Honnold record broken?

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harryhotdog

Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 10, 2013 - 05:34pm PT
Marc Andre Leclerc climbed the Grand wall with Roman chimneys in 58 minutes today according to reputable sources!
Rocky IV

Social climber
Sep 10, 2013 - 05:55pm PT
Marc is a champ!
S.Leeper

Social climber
somewhere that doesnt have anything over 90'
Sep 10, 2013 - 07:25pm PT
even after someone splats it wont end.
briham89

Big Wall climber
san jose, ca
Sep 10, 2013 - 07:38pm PT
Very impressive.

this scares me though...


How long till someone splats and this stupid game is over?


and this...

even after someone splats it wont end.

crankster

Trad climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
Sep 10, 2013 - 08:34pm PT
Yawn
Peter Haan

Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
Sep 10, 2013 - 09:32pm PT
Yes, Jim please reconsider your post just above, The Couch is right.
couchmaster

climber
pdx
Sep 10, 2013 - 09:56pm PT
Maybe it was just the phrasing Jim. In either case, thanks. These kids seem to go from asking stupid questions online to rocking the world real fast. The dad in me wants to yell "HEY, BE CAREFUL". Wishing them all well, but the risk goes up as the game is afoot.



What's new is old I suppose. This stuff below use to shock folks back when. There were no safety lines, and a single error would be fatal.





telemon01

Trad climber
Montana
Sep 10, 2013 - 10:11pm PT
I met Marc-Andre on the Gray Ledges in May. Here he is trying to free Pitch 16 (5.13)on the Muir. He logged a couple of 30 footers during his attempt.


Nice guy. He and his partner Chris rapped off after this pitch, and within a day or two, they climbed the West Face of Leaning Tower in a day. I think Chris said Marc Andre freed all the pitches on Leaning Tower.


Grippa

Trad climber
Salt Lake City, UT
Sep 10, 2013 - 11:35pm PT
Marc is the man! I recognized his distinct look while climbing at the base of the Grand Wall one day this summer. In short order afterwards I saw him climbing up The Shadow. Really cool to see someone climb something I've been drooling over for the past year.

harryhotdog

Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 11, 2013 - 12:23am PT

WTF when did we start keeping time?

Around 1500BC.



Record record no way there was a record.

Call it what you will. In climbing the first common measurement (after fun) is difficulty then time spent on the route.
I was referring to the speed record and I think humans were probably measuring themselves against time right after they invented the sun dial.

I was just astonished that anyone would solo a route faster than Alex and I thought that was amazing if it's true.










TheSoloClimber

Trad climber
Vancouver
Sep 11, 2013 - 01:35am PT
No doubt; Marc has been setting one record after another this summer. It's very impressive, to say the absolute least.
Norwegian

Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
Sep 11, 2013 - 08:41am PT
im confused of this comparison.
is it specific, or general?

did honnold do the grand wall pitches in more time than it took mark?

or is the record of which you speak just a general
bad-assness record that occassionally comes flying
out of the hyper-inspired individuals among us?
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Sep 11, 2013 - 09:49am PT
Ah....but did he start with Cruel Shoes?
TheSoloClimber

Trad climber
Vancouver
Sep 11, 2013 - 09:51am PT
Honnold simuled the Grand with Mason Earle when they set the previous record. Took them a hair under an hour.
harryhotdog

Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 11, 2013 - 10:37am PT
did honnold do the grand wall pitches in more time than it took mark?

Yes and according to Solo climber, Alex did it simul climbing whereas Marc soloed it.

Ah....but did he start with Cruel Shoes?

Probably not, that would definitely add some spice to a solo, especially the last pitch to the tree.
BASE104

Social climber
An Oil Field
Sep 11, 2013 - 10:55am PT
So is Honnold the most badass trad climber on the planet?

If it is a crack, and he can get his fingertips in it, it seems like he is solid. Have you ever tried to get off the ground on Cosmic Debris? He dispatched that and the Phoenix on a rest day.

He must have a high pain threshold. I always found finger cracks extremely painful. I predict a bad case of arthritis will set in by age 45....
Edge

Trad climber
Boulder, CO
Sep 11, 2013 - 11:04am PT
I think humans were probably measuring themselves against time right after they invented the sun dial.

That's still an adequate device for measuring my ascents.
Norwegian

Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
Sep 11, 2013 - 11:29am PT
i typically orgasm faster
when with a partner
than when solo.
GDavis

Social climber
SOL CAL
Sep 11, 2013 - 12:03pm PT
Christ, don't you people have something better to do than to belittle other's accomplishments?

He is a member of our small community, and doing these things make him happy. Just like Ammon soloing walls, just like donini climbing in patagonia - we ALL do dangerous sh#t we think is fun.

It doesn't kill you to be nice. It really doesn't. Try it.
Norwegian

Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
Sep 11, 2013 - 12:13pm PT
jerk.
Norwegian

Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
Sep 11, 2013 - 12:13pm PT
off,
GDavis

Social climber
SOL CAL
Sep 11, 2013 - 12:20pm PT
Me too! Card carrying member :D
Big Mike

Trad climber
BC
Sep 11, 2013 - 01:18pm PT
Marc's been killing it this summer! Great kid too, humble, funny. I was stoked when he went to the valley this spring. I knew it would up his game.

Marc doesn't have a death wish as far as i can tell, he's been going hard and fast at this game since he was a kid, and this is just the next logical progression for him. He climbs lots and climbs hard, so a 5.10+, 5.11 hour is pretty mellow.

Keep it up Marc! Stay safe!

Mike
harryhotdog

Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 11, 2013 - 02:53pm PT
Can't say in over 35 years of climbing that I've ever cared how quickly I climbed something.

Never been caught in a storm on a big cliff or in the mountains?

I've always strived to be more time efficient both in the climbing and rope management aspects. (Work in progress)
I think speed equals safety, on any big cliff or in the mountains, as long as your not rushing it.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Sep 11, 2013 - 02:58pm PT
My alpine background stays with me on rock climbs. Always checking my watch, trying to be efficent and fast....the only thing i don't do is look over my shoulder to see if a storm is streaking across the ice cap.
brownie

Trad climber
squamish
Sep 11, 2013 - 03:42pm PT
it would suck to be one of those people who gets unstoked by other peoples stoke..


KP Ariza

climber
SCC
Sep 11, 2013 - 03:46pm PT
You mean like whiner^^^

Agreed
TheSoloClimber

Trad climber
Vancouver
Sep 11, 2013 - 03:46pm PT
Who said she's enabling anything? Marc has been climbing long enough that I'm pretty sure he's confident in his abilities, and knows his limits. There is no reason to hate or be rude.
brownie

Trad climber
squamish
Sep 11, 2013 - 04:03pm PT
as we like to say here in squambodia(in between "yer gonna die" and "climb weenie climb!")

if ya can't be safe...

at least be careful.



Chief

climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
Sep 11, 2013 - 11:50pm PT
Climbing is often about playing the game in the way that's most meaningful for you at the time.
There are a lot of variations on the theme and when the stakes are high, you try to be honest about the consequences and true to yourself.
Nice work Marc, I assume you felt solid.
klk

Trad climber
cali
Sep 12, 2013 - 12:06am PT
Tammi - Good job enabling a young kid to risk his life for absolutely nothing. When was the last time you even climbed? Let alone solo anything

dude, did u really post this? appreciate the passion. but calm the f*#k down.

in good conditions (dry rc), a fast solo of grand would be way less dicey than most of what gets done up high on technical expedition crap. don't know the dude, but good on him. the "record" in the thread title seems a bit over the top.

and if tami's current job is anything like the one i had as a gymnastics coach (and i expect that the circus version is way gnarlier), then she's vastly over qualified for this thread.
The Larry

climber
Moab, UT
Sep 12, 2013 - 12:17am PT
Riley. Quit being fat and bitter. Some people are bad ass. You are not. Go for a jog or something. I would say eat a snickers but I doubt that would help.
Relic

Social climber
Vancouver, BC
Sep 12, 2013 - 12:18am PT
Hey Brownie. I'm stoked. Let's go!
KP Ariza

climber
SCC
Sep 12, 2013 - 01:34am PT
Riley. Quit being fat and bitter. Some people are bad ass. You are not. Go for a jog or something. I would say eat a snickers but I doubt that would help.

LOL!! Now that's solid. At least I'm only fat.
Relic

Social climber
Vancouver, BC
Sep 12, 2013 - 01:40am PT
I think Rilleey is on to something. Let's all bash on Tammie Nite. Stupid rat drawrer. Cat pedder. Used to climb a lot then joined a circus. Jerk.
harryhotdog

Social climber
north vancouver, B.C.
Topic Author's Reply - Sep 12, 2013 - 01:52am PT
the "record" in the thread title seems a bit over the top.


"Speed climbing "El Cap" is also popular. The RECORD for the Nose has changed hands several times in the past few years. The RECORD currently belongs to Alex Honnold and Hans Florine, who broke the previous RECORD by almost 13 minutes, with a time 2:23.46 on June 17, 2012.[24]

On November 6, 2010, Dean Potter and Sean Leary established the previous RECORD at 2:36.45, breaking the old RECORD held by Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama by a mere 20 seconds.[25] Prior to that, the Huber brothers (Alexander and Thomas) held the RECORD time of 2:45.45 (2007).[26]

There are more than 100 different routes on El Capitan and most of them have some kind of speed RECORD attached to them. Ammon McNeely owns the most RECORDS on El Cap, 23 RECORDS in total, 13 of them being First One Day Ascents."





Grand wall is no different than the nose in the fact that people continuously improve on the time taken to climb it.

What word do you suggest I use to indicate a faster time was achieved if using the word record is over the top.

How's this,

Someone climbed the Grand wall faster than anyone else before and on the last pitch he climbed over the top
Relic

Social climber
Vancouver, BC
Sep 12, 2013 - 01:57am PT
The word "record" suits Yosemite just fine Harry. I think in Squamish, we are more "cassette tape" or "lazer disk" maybe.
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
Sep 12, 2013 - 01:59am PT
Stupid rat drawrer. Cat pedder. Used to climb a lot then joined a circus. Jerk.

Yeah! Tammy Night is a stupid bird-doo head. I already called her "toilet face" on another thread. And she never climbed anything anyway, or even knew anybody who soloed anything.

But just for Riley's information, I saw Ms. Knight pop a crampon off her boot while soloing a steep ice runnel at the top of a 3,000-foot face in the middle of a f*#king Force 8 winter storm. I don't think there are a lot of people who would have survived that, but she's still here. (And it wasn't me who saved her -- I was below, and had the rope in my pack. She was totally on her own with that one.)
Dr.Sprock

Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
Sep 12, 2013 - 05:31am PT
have fun when climbing
survival

Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
Sep 12, 2013 - 06:59am PT
G'Dammit, all that hunting around for Riley's post and it's not even here anymore?

Well, I guess folks saved the crux of it for us anyway.

Does this mean that Tami's tougher than Riley is, cuz her sh#t is still here?

Anyway, hat's off to the dude that climbed fast.
Keep it real.
Ghost

climber
A long way from where I started
Sep 12, 2013 - 09:54am PT
G'Dammit, all that hunting around for Riley's post and it's not even here anymore?

He was angry at Tami for "enabling" a young person to do something dangerous, and said she had no right to an opinion. Something like "when was the last time you climbed, let alone soloed."

No big deal. Just business as usual on Supertoprope.
micro_marc

Gym climber
Squamish
Sep 12, 2013 - 10:45am PT
You guys are funny.... here hope this helps.

http://marcleclerc.blogspot.ca/2013/09/the-grand-wall-and-general-summer.html

Tami, Brownie, Big Mike, Nathan F'in Roberts... love you guys :)
MH2

climber
Sep 12, 2013 - 11:36am PT
That DOES help. He wanted to wait until the time changed from 10:32 to 10:33, but couldn't wait that long. I laughed at that because I know the feeling. Also because Marc-Andre is a funny, high-energy, knows-what's-important guy.
The Larry

climber
Moab, UT
Sep 12, 2013 - 01:49pm PT
Yeah fortmental. That sounds like some sound logic.
The Larry

climber
Moab, UT
Sep 12, 2013 - 03:23pm PT
G'Dammit, all that hunting around for Riley's post and it's not even here anymore?

He must have sobered up.
couchmaster

climber
pdx
Sep 12, 2013 - 04:49pm PT
^^^ possible but doesn't seem to be very often around here ^^^

Marc, congrats: any pics ?

MisterE

climber
Sep 12, 2013 - 05:03pm PT
Strong and stoked!

Here's a Vimeo video. I recognize "This Monkey's Gone to Heaven" at 2:00.

http://vimeo.com/28252455

Chief

climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
Sep 12, 2013 - 10:32pm PT
Excellent.
Relic

Social climber
Vancouver, BC
Sep 13, 2013 - 12:24am PT
Thanks for getting us weenies all psyched Marc. You're killing it!
RyanD

climber
Squamish
Sep 13, 2013 - 01:04am PT
Yeah Marc! Nice work buddy!


Then Borderline to high plains- proud.


I'd be surprised if that's not the first time that link has been third classed.


Btw Mr E, that's a lower harder start to "this monkey", think its called grinch goes to heaven or something v8/9ish. Really cool teaser actually, where's the full length vid???
saa

climber
Bleau, cham, pink granite coast
Oct 4, 2013 - 04:30pm PT
relic = troll





in 2010, a touron asked in el cap meadow:
why do people do something so dangerous , so crazy?
climbing el cap that is.
i answered: why do athletes compete in the olympics, why do soldiers go to war?
ok, i get your point, he said.

for those among you who understand the gap between the general public and the el cap climber, it shouldn't be too hard to understand the gap between you and alex honnold, mason earle, or marc.

.... unless you re a taco touron that is.
Rudder

Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 4, 2013 - 06:26pm PT
Agreed, JL... but sometimes there is also that feeling that you just don't want someone as likeable and unique as Alex Honnold, for instance, to get hurt. I never worried about you, I always figured the ground wasn't hard enough to do you any damage. :)
Largo

Sport climber
The Big Wide Open Face
Oct 5, 2013 - 12:46pm PT
I honestly don't know how some of these guys never get hurt. That alone is amazing to me.

JL
RyanD

climber
Squamish
Oct 5, 2013 - 03:25pm PT
Relic ya troll!!






Riley, what route u crater on in Squamish?? What happened?








Rudder

Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 5, 2013 - 03:32pm PT
In my opinion magazines, intelligent leaders, and video makers should not be promoting this kind of stuff.

Yes. No one even cares what you do on a rope anymore unless it's 15.5c... and even then it's boring compared to solo'n Half Dome with nothing more than a chalk bag and a power bar.

I think it was Louis CK that said kids are so stimulated now that they can't even enjoy five minutes looking at the wonders of Yosemite.

How far off are we from the futuristic movies where TV shows are an actual game of Russian roulette?

Filming Dan Osman dying didn't change anything. Would filming a free solo death finally change things? Doubtful, I suppose.

Not that I don't want boldness, climbing has always appreciated boldness. I'm blown away by the free solos of these amazing routes. It is totally exciting and fun to watch. I just worry, and personally don't want to encourage it.

I honestly don't know how some of these guys never get hurt. That alone is amazing to me.

I know. I just got a wasp sting up on Tahquitz a couple weeks back... I jumped and started swatting. But I was on an easy route with a rope. If I was close to my limit and free soloing...
climbski2

Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
Oct 5, 2013 - 05:01pm PT
If you were good at free-soloing, focused on something difficult you would easily ignore a bee sting. That focus is part of the allure of extreme sport.

I don't have a good answer for any of this. I do think folks should be free to do as they like in the mountains foolish or not. That judgement of foolish is a slippery slope. It is quite reasonable to say that any climbing activity is foolish on some level.

I KNOW some folks are soloing more foolishly than others however.

Recently I made the judgement that I was not at all impressed by a certain wingsuit stunt. I felt that there was no way to be certain of the uncontrollable variables such that even perfect mental/body control could ensure a very high probability of survival. Relying on a large helping of luck for survival is a place where I simply tune out and think.. IDIOT! Is that different than the successful familyman who looks at any climbing and thinks IDIOT.. I'm not truly sure. Different values certainly.. but the conclusion is perhaps no less valid.

Relying on hard earned skill and mental focus while accepting some basic level of objective hazard such as random rockfall impresses me. I spent a great deal of time in that arena in ski-mountaineering. No regrets and in many cases I was probably safer when I couldn't make a mistake than some days at the resort.

Fact is I'm a fraidy cat. I don't do something unless I am damn sure I can do it safely. I've done a few pretty cool things that others would have thought rediculous and that many of todays best have not repeated in as good or difficult a style. I was able to do those things because I was damn skilled and spent pretty much every day living that type of skill.

I'm no longer that competent because I don't have the burning desire and singleminded focus for those things that I once had. I miss that ability sometimes though.

I enjoy the hell out of seeing it displayed so well in folks like Honnold.
nah000

climber
canuckistan
Oct 5, 2013 - 05:11pm PT
a couple thoughts:

1. non-soloists trying to understand free soloists is as non-climbers trying to understand climbers, as the sedentary trying to understand the lives of the nomadic, or as the bureaucrat trying to understand the life of a warrior.

in all cases it's easier for either extreme to dismiss the motivations of their counterpart than it is to be open to the validity of the internal mysteries which, individually, we all have to accept.

2. how quickly some forget john bachar on that's incredible, henry barber on wide world of sports, or the newspaper coverage of expeditions to the himalaya in the mid-twentieth century...

i.e. the more things change: the more they stay the same. as humans we will always be fascinated by those living their lives on the fine line between the "known" and the "unknown", especially when that is coupled with the fine line between being and not-being. the only change, through time, is where the line is at.

tl;dr: "I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to" applies equally to the other, as it does to ourselves.
Rudder

Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 5, 2013 - 06:34pm PT
I do think folks should be free to do as they like in the mountains foolish or not.

Me too, definitely.

i.e. the more things change: the more they stay the same

Our nature?... yes. But, in how extreme "extreme sports" have become?
Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Oct 6, 2013 - 03:24am PT
"I honestly don't know how some of these guys never get hurt. That alone is amazing to me.

JL"

I think it's because there is a Spirit that is everywhere and there are no coincidences.

It's not the soloists who die usually. It's in the high mountains or ordinary climbers making a mistake.

And despite people who worry about people free soloing for the wrong reasons, I find that when you are unroped and doing anything that feels dicey or scary, it gives you a quick reality check. Only the truly confident stay with it unless they have a death wish (an those guys seem to prefer hard aid)

Peace

Karl
Chief

climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
Oct 6, 2013 - 12:21pm PT
Some more perspectives:

Big Jim just turned eighty this year and questions the notion that we might gamble fifty years of living for a climb; any climb, rock, alpine, roped, unroped.
He says he'd hate to have missed the last fifty.

There was an excellent line here on ST that went something like this;
"If some chimp swaddled in free stuff finds themselves climbing with a photographer dangling nearby, they might not be climbing just for themselves."

The great Pedro Croftini ventured that (and I'm paraphrasing here) "If you find yourself falling through space to your demise, clothes flapping, because you wanted to impress someone, you've made a big joke of yourself."

I'm not sure when the climbing sponsorship game began and although it's definitely older than Mountain (now there's a stab from the past!), Climbing or Rock and Ice magazines, the concept did take hold with the advent of modern climbing media.
Now with I Phones and the Internet, you don't have to wait eight weeks for global profile.
The stakes in rock climbing seem to be pushed much higher and it would appear if you're not in danger of decking off of 13+ or free soloing, you're not going to have a profile worth attention or sponsorship.
The same is true for a lot of other high risk sports and if you're not putting it all on the line, it's not worth watching (or sponsoring).
The point is that this dynamic could put a lot of pressure on today's impressionable young athletes hungry for their fifteen minutes of fame.

In the context of this thread, Marc doesn't appear to be driven by recklessness or the pursuit of media profile.
I've had the privilege of talking to him a couple times as he did me the courtesy of asking my thoughts on routes he was interested in.
He shared a great piece on his experience soloing an aid route I put up years ago and collectively, these engagements suggest he's motivated primarily by the love of climbing and adventure.

I suggest Marc, like many other great examples in our sport, is following the age old "Warrior Athlete" path common to many high risk adventure sports unique to a society protected from the challenge of daily survival.
Hopefully he'll keep it in perspective, stay solid, know when it's time to change his focus and avoid becoming a tragic statistic before his time.

Respect


Karl Baba

Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
Oct 6, 2013 - 03:29pm PT
Talk to any climber, who's any good, luck is the reason they're alive...

Some fantasy about everything happening for a reasons, is just level with a grade school girls- mentality.... musing- about her dead fish floating in her fish tank.

Human's aye, are destroying the Earth at a rapid pace, and thinking that a higher power has control over everyones fate; well, frankly and shirly, is just brain dead and insulting to the many greats who have perished.

One person's luck is another persons karma. Fact is, in a mechanistic universe, I think soloists and city drivers would be dying in much much higher numbers. Even myself, I've had more than 9 lives and countless close call stories. \

The higher power is within us, a part of us, not an external force or "Other"

Even perishing climbing isn't the worst thing for us (hard for loved ones) We go on.

I'll say this: If you are bummed over life and suspect there might be an unconscious part of you that's tempted to bow out, don't do dangerous stuff. The will to live is a huge force in creating "luck."

Peace

Karl
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