What do you think is the hardest element of an IAD?

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Messages 1 - 33 of total 33 in this topic

snowhazed

Trad climber

Oaksterdam, CA

Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 18, 2014 - 12:57pm PT

Yesterday I did my first big wall, a 17 hour NIAD. (I had help from a wall vet)

For me the most excruciating part was the harness (BD Chaos- its the only thing I've got) cutting in to my flesh on the last few pitches of jugging. The rest of the suffering involved was tame by comparison.

Well the descent was kinda gnarl too......

What say you!

Gnome Ofthe Diabase

climber

Out Of Bed

Oct 18, 2014 - 01:15pm PT

BITD tried them all ....YATES......Yates Harnesses.
YATES used to make a tie on Model and would customize per request...
had one that was Fuzzy and soft but the one I liked best
was a tie-on one with adjustable everything sick padding sandwiched into
the swami
Also a small ,off to the side buckle just to hold the rig on; the doc had cut off my Iliac crests
(pointy bits of the hip bones used in bone grafts, I hope you never have to know any more about that)

http://vocr.sri.com/herson/climbing/tr/niad-kara.html

edit ; I forgot to say good on 'ya that's is the faschizzel

climbski2

Mountain climber

Anchorage AK, Reno NV

Oct 18, 2014 - 01:20pm PT

uncomfortable harness is good therefore go faster

Easy Wind

Trad climber

Oakland, California

Oct 18, 2014 - 01:32pm PT

Congrats on the NIAD!

nah000

climber

canuckistan

Oct 18, 2014 - 05:35pm PT

^^^^^

hahaha!!!

ms55401

Trad climber

minneapolis, mn

Oct 18, 2014 - 05:58pm PT

hardest element is either training for the in-a-day or having not trained sufficiently for the in-a-day. The latter is usually harder

dave729

Trad climber

Western America

Oct 18, 2014 - 06:06pm PT

Stopping yourself from doing it again and again.
:P

GDavis

Social climber

SOL CAL

Oct 18, 2014 - 06:46pm PT

Never done a wall IAD (successfully) but the crux of my Sierra C2C trips is that most partners are strong climbers or strong hikers - rarely both. As a strong hiker I'm gassed at the cruxes but running back to the car with allll the gear while the rock jock pukes his guts out far behind.

Peter Haan

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, CA

Oct 18, 2014 - 07:15pm PT

Apparently it's spelling.

Blakey

Trad climber

Sierra Vista

Oct 20, 2014 - 08:28am PT

Peter,

I thought Americans don't do irony, spelling, grammar,or punctuation?

Not that I do mind you, pot kettle and all.

Steve

le_bruce

climber

Oakland, CA

Oct 20, 2014 - 11:18am PT

Congrats, Snowhazed! NIAD, with or without a badass partner tilting the scale, is elite. Give us some details on how it went! What was the second most difficult aspect?

I agree with the poster above - Yates is truck. I use the Shield and love it for walls. But if you plan on keeping up the fast and light efforts, maybe check out their streamlined models? The Astroman looks pretty sweet - 4 oz. lighter than the Shield.

http://yatesgear.com/climbing/big/

JLP

Social climber

The internet

Oct 20, 2014 - 12:30pm PT

The balls to go try it - get a bigger harness.

snowhazed

Trad climber

Oaksterdam, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Oct 20, 2014 - 04:37pm PT

Thanks for the congrats, the climb went pretty well. We blasted to the king swing in around 4.5 hours, leading the stovelegs and running it out huge on the glory hands was one of the coolest things ever. I used a bunch of energy getting over the flakes at the beginning of the texas flake, with all the gear snagging, and then things slowed for me further after getting punished pretty hard on the swing and the fatigue starting to set in. Having just learned to lower out I was slow on a few, especially late in the climb.

The pitches above the great roof all the way to the bolt ladder are just ridiculously splitter. Now I know why people call it the best climb on the planet.

More fitness, maybe a better hybrid harness for next time!

Brokedownclimber

Trad climber

Douglas, WY

Oct 20, 2014 - 05:22pm PT

The hardest part? Getting up so damned early in the morning....

WBraun

climber

Oct 20, 2014 - 05:28pm PT

The speedy class wakes up at 8:00 in the morning.

Then goes to the cafe, drinks coffee, smokes cigarets, talks sh!t till 10:00 am.

Then runs to the nose and tops out at 12:30 in afternoon, runs down and goes to deli for more hanging out and sh!t talking.

They never go to the bridge where all the poseurs are posing .......

snowhazed

Trad climber

Oaksterdam, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Oct 20, 2014 - 06:42pm PT

haha- we started at 7 am, never stopped by the bridge, alaways talk sh#t- only semi-poseur status

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

Nothing creative to say

Oct 20, 2014 - 06:43pm PT

lol, the real ones go to the bridge, but they blend in well with the poseurs. I don't mind if the real ones want to hang out with me. :)

Mungeclimber

Trad climber

Nothing creative to say

Oct 20, 2014 - 06:43pm PT

oh, and huge grats on the IAD!

deuce4

climber

Hobart, Australia

Oct 20, 2014 - 06:50pm PT

Sad to hear the bridge has become poseur status (that's where we used to rack up BITD).

We used to think IAD meant starting and ending at midnight. That was a huge error in judgement and a stupidly imposed "rule". When we tried Shield IAD, we started at midnight, got to Chickenhead around dusk, then had to climb the rest in the dark--but Mike's headlamp broke and we were exhausted--it had been cold and windy all day and all we had were t-shirts--so after a ptich above Chickenhead we bailed back to the ledge and we bivied through the cold, cold night.

Going from night to day to night was brutal--the body doesn't seem to like two nights in a row without sleep. Starting at dawn and climbing through one night makes much more sense. Or starting at dusk and finishing in the day...

This doesn't apply for NIAD, which can be done in daylight even on the shortest day of the year ;)

Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber

San Francisco

Oct 20, 2014 - 08:28pm PT

Id say staying well nourished and excited. At some point I usually lose psyche, like when I get tired.

briham89

Big Wall climber

santa cruz, ca

Oct 20, 2014 - 08:35pm PT

Sleeping the night before....

snowhazed

Trad climber

Oaksterdam, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Oct 21, 2014 - 09:43am PT

Vitaliy comes correct,

The force feeding of calories was pretty hard. At the end of the East Ledges all i could do was suck on orange chunks and spit out most of the pulp, stomach was not having it!

And Briham hits a a good point, I was able to fall asleep the night before pretty well from previous exhaustion, but I woke up from deer trampling around and then got all excited.....-+

survival

Big Wall climber

Terrapin Station

Oct 21, 2014 - 09:49am PT

You posed your spray as a question!

Now that's quality spray right there. Congratulations man!

Short days too, yikes.....

This doesn't apply for NIAD, which can be done in daylight even on the shortest day of the year ;)

Sez you.

zBrown

Ice climber

Brujò de la Playa

Oct 21, 2014 - 09:51am PT

Not to minimize your accomplishment in anyway, congrats, but I'm guessing that the hardest element would be the rock.

snowhazed

Trad climber

Oaksterdam, CA

Topic Author's Reply - Oct 21, 2014 - 10:02am PT

Well done survival, you have uncovered my ruse!

And lol, the granite up there is pretty hard, you know, for granite

Karl Baba

Trad climber

Yosemite, Ca

Oct 21, 2014 - 12:14pm PT

Funny you would say the harness is the hardest. How much of the route did you lead?

The hardest part is the place you are weakest. I'm good with logistics and technique but short on fitness and strength so that would be hardest for me. Some hard free climbers would be most challenged by the aid sections and logistics. Others just don't know how to be fast. For other, having the physical gas tank for the whole thing is bonkers

Peace

Karl

survival

Big Wall climber

Terrapin Station

Oct 21, 2014 - 12:21pm PT

Snowhazed, just having fun. Glad you appreciated it. I HATE being misread when there's no body language and facial expressions involved.
I really am stoked for you.
West Face of El Cap, SW Face Conness and DNB are some of my best IAD memories.
Believe it or not, DNB IAD was not that common in 1980. In fact, the team behind us that day were benighted, heh.

short on fitness and strength so that would be hardest for me.

Hey Karl, you're supposed to be talking about yourself, not me. Asshole...... :0)

Highlife

Trad climber

California

Oct 21, 2014 - 01:01pm PT

Whoever said sleeping the night before is dead on.

NutAgain!

Trad climber

South Pasadena, CA

Oct 21, 2014 - 01:40pm PT

Copper

NutAgain!

Trad climber

South Pasadena, CA

Oct 21, 2014 - 01:40pm PT

Oh, you said I A D. It's not about birth control at all.

Reeotch

climber

4 Corners Area

Oct 21, 2014 - 04:23pm PT

For me, it is the alpine start part. Starting climbing in the dark, yuk! But that's the only way I can do anything in a day.

I'm not fast enough to start at noon, as some here do . . .