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Topic Starter Topic: The Dawn Wall

I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-10-2015 08:27 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Not sure how much interest there is among couch fattys like you nerds, but as a fellow rock climber I've been on the edge of my seat for the last week about Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson's historic attempt at freeing El Capitan's Dawn Wall in Yosemite.

Image

Long thought of as the impossible climb in Yosemite, the Dawn Wall (so named because of the way the dawn light hits the face) is a featureless vertical wall that has never been free climbed simply because there is nothing to hold on to and the sheer difficulty of what is involved. But for the last 7 years, it has been the obsession of veteran climber Caldwell, having failed on 3 previous attempts with his climbing partner Jorgeson, due to bad weather and injuries.



    Caldwell is a certified bad ass. He cut off his left-hand index finger with a table saw while doing home renovations, had it surgically reattached but was told it would have limited sensitivity and mobility to allow for climbing, so he had it removed again. Dude is climbing a mountain where finger holds are literally the width of a dime, sans a finger!

    Even more amazing is the very real story of how he survived a kidnapping by armed bandits in Kyrgyzstan. While climbing with 3 friends in Kyrgyzstan, they were shot at by bandits who instructed them to climb down and then held as hostages. Having come under fire by the Kyrgyzstan army, the bandits split up, leaving the climbers alone with a single armed guard. Seizing the opportunity, Caldwell grabbed the gun of the lone guard and pushed him off the side of a cliff, thereby making their escape!




Back on topic, Caldwell and Jorgeson started their current attempt at freeing the Dawn Wall on Dec. 27th. This week, Caldwell completed the hardest 14th and 15th pitches out of the total 32 pitches of the 3000 foot climb. However, Jorgeson failed mulitple times on the 15th pitch which involves a particularly difficult traverse using razor sharp holds only a few millimetres wide. Having torn holes into bloody fingers, he had to retreat and wait for his fingers to heal. Caldwell moved on ahead up to pitch 20, but determined to finish as a team, has since focused on supporting his partner in getting Jorgeson past pitch 15. Yesterday on new fingers, Jorgeson finally completed the 15th pitch.

ImageImage

As of now, they are now clear of the hardest pitches on the route so with some luck they should be able to complete their ascent. Though nothing is yet guaranteed, they are still facing the real possibility of injuries and poor weather.




NYTimes 3D Tour of The Dawn Wall (Cool interactive tour)

National Geographic Article (Good article for the layman about how they are accomplishing the climb)

Latest Updates

A little Dawn Wall history with Caldwell:



Kevin Jorgeson's Video Diary



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Canadian Shaft
Canadian Shaft
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PostPosted: 01-10-2015 08:32 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


damn son!




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I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-10-2015 08:45 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Oh yeah...




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Etile
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 01:55 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


lol

also, mental




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Risen From The Ashes
Risen From The Ashes
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 03:52 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


As someone who doesn't like heights, I have no idea why they'd want to climb up mountains. One you can walk up fair enough though but one you have to climb up with a chance of falling off to your death? No thanks.




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Kempston Joy
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 06:55 AM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


I'm sure some woman from a daytime UK TV show just climbed that to raise money having never climbed before.




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Unquantifiable Abstract
Unquantifiable Abstract
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 08:32 AM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Wow - I've been indoor climbing once and it ruined my grip...unreal strength to do that




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Your Other Daddy
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 09:22 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


i'm not into it, but doesn't free climbing mean you're not using safety lines ?



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Elite
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 11:49 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


SoM wrote:
i'm not into it, but doesn't free climbing mean you're not using safety lines ?


Free climbing means no gear at all, except chalk for your hands, I believe.




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Your Other Daddy
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 11:52 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


that's what i meant, thx



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I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 06:22 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong...

Climbing without ropes or other safety equipment is called free soloing. Very few climbers attempt free solos, among the rare breed are famed climbers Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright.

Honnold free soloing Half Dome in Yosemite:



Free climbing means you are climbing with just hands/feet on bare rock with the rope as a safety in case you fall. This is in contrast to aid climbing where you would pull yourself up on hardware that you have hanging off of bolts drilled into the rock or other anchors.

Image

The first ascent of the Dawn Wall was achieved by Warren Harding in 1970. He did so by aid climbing, drilling in hundreds of pitons and bolts into the rock face and climbed by pulling himself up on ascenders all the way to the top. It took him and his partner 28 days.

Caldwell and Jorgeson are doing a never-been-done free climb ascent of the Dawn Wall by climbing up just using the rock formations as hand and foot holds. They are not allowed to pull on hardware. Making it even more difficult, in order for each ~100 foot pitch to count, they must do each pitch by redpoint - meaning that they must complete the entire pitch without falling, or they have to start the pitch from the beginning. The Dawn Wall is 3000 feet, consisting of 32 pitches.



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Elite
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 06:37 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Ah, :up:
Didn't know there was a difference between free climb and free solo. I suppose climbing Dawn Wall free solo is essentially a death wish and probably impossible.




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Digital Nausea
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 06:40 PM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Oh, they aren't free soloing? That makes this about 77% less interesting...




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Aneurysm
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 09:22 PM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


More like YAWN wall, amirite?




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Your Other Daddy
Your Other Daddy
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 10:37 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


so it's like sucking dick with no hands...

just ask geoff

:olo:



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Aneurysm
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PostPosted: 01-11-2015 11:56 PM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


so it's like potato sucking potato with potato hands..

potato ask potato

-SoM 2015




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Cool #9
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PostPosted: 01-12-2015 12:13 AM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


xer0s wrote:
Oh, they aren't free soloing? That makes this about 77% less interesting...

What? He can't fall to his death? Oh, wow, that makes it, like, SO BORING!




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Digital Nausea
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PostPosted: 01-12-2015 07:53 AM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Exactly...




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I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-12-2015 07:55 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Here is the dyno crux on pitch 16 (from a previous attempt). I believe it is about 8 feet between holds.

A dyno is a dynamic move, involving a jump. A crux is the hardest move of a pitch.

http://giant.gfycat.com/HonoredVelvetyE ... codile.gif



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Aneurysm
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PostPosted: 01-12-2015 10:14 AM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Kirks free solo of El Capitan was much more impressive.




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I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-13-2015 08:36 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Yeah, but having Spock on jetboots catch him didn't quite qualify as a free solo. I believe that's called a free jetboot base jump belay.



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I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-14-2015 08:23 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


They are currently near the summit. There is a large gathering of reporters in the valley meadow. If everything goes well, they'll enter the history books later today.

Image



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meh...
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PostPosted: 01-14-2015 04:12 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Summit!




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Welfare Recipient
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PostPosted: 01-14-2015 05:16 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Lol they died... :olo: ...




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I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-14-2015 07:44 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Goof, not everyone has AIDS, it's mostly just you.



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Welfare Recipient
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PostPosted: 01-15-2015 04:49 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


It's impossible for me to have aids... I'm neither black or gay... :olo: ...




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Kempston Joy
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PostPosted: 01-15-2015 04:57 AM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


shaft wrote:
More like YAWN wall, amirite?


this




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Truffle Shuffle
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PostPosted: 01-15-2015 05:53 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


scared? wrote:
It's impossible for me to have aids... I'm neither black or gay... :olo: ...


But u is a hoe



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I'm the dude!
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PostPosted: 01-15-2015 07:50 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote




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Digital Nausea
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PostPosted: 01-15-2015 08:29 AM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Awwwww




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The Afflicted
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PostPosted: 01-15-2015 10:53 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


I had only read about their success in the news today. It is a great achievement and I think the time it took them already shows how difficult of a task it was.
3000 feet in what? 20 days? That's hardcore. I guess they biwouaked all those nights in the wall? I don't climb myself but I think it is a fascinating sport.

Quite the opposite was achived by the Huber brothers last summer I think, when they speed climbed a wall of El Capitan. They went together as a duet with the first one securing the rope to existing anchors and the second one to just pull himself up the rope. I think the existing record till then was 4 hours something. They did it in some 56 minutes if I remember correctly.

Also, surf this site with a handheld device. It's streetview-like route of the Eiger Northwall. Watching this on a handheld really immerses you and shows how steep it is. You can use the dots on the right side to jump to different segments of the route.

Edit: here's aforementioned site in english.




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Your Other Daddy
Your Other Daddy
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PostPosted: 01-18-2015 03:11 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


free solo Alex Honnold

http://media.vidmax.com/media/video2/97597/stream.mp4

paste into url field



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Elite
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PostPosted: 01-18-2015 04:52 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


SoM wrote:
free solo Alex Honnold

http://media.vidmax.com/media/video2/97597/stream.mp4

paste into url field


The circuitry in that kid's brain is broken.




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Elite
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PostPosted: 01-18-2015 04:56 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Really? Embedding a 104MB gif?




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Your Other Daddy
Your Other Daddy
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PostPosted: 01-18-2015 05:45 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


i ripped it out of the page source, didn't want to link straight to vidmax



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