failure even more humiliating. While it would be really smart to solo a Grade V first, like WFLT, it would be far more bitchin' to just walk up to the base of El Cap and solo it, instead, thus joining The Club on your first attempt.
Big wall soloing is a thinking man's game, even if you happen to be a woman. [I am a lesbian trapped in a man's body] Spend the time to read up on all the stuff I have written about soloing [consult my [url="http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22175&postdays=0&postorder=asc&topic_view=&start=0"]Index to Dr. Piton Stuff[/url] - you know where to find it, right?, and the [url="http://www.rockandice.com/drpiton.html"]Dr. Piton place on the Rock & Ice website[/url]] and discover the Better Way. [Dr. Piton does not purport to teach the Best Way or the Only Way; the Better Way is whatever works best for you] Check out my [url="http://www.rockclimbing.com/articles/index.php?id=49"]Ultimate Big Wall Checklist.[/url] You will find some useful stuff and tips. It could use a few revisions. I meet people on the summit who tell me they used it, and it helped them.
You may learn this like I did, by soloing one pitch routes [all that are around here!] and setting up a belay mid-pitch, and practise hauling bags of rocks! Make sure the pig weighs more than you, use round-edged boulders in a well-padded pig, and when you get to the top, don't chuck them off, or leave them lying around for someone else to chuck! Instead, practise rappelling with your pig and return the rocks to the base.
You can learn everything you need to know about soloing a big wall this way - I did. Just about.
Fish's ledges rock. He will look after you down the road if you need repairs or upgrades. I have used my Fish double on over 250 nights on the wall, and it's swell. Don't leave the ground without it. You should flag it, so you can hang out for long lunches.
Take more food and water than you think you need. Take at least ten days' worth. The LAST thing you need to be doing up there is worrying about running out of food and water. You have practised hauling rocks, so you know it's a piece of piss to haul everything you need on such a steep overhanging route.
You will not need the Far End Hauler until possibly the penultimate pitch, and certainly it is SUPERB to finish up the final pitch - from the bush-ledge place at the top of the corner up to the very top. Works like a charm, dude. Don't worry about setting it up down low, though.
Find yourself a Wall Doctor. I will be in Yosemite from May 18th onwards. If you want, I can tell you how to find me. Pick my brain, I'm happy to answer questions. Gimme a beer, and I can answer all your questions. Give me two beers, and I'll stop. I can teach you a million things just by hanging out in the parking lot or at the bear boxes, and looking at your systems. I can get you fine tuned in lots of ways you never imagined. Hard to explain online, easy to show you in person.
Same goes for any of you other guys [and gals] too, eh? Always happy to share beta and big wall tips, especially if you gimme a hand schlepping a pig to the base! I'm hoping to do a couple of routes on the Southwest Face, so if you want to hang out and do the Dr. Piton Mini-Big Wall Tutorial sometime, write me and we'll figure out when and where and stuff.
Listen to Kate, she knows stuff. She's a hottie, too.
As for anchors, you have probably found by now it is a real pain in the ass setting up an upside-down anchor. When you are soloing a big wall, you will have a big-ass pig with you, so you don't really need to build an upside-down anchor. Build it to take a downward pull [yes, it should be able to take an upward pull, too!] and run your lead from from the Power Point down to the pig [add a Screamer there if you like] and back up through one of the anchor bolts thus eliminating any possibility of a factor 2, and there you go. Your pig builds some dynamicm into the belay. But you knew that, right?
At any rate, you needn't worry about anchors on the Trip. There are big-ass bolts at every belay. This is not necessarily a good thing, it is merely the way things now are. Bryan-Minerals can tell you how he feels about this.
As for singing in the major keys, dude, I am totally with you on that. If you want to hear a song in a major key, you should check out my song [url="http://www.rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=10073&forum=19&10"]I Am A Solo Wall Climber[/url]
Do note that things do not always go so well! In all probability you will at some point be singing the Big Wall Blues [listen to the final bit of the Reid Aid Climbing Video to hear a live version of that], but hopefully your Far End Hauler on the summit pitch will keep you out of the minor key.
And if things go *really* bad, shut up and climb!
I told you so.
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rockrat511
climber
San Jose, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 22, 2006 - 12:48pm PT
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Hell yeah Pete, I'll buy ya' a beer and do a little pig schleping in exchange for some brain picking.
Knowledge is valuable and I'll take it where I can get it.
Same for any of you bay area locals, beers or pig shleping in exchange for what ya' got.
You got it, and baby I want it!!
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