[User deactivated.]

3 and a half 8B's on the minute 

[teestub]

3 and a half 8B's on the minute 

This bit got me thinking whether I could do this on something a couple of grades below my max at a crag I had wired. 🤔

I enjoyed it, as others have said I think it was good, Midtbø asks some good questions in quite a disarming fashion and Ondra also sees to be quite honest in his replies. Ondra’s passion for rock climbing is infectious!

Also the last bit is pure comedy, I look forward to seeing people doing this at the ‘cliff.

[jwi]

3 and a half 8B's on the minute 

I would think that is pretty normal levels of short resistance for someone who can flash 9a, no?

[cowboyhat]

Yes we have to assume that is the level, for those few, three? four? people. Maybe its more;

I can imagine Aiden/Buster/Pope/Bosi getting close to something like that on the school board. As silly as it sounds, bouldering 8B just isnt that hard anymore

[cheque]

and 8A is approaching a rest.

[Duncan campbell]

Slightly off-topic but how many people have flashed/o/s-ed 9a?

Ondra, Megos, ? Or are they the only ones? Seems like there must be more?

[Wellsy]

Think it's just those two

The mention of comps and the Olympics was interesting anyway. As was Mitbo's view on Ondra still being the best climber in the world.

I do think that climbing is in a kind of unique place in that sense; the best in the world =/= best in comps and even the Olympics. Feels almost like a sideshow, especially compared to sports like tennis and weightlifting (where non Olympic and Olympic comps are essentially the only things that matter).

I guess cos climbing is a discipline/pastime/activity which is occasionally done as a sport. Whereas those things are purely sports.

[User deactivated.]

I class Ondra as the best rock climber too but I don't really know why. He's probably the best sport climber, but I think i'd place 3 before him in boudering (1. Woods, 2. Nalle, 3. Webb, then Ondra, Cameroni, Raboutou, Albert etc?). That makes him well rounded, but less so than Dave Mac? 

[SA Chris]

I guess cos climbing is a discipline/pastime/activity which is occasionally done as a sport. Whereas those things are purely sports.

I lift weights as a pastime.

Yours pedantically.

[Duma]

I class Ondra as the best rock climber too but I don't really know why. He's probably the best sport climber, but I think i'd place 3 before him in boudering (1. Woods, 2. Nalle, 3. Webb, then Ondra, Cameroni, Raboutou, Albert etc?). That makes him well rounded, but less so than Dave Mac? 

hahahahahahahahaha

[SA Chris]

but less so than Dave Mac? 

yeah what's he ever done on the Ben. In the middle of winter Scratching up some desperate pitch that's rarely in condition. Freezing his tits off.

(Nothing, because he's sensible).

[Wellsy]

I guess cos climbing is a discipline/pastime/activity which is occasionally done as a sport. Whereas those things are purely sports.

I lift weights as a pastime.

Yours pedantically.

Fair, as do I. I meant Olympic Weightlifting I.e the snatch and C&J combo but I also didn't specify so you are technically correct (the best kind of correct).

[User deactivated.]

If it wasn't clear enough already, the Dave Mac example is used for comedic effect, to make a point that Ondra is best in one discipline and maybe 3rd or 4th best in another and whether that's enough to be 'the best climber in the world'.

[Wellsy]

I class Ondra as the best rock climber too but I don't really know why. He's probably the best sport climber, but I think i'd place 3 before him in boudering (1. Woods, 2. Nalle, 3. Webb, then Ondra, Cameroni, Raboutou, Albert etc?). That makes him well rounded, but less so than Dave Mac? 

Probably cos he's done 9c sport and 8C+ boulder I guess. And a whole host of really hard sport routes.

I'd say that Dave is the best trad climber specifically and that Nalle is the best Boulderer just cos of Burden of Dreams, as well as a whole host of 8C+s, and general insane waddage. And because I'm a boulderer he's my favourite; I worship at the shrine of Nalle.

[teestub]

Don’t forget smashing out the Dawn Wall in pretty casual fashion. Probably not a trad route as far as Fiend is concerned because you don’t have to place the widgets on each pitch, but still pretty tricky.

[User deactivated.]

To be fair, I'd forgotten the Dawn Wall and it probably completes the puzzle for me.

[Bradders]

3 and a half 8B's on the minute 

This bit got me thinking whether I could do this on something a couple of grades below my max at a crag I had wired. 🤔

I've done similar at Trowbarrow. Not quite on the minute but when I was working on Iron Man I'd finish the session doing Vitruvian Man, Jazz Phenomena and Ned's Problem Sit back to back. Good fun, and I'm sure great fitness training.

Great video that, enjoyed it a lot.

[Duncan campbell]

Ondra is the best climber in the world, hands down, surely!?

To his name;
Hardest sport RP
Hardest sport flash
Largest amount of hard sport ticks/FAs to his name.

Bouldered 8C+ which is only a grade off the top pace
Flashed 8B+(is this the equal hardest ever?)

Repeated hardest big wall in the world in quick fashion
Made first free ascents of a number of other hard multi-pitch/big walls (WoGu, Tough Enough, etc,)
Tried to flash El Cap, but to make it a proper challenge tried to do it in a day and chose Salathe Wall.
Onsighted Concepcion, did those E7s on the grit inbetween doing talks trying hard at the Tor.

Pretty good comp record - was he the first to win Boulder and Lead World Cup/Championships?

I dont think anyone else even gets close to him, personally.

Im also not sure Dave Mac is the best trad climber. He's gotta be up there for headpointing but Caff, Ste Mac, Pearson have all got a better onsighting/flashing record and have still headpointed some pretty hefty routes. Thats a UK-centric look at trad climbing too obviously.

[Wellsy]

I suppose my thoughts re Dave Mac is just like, who else is ever going to do Echo Wall? I don't think any of those guys is doing a trad route MacLeod can't do, but I don't think any of them are doing that.

But I don't really know trad that well so I'll accept could well be talking guff.

[Duncan campbell]

Yeah there is Echo Wall. Though arguably a chunk of the battle with that one is that you basically have to live in the Highlands to do it, as amongst the difficulty, boldness there is the issue that you need to shovel that snow patch above it off to help it dry quicker. I have heard talk of Caff wanting to check it out. Caff also repeated LongHope in quick order and downgraded it?

But EW sounds too bold for Steve, though Steve has quickly climbed some hard routes (Rhapsody, Choronzon, Olympiad, Lexicon, GreatNess Wall)

Dave Mac is obvs handy but I don't know if he is up there with the likes of Caff, Ste Mac and Pearson for doing hard things from the ground. Caff has onsighted bucket loads of E7s and some E8s and G-upped the Big Issue (E9!), Ste Mac has onsighted/flashed quite a few E8s (I don't see Dave Mac o/sing Nightmayer for example) Pearson g-upping Muy Caliente.

For me, headpointing sits somewhere between trad and sport. The real test of being a trad climber is reading a description, racking up, and setting off into the unknown, which I'd say isn't Dave Mac's strong point (maybe he under the radar o/s loads of E7 + 8s but I dont see why he wouldn't publicise this along with his H/Ps).

Just my 2p and obviously macloed is still a phenonemal trad climber.

[cheque]

For me, headpointing sits somewhere between trad and sport. The real test of being a trad climber is reading a description, racking up, and setting off into the unknown

   Onsighting trad and sport routes are such different experiences, possibly more so than the differences between redpointing and headpointing.

[jwi]

Slightly off-topic but how many people have flashed/o/s-ed 9a?

Ondra, Megos, ? Or are they the only ones? Seems like there must be more?

Only those two. Not that many who has onsighted or flashed 8c+ either. I can only think of Paxi Usoibaga, Ramon Julian Puigblanque, Magnus Midtbø and Piotr Schab. Maybe someone else. Magnus and Piotr have only done one respectively afaik (even if they both done lots of 8cs onsight).

[jwi]

and 8A is approaching a rest.

no, but I would think that anyone who can onsight 9a can run laps on a well-rehearsed medium length 8b without getting pumped. So almost any part of an 8b route is a shake out.

[remus]

and 8A is approaching a rest.

no, but I would think that anyone who can onsight 9a can run laps on a well-rehearsed medium length 8b without getting pumped. So almost any part of an 8b route is a shake out.

I think this is just a joke. From memory, it's a play on a Ben moon quote along the lines of "6a is easy and 5c is approaching a rest" (where the grades are british tech grades).

[remus]

Only those two. Not that many who has onsighted or flashed 8c+ either. I can only think of Paxi Usoibaga, Ramon Julian Puigblanque, Magnus Midtbø and Piotr Schab. Maybe someone else. Magnus and Piotr have only done one respectively afaik (even if they both done lots of 8cs onsight).

I think it might be even more selective than that as it doesn't look like Piotr has logged any 8c+ onsights on 8a.nu (despite logging plenty of other stuff).