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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Mar 11, 2013 - 06:11pm PT
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1. Salathé Wall
2. Nutcracker
3. Nose free
I see those three as the emblems of Yos' progress, each for the obvious reason. Maybe you could add the Phoenix as 2b, for Jardine's contribution of the SLCD.
Maybe the next item on that list would be Honnold's Triple IAD.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 11, 2013 - 06:12pm PT
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Regarding Free climbing, Ben and John have excellent points. The routes being free climbed in Germany in the early part of the 20th century were far harder than anything else being done. The British also have a long tradition of hard free climbing with the likes of Whillans, Brown and Boysen and guys like Stannard, Wunsch, Barber, Goldstone and Bragg were pushing standards in the 60's and 70's in the Gunks as was Erikson, Ament and others in Boulder.
These developments, however, were happening in a degree of isolation. The lure of the magnificent granite walls of Yosemite brought climbers from many countries together into one spot. I was witness to the transformation of a really good French climber tn the Valley in the early 70's. He was super good but he would naturally grab a piton if there was one in place. After being admonished, he ceased doing it and found that he could still do the climbs. That sort of attitude was brought back to the Continent and other areas around the World and soon became the norm.
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JohnnyG
climber
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Mar 11, 2013 - 06:19pm PT
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What about climbing clean??
No pitons. Kind of goes along with someone's suggestion about cams.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
the crowd MUST BE MOCKED...Mocked I tell you.
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Mar 11, 2013 - 07:43pm PT
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that's what I says above Johnny. It's been glossed over in the thread by the rest of these guys and subsumed into some clap trap about SLCDs. ;)
* and to the point above about Elbsandstain. Its not an impact if it isn't done at a time when magazines couldn't have picked up the story and had the rest of the world doing the same thing.
While poignant, the "impact" was not that big.
In clean climbing though, let's compare Gritstone standards to Yosemite's harder learning curve of having to go through the iron age first to start using nuts and SLCDs and free climbing more.
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Gene
climber
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Mar 11, 2013 - 08:16pm PT
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Yosemite’s impact is a result of the fact that it provides an accessible and benevolent playground relatively free of objective dangers which allows climbers to master the art of moving over stone. For most, that is enough of a goal. For some, mastery learned in Yosemite is just a point of departure for other arenas.
Big walls were done in Europe prior to Yosemite. The Brits had a great tradition of free (and clean) climbing which Yosemite embraced. Yosemite climbers without a doubt opened the door to big climbs in Europe, Asia, and South America – and even in Colorado.
Yosemite’s contribution is that it attracted climbers who took the best from around the world and synthesized it into the techniques and commitment that Chouinard was referring to.
My vote: 1, 2, and 3 with the caveat that what was done in Yosemite – at least after the mid-60s - was not done in isolation.
g
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Mar 11, 2013 - 08:35pm PT
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Biggest impact: proof of concept that a climber can meet all his/her caloric needs by eating food leftover on stranger's plates.
This was a quantum leap forward from making a meal of tomato soup from free ketchup packets.
Second biggest impact: proof of concept that the climber can sleep free in a highly regulated and expensive venue by employing the stealth bivy.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Mar 11, 2013 - 08:56pm PT
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I gotta go with the big wall climbing on this. I think that is the most uniquely Yosemite contribution to climbing. Clearly the free climbing style was influential in the way Donini suggests, but i think that it was part of a whole that was going a lot of places. Even if it had the largest of the voices it didn't stand out the way the wall climbi g did/does.
And likewise the alpine. It seems to me that Yosemite school contribution to that was mostly an offshoot of the wall climbing as well.
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steveA
Trad climber
bedford,massachusetts
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Mar 11, 2013 - 09:14pm PT
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I'll vote for #3, as well.
Most of the good alpinist of my generation, had a few big walls under their belt, early in their career.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Mar 11, 2013 - 09:47pm PT
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Jaybro, even you didn't say the 'wide fetish!'
Where did reel offwidth start, folks????
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wayne burleson
climber
Amherst, MA
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Mar 11, 2013 - 10:03pm PT
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Great thread!
Thanks Kevin for beautiful poetry...
Thanks PhylP for levity. Climber "culture" is a key contribution.
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DanaB
climber
CT
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Mar 11, 2013 - 10:11pm PT
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Yosemeite was certainly influential in the areas you mentioned. But I'm not sure I understand what you're driving at here, Jim.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Mar 11, 2013 - 10:12pm PT
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i think the huge tour buses have the biggest impact on the yosemite valley experience. o h wait... LOL.
clean climbing without a doubt. I concur.
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Mar 11, 2013 - 10:24pm PT
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My unimportant take on Jim's query
1: The irresistible lure of the big walls.
2: The clean & free climbing revolution.
3: The evolution to serious Alpine climbing.
4: The crystallization of 1 through 3 on Big Mountain Big Walls.
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LilaBiene
Trad climber
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Mar 11, 2013 - 10:43pm PT
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From my very limited perspective and assisted, estimated triangulation, "spawning ground" would appear to cover all the bases.
I'll probably burn in Hell for that one...
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philo
Trad climber
Is that light the end of the tunnel or a train?
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Mar 11, 2013 - 10:46pm PT
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"spawning ground"
LOLila perfect.
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snowhazed
Trad climber
Oaksterdam, CA
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Mar 11, 2013 - 10:51pm PT
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The ability for all of the above mentioned progressions to so easily be captured on film and spread out to the world culture at large. Also millions of civilians see headlamps twinkling on walls and climbers walking by.
A world class venue- right next to the road. That is the the biggest impact.
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squishy
Mountain climber
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Mar 11, 2013 - 11:03pm PT
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It's really all about that airplane crash and the extra time bought to produce things like the friends and push the boundaries of climbing by using the abundance of free time. In a culture like california with a place like that, everything just came together at the right time to spawn some crazy ass climbing homos...
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squishy
Mountain climber
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Mar 11, 2013 - 11:10pm PT
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pullies, winches, stove legs, hard pitons, no pitons, bashies?, bird beaks?, bongs, HEHEHEHEHE, bongs....
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RyanD
climber
Squamish
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Mar 12, 2013 - 04:53am PT
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Bump, Awesome thread & lots of cool posts. I need to go to the valley to properly answer this.
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nopantsben
climber
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Mar 12, 2013 - 08:29am PT
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i've been told there is a route from 189? that was rated 5.8 but really has mandatory 5.10+ or so on it. can't think of the name.
but I agree with Jim that Yosemite is different from Elbsandstein and ultimately had a very different impact.
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