UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => news => Topic started by: Doylo on October 06, 2016, 11:07:56 am
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Intrigued with how he's going to get on with Dawn Wall.
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http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_GB/experience-story?cid=adam-ondra-dawn-wall-interview
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To business: he's done the first three pitches of Dawn Wall.
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14714851_1058986384221717_7965950217805842586_o.jpg)
Photo from Erik Sloan
Sounds like Jorg Verhoeven is also involved, though the source identifies him and Ondra as Austrian (https://www.facebook.com/Yosemitebigwall/photos/a.446589598794735.1073741825.227554464031584/1054082831378739/?type=3&theater). A strong team.
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Austrians! Whatever, they are all euros to me
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To business: he's done the first three pitches of Dawn Wall.
Of course he has. It's the sinew lord, ONDRA
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For reference.
I really hope there's someone out there pushing a small Adam Ondra fridge magnet up their Dawn Wall poster...
(https://s3.amazonaws.com/user-media.venngage.com/405638-6db023655f8cc5c76405839513c53c9c.jpg)
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Top of pitch 7 now.
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He said he was going to try The Nose and Salathe first. Must have got impatient.
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Must've looked at the topo and realised that the hardest pitch is only 9a. :whistle:
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Ondra's instagram showed him trying to learn crack technique yesterday on a single pitch 5.10c... obviously a fast learner.....
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(He onsighted Hlaska in Teplice, the “trying to learn offwidth” thing is bull.)
From black diamond's facebook
“First day on the big wall in Yosemite, and straight onto the Dawn Wall! Foolishness, lack of respect or boldness? Well, not necessarily any of it. The Dawn Wall just dries up quickly after the huge rain on Sunday. And it went all right. Definitely scary and adventurous. Tiny footholds and insecure climbing, smearing my feet onto glassy footholds of Yosemite granite and all that with poor protection by copperheads, peckers, tiny cams and occasional bolts.
“I ripped some copperheads, took some falls but made it to the top of pitch 7 and fixed our ropes. Leading the pitches with all the fear definitely felt super hard, but once I had the rope from above, the moves felt OK. But grades on the Dawn Wall are definitely not overrated. Great success for today and 5 pitches to go tomorrow to have our ropes fixed under the crux pitches.”
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legend... in transposing his skills... he's probably even still jet lagged...
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(He onsighted Hlaska in Teplice, the “trying to learn offwidth” thing is bull.)
I had to google that...
Adam enjoying the offwidth struggle of Udolni (VIIb, so theoretically F5c) on the tower of Hlaska in Teplice
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e0/df/a9/e0dfa91af68be08393e3d625237b5d56.jpg)
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It would be at least 5.11+ in Utah imho
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P10 last night according to 8a.poo
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which pitches are the nails ones?
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think 13/14 but not checked
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actually google says 14/15
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I too haven't checked, but assuming this topo is correct pitch 14, 15 and 16 are all around 9a unless Verhoeven and Ondra goes for the loop around the dyno. But they boulder 8C, so why would they?
(http://web.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/freedawn.gif)
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(http://gripped.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/fd.png)
r-man's fridge magnet might slow down a little on pitches 14-15 (the 9a ones). Pitch 15 was the one Jorgeson had the prolonged battle with.
To put this in perspective, the first seven pitches contain as much hard climbing as any other route on El Cap. (one 8b+, two 8a+ pitches).
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Maybe I'm missing something, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of clarity anywhere about what is actually going on?
Is he working then redpointing the pitches as he's going - ie: trying to actually do it on his first attempt?
Or is he just dogging and working it all, without redpointing the pitches - ie: aiming to get it dialled, then come back later for a complete ascent?
If it's the former and he's redpointed the first 10 pitches already then that's pretty outrageous (although perhaps not unexpected).
Anyway...
:popcorn:
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Where's Adam, he's looking at gear in SLC.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RFUOykrFhEM (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RFUOykrFhEM)
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Maybe I'm missing something, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of clarity anywhere about what is actually going on?
Is he working then redpointing the pitches as he's going - ie: trying to actually do it on his first attempt?
Or is he just dogging and working it all, without redpointing the pitches - ie: aiming to get it dialled, then come back later for a complete ascent?
If it's the former and he's redpointed the first 10 pitches already then that's pretty outrageous (although perhaps not unexpected).
Anyway...
:popcorn:
This quote from Black Diamond's FB suggests this is very much a working effort at the moment"
“We started pretty late yesterday and the fact that we are very inexperienced was obvious right from the beginning—I’ve done a lot of jugging up in my life, but only sport climbing and always using one GriGri and one ascender. Bad technique resulted in being super slow and tired after having jugged up the first 7 pitches. It was 3:30 p.m. by that time, so I managed to get to the top of pitch 10 until it got dark.
“It was quite intense, a lot of bold climbing again, especially on pitch 10, which is another horrendous layback with poor protection. A combination of aid climbing, French-freeing and fear got me to the top without ripping out any of my pieces of pro. I didn’t feel like going for more adventure in the dark, so we just fixed our ropes and I tried pitch 7, 8 and 10 (5.14a, .13d and .14a) on toprope with headlamp. These pitches are not only bold, but freaking hard too! Definitely no easy grades for these ones—Tommy and Kevin are tough guys! I tried the moves all over again to get some confidence and we got back to the camp by 12:30 at night. Big day for sure."
–BD Ambassador Adam Ondra, Oct. 19, 2016.
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This is fantastic stuff :bounce: Engrossed already!
Good to see him putting that long neck of his to good use ;D
Let's hope the route puts up something of a fight too.
(The pressure's on to see if I can repeat "Pitch 15", which is the two move problem I completed at Broomgrove while Kevin and Tommy were topping out. Need to sort my twitter feed. ;) )
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A map for y'all...
(http://www.rockandice.com/Article-Images/News-Photos/October-2016/DW-topo-RI-225.jpg)
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Sorted that for them:
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161020/5d998e7dd32f2ec41a833da8cc3a1eb1.jpg)
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Sounds like he was fucked trying to Jug up El Cap with a gri gri and a ascender :lol:
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Think hes had an education now...
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=726277337525998&id=126516774168727
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Sounds like he was fucked trying to Jug up El Cap with a gri gri and a ascender :lol:
Anyone any idea if he's got a similar logistical support crew/setup as the first ascensionists had? Or is he just puntering up it, bigwall beginners mind style?
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By the sounds of things he's just puntering around trying to fix lines up to the crux pitches. The impression I'm getting is that he has onsighted most of the easier pitches but seems to have frigged his way up those around the 5.14 mark?
Could be well wrong there but it also sounds like he is trying to do everything as free as possible i.e no aid climbing up pitches to get a rope on them. Though if you can climb 9b+ but have never aided it would probs be easier and probs less terrifying than doing some A4 shit?
He got to the top of pitch 7 on his first day on the route which is further than Tommy and Kevin got on their redpoint ascent! I wouldn't be shocked if Ondra sends Dawn Wall on this trip... though I guess it depends how long he is in thecircus Valley for. Plus he could get totally shutdown on the crux pitches due to heat at this time of year? Though maybe he could go and onsight the Salathe whilst he waits for it to cool down?
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I think it's pretty cool of Ondra to have a crack at this. I mean, he has his rep as 'best climber in the world' to maintain, and he's taken himself out of his comfort zone to try something as hard as it gets in a style he's not used to. Lot of potential to fail very publicly - he's obviously not worried and is just psyched to try. Of course, there may be some sponsor pressure but I doubt that would influence him given his public stance on the Olympic format. Shows a pretty impressive attitude that is probably part of why he's got to where he is in the first place.
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The guy grew up climbing Czech sandstone. I can't see him being that fazed about El Cap.
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I know it's a not a FA, but I quite like that there isn't the sponsor-fueled media shit-storm around this.
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well, he's not american for a start.
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I mean, he has his rep as 'best climber in the world' to maintain, and he's taken himself out of his comfort zone to try something as hard as it gets in a style he's not used to. Lot of potential to fail very publicly - he's obviously not worried and is just psyched to try.
I always thought that when he gets involved in the comps. He has more to lose than gain but gives it his all anyway.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
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Just to refresh the memory banks, he came over to UK and had a quick go on Peak rock a few years ago. Numerous E7's and made them look a doddle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGnzI6WmsEg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGnzI6WmsEg)
If anybody can do this he can.
If he doesn't make it there is always next time.
Why let egos get in the way of having a good time?
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In interviews I've watched Adam Ondra seems to have no, or very little, ego when it comes to climbing, he just fucking loves climbing, thats it. :shrug:
Look at how he went out and repeated loads of established routes so he could develop his appreciation for what climbs at each grades are and how new routes he would do would fit into that scale, often failing quite openly on some routes before finally getting up them. Thats not an approach someone who wanted to stroke their ego would take.
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In interviews I've watched Adam Ondra seems to have no, or very little, ego when it comes to climbing, he just fucking loves climbing, thats it. :shrug:
Look at how he went out and repeated loads of established routes so he could develop his appreciation for what climbs at each grades are and how new routes he would do would fit into that scale, often failing quite openly on some routes before finally getting up them. Thats not an approach someone who wanted to stroke their ego would take.
+1, closest I've got to a hero.
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In interviews I've watched Adam Ondra seems to have no, or very little, ego when it comes to climbing, he just fucking loves climbing, thats it. :shrug:
Exactly he loves it and the greatest climber by far of this era, and a gent.
The best ambassador climbing has.
The ego bit of my post regards the wider climbing community, ethics of the ascent, hope he fails etc etc. etc.
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+1, closest I've got to a hero.
Yeah, whatever. I've seen the way you look at Nige.
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+1, closest I've got to a hero.
Yeah, whatever. I've seen the way you look at Nige.
He's just good looking.
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+1, closest I've got to a hero.
Yeah, whatever. I've seen the way you look at Nige.
Is that a hint of jealousy I detect, JB? :P
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We're all human.
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By the sounds of things he's just puntering around
Sounds refreshingly in vogue. I went puntering at the Tor earlier.
Puntering is the new wadding :boxing:
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In interviews I've watched Adam Ondra seems to have no, or very little, ego when it comes to climbing, he just fucking loves climbing, thats it. :shrug:
Exactly he loves it and the greatest climber by far of this era, and a gent.
The best ambassador climbing has.
The ego bit of my post regards the wider climbing community, ethics of the ascent, hope he fails etc etc. etc.
Easy to be humble and lacking in ego when you're cruising along being the best..
Wait until he hits 35, has a kid, picks up a few niggles, the business he started starts to demand more of his time than he'd like and his missus is on to him to get on with painting the living room like he promised. It'll be nothing but 'leading climber' Adam Ondra' (media euphemism for 'has been' or 'nowhere near the best') and 'Singing Rock ambassador' on the fall-out bunker media feed.
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In interviews I've watched Adam Ondra seems to have no, or very little, ego when it comes to climbing, he just fucking loves climbing, thats it. :shrug:
Exactly he loves it and the greatest climber by far of this era, and a gent.
The best ambassador climbing has.
The ego bit of my post regards the wider climbing community, ethics of the ascent, hope he fails etc etc. etc.
Easy to be humble and lacking in ego when you're cruising along being the best..
Wait until he hits 35, has a kid, picks up a few niggles, the business he started starts to demand more of his time than he'd like and his missus is on to him to get on with painting the living room like he promised. It'll be nothing but 'leading climber' Adam Ondra' (media euphemism for 'has been' or 'nowhere near the best') and 'Singing Rock ambassador' on the fall-out bunker media feed.
Maybe, but he's only in his early 20's I am sure that in the next 10 years he will tick his short/medium/long term climbing goals, having a lot of fun along the way. And then retire gracefully....
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Surely Ondra is a lifer?
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Easy to be humble and lacking in ego when you're cruising along being the best..
Wait until he hits 35, has a kid, picks up a few niggles, the business he started starts to demand more of his time than he'd like and his missus is on to him to get on with painting the living room like he promised. It'll be nothing but 'leading climber' Adam Ondra' (media euphemism for 'has been' or 'nowhere near the best') and 'Singing Rock ambassador' on the fall-out bunker media feed.
And?
People and their situations and therefore priorities change as they progress through life. Thats not a revelation, its life.
Performance standards and what constitutes 'the best' change, and generally improve, not just in climbing but across all activities as there is better shared knowledge and its application. Thats not a revelation either.
My guess is that he'll be happy going out climbing and challenging himself even if he's not viewed by others as 'the best' or at the cutting edge, just like most other people who climb. Or he might sack it all off one day and do something else, wouldn't taint the legacy he'd leave behind one little bit.
I'm struggling to understand what you are trying to convey. :shrug:
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Easy to be humble and lacking in ego when you're cruising along being the best..
Wait until he hits 35, has a kid, picks up a few niggles, the business he started starts to demand more of his time than he'd like and his missus is on to him to get on with painting the living room like he promised. It'll be nothing but 'leading climber' Adam Ondra' (media euphemism for 'has been' or 'nowhere near the best') and 'Singing Rock ambassador' on the fall-out bunker media feed.
And?
People and their situations and therefore priorities change as they progress through life. Thats not a revelation, its life.
Performance standards and what constitutes 'the best' change, and generally improve, not just in climbing but across all activities as there is better shared knowledge and its application. Thats not a revelation either.
My guess is that he'll be happy going out climbing and challenging himself even if he's not viewed by others as 'the best' or at the cutting edge, just like most other people who climb. Or he might sack it all off one day and do something else, wouldn't taint the legacy he'd leave behind one little bit.
I'm struggling to understand what you are trying to convey. :shrug:
The difference between "ego" and "ego defence".
The former is very often used as a shorthand for the latter, as when life is going well for us, our functional or "positive" manifestation of ego - e.g. just loving climbing - tends to go relatively unnoticed. When life starts to encroach, and things seem to not be going our own way - we thought we were the über wad, but we've been dropping the 53rd move for three weeks goddammit; being in a foul mood when we've got to earn climbing vouchers, by entertaining the in-laws when the conditions are otherwise mint; pulled a pulley, that sort of thing - the ego can take that as a direct and painful realisation of the discrepancy between the self concept and reality.
As a defence, our ego responds e.g. with anger or other less sociable behaviour - yelling and screaming, kicking the rock, chipping holds (!), in an attempt to externalise the pain. We refer to this "negative" behaviour as "ego", because it's kind of unpleasant, and what we notice.
Ondra appears relatively "well adjusted" to life's frustrations, and seems to display less defensive behaviour.
I know this is all a bit clumsy. I was going to post something like it earlier, but petejh did instead.
Anyway, Ondra has been known to throw the odd tantrum. Bring on pitch 15, though I reckon he'll path it.
I'm guessing that what you may mean, Slackers, is that when you enjoy climbing so much, the frustrations are far easier to take; any climbing is fantastic - and that's a great place to be!
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I dare say that petejh was being sarcastic.
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I'm struggling to understand what you are trying to convey. :shrug:
It doesn't matter Siri.
Sarcastic mainly, with a small dash of truth.
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On topic please, or I'll start posting about Brexit [emoji22]
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Here was my thinking it was cynicism. ::)
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Just climb faster.
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Or train on an overhanging board.
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Sorry, I don't like the way people throw the word "ego" around.
Ondra has plenty of ego, just mostly more secure and functional than insecure and dysfunctional.
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So what's he up to tonight? Beers in Camp 4 or feeding his ego?
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Making love with his eagle
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The ego has landed?
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Making love with his eagle
That seems to bring up thoughts of Harry Potter.
Hmm... [emoji22]
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So what's he up to tonight? Beers in Camp 4 or feeding his ego?
On pitch 15:
https://instagram.com/p/BL0HLnjBTdH/
Rock and Ice summarises his progress (http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/dawn-wall-update-adam-ondra-reaches-pitch-15-dyno-crux).
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Sorry, I don't like the way people throw the word "ego" around.
Ondra has plenty of ego, just mostly more secure and functional than insecure and dysfunctional.
Dave, Dawn wall should be renamed "Where Egos Dare."
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So what's he up to tonight? Beers in Camp 4 or feeding his ego?
On pitch 15:
https://instagram.com/p/BL0HLnjBTdH/
Rock and Ice summarises his progress (http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/dawn-wall-update-adam-ondra-reaches-pitch-15-dyno-crux).
Cheers Duncan - I'll have beer for him.
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I dare say that petejh was being sarcastic.
bloody Euros, coming over here and stealing our understanding of the English language
:2thumbsup:
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http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item/70760/early_days_on_the_dawn_wall_for_ondra (http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item/70760/early_days_on_the_dawn_wall_for_ondra)
In his own words describing what he is doing.
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Taken from the BD facebook:
Update: Ondra To Rest Up for the Nose
“Yesterday was another day on the Dawn Wall. We had our fixed-lines on the top of pitch 10 and we wanted to move as high as possible. But we would face some of the crux pitches of the whole climb. Fortunately, the pitches were better protected and it was not such a big problem to climb through the next five pitches, including the crux traverses. I would like to emphasize that I am not free climbing everything yet. The goal right now is only to go ground-up to the top, free-climbing and using a little bit of aid climbing, to fix the whole line with ropes and start working on the pitches properly to have them ready for the final free push later. So if the crux is around the protection, I just touch the holds to see how the sequence would be and continue. The first crux-pitch looked definitely super hard to free climb. Almost impossible. I will have to take a look at all these razorblades more closely.
“Finally, already in the dark, I was pushing through pitch 16 (Dyno Pitch), but I was stopped by the final bold section of the route, where I felt I needed the light for climbing this tiny layback high above bad protection. So we just called it a day and went down back to Camp 4. Now it’s two days of rest to heal my skin and I will try the Nose.”
–BD Ambassador Adam Ondra, Oct. 21, 2016.
www.facebook.com/blackdiamondequipment/?fref=ts
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There are now ropes to near the end of pitch 16 and reports suggest he's intending to fix more of it. Sounds like he forgot to bring a portaledge! Teams attempting Mescalito might not be so impressed with in-situ lines up half their route.
It's rainy this week and yesterday's ascent of The Nose sounds like it was hard work, slower than expected, and didn't go entirely free (https://www.instagram.com/p/BL9V33ihoeS/). "Adam finished the route around midnight and actually had to bivouac on his way down - it was too dangerous to walk down in the rain and dark."
Over on the west side, Jorg Verhoeven is trying the unrepeated Dihedral Wall (8b+) and Robbie Phillips is making good progress on the PreMuir (8b), both would be highly newsworthy in any other Yosemite season.
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From BD fB page: "Yesterday was probably the longest climbing day of my life. We went with my dad up on The Nose, wanting to free it in a day. We started at first light and up to the Great Roof it was going well, onsighting all of the pitches in a few hours. But the Great Roof shut me down. I had a pretty good flash go, got the beta, lowered and gave it a second shot thinking I would fire it off easily, but I had not realized how important the feet are on this climb. After climbing so many pitches and taking no rest after my flash, they went super shaky and weak. I fell, gave it even a third go and fell in the end of the traverse. There was no point in giving it more tries and we just wanted to top out. Time to switch to night climbing and onsighting all of the pitches except for Changing Corner, topping out at midnight in the starting rain. Full alpine experience, as we did not find the descent route in the pissing rain, and had a wet and cold bivy in the little cave, before we finally got to the car at 9 a.m. The Nose is one of the most famous climbs in the world and I am super glad to have climbed it with my dad, even though not free. A big day out.”
So all pitches bar two onsighted, in a day, after a week in the Valley. The ridiculous thing is, by his standards, this will be classed as a failure. I bet his dad is made up too.
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Incredible :blink:
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So all pitches bar two onsighted, in a day, after a week in the Valley. The ridiculous thing is, by his standards, this will be classed as a failure. I bet his dad is made up too.
Holy f**k! I am loving the general big wall punter vibe he seems to have, jumaring with a grigri, no portaledge etc. whilst still doing the nose, nearly totally fee, mostly onsight, in a day.
(Did he manage to free the changing corners pitch? I couldn't work it out)
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east ledges "onsight" at night in the rain doesn't sound cool... :-\
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Making love with his eagle
http://www.amiright.com/misheard/song/ziggystardust.shtml
Like a leopard messiah?
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Did he manage to free the changing corners pitch? I couldn't work it out
Sounds like he had a crack at onsighting it, failed and then just got up and off?
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In terms of Ondra's super impressive list of achievements I think this is largely noteworthy and laudable based on his "just go and give it a go" approach. Reports of him nearly onsighting the Nose are ridiculous. The only really hard pitches on the Nose are the Great Roof and Changing Corners (neither of which he came close to onsighting). To put it in perspective, assuming he did the Jardine Traverse then he actually onsighted 3 pitches of 5.12 and about 5 pitches of 5.11. The rest is 5.10 and easier. Not knocking him, but it's not even remotely close to an onsight of the Nose.
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Back up on Dawn Wall:
“Another day in the office. We hauled up and set up the portaledge on the Dawn Wall yesterday. I got to the top of pitch 16, and worked the moves of pitches 14, 15 and 16 ‘til late night. These are three of the hardest pitches on the whole climb, and on every pitch I missed one little piece of the puzzle. But with better skin and colder conditions (which are on the way), I will hopefully have these pitches super wired soon.
“Pitch 14 [5.14d] has this really mysterious last boulder problem—seemingly blank—but offers a few razorblade crimps that are just horrible. The previous boulder problems on this pitch felt very good. Pitch 15 [5.14d] has this really small razorblade that I did not want to pull, since in the warm conditions I would cut my skin open. The rest of the pitch felt good. Pitch 16 [5.14c] has this crazy dyno that definitely felt hard. I did not do the single move, but there is always an option to make the loop variation. The rest of the pitch is tricky and insecure but I found my way.
“For the next few days I think I will work on these three pitches if the weather allows.”
(From Sponsors FB page)
https://instagram.com/p/BMDJ2WVhqgK/
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Can't believe that some of the tossers on uKc were giving him stick for his Yosemite efforts. Did people really expect him to onsight The Nose and just piss up Dawn Wall? DW took the best granite climber in the world 7 years, The Nose has got two horrendous pitches that would be a miracle to do first go even for the best climber in the world. Throw in to the mix big wall logistical puntery. He's thrown himself at them all head first and just gone for it all out with a great attitude. Respect to the man.
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Can't believe that some of the tossers on uKc were giving him stick for his Yosemite efforts. Did people really expect him to onsight The Nose and just piss up Dawn Wall? DW took the best granite climber in the world 7 years, The Nose has got two horrendous pitches that would be a miracle to do first go even for the best climber in the world. Throw in to the mix big wall logistical puntery. He's thrown himself at them all head first and just gone for it all out with a great attitude. Respect to the man.
Agreed. My favourite comment was:
I can sympathise as I don't particularly like the idea of him waltzing up what others have put their life's work into
Bloody world class climbers wanting to climb something quickly, in good style and faster than others can manage...
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In terms of Ondra's super impressive list of achievements I think this is largely noteworthy and laudable based on his "just go and give it a go" approach. Reports of him nearly onsighting the Nose are ridiculous. The only really hard pitches on the Nose are the Great Roof and Changing Corners (neither of which he came close to onsighting). To put it in perspective, assuming he did the Jardine Traverse then he actually onsighted 3 pitches of 5.12 and about 5 pitches of 5.11. The rest is 5.10 and easier. Not knocking him, but it's not even remotely close to an onsight of the Nose.
I'm not sure if The Nose onsight was ever realistic. Did he say this was an aim? I think his plan was to do it free, in a day, with his Dad. He did the Changing Corners free quite quickly which has shut down prolonged efforts from Yuji Hirayama and the Hubers so close but no cigar.
The Salathe onsight is a stated objective and he cited Yuji Hirayama's amazing 4 falls ascent nearly 20 years ago as inspiration. It's apparently a hard onsight for the grade. He's not mentioned it but El Nino might represent his best chance of a no-falls ascent of El Cap.
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As others have said, massive respect to the guy for his approach, attitude, and ability to adapt to a somewhat idiosyncratic style of climbing.
Out of curiosity, has Freerider been onsighted yet?I know its not quite as proud the Salathe, but surely thats a best candidate for the first onsight, no falls ascent of the Captain?
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Its been flashed by Pete Whittaker and Cedric Lachat, although Cedric had a 10 day rest after climbing the first 10 pitches.
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item/69244/freerider_flashed_by_pete_whittaker
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Its been flashed by Pete Whittaker and Cedric Lachat, although Cedric had a 10 day rest after climbing the first 10 pitches.
Ah cool, had forgotten about that :oops: :chair:
Cheers
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I don't think he freed the CC.
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Can't believe that some of the tossers on uKc were giving him stick for his Yosemite efforts. Did people really expect him to onsight The Nose and just piss up Dawn Wall? DW took the best granite climber in the world 7 years, The Nose has got two horrendous pitches that would be a miracle to do first go even for the best climber in the world. Throw in to the mix big wall logistical puntery. He's thrown himself at them all head first and just gone for it all out with a great attitude. Respect to the man.
Some people are so engulfed by the cult of mediocrity and laziness, that to see someone constantly operating at the maximum level, constantly seeking personal improvement, is a true pain. That's why they are so happy and quick to point out what they think are failures or underachievements.
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Yeah was going to mention that but thought it was covered in Natalie's article (I didnt reread it to check)
Going on very tight ethics its still to play for but I'd give it to P-whiddy?
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Going on very tight ethics its still to play for but I'd give it to P-whiddy?
nah, surely that's the big wall equivalent of someone failing to flash a boulder problem, but then climbing it next go using a different hold.
edit: or as I like to call it, a "beta flash": first go with the right beta...
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As Duncan said - the Nose onsight was never realistic for anyone. Indeed Ondra never mentioned it as an aim - it's just clueless media reporting.
Sounds like he got reasonably close to flashing The Great Roof which is pretty outrageous. But Changing Corners was never gonna go first try.
Remember Jorg Verhoeven on it a few years back (hardly a punter):
After 4 days of work on this 8b+ pitch, I can barely do the 7 hard meters with one hang in the middle, and only a few moves when it's too hot.
http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/jorg-verhoeven-free-climbs-the-nose-5-14-on-el-cap
Even after working the hard pitches for quite a few days, the final ascent still took 3 days.
Basically those two pitches were always going to be way too technical and tricky to sort a sequence out to get anywhere near on onsight.
As others have said, the rest of the route is way easier so the fact he onsighted it isn't really surprising.
In short - it wasn't news - just a fun day out doing the nose in a day with his dad and a few aid points.
If he wanted to free it, he'd have needed to spend a day or so up there sorting out those two pitches.
His main onsight aim seems to be Salathe. That probably is realistic, but very tough. He'd probably have a lot more chance of the first no quibbles onsight of El Cap if he went for any of Freerider, Golden Gate or El Nino.
Probably Golden Gate would be the easiest option given his skillset. Sounds like he's pretty set on trying Salathe though due to Yuji's near onsight back in the 90s.
As for the Dawn Wall, sounds like progress is pretty rapid - would be amazing if he pulls off a complete ascent within a 6 week trip, especially as it's still pretty warm (Caldwell and Jorgeson ended up only really making lots of progress on the crux pitches when they started trying it in late Nov / Dec...) Wonder if skin may end up being the limiting factor to getting an ascent of this in anything resembling a hurry though...
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The two crux traverse pitches sound a nightmare on the skin. TC and KJ had to have rest days and climb with tape on. Ondras's described some of the holds as razorblades. And like Nemo said they did it in proper winter.
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Someone should get up their carkeys out on them razors.
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this thread drives home two points to me:
(1) Ondra a proper enthusiast as well as supremely talented. I find his ad hoc approach really endearing. I suspect a more precious type would have had far more rigourous preparation to maximise the chances of impressively rapid ticks and media headlines - weeks of training on lesser Yosemite walls, maybe bringing in a "hired gun" big wall expert to take care of the logistics. Instead Ondra just "had a go" with his Dad, made a few mistakes but seemed to take it well. He is one of the few elite achievers in any discipline I can readily picture puntering along in his old age just for the sheer love of it (maybe with far more screaming than most though).
(2) I had not seen that Jorg Verhoeven account of Changing Corners on the Nose. Lynn Hill = Gnar.
off now to dig out my Alex Huber / Heinz Zak book on Yosemite (signed by the Hubers and Leo Holding!), look at the lovely photos, sigh, and wish I was there......
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this thread drives home two points to me:
(1) Ondra a proper enthusiast as well as supremely talented. I find his ad hoc approach really endearing. ... He is one of the few elite achievers in any discipline I can readily picture puntering along in his old age just for the sheer love of it (maybe with far more screaming than most though).
Totally agree, although see also:
Yuji
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Some people are so engulfed by the cult of mediocrity and laziness, that to see someone constantly operating at the maximum level, constantly seeking personal improvement, is a true pain. That's why they are so happy and quick to point out what they think are failures or underachievements.
^This * 2.
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Can't believe that some of the tossers on uKc were giving him stick for his Yosemite efforts. Did people really expect him to onsight The Nose and just piss up Dawn Wall? DW took the best granite climber in the world 7 years, The Nose has got two horrendous pitches that would be a miracle to do first go even for the best climber in the world. Throw in to the mix big wall logistical puntery. He's thrown himself at them all head first and just gone for it all out with a great attitude. Respect to the man.
Its a real pisser when you play your best top trump card and it doesn't win the hand. In that, the bigger victims of UKC idiocy (from some childish individuals there, not the site) continues to be Tommy and Kevin.
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engulfed by the cult of mediocrity and laziness
Is that original ?... If so can I use it on a T shirt.... pretty please.
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I don't think he freed the CC.
I agree it is a bit unclear and I've been too definite about this.
Dawn Wall belayer and photographer Pavel Blazek reported on instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/BL9V33ihoeS/?taken-by=pavelblazek&hl=en): "I'm curious if he's gonna give it another try as he didn't free climb the Great Roof." Which doesn't rule it in or out.
An acquaintance and usually reliable source reported on supertopo that Ondra had done the Changing Corners free "second go" but this has not been confirmed either way. I've emailed him but no reply as yet. Probably off climbing!
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Update: News from the Dawn Wall
A lot of rain and humidity in the Valley, with some sunny and hot conditions mixed in. We jugged up the ropes in the evening right when the rain stopped, hoping that we would get in a good session of night climbing, but instead we just got soaking wet. Even though we could see the stars, it was still raining on the wall and the water turned into a waterfall. We spent a very cold and wet night in the portaledge, and waited till the sun came out and dried our clothes and the wall. As the sun came, it got really hot too. I still worked the traverse pitches, which only just destroyed my skin. We rested on the portaledge and in the late afternoon, I went on pitch 16. I wanted to check the loop instead of the dyno. I found out that the loop is equally as heinous as the dyno itself and super tricky. It was still really warm and my soft skin did not help either. I spent around 3 hours on this pitch, refining my beta all over again. I wanted to send pitch 16 that day, but by the time I had the beta, I was so exhausted that it was not possible any more.
Complexity and difficulty of the whole climb is just shocking to me. I might have been too optimistic, but I definitely expected it to be easier. Every single pitch is so tricky and hard and yesterday on pitch 16 was the most frustrating day so far on the wall. It revealed the real difficulty of the whole climb and crucial importance of good conditions and skin. Hats off to Tommy and Kevin, who believed that the whole climb was possible before they free climbed. Without having the beta, some of the sections look just impossible. I have the advantage that I know that the climb is possible and that helps me to keep the faith that I might be able to do it as well. I am humbled and impressed by what Tommy and Kevin did!
To make everything more clear about what is going on on the wall, I will make a little recap. We spent a few days going ground up, using free and aid climbing techniques to fix the lines and be able to work on the pitches and get up and down easier, which was bold and scary most of the time. So far, we made it to the top of pitch 16. Above that, the climbing is by no means easy, but there are no more crux pitches. In the next week, we will continue to fix our ropes even higher and take a look at the whole route. But before that, I wanted to work on the crux pitches and see if they are possible.
These days, we are using fixed ropes to jug up to the pitches I need to work. Then we go down to the Valley in the evening after one day of climbing or we stay on the wall for two days and sleep on the portaledge. At a certain point, I will decide to give it a try to climb the whole route in one single push. But before doing that, I need to see the whole route (not only first 16 pitches but all 32) and have every single pitch super wired. This will still take at least two weeks. Little intermediate goals before the final would be redpointing the individual pitches, most importantly the crux pitches (14-16).
—BD Ambassador Adam Ondra, Oct. 30, 2016
#liveclimbrepeat Photo: Pavel Blažek
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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"Complexity and difficulty of the whole climb is just shocking to me. I might have been too optimistic, but I definitely expected it to be easier."
I guess this comes from having onsighted 9a. Nice to hear he's taking it all seriously, even the pitches near the top.
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Dawn Wall is nails. Didn't see that coming :P
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I think it's great to see just how nails it is though. I remember a lot of chat at the time about how Tommy and co were a bit second rate because of their tactics, with the assertion that "Ondra would piss it ground up so this ascent is compromised". Now that Ondra is struggling on it, it completely puts that argument to bed and vindicates the original style of ascent I think. It would be great to see Ondra improve on the style in the end.
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There is a lot of chat on the internet. A lot of it is from armchair idiots though.
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Here's the link where updates are being bottom posted (i.e. scroll to the bottom for the latest post), and there are pictures to go with the captions :w00t:
Black Diamond : Adam Ondra Yosemite Updates (http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en_GB/experience-story?cid=adam-ondra-yosemite-updates)
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I think it's great to see just how nails it is though. I remember a lot of chat at the time about how Tommy and co were a bit second rate because of their tactics, with the assertion that "Ondra would piss it ground up so this ascent is compromised". Now that Ondra is struggling on it, it completely puts that argument to bed and vindicates the original style of ascent I think. It would be great to see Ondra improve on the style in the end.
What a load of rubbish Will!
I think your post sums up a lot of the issues we have about credibility, significance, the media, what gets reported.
Rather than revisiting the arguments for/against T&K's ascent, you're effectively saying their ascent is valid because Ondra is finding the route nails. You might as well be saying that his mother used to have a pink Chihuahua, for all the difference it makes.
There are many amazing climbing feats - "ascents" - which are accepted despite question marks - of which Tommy and Kevin's futuristic effort is one. But the question marks do remain. Without revisiting all the previous arguments here, they help us understand how future ascents can improve on how things were done previously, or whether there might have even been a conceptual "dab" - see "Bring out your conceptual dabs"..
If we start validating ascents based on a particular climber's status, then myth making is all that matters. Who knows, maybe it is, but I think - the sometimes boring and inconvenient process of - sorting out fact from fiction helps us understand what's really being done.
No-one cheats anymore, and somehow attention/media coverage etc = validity. I think we can look beyond that; if we can't, then we can't criticise the *"armchair idiots" who do.
*speaking from the luxury of experience from the last time I didn't do a big wall
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There is a lot of chat on the internet. A lot of it is from armchair idiots though.
Thats pretty insulting.
as I'm OBVIOUSLY an office chair idiot today.
GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT! tbh, imho, wft, swalk etc..
;)
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There is a lot of chat on the internet. A lot of it is from armchair idiots though.
Anyone who doesn't know how to use an armchair is indeed an idiot.
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swalk etc..
What the actual fuck is swalk?
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swalk etc..
What the actual fuck is swalk?
define swalk (https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=define+swalk) ::)
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SNAFU is my favourite in that vein.
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swalk etc..
What the actual fuck is swalk?
define swalk (https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=define+swalk) ::)
Pfft. I've been single for years - how am I supposed to know what that means?
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Pfft. I've been single for years - how am I supposed to know what that means?
I didn't know what it means either, yet I've been with my wife for 21 years (married for 10). I can however use a search engine.
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I thought search engines were for shopping, Me bad.
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best thread of the year on ukb.. for sure...
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Dawn Wall is nails. Didn't see that coming :P
Euro sport beast (unfair description of AO, I know) doesn't completely trounce Yosemite big wall. Didn't see that coming.
TBF, I'm sure there's a little part of KJ—and a somewhat bigger part of TC—that's pretty pleased he's having a reasonably hard time of it.
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Reports here (https://www.instagram.com/p/BMTQKGRhIZd/?taken-by=pavelblazek) that he's done pitch 15 barring the start which was wet, pitch 16 (the loop), and top-roped pitch 17 (the last of the really hard pitches at 5.14a/8b+).
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I love this, how many years did it take Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell to do dawn wall. Lots. Everybody knows AO is a great climber and its fascinating to see him find it nails. They come from different places and I admire AO for trying it. Its not his usual type of climbing. It took big kahoona's to go and publicly climb Dawn Wall. I admire his balls and now his honesty. ;D
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It took big kahoona's to go and publicly climb Dawn Wall. I admire his balls and now his honesty. ;D
http://youtu.be/XsoSVdJikDw (http://youtu.be/XsoSVdJikDw)
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SNAFU is my favourite in that vein.
FUBAR is also good.
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SNAFU is my favourite in that vein.
FUBAR is also good.
SWAG
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Wild-Ass_Guess
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Back on topic...
Interview with Adam Ondra on his progress (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/activities/climbing/adam-ondra-dawn-wall-free-climb/)
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Funny that you have to look to non climbing media to get an interesting interview ;)
Anyway - sounds like everything above the crux pitches went pretty smoothly...
"We just made it to the top of ElCap. Adam onsighted most of the pitches between BC and the top." - https://www.instagram.com/pavelblazek/
"I remember a lot of chat at the time about how Tommy and co were a bit second rate because of their tactics, with the assertion that "Ondra would piss it ground up so this ascent is compromised". " - Will Hunt
I don't think anyone sane said anything of the kind. As Dave pointed out, the discussion about the possibility of Ondra trying the route and the discussion about TC and KJ's style of ascent were entirely separate.
This is what I said last year about the potential for Ondra trying the route, and I pretty much think it still stands.
"As for how fast he could do it – it depends on how the route was set up. If he got someone else to do all the hauling, aid the pitches before he climbed them and pre place all the gear etc – essentially set the route up in the way it was for Kevin and Tommy’s ascent – so that he could just climb in sport climbing mode... Then I think he could probably do the whole thing ground up in a week. He’d probably onsight the majority of it – and maybe need a day for each of the 9a pitches. ...
If on the other hand he just set off with a mate and was having to figure out all the weird gear placements etc – that’s a different ball game altogether – he’d struggle and it would probably take him quite a few weeks just to suss out the gear / big walling technique etc…
The other thing Ondra would definitely have taken note of is when this ascent got done – arguably one of the biggest hurdles Tommy and Kevin have had is that they were trying the route when it was too warm. Noone has tried to free really hard big walls in Yosemite in January before – and for the hard pitches on this route it has clearly made all the difference."
I think that was a reasonable guess. I still think that if he'd turned up in Dec or Jan with a full support team, having spent a few months prior to that doing other routes on El Cap and in the Valley - that he'd have been able to do it ground up in a week or so.
I am a bit surprised he jumped straight on it without doing anything else in the Valley first. And even more surprised he's trying it in Oct / early Nov, given the clear difference it made on the hard pitches when TC and KJ started trying when it was way colder...
"Possibly the biggest breakthrough Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson experienced on the Dawn Wall happened last December when Caldwell freed the brutally hard Pitch 15 at 5.14d. However, the breakthrough was that Caldwell and Jorgeson realized that the world's hardest big-wall had to be attempted in the dead of winter.
"It 's looking like winter conditions are the way forward," posted Caldwell last December. "
http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/caldwell-and-jorgeson-are-charging-up-the-dawn-wall
Then again - what he's doing - turning up with a mate, when there's still plenty of daylight and people in the Valley - is probably way more fun - as long as you don't care about what people say about how long it's taking etc - and he clearly couldn't care less.
And of course, it would be pretty tricky (especially if you don't live in the States) getting a few weeks of consistent good weather mid winter in Yosemite when there isn't too much snow around. So perhaps he figured he'd just trade the bad conditions with higher probability of decent weather.
Anyway, given the time of year I'm not at all surprised that he's finding the crux pitches pretty horrendous. I'd have thought he'd be better off getting the rest of it sussed and coming back to them if / when it cools down. But hey, I guess once you've heard so much about them it's gonna be hard to avoid getting sucked into trying them if you're aiding past, even if the conditions are entirely unsuitable.
As for the so called "criticism" or TC and KJ - I don't think anyone was really that "critical". What they pulled off was clearly amazing. It was just a continuation of a discussion about style - something that TC and KJ had talked about at length prior to their ascent.
To me, it did feel in the end like they were under a stack of pressure because of all the media attention, and so they had to make a lot more comprimises than they would have otherwise done to try and ensure a positive news story at the end of it all. In particular, for me the whole "team free" thing just feels really artificial once you've been working on something for years - if I'd spent that long on something, I wouldn't feel like I'd done it unless I'd redpointed all the hard pitches. But perhaps they felt they weren't quite ready for that - and given the amount of time they'd spent on it, it was perfectly understandable they just wanted to get it finished and move on.
Anyway - lets hope it doesn't just snow for the next month - given a reasonably cold weather window for 10 days or so in November, it sounds like it's pretty likely that it's gonna get a second ascent... Actually, having read that new interview, sounds like he's pretty determined to stick around till he's done it, however long it takes...
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Great post about the happy Wondra!
"Then again - what he's doing - turning up with a mate, when there's still plenty of daylight and people in the Valley - is probably way more fun - as long as you don't care about what people say about how long it's taking etc - and he clearly couldn't care less."
And as Slackline pointed out above too, the most fantastic thing of all, is that he's just mad keen to get on the thing, and have fun.
:punk:
Total respect to TC and KJ for the vision too. :boxing:
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I don't think he freed the CC.
You're right, I'm wrong. He didn't even try the CC according to big-wall camper Pete Zabrok (http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=2887560&msg=2900214#msg2900214) (who was getting a cold shower on New Dawn and escaped down Ondra's fixed lines).
SWAG
:lol:
Health economics right there.
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Update from Adam: "We had two busy day on the wall, but extremely important motivating ones! At first, I tried the pitch 14, where I still had no idea about what to do in the last boulder problem. After a little session, I could finally do the moves and soon after I gave it a go, but I realized that my beta for the intro moves on the last boulderproblem did not work. It took me a lot of time, skin, frustration and swearing to finally find a satisfying sequence, but I was exhausted and my skin thrashed. I still gave it a another that night, slipped on the first boulderproblem but then continued to the anchor. Which gave me a lot of confidence that next time it should work out.
Second day, I was incredibly lucky to get overcast day, so I could make a lot of work. At first, we took some pics with Heinz Zak in pitch 14 (5.14d), then went down and sent pitch 8 (5.13d) and toproped pith 7 (5.14a). After lunch, I went for pitch 11 (5.13c) and linked the whole crux sequence, then linked the whole crux in pitch 12 (5.14b). Then we went down for toprope session on pitch 10 (5.14a) which is always desperately wet in the dark, but I still made it with one hang in toprope. To finish the day, I just re-ckecked the moves on pitch 9 (5.13c).
It seems like I need yet to work a bit more on pitches 10, 12 and 13 (5.13b) and then pitches 1-6 (only 5.12b to 5.13c range) and I would be ready to go for the push. Can't wait!!!"
TENDON athlete Adam Ondra
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Has he said whether he's going to go for the dyno or loop on the final push?
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Has he said whether he's going to go for the dyno or loop on the final push?
Loop by the sound of it. Don't think he managed the dyno.
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I heard he was doing the loop pitch but then linking it in to the next piych to make an 8c+
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Imagine actually choosing to climb a 8c+ on a big wall just to save a bit of faff.
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Pitch 10 done, "the push is getting closer, I think one more day of work, two days of rest and we're all set (https://www.instagram.com/p/BMk-adqA9VI/)".
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Seems like the gun show (https://www.instagram.com/p/BMw46IFA9ie/) starts tomorrow. Who wants to run the sweepstake? :boxing:
adam.ondra Tomorrow going for the push! First two days of heat and climbing the first 13 pitches, then one restday of rain and then perfect conditions for the crux pitches on day 4. Starting tomorrow at 3 AM to get done as many pitches as possible before the remorseless sun hits the wall.
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somewhere around pitch 7
https://www.instagram.com/pavelblazek/
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somewhere around pitch 7
https://www.instagram.com/pavelblazek/
Impressive stuff, 6 hours of climbing not even 9am and 9 pitches down included 6 betweem 5.13a and 5.14a.
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Top of pitch 12 by the sounds of it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BM3Sz9QhZm9/?taken-by=pavelblazek
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BM3SbIJg2K1/?taken-by=adam.ondra
I'd assumed from this it was top of 13?
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sponsorship from Green and Blacks?
that is living the dream
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(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F1DCWwFioMg/Uw-l997gQHI/AAAAAAAAACk/hoo86KYMzeQ/s1600/Waynes-World-product-plac-001.jpg)
He will not bow to any sponsor.
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Top of pitch 12 by the sounds of it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BM3Sz9QhZm9/?taken-by=pavelblazek
I'm not sure if the video was cut short, but on Adam's instagram it says they've made it to the start of pitch 14 (as was planned I think).
I think they intended to rest for a day (due to rain) and then try the crux pitched from tomorrow.
It's super interesting following this ascent - sounds like he's having to dig deep. I guess it's the next few pitches which will be the make or break.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BM3SbIJg2K1/?taken-by=adam.ondra
I'd assumed from this it was top of 13?
I came back to make that correction. Alas, too late. :sorry:
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Seen the size of his fingers in that instamagram shot? Like a pound of butchers sausages.
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I hadn't quite realised what his speed was like on this thing. Comparing to TC & KJ's successful ascent: http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-topo
It was day 6 before they did pitch 13 (though they also did P14 that day too). Such impressive climbing.
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Comparing to TC & KJ's successful ascent:
(http://www.rockandice.com/Article-Images/News-Photos/October-2016/DW-topo-RI-225.jpg) (http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-topo)
It was day 6 before they did pitch 13 (though they also did P14 that day too). Such impressive climbing.
Ondra's leading every pitch too rather than swing leads. :bow:
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(https://www.instagram.com/p/BMzvW2sA3ul/)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMzvW2sA3ul/
Also this image is amazing, but look at that left arm!!
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also from Instagram 9hrs ago
"Tired but relieved face! Made it up to the start of pitch 14! As @alexhonnold brought some dark chocolate for @tommycaldwell and @kjorgeson on their push and it seemed it helped them, Heinz did the same today. But he told me that I must deserve it first:-) And send pitch 10. I did in rather dramatic way on my 2nd go. Then, I almost finished the chocolate while having a few heartbreaking goes on the pitch 12 to calm my nerves. Luckily it all worked out and we are getting deserved sleep."
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Good write up of pitches 10 - 13 here:
“It should've been a rather easy day with only four pitches to do..."⠀
https://www.instagram.com/p/BM4NKMlAwJG/
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adam.ondraDamn! Climbed super poorly, so much pressure, so nervous! Needed 7 tries to make it through the first boulderproblem on pitch 14, a boulderproblem that i never really found very hard before, but somehow felt really hard today. I slipped on my first try, then on my second try, then just freaked out and felt so insecure with my feet trying to climb as carefully as possible but kept slipping nevertheless. Then, on my 7th try, I did the boulderproblem, and fell from the last move.
Hard to find some optimism, but I will try it again.
Tomorrow and hopefully with better mindset.
Thanks everyone for encouragement! I am sorry for today, hopefully there is still the chance!
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what a punter
;)
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He's done pitch 14!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BM-M8u6hXlO/?taken-by=pavelblazek
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And 15 https://twitter.com/EveningSends/status/799850829264130048
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Bad weather is supposed to move in tomorrow night... can get tense. There is still a few tricky pitches left to do...
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And 15 https://twitter.com/EveningSends/status/799850829264130048
Did he do the dyno or the loop?
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BM-2NHcAU7t/
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And 15 https://twitter.com/EveningSends/status/799850829264130048
Did he do the dyno or the loop?
i think that's the next pitch, he'll probably go for the loop, because that is what he practiced
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And 15 https://twitter.com/EveningSends/status/799850829264130048
Did he do the dyno or the loop?
i think that's the next pitch, he'll probably go for the loop, because that is what he practiced
Right you are. I looked at the numbers wrong on the topo.
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...and 16! Unstoppable... So impressive !
https://twitter.com/EveningSends/status/800077183154880512
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Brilliant! Unbelievable skills! Can't remember ever being so psyched about a repeat ascent.. maybe Moon on Rainshadow haha but this is something else.
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Brilliant! Unbelievable skills! Can't remember ever being so psyched about a repeat ascent.. maybe Moon on Rainshadow haha but this is something else.
Agreed, proper psyched for him!
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'It's in the bag now' - Kevin on Twitter.
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Couple of 8b pitches left. Nice for a warm down.
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the evolution of the supertopo thread on Ondra's season in Yosemite is entertaining. It starts off with lots of American / Yosemite exceptionalism - his skinny sport climbing ass will be no match for our knarly granite. When it's clear that he is adapting quite well, there's a lot of carping about style and sponsorship and motives, with glorying at his every (minor) set-back. But then the tide starts to turn; most contributors now seem won over by his just-get-on-it attitude, honesty about the problems he's having, and seeming delight in occassionally getting his ass handed to him in unexpected ways.
Personally I love what he is doing and how he is going about it - it shows how great he is at climbing, and also how unprecious he is about it.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=2887560&tn=0&mr=0 (http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=2887560&tn=0&mr=0)
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BNBO-W4A4WC/?taken-by=adam.ondra&hl=en
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BNCa_XIgde-/
:clap2:
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I'm a bit puzzled by what's going on with the loop pitch and the pitch after. The end of the loop pitch is at a no hands rest, with the next pitch being the layback, with no belay on the rest.
Surely a pitch is only over once you've reached a belay, as opposed to a hands off rest? Why is this deemed to be two separate pitches? What info am I missing here?
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I'm a bit puzzled by what's going on with the loop pitch and the pitch after. The end of the loop pitch is at a no hands rest, with the next pitch being the layback, with no belay on the rest.
Surely a pitch is only over once you've reached a belay, as opposed to a hands off rest? Why is this deemed to be two separate pitches? What info am I missing here?
I'm not sure where I've read it, but for the rest of the Dawn wall all the pitches are from one no hands rest to the next no hands rest.
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I'm a bit puzzled by what's going on with the loop pitch and the pitch after. The end of the loop pitch is at a no hands rest, with the next pitch being the layback, with no belay on the rest.
Surely a pitch is only over once you've reached a belay, as opposed to a hands off rest? Why is this deemed to be two separate pitches? What info am I missing here?
From his sponsors:
“Pitch 16 can be climbed via the dyno or the loop. ... The loop pitch or dyno pitch is followed by a 5.14a layback. In between, there is no belay, only a no-hands stance. My original goal was to connect the loop pitch into the layback, making a 60-meter mega-pitch at 5.14c at least.⠀
“The loop pitch is an extremely hard pitch mentally. The down-climb is awkward, powerful and insecure and is the crux of the pitch for sure. At the bottom of the loop, there is a good ledge, but I could not sit down. As you start climbing, you get into a tiny layback with pin-scars, which is super easy to slip on. This section is probably at 5.13c, but it is really devastating if you slip and have to climb the down-climb again. I was lucky to fight through the down-climb, took a rest at the ledge and climbed super carefully through the layback into the no-hands stance—the end of the loop/dyno pitch. I continued into pitch 17 (5.14a layback), but after climbing for 45 mins, my feet were just gone. I took a little rest and did pitch 17 from the no-hands stance.
(https://www.climber.co.uk/images/FreeDawnWall_ElCapSE-01_0.jpg)
All the following refers to Erik Sloan's topo above. My understanding is Caldwell climbed from 15-16 via the loop, then 16-17 as a separate pitch. This (http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/dawn-wall-caldwell-sends-final-514-pitch) suggests Caldwell's belay 16 is the ‘no-hands stance’. Perhaps 16 is a natural belay: this is on the Wall of Early Morning Light aid route and elsewhere Caldwell scrupulously avoided adding bolts to existing lines. Ondra might be meaning there is no [fixed] belay, only a no-hands stance.
Ondra aimed to climb from 15 to 17 via the loop but stopped some way up pitch 17 and retreated to the hands-free stance at 16. It's unclear if he set up a belay on gear here or just took his shoes off and rested for a bit leaving Pavel at 15. It's irrelevant to my mind since he was at a hands-off rest.
It's all great stuff and getting up the thing without completely pathing it is the perfect outcome (assuming it's 'in the bag') for all concerned.
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It's all great stuff and getting up the thing without completely pathing it is the perfect outcome (assuming it's 'in the bag') for all concerned.
Not quite in the bag yet:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNFBBIXBHOG/?taken-by=pavelblazek (https://www.instagram.com/p/BNFBBIXBHOG/?taken-by=pavelblazek)
'pavelblazekThe weather isn't perfect as of right now, we go for it anyway. Wish us good luck! :)'
Agree completely that it's looking like a great outcome for all. Ondra shows complete commitment to take on the biggest challenges and again demonstrates his mastery of climbing in all its forms while the difficulties he faced show the route to be definitely the most difficult of its type in the world and a really great achievement by Caldwell/Jorgesons.
Ian
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Assuming he's successful, doesn't that constitute 'pathing it'? A multi year project climbed very fast with far less support?
Notwithstanding the vision Tommy must've had to persevere year to year...
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:boxing:
Assuming he's successful, doesn't that constitute 'pathing it'? A multi year project climbed very fast with far less support?
Notwithstanding the vision Tommy must've had to persevere year to year...
He's waiting to post in the burn off thread...
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He's four pitches from the top :clap2:
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#dawnwalk
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The deed is done (according the the BMC.)
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Job done!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNF3AQzh3rD/?taken-by=pavelblazek
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Indeed - Ondra on Victor's Ledge.
Turned up in the Valley for the first time on 15th October. Topped out on the Dawn Wall 22nd November.
Wad. :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
"I'm a bit puzzled by what's going on with the loop pitch and the pitch after." - Will Hunt
What Duncan said about pitches 16 and 17.
Think the issue is that "belay" 16 is so close to belay 15 that it feels a bit absurd (even though it's perfectly valid as it's a no hands rest). Not sure, but I think maybe none of them have bothered moving the actual belayer (the leader has just taken a "belay" and had a rest for a while.) Probably the main reason for that is to avoid adding extra bolts to an aid route (that bit's on New Dawn) just for the sake of a belay that's so close to the previous belay. (I'm just guessing / reading between the lines though).
TC and KJ said prior to their ascent that they would have liked to link pitches 16 and 17. But in the end decided against even trying it as it was clearly adding considerable extra difficulty.
Similarly Adam said he wanted to try to link them, and had a go on the actual ascent. But when he dropped pitch 17, he unsurprisingly just started pitch 17 again rather than redoing 16 and trying to link them again.
Best post from the supertopo thread:
"...
while i might be +/- 1 day, [at most +/- 2], as best as i can tell there were:
23 days from when ondra first got on the dawn wall to when he started resting up [on nov 10th] for the push that he just started [on nov 14th]
15 days during which ondra actually worked the climbing on the dawn wall and wasn't either resting, sitting out storms or attempting to onsite the nose...
ie. while i'm sure the original quote above wasn't an intentional understatement by a competing sponsor's spokesperson [ ;) ], and i'm sure it was intended genuinely, saying that ondra projected the route for nearly a month, when that near month seems to have consisted of 15 days of actual climbing over the course of 23 days [during which he also attempted an onsite of the nose in a day with his old man] doesn't quite capture the ridiculousness of what ondra is doing here.
oh and during that time he also learned how to jumar properly, his partner did his first multi-pitch climb and they set up and stocked a base camp...
jayzeus.
..." - Some guy on Supertopo
"Assuming he's successful, doesn't that constitute 'pathing it'?" - Paul B
Not really. To be honest, I think he had to put a fair bit more time and effort into this than I'd expected. I'd kinda expected him to struggle on some of the wierd laybacky type things - ie: pitches 10, 17 etc. But the two crux pitches, I thought he would do much more easily than he did. He did have hot weather all time he was there up till the third day of the push. But from then on, including both days spent on the crux pitches it cooled down loads. They are clearly properly hard.
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Nah he pathed it................. the best rock climber who has ever lived?
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There's a good article over in rock & ice. http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/adam-ondra-sends-the-dawn-wall
This bit puts things in perspective:
On November 14, day one of the final push, Ondra and Blazek began at 3 a.m., and before 9 a.m., they had blasted up the route’s first nine pitches (5.12b, 5.13a, 5.13c, 5.12b, 5.12d, 5.13c, 5.14a, 5.13d, 5.13c). On Day two, Ondra dispatched pitches 10, 11, 12 and 13 (5.14a, 5.13c, 5.14b, 5.13b), which brought him to the bottom of the crux pitches. He rested for a day, before attempting pitch 14, the first 5.14d crux traverse, on Thursday, November 17. Pitch 14 shut him down that day, and after eight failed attempts, Ondra began to have doubts about the climb.
He described Thursday, his fourth day on the wall, as a "complete disaster" and told Black Diamond that he “still felt a lot of pressure as I knew that sending pitch 14 is almost a must." But on Friday, "my mindset was different,” he said. “I tried to make jokes, being relaxed and focused only just before the climbing.”
After warming up, Ondra fired pitch 14 (5.14d) on his first attempt of the day and jumped on pitch 15, the second 5.14d traverse pitch, right after. He took one “heartbreaking fall” a few moves below the “jug of glory,” he reported, but sent the pitch on his second go.
Despite having climbed two back-to-back 5.14d’s on razor-sharp holds, Ondra took no rest day and cranked through Caldwell’s cryptic 5.14a “Loop Pitch” variation the next morning, his sixth day on the wall. He kept the momentum charging and that afternoon, completedpitch 18 (5.13c), 19 (5.13c/b), 20 (5.13c), and 21 (5.13d) to the top of Wino Tower.
He took a “forced rest day” on Sunday, he reported—only his second out of eight days on the wall—to wait out the rain. Today, November 21, he tackled the route’s last 11 pitches to the summit of the big stone.
Outrageous :clap2:
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:beer2: :pissed: :pissed: He's more sober than Mr. Zak. They are talking about going and do midnight lighting now. I'm sitting at the next table over.
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Great stuff. And top reportage from our man on the scene!
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:beer2: :pissed: :pissed: He's more sober than Mr. Zak. They are talking about going and do midnight lighting now. I'm sitting at the next table over.
8)
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I imagine that Chris say hi.
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"Assuming he's successful, doesn't that constitute 'pathing it'?" - Paul B
Not really. To be honest, I think he had to put a fair bit more time and effort into this than I'd expected. I'd kinda expected him to struggle on some of the wierd laybacky type things - ie: pitches 10, 17 etc. But the two crux pitches, I thought he would do much more easily than he did. He did have hot weather all time he was there up till the third day of the push. But from then on, including both days spent on the crux pitches it cooled down loads. They are clearly properly hard.
You have incredibly high expectations! Its not like Ondra onsights every 9a he tries (the vast majority of which are not slabby climbs rather steep and overhanging).
Surely the question of 'pathing it' is relative?
Caldwell has a wealth of experience doing big walls on El Cap, spent several years working out a line and then Jorgenson got involved (known for being a dab hand at granite bouldering so his skill set was honed too). Together they worked the various pitches for a few more years, learning all the moves, dialling the pitches. They tried freeing it in 2010 but Caldwell sustained a broken ankle and it wasn't until 2014 that Caldwell freed pitch 14 and they then went for a "final push" 2015/16 over a period of 19 days, swinging leads on the first 10 pitches and also on some of the top ones from what I can find in the reports.
Ondra readily confessed himself that the smooth granite walls were not his style (i.e. not steep overhanging crimps) and need to be climbed relatively slowly compared to his normal style. Turns up and based on the Supertopo thread you quote has 23 days in the valley, of which 15 were on the wall, refining and adapting to the style of El Cap climbing whilst at the same time learning the route as he put fixed ropes up from the ground (can't find it now but I recall reading a quote by Jorgenson saying this was impressive as he and Caldwell had fixed ropes from the top for their work/push). He then set off on the 14th November, climbing pitches 1-9 in six hours (pitches 1-10 took Caldwell and Jorgenson 3 days). Ondra did pitches 10-13 on Day 2 then rested deliberately for a day before trying 14 which took him two days in the end but then he did pitch 15 second go the same day (Ondra 1-15 total of 5-days; Caldwell and Jorgenson both got through pitch 14 by day 7). No rest for Ondra and he climbed the loop pitch (16) and the next five pitches upto Wino tower (16-21 in a day total of 7 days; Caldwell reached Wino tower after 16-days whilst Jorgenson had been shut down by 15 he completed it that day). A forced rest day due to rain and he then climbed the remaining pitches on the eighth day (Jorgenson took two days to catch Caldwell up on Wino Tower and they then topped out the next day, total of 19 days on the wall).
There is the added pressure of a first ascent and not knowing whether it was possible for Caldwell and Jorgenson, whilst Ondra knew it had been climbed and helpfully had key sequences shared with him by the first ascentionists. That aside leading every single pitch in less than half the time it took Caldwell and Jorgenson and without the wealth of experience on the rock type was an absolutely phenomenal effort from Ondra. And he appears to have done it all with a smile on his face as he just fucking loves climbing.
Other factors to consider are that Ondra has predominantly climbed sport and bouldered rather than trad/fixed gear, must have taken a big psychological step to go through that learning curve so quickly in such a tough playground.
There is still room for improvement, for example someone could rock up and go completely ground-up or even on-sight the whole thing(!!!) but I doubt there are going to be many suitors in the foreseeable future and it will be some time before anyone will come close to matching it.
Caldwell and Jorgenson timeline of final push (http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item/69418/the_dawn_wall_project_history_in_the_making)
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You have incredibly high expectations! Its not like Ondra onsights every 9a he tries (the vast majority of which are not slabby climbs rather steep and overhanging).
Surely the question of 'pathing it' is relative?
Of course 'pathing it' is relative but I get the impression that Ondra had to dig pretty deep and found it harder than he expected. This is not to take anything from his achievement just that the standards he sets are so ridiculously high.
Seems to me he's a once in a generation (or even once in many generations) climber who is best in the world at pretty much anything he turns his hand to and who seems to amaze other elite climbers just as much as he does armchair watchers.
Caldwell kept it simple:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNGQEh3j5GD/?taken-by=tommycaldwell (https://www.instagram.com/p/BNGQEh3j5GD/?taken-by=tommycaldwell)
'tommycaldwell Speechless.'
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good summary, stunning achievement and totally inspiring.
Through this push I've found myself commenting on his Instagram like a complete dork but fuck it I think he's a dork too and he probably reads his comments, and this too, go on Adam!
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just that the standards he sets are so ridiculously high.
Ondra or nemo?
I've not read anywhere Ondra's expectations of how he would find the climb, let alone that he expected to 'path it'. Rather that he was very excited to go and try it as he fucking loves climbing.
Its others, nemo perhaps included, expectations of his performance that seem to have been set ridiculously high.
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Seems to me he's a once in a generation (or even once in many generations) climber who is best in the world at pretty much anything he turns his hand to and who seems to amaze other elite climbers just as much as he does armchair watchers.
[/quote]
Let's not be forgetting Megos and Nalle.
The reason Ondra is ludicrous and amazing in my mind is that he's such a mad nerd. I think a similar thing would have happened if Megos rocked up, he just isn't likely to because he want's to do what he's doing atm.
Don't get me wrong, Ondra is a wonderful bastard, I just dislike talk of once in a generation and greatest. Maybe his want for variety alongside being up there (understatement I realise) strength wise makes him once in a generation. Who knows.
For my part I think what Nalle did with Burden of Dreams is more impressive, less mad and cool and out there for him, but more impressive.
Might get a bit vilified for this :D
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For my part I think what Nalle did with Burden of Dreams is more impressive, less mad and cool and out there for him, but more impressive.
Might get a bit vilified for this :D
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/filepicker%2FsgEhQPYIS5eJCUX7ynid_Apples-and-Oranges.png)
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Glad those fruit are labelled there Guy. Had me confused for a second.. ;)
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Good summary Slackers + 1 on all of it.
I think for the task he's taken on he has pathed it. The fact that he found it hard going, but still dug in and rose to the challenge shows once again what an utter beast he is.
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Glad those fruit are labelled there Guy. Had me confused for a second.. ;)
It was more for Johnny Brown, knowing his diet.
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Seems to me he's a once in a generation (or even once in many generations) climber who is best in the world at pretty much anything he turns his hand to and who seems to amaze other elite climbers just as much as he does armchair watchers.
Let's not be forgetting Megos and Nalle.
The reason Ondra is ludicrous and amazing in my mind is that he's such a mad nerd. I think a similar thing would have happened if Megos rocked up, he just isn't likely to because he want's to do what he's doing atm.
Don't get me wrong, Ondra is a wonderful bastard, I just dislike talk of once in a generation and greatest. Maybe his want for variety alongside being up there (understatement I realise) strength wise makes him once in a generation. Who knows.
For my part I think what Nalle did with Burden of Dreams is more impressive, less mad and cool and out there for him, but more impressive.
Might get a bit vilified for this :D
I think what sets Ondra apart from Megos is his attitude. So many people at the top of the game still just repeat stuff, or do things somewhat in their comfort zone. I'm not saying Megos is always in his confort zone, but I just like the way Ondra publicly states his intentions, goes and has a bash like a total big wall punter and yet pulls through (clearly with a fair bit of media/public pressure to see him succeed/fail whatever).
And he does it with so little arrogance - just "that looks cool and hard and I'm going to go and try it". SuperWAD!
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Turned up in the Valley for the first time on 15th October. Topped out on the Dawn Wall 22nd November.
I wonder how he'd do if he spent the same amount of time in Finland trying Burden of Dreams.
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It's not like Ondra's never done any granite climbing or multi pitch at all though;
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item/58371/interview_adam_ondra_is_tough_enough_-_madagascar
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:beer2: :pissed: :pissed: He's more sober than Mr. Zak. They are talking about going and do midnight lighting now. I'm sitting at the next table over.
UKB Post of the Year 2016.
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:beer2: :pissed: :pissed: He's more sober than Mr. Zak. They are talking about going and do midnight lighting now. I'm sitting at the next table over.
UKB Post of the Year 2016.
Are Jacob and Bron nearby? Say hello if so :)
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"You have incredibly high expectations!" - Slackline
Maybe I didn't phrase that post quite right. Agree with most of what you said - except perhaps the bit about style. Think the two crux pitches - technical, vertical crimping - are absolutely his style, and that he is by a country mile the best at that type of climbing.
But was really just agreeing with Duncan - ie: I don't think he "pathed it". That would have been rocking up and doing it in a week. Given what he'd done elsewhere, particularly Madagascar, I didn't think that was entirely out of the question. I think, as Duncan suggests, it's good for all concerned, that it put up a bit more of a fight than that.
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:beer2: :pissed: :pissed: He's more sober than Mr. Zak. They are talking about going and do midnight lighting now. I'm sitting at the next table over.
UKB Post of the Year 2016.
Are Jacob and Bron nearby? Say hello if so :)
Nah, they are in the Creek
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"You have incredibly high expectations!" - Slackline
Maybe I didn't phrase that post quite right. Agree with most of what you said - except perhaps the bit about style. Think the two crux pitches - technical, vertical crimping - are absolutely his style, and that he is by a country mile the best at that type of climbing.
But was really just agreeing with Duncan - ie: I don't think he "pathed it". That would have been rocking up and doing it in a week. Given what he'd done elsewhere, particularly Madagascar, I didn't think that was entirely out of the question. I think, as Duncan suggests, it's good for all concerned, that it put up a bit more of a fight than that.
Climbing maths is reversed with Ondra. Instead of a climbers ability being measured against the route and its grade, the route is measured against the Ondrawad.
Grade = Mass x Ondrawad2
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Ondra is now the SI unit of wadness. A model of him is going to be stored in a climate-controlled Paris bankvault.
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What's the conversion rate between an Ondra and the old imperial measure, the Fawcett?
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What's the conversion rate between an Ondra and the old imperial measure, the Fawcett?
Two turns and no drips.
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What's the conversion rate between an Ondra and the old imperial measure, the Fawcett?
There are two theories. Newtonian theory would have it as an absolute measure so an Ondrawad is worth 8.0 grades more than a Fawcett. The theory of relativity attributes a time value so the hardest grade in the World at the time would make an Ondrawad worth 1.5 grades more. Quantum physics makes it anyone's guess
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What's the conversion rate between an Ondra and the old imperial measure, the Fawcett?
There are two theories. Newtonian theory would have it as an absolute measure so an Ondrawad is worth 8.0 grades more than a Fawcett. The theory of relativity attributes a time value so the hardest grade in the World at the time would make an Ondrawad worth 1.5 grades more. Quantum physics makes it anyone's guess
Re: Relativistic effects. From our frame of reference (in the stationary frame of now) the true difficulty, within a moving frame (the past), will appear diminished, and vice versa.
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What's the conversion rate between an Ondra and the old imperial measure, the Fawcett?
There are two theories. Newtonian theory would have it as an absolute measure so an Ondrawad is worth 8.0 grades more than a Fawcett. The theory of relativity attributes a time value so the hardest grade in the World at the time would make an Ondrawad worth 1.5 grades more. Quantum physics makes it anyone's guess
Re: Relativistic effects. From our frame of reference (in the stationary frame of now) the true difficulty, within a moving frame (the past), will appear diminished, and vice versa.
On a quantum scale I imagine we will find there are actually three 'colours' of Ondra (standard, pain au raisin, pink Anasazi) and an anti-Ondra (also called a Megos) but that we can't actually see or measure any of them except by their impact on other things - snapped footholds on Dawn Wall traverse pitches etc.
So excited by this ascent I mentioned the 'news' at work. My colleagues were underwhelmed.
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Likewise - tried to explain context, but underwhelmed response.
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First person to flash Jade and free Dawn Wall?
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The very small and the very big.
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The Meltdown too, should he happen to be in the neighbourhood.
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"Assuming he's successful, doesn't that constitute 'pathing it'?" - Paul B
Not really. To be honest, I think he had to put a fair bit more time and effort into this than I'd expected. I'd kinda expected him to struggle on some of the wierd laybacky type things - ie: pitches 10, 17 etc. But the two crux pitches, I thought he would do much more easily than he did. He did have hot weather all time he was there up till the third day of the push. But from then on, including both days spent on the crux pitches it cooled down loads. They are clearly properly hard.
great summery post. thanks
You have incredibly high expectations! Its not like Ondra onsights every 9a he tries (the vast majority of which are not slabby climbs rather steep and overhanging).
Surely the question of 'pathing it' is relative?
Caldwell has a wealth of experience doing big walls on El Cap, spent several years working out a line and then Jorgenson got involved (known for being a dab hand at granite bouldering so his skill set was honed too). Together they worked the various pitches for a few more years, learning all the moves, dialling the pitches. They tried freeing it in 2010 but Caldwell sustained a broken ankle and it wasn't until 2014 that Caldwell freed pitch 14 and they then went for a "final push" 2015/16 over a period of 19 days, swinging leads on the first 10 pitches and also on some of the top ones from what I can find in the reports.
Ondra readily confessed himself that the smooth granite walls were not his style (i.e. not steep overhanging crimps) and need to be climbed relatively slowly compared to his normal style. Turns up and based on the Supertopo thread you quote has 23 days in the valley, of which 15 were on the wall, refining and adapting to the style of El Cap climbing whilst at the same time learning the route as he put fixed ropes up from the ground (can't find it now but I recall reading a quote by Jorgenson saying this was impressive as he and Caldwell had fixed ropes from the top for their work/push). He then set off on the 14th November, climbing pitches 1-9 in six hours (pitches 1-10 took Caldwell and Jorgenson 3 days). Ondra did pitches 10-13 on Day 2 then rested deliberately for a day before trying 14 which took him two days in the end but then he did pitch 15 second go the same day (Ondra 1-15 total of 5-days; Caldwell and Jorgenson both got through pitch 14 by day 7). No rest for Ondra and he climbed the loop pitch (16) and the next five pitches upto Wino tower (16-21 in a day total of 7 days; Caldwell reached Wino tower after 16-days whilst Jorgenson had been shut down by 15 he completed it that day). A forced rest day due to rain and he then climbed the remaining pitches on the eighth day (Jorgenson took two days to catch Caldwell up on Wino Tower and they then topped out the next day, total of 19 days on the wall).
There is the added pressure of a first ascent and not knowing whether it was possible for Caldwell and Jorgenson, whilst Ondra knew it had been climbed and helpfully had key sequences shared with him by the first ascentionists. That aside leading every single pitch in less than half the time it took Caldwell and Jorgenson and without the wealth of experience on the rock type was an absolutely phenomenal effort from Ondra. And he appears to have done it all with a smile on his face as he just fucking loves climbing.
Other factors to consider are that Ondra has predominantly climbed sport and bouldered rather than trad/fixed gear, must have taken a big psychological step to go through that learning curve so quickly in such a tough playground.
There is still room for improvement, for example someone could rock up and go completely ground-up or even on-sight the whole thing(!!!) but I doubt there are going to be many suitors in the foreseeable future and it will be some time before anyone will come close to matching it.
Caldwell and Jorgenson timeline of final push (http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item/69418/the_dawn_wall_project_history_in_the_making)
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I imagine that Chris say hi.
Shh... the closest I am ever going to be to good climbing and good photography in one night. I'd be a fool not to report 😊
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just that the standards he sets are so ridiculously high.
In the end it was just as hard as I expected, but it took more time than I expected, because I was a total beginner to this style of climbing in Yosemite
......
But maybe in a couple of years I would start thinking about how to climb this route faster. Why not?
(http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2016/climber-adam-ondra-dawn-wall-yosemite-success/)
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/23/czech-free-climber-adam-ondra-scales-yosemite-rock-wall-record/
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Fascinating interview with Ondra here (http://www.emontana.cz/adam-ondra-dawn-wall-interview). Slow to load and translation could be tweaked (peaks = beaks, technical = aid climbing).
"this is not my last visit of the route ... I would love to climb it a lot faster than this time."
Bisharat's article (http://eveningsends.com/dawn-of-a-new-era/) summarises the mood. There is so much potential on El Cap.: Favresse and Villanueva's diagonal across the SE face; New Jersey Turnpike, the start of El Nino but going straight up instead of traversing off left onto NA wall; a line based on Cosmos, between Dihedral and Freerider; Never Never Land is nearly free and there is more to do over there; direct finish to Dawn Wall...
The golden age of Yosemite is now.
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That interview on the czech site Duncan posted is brilliant (even if the translation is a bit amusing in places). Well worth reading.
And perhaps, best of all out of all this, it seems some of the old guard in the Valley are finally starting to wake up to the free climbing potential and how non-clean aid climbing is steadily destroying it. If this ascent, along with all the other free climbing activity this autumn leads to a change in ethics along the lines of the following comments on the supertopo thread, then it's really welcome news.
"It seems like the really hard bits on the Dawn Wall are on un-nailed rock, which may preserve the nature of the climbing well into the future. I wonder if it is possible to get everyone to agree that the Dawn Wall is now free, and only clean climbing can be used." - "Roger Breedlove"
"The next comprehensive Yosemite Guide should include a section on clean aid climbing and clearly identify sections of big walls that are free climbing pitches that should only be done hammerless." - "kingtut"
I'd like to think in time, the ethics would shift a lot further than this, but at least it's a start...
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Ondra: "I think it's possible to climb the Dawn Wall in a single day".
What do you think the chances are that we'll see this within the next few years? It' an outrageous idea, but I wouldn't bet against him.
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I think if he spent a season in the valley getting it all dialed it's conceivable, but not sure he would bother?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt_Q2coXfKg
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt_Q2coXfKg
YouTube's automatic captions doing a great job!
(http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161124/695e1f0af0e8c1af413bd059e6dd39bb.jpg)
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
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PlanetMountain Interview (http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/adam-ondra-the-dawn-wall-el-capitan-interview.html)
(clarifies the no-hands stance between the loop pitch 16 and 17 for those who were asking).
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Nice words on Adams instagram as he leaves the valley :
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNdAEcUA5nv/
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQLT1a9ZGWM