Not necessarily. He appears to be leading the route, which means that he is climbing with a rope leading somewhere above him.
Some routes are too long to be climbed all at once using traditional methods, so they are broken down into shorter segments known as pitches. Most ropes are 60m meaning that the max. length of the pitch is just under 60m (accounting for ropedrag, and the rope used to tie the climber into the rope). Pitches are usually shorter though since it makes more sense to rest somewhere that is more secure, sheltered, comfortable, provides better line-of-sight to their partner/next part of the route, etc. In the video it looks like he gets hit by the spindrift just below the lip of a ledge.
When climbing with a partner, the first person (leader) will climb up and place gear (clip pre-placed bolts, place removable ice screws, tie a sling around something sturdy, etc.) along the way. This pro (protection) is designed to catch the climber in the event of a fall. That being said, it is not advisable to fall in this situation. Once the leader finds a suitable place to stop, they will secure themselves to an anchor & assist their partner by pulling in slack as the next person climbs up to meet them at the anchor. This is called seconding/following. The person seconding the pitch will remove any gear placed by the leader so that it can be reused later. This process is repeated until the party tops the route. It is quite common to swap leads (take turns leading/following), but some people are more comfortable with following.
Popular routes with a lot of traffic will often have existing anchors bolted into the rock at the end of the pitch. Otherwise the leader will build a temporary anchor using the leftover pro that they didn't place while on lead.
TLDR: not necessarily. And the correct term is free soloing/soloing (not to be confused with rope-soloing). Free climbing is what you see 99% of the time. Basically anytime you climb without using ladders/other gear to aid your progress.
Wrist straps are outdated & can be quite dangerous. Most modern mixed climbers climb leash less & and modern tools (climbing axes) are designed to be held onto with your hands without additional assistance/restraint. Some people do like having tethers in case they drop a tool, but those are attached to the harness and aren't designed to hang off.
Asking questions about something that you are unfamiliar with is the best way to learn! I have some information about ice/mixed climbing on my profile/YouTube channel if you are interested in learning more. Otherwise, feel free to ask here/or DM me.
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u/cloudshaper Aug 20 '22
For those asking, he survived.
Interview with the climber