The Leader Must Not Fall

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Chris Cunningham

Trad climber

San Francisco

Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 18, 2014 - 10:18pm PT

Killing time until it finally stops with the God forsaken rain; came across this book.
Manila rope, no devices, slung nobs are the only protection...these guys were nuts.

crankster

Trad climber

Dec 19, 2014 - 06:23am PT

Yikes!

Charlie D.

Trad climber

Western Slope, Tahoe Sierra

Dec 19, 2014 - 07:30am PT

God forsaken rain

Really?

Cool photos BTW

WBraun

climber

Dec 19, 2014 - 08:30am PT

Back when men were men.

Now we're all pussies, with all that stooopid safety gear and endless blather of ratings and stoopid gear talk,

Back then if you fell and died you went heaven and got 72 virgins.

Now a days if you fall you get flamed on supertopo ......

PhilG

Trad climber

The Circuit, Tonasket WA

Dec 19, 2014 - 08:46am PT

Agree with WBraun. There was a time when only Englishmen and mad dogs went rock climbing.
That's a cool book, by-the-way. Love those pre-1960's climbing books and guides.

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Dec 19, 2014 - 08:48am PT

Don't forget the nailed boots (clearly evident on the cover shot).

I think all the great gear and the confusing example of sport and gym climbing have combined to create an illusion of safety for trad climbing which does not really agree with reality. It has also enabled folks who obviously would never have come anywhere near the activity when that book was written to raise the banner of safety in an attempt to eliminate risks from the trad environment.

PhilG

Trad climber

The Circuit, Tonasket WA

Dec 19, 2014 - 09:00am PT

Well said, rgold.
We have a local climber here who is trying to sell the idea of "safe adventure" climbs.

PhilG

Trad climber

The Circuit, Tonasket WA

Dec 19, 2014 - 09:16am PT

DMT:
Promote, publicize. Advertize sport climbs he has establish as "safe outdoor" adventure.

mhay

climber

Bishop, CA

Dec 19, 2014 - 09:47am PT

I think the guy in the first photo is carrying a Climbird.

Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber

Old and Broken Down in Appalachia

Dec 19, 2014 - 10:06am PT

I never got past that mindset- that the leader must not fall.

rincon

Trad climber

Coarsegold

Dec 19, 2014 - 10:13am PT

I'm not a faller either.

That's probably why I suck :)

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Dec 19, 2014 - 10:18am PT

PhilG, as many people here know, the "safe adventure climbs" are modeled on the European Plaisir climbing phenomenon, so there is a considerable precedent for this type of development. Think bolts next to perfectly good cracks, etc. blah blah etc.

I think guiding organizations and related tourist groups have helped to advance the idea in Europe, because they see real potential income for their mountain towns and the guides who live and work there.

I think the movement is in some sense underway here with increasingly pervasive bolting of belay stances on multipitch routes, reducing the commitment level enormously and making it commonplace to choose ahead of time to only do a portion of the route and rap off.

In Europe, beautiful classics like the Cassin route on the northeast face of the Piz Badile have acquired bolted belays. This was originally done in 1937 by guys with the equipment and outlook of the book you referenced, but noways the demands of "safety" require bolts at every belay.

rgold

Trad climber

Poughkeepsie, NY

Dec 19, 2014 - 12:28pm PT

No absolutely not.

Although I do have strong opinions on the subject, I tried to describe the situation without editorializing, until I got to the US bolted belays and the Piz Badile.

I don't begrudge guides a living or mountain towns an industry. No one thinks anything of carving up hillsides and installing chair lifts, so why not bolt the daylights out of the local crags so that everyone can have fun? It does seem wrong to me to do the same thing to a 1937 classic on a big alpine peak though, and there precisely is the problem: once you start down the road of equipping climbs in a way not provided by nature, it seems hard to stop.

Degaine

climber

Dec 19, 2014 - 12:56pm PT

Rgold,

Have you ever climbed in the European Alps?

I can assure you there is plenty of very unsafe adventure to be had, even on trad routes with a rusty piton here or there and a bolted belay or two.

Even in the supposed epicenter of trad climbing that is the California Sierra Nevada granite batholith, routes that require a rappel have bolted belays.

Anyway,why such disdain for climbing in the Alps? Your posts (in this thread and others) read is if you're holding your nose while writing them.

clinker

Trad climber

Santa Cruz, California

Dec 19, 2014 - 01:09pm PT

If your sorry ass falls the belated still has to wake up and make the catch.

Hah, belated auto inserted instead of belayer.

Reilly

Mountain climber

The Other Monrovia- CA

Dec 19, 2014 - 01:14pm PT

Even in the supposed epicenter of trad climbing that is the California Sierra Nevada granite

Those of who cut our teeth in the Cascades and Rockies might be permitted a wry smile at
that remark, thank you. And despite modern equipment I will go out on a runout here and
aver that falling in the latter two ranges can still be quite harmful to yer health.

Sierra Ledge Rat

Mountain climber

Old and Broken Down in Appalachia

Dec 19, 2014 - 01:18pm PT

I was climbing on the left side of the Apron, and had a 5.10 runout right off a couple of old rusty belay bolts. It think it was Hoppy's Favorite.

I started telling my belayer, "I think I'm going to fall!"

And he replied, "OH NO YOU'RE NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"