FA of .14c crack in Yosemite

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sunjule

climber
Mar 6, 2008 - 07:47am PT
Any pictures of it anywhere? Tried to google it, but nothing came out :(
bachar

Trad climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
Mar 6, 2008 - 09:55am PT
In the Alpinist article it says"Rodden found it last year and projected the route for four months this winter."

What does "projected" mean?

 justgettin'old jb

Edit: I couldn't find the term in my Webster's Trad Dictionary...
Popeye!!

Trad climber
Montague, MA
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:13am PT
So Rhapsody, Dave McLeod's E11 7a is F8c+ which is said to be a YDS 14c+ trad route, the hardest to date.
bachar

Gym climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:31am PT
More like five. four Mike!

cheers, jb
k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:37am PT
My old Yates harness had velcro strips, which I imagined were for just that sort of gear thing. I used them once or twice on some desperate 5.10s...
k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:40am PT
JB, you know how you project your voice, like when you give a speech, so those in the back of the audience can hear you? Well, Beth projected herself, to the top of some north facing seam in a grotto.
socalbolter

Sport climber
Silverado, CA
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:41am PT
OK, so I'm somewhat on board with John and Mike on this one.

Meaning no disrespect or belittlement to Beth and her success at all, here's my thoughts:

I've redpointed some pretty difficult climbs over the years and on every one of them success came through repetition and taking the time to figure out the best possible sequences and ways to use the holds. These successes did not come from being an amazing climber. I firmly believe (from personal experience) that any fit and determined climber could succeed on a given route if they were to put in the time required to decipher the climb. Now this might require a few tries or a few years, but if the climber sticks with it - sooner or later the climb will give up and the climber will succeed.

I think Beth's FA should be recognized as a symbol of her determination and skills as a climber and the celebration of an amazing piece of rock. Kudos to her on her successful ascent.
happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:42am PT
In the Alpinist article, it says that Corey Rich photographed her on the route. And also that there's a waterfall in the background. That ought to make for some wonderful photos.

YeaY, Beth!
Ed Hartouni

Trad climber
Livermore, CA
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:49am PT
good for Beth! congrats on sending the project...

Tahoe climber

Trad climber
a dark-green forester out west
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:50am PT
Hearty congratulations to Beth - that sounds like an amazing climb, at the very top of her skillset, and she sent it.

Projecting, to me, means to try it over and over until it goes.

Way inspiring to me - she's an elite athlete, for sure, but she just broke some barriers with that one! A woman climbing 14c crack? That's f#cking rad, and inspiring. Reminds me of another diminuitive-statured lady that climbed a big trad route first.

Thanks for keeping me stoked, Beth!

Aaron
martygarrison

Trad climber
atlanta
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:51am PT
pics or details of location?
the Fet

Knackered climber
A bivy sack in the secret campground
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:54am PT
know how you project your voice

No, they meant she took a high quality slide photo of the route and projected it on her wall so she could study the moves.
happiegrrrl

Trad climber
New York, NY
Mar 6, 2008 - 10:59am PT
Marty - The Alpinist link mentioned earlier in the thread gives some detail about location.
bachar

Gym climber
Mammoth Lakes, CA
Mar 6, 2008 - 11:15am PT
Ah...pro-jected instead of project-ed. Got it. It's all clear to me now...

I'm just messin' 'round. I do find there's a bit of confusion with the use of the term "trad climbing" in reference to some of these "trad" ascents as reported in the climbing media. To me at least.

When someone top ropes a climb 50 times and leads it on "traditional" gear I think that's great and it is what it is - a rehearsed lead. If I did a route that way, I could never say I did a "trad" ascent however.

If I worked on it ground up for a long time, falling and lowering to the start every time, and I finally got the climb, then I might say I did a "trad" ascent. But that's just a product of my "trad" background and upbringing.

Nevertheless, I don't want to take anything away from Beth or others who choose this style. The routes they are doing are damn hard and point to new directions and possibilities for those climbs in the future - someday people will walk up to the base of those climbs and onsight flash them. Now that's trad.

Congrats, Beth. I can't wait to go check that crack out - standing on the ground of course!

Kartch

climber
belgrade, mt
Mar 6, 2008 - 11:29am PT
Nice job Beth, and thanks for the encouragement years ago in the Davis climbing gym.
leinosaur

Trad climber
burns flat, ok
Mar 6, 2008 - 11:37am PT
"Trad" or no, climbing that grade on gear - - wow.

go, Beth! Fight, fight!

As for "any climber with enough drive & time" ?

I'm not thinking so much . . . maybe any young one, with just the right genes -

but DAMN!

I mean, I'll be psyched to redpoint my first 11 . . . but sending 14+ on gear is just badder-asser than that, and I don't mind saying so.

k-man

Gym climber
SCruz
Mar 6, 2008 - 11:37am PT
Great post, jb.

I recently heard of someone who "headppointed" the BY. I mean, my hat's off to them for sending the route, but after multiple TRs, I think it kind of misses the point of what THAT route is all about. Still, I'd take it any way I could get it.

As for Beth, Hearty Way To Go. It doesn't matter to me if she's a pro or not. It's an amazing athletic accomplishment.

BTW, what is the hardest "trad" onsight?

Broken

climber
Texas
Mar 6, 2008 - 11:47am PT
I'm not sure what to make of calling rehearsed routes "trad."

I realize that traditional = ground-up... But it seems that the term has evolved to refer more to the protection than the style of ascent. i.e. the "hard trad" scene in Britain that often consists of headpointing. Though I suppose a lot of the Brits are very specific about not referring to headpointing as traditional.

Maybe we're just too stuck in binaries. Sport or Trad. One or the other. Bah.

Speaking of... For those who didn't see E11 or Committed, Macleod's route is pretty amazing, whatever you want to call it.

A clip of him taking the fall:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GOW2iwgPdI&feature=related

The trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOHwUUoOLYM&feature=related

Anyway... hats off to Rodden, for sure.

EDIT:

Just read the previous post. I think it is kinda lame to repeat a route in a style inferior to that of the first ascent. Like when whoever it was repeated Hersey's To RP Or Not To Be - which was unrepeated at the time - and they headpointed it (Hersey rappelled down it but didn't rehearse it).

Personally, I wouldn't touch a route like the BY unless I was doing it ground-up.

And I, too, am curious what the world's hardest trad onsight is...
stevep

Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
Mar 6, 2008 - 12:21pm PT
Not sure what the hardest trad onsite is, though that is an interesting question. I'd bet something in Britain. Seems to me Johnny Dawes did something in the E6 6b (5.13) range some years ago.

And I would disagree strongly about the statement that given enough attempts, anyone can get up anything. That may hold true up to 5.13, but these hard 5.14's are very hard. Not everyone genetically has the power and grip strength to do some of the moves. Similarly, not everyone can run a sub 10 second 100m dash or a sub 4 minute mile.

I agree on B-Y. The whole point of that is to lead it ground up. But this is a whole different story from a technical and strength difficulty standpoint, and the two aren't really comparable in my mind.
socalbolter

Sport climber
Silverado, CA
Mar 6, 2008 - 12:31pm PT
So folks are disagreeing with my comments above.

As I said there, I am IN NO WAY trying to take anything away from Beth's redpoint. It's an amazing accomplishment made by a climber who by all accounts is an incredible person and climber.

Now, perhaps I was too general in my original statement. Of course a 5.8 climber is not going to realistically siege a 14+ and succeed. But,(regarding this route) I do feel that someone with the requisite finger size who is already climbing hard (12+ and above ?) cracks would likely succeed on this if they put in the time to learn and master the moves.

Again, not to belittle the success at all, but in my own climbing I have redpointed routes that were 5-6 grades harder than my hardest onsite level at that time by putting in the time on the route and not giving up until I succeeded. I have also walked away from routes that I didn't feel were worth the amount of time it would have taken to succeed on. I think that most folks that have gone through the "redpoint process" would agree with the general concept.

Again, first and foremost - congrats to Beth on an amazing ascent!

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