What amazes me more, right now, is that there are people on HN who not only KNOW about climbing, but actually DO it.
By comparison, I tend to consider a brisk walk too much exercise.
Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
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Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Alex Honnold has done the fastest aid climb of the Nose. It's the same height as the Dawn Wall but much easier difficulty wise (5.8 vs 5.14d).
It's also worth mentioning that 95% of the Nose can be free-climbed by just about anyone that really trains for it. It's hard, but it's not that hard. The Dawn Wall, in contrast, is basically off limits for your average free climber -- especially the middle pitches -- unless you're among the best of the very best. You can check out the topos for each climb. This is the nose ( http://www.supertopo.com/topos/yosemite/t…
Wow, I haven't even seen a 14b on an actual gym wall; I have absolutely no idea of how hard it is compared to a 11-12
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
What kind of strength does one have to have on the finger to be able to hold himself with just the tip? I have always wondered. I only saw climbing scenes in movies and have always wondered if people actually are able to work with such little grip and it seems they are. So for such climbing do they use earlier runs to put the rings (whatever they are call) for the safety lines during the actual climb?
There's no doubt these top level climbers have incredibly strong fingers. But as an amateur climber, you'd probably be surprised at how much your grip strength improves to the point that you can hang by your finger tips on such small holds. Grip strength is not really something people use in every day life so unless you lift weights at the gym or go climbing your strength is probably pretty undeveloped. I think a lot…
Just worth noting: for those who want to increase their grip strength. The things you squeeze are fine, actually climbing (or lifting weights (or whatever)) is optimal. Avoid fingerboards for quite a while as those are a sure way to injure yourself if your body is not ready.
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#34What amazes me more, right now, is that there are people on HN who not only KNOW about climbing, but actually DO it. By comparison, I tend to consider a brisk walk too much exercise.
Climbing seems to be the developer’s sport. It’s not team based (beyond your belayer), there’s no schedule so you can fit it in around other things, and especially with bouldering it’s split into short challenges that are as much mental as physical.
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's also worth mentioning that 95% of the Nose can be free-climbed by just about anyone that really trains for it. It's hard, but it's not that hard. The Dawn Wall, in contrast, is basically off limits for your average free climber -- especially the middle pitches -- unless you're among the best of the very best. You can check out the topos for each climb. This is the nose ( http://www.supertopo.com/topos/yosemite/t…
It's much, much harder, particularly when you realize that the Yosemite Decimal System progresses like the Richter scale, in the sense that a step from 5.13a to 5.13b (an increase of 1 grade unit) is leaps and bounds harder to achieve than improving from, say, 5.8 to 5.9. Although this was the myth I was taught (or what us precocious kids must have made ourselves believed, since obv. we were progressing so well/so po…
Yeah, 5.10a -> 5.10b is about the same step up as 5.7 -> 5.8 and the Yosemite Decimal System was indeed developed somewhere other than Yosemite: Tahquitz/Suicide in Southern CA [1] (where many of the golden age climbers and stonemasters honed their skills)
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#36What amazes me more, right now, is that there are people on HN who not only KNOW about climbing, but actually DO it. By comparison, I tend to consider a brisk walk too much exercise.
Climbing seems to be the developer’s sport. It’s not team based (beyond your belayer), there’s no schedule so you can fit it in around other things, and especially with bouldering it’s split into short challenges that are as much mental as physical.
If you draw a venn diagram for jocks, hippies and nerds, the point where the three circles intersect is where you find climbers.
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Climbing seems to be the developer’s sport. It’s not team based (beyond your belayer), there’s no schedule so you can fit it in around other things, and especially with bouldering it’s split into short challenges that are as much mental as physical.
If you draw a venn diagram for jocks, hippies and nerds, the point where the three circles intersect is where you find climbers.
Frank Sacherer worked at CERN: http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/tnb-forgotten-hero-fran...
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
What kind of strength does one have to have on the finger to be able to hold himself with just the tip? I have always wondered. I only saw climbing scenes in movies and have always wondered if people actually are able to work with such little grip and it seems they are. So for such climbing do they use earlier runs to put the rings (whatever they are call) for the safety lines during the actual climb?
In general, when you see a climber bearing down on a tiny crimp that fits the very tip of just one finger, seeming to support his body weight on it, that is exactly what is happening. His feet will be on holds that are considerably worse. The amazing thing is that if you apply yourself to climbing and train for a few years, you will be able to move off similar holds in similar positions. It's a pretty cool feeling.
The thing is, usually those foot holds are holding most of the weight - a chip for the foot is worth a jug in the hand :)
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's also worth mentioning that 95% of the Nose can be free-climbed by just about anyone that really trains for it. It's hard, but it's not that hard. The Dawn Wall, in contrast, is basically off limits for your average free climber -- especially the middle pitches -- unless you're among the best of the very best. You can check out the topos for each climb. This is the nose ( http://www.supertopo.com/topos/yosemite/t…
It's much, much harder, particularly when you realize that the Yosemite Decimal System progresses like the Richter scale, in the sense that a step from 5.13a to 5.13b (an increase of 1 grade unit) is leaps and bounds harder to achieve than improving from, say, 5.8 to 5.9. Although this was the myth I was taught (or what us precocious kids must have made ourselves believed, since obv. we were progressing so well/so po…
It's a log scale, just not necessarily log10.
It's like lots of things in sport, actually. Imagine the progression from running a 6 minute mile to a 5 minute mile to a 4 minute mile. Now go to a 3:55 from there. It's a much smaller notch than 6:00 to 5:00, but will take you ten years of training.
So sure, you can consider it just adding more weight to the bar in a linear fashion. It still a lot harder to lift each individual pound as the weight increases.
Re: Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Climbing seems to be the developer’s sport. It’s not team based (beyond your belayer), there’s no schedule so you can fit it in around other things, and especially with bouldering it’s split into short challenges that are as much mental as physical.
If you draw a venn diagram for jocks, hippies and nerds, the point where the three circles intersect is where you find climbers.
@Fricken Genius. That's the first new thing I've heard said about climbing in years, and hits the nail right on the head :D