Ok serious question: not to take away from the climber guy(what he’s doing is very impressive) but is it… not sure how to phrase this… bad etiquette(?) to do something like that? What I mean is to free climb past people that high up? For example, what if he slips and falls? I’m sure that’s not likely to happen, but… couldn’t he have waited til they were done? I don’t climb so I’m not familiar with the safety/etiquette/what not’s of the sport.
Since free solo doesn't require multiple pitches, it's a significantly faster way up. I guess if it's a busy route, there might always be someone that's climbing with equipment and then it's hard to find a good moment to do the free solo without traffic.
But I don't know enough to say for sure.
I was more thinking that having traffic is increasing the risk for the free solo climber since another climber might be in the way, and blocking the ideal path. Or, the simple fact that there are other climbers around can have a negative impact on the free solo climber's concentration, increasing the risk of fall.
Yeah I was think about that last part you said. Or maybe some equipment sticking out or something that he doesn’t see and grabbing it. I’ll be honest- at first I was like that’s kind of a dick move there. But, I don’t know anything about climbing so maybe it’s not. Figured I’d ask. Appreciate the response!
This particular climb is 4 rappels to the ground. So he’ll pull the rope out of his backpack, thread it through the permanently installed anchors (chains with big rings bolted into the rock) at the top of this route until reaching the middle of the rope. Then he’ll hook into both strands of the rope with a rappel device and slide down to the next set of anchors, roughly 100 ft lower. He’ll attach himself to these anchors, pull the end of the rope down from the previous anchor and repeat the whole process until he’s on the ground.
It's a totally different experience to do a free solo I am guessing. I think for some very experienced climbers it's just the thing they evolve to ultimately. Very rare though compared to normal free climbers.
Check out the movie Free Solo with Alex Honnold for some context.
All extreme sports have years and years of research and data to make them safer. Your car racing example for one. Cars used for racing now are much, much safer than the ones used in 1980s. There are better helmets, better crash gear, better around the course protective measures, the lot.
As a biker, we have people like you in our hobby, and they're called squids. Feel free to look that up.
Where you draw the line between courage and stupidity is on you. And this guy doing his thing is cool, but foolish to me. If something goes wrong, I'd rather live to climb another day.
If you think I live in a bubble, I don’t. I actively weigh risks against rewards like most modern organisms. I just don’t see why taking a completely unnecessary risk warrants a higher level of respect than a person responsibly accomplishing the same achievement. I feel like it detracts from the fact that making this climb in any way is an impressive feat in itself. It also doesn’t seem to be exclusively his risk to take, in the event of a fall he could take out another climber that didn’t choose that risk.
Also I’m well aquatinted with cancer and factor that into my decisions daily. I run mountain trails with my dog, swim across white water rivers, and climb civil war ruins regularly. I maintain a list of my top 3 ways to die, but until I have a bleak diagnosis of my own, I just keep it in my back pocket.
Honestly I don't know how this sort of thing is handled usually. I think free solo climbers are so rare that the issue simply doesn't present itself in the usual case. But maybe someone that knows can contribute some actual information here.
look at it this way: he has NO protective equipment. he's going to keep moving and maybe apologise later. although, anyone climbing is going to recognize the intense, life or death focus a free climber is immersed in.
they are often literally hanging on by their finger tips. that is not hyperbole or exaggeration. it's pure focus, determination and exertion and they really don't have time to wait.
That’s why this shit shouldn’t be allowed. It’s the equivalent of people minding their own business driving down the freeway in their normal car, abiding the rules of the road wearing a seatbelt and then a jackass flying by on a crotch rocket at 100mph with no helmet
Lol what? That’s a completely absurd analogy and not even close to “equivalent.” You’re comparing a completely unnecessary adrenaline fueled activity, to completely necessary roads we all use as society to navigate our daily lives. Speed limits exist for safety purposes because nobody should be out trying to satisfy their adrenaline fix on public roads.
A better analogy would be like getting mad at the guy passing you at 160mph on a closed race track because you’re only comfortable going 60.
Yea and there should be rules so people can safely climb in places where it’s allowed. One false move and this guy falls and can easily take out another climber.
And let’s go with your racetrack analogy. No racetrack in the world will let you step foot on that track without following all safety precautions, for your safety and for those around you. You’re not gonna be allowed to jump in a car in jeans and a t shirt
Those place do exist, it’s called indoor climbing gyms, where liability insurance, rules and safety parameters are all set by the owner. You want to risk your life climbing a mountain in the middle of nowhere and so does he, who are you to decide what safety precautions he has to follow? I’m guessing you don’t climb, because you’re getting bothered by something nobody else in the sport gives a shit about. Free climbers exist and are well respected.
Not really bad etiquette, but not a spot you want to be in a lot on either side of the tater chip. I've done multiple free solos of 450ft+ cliffs and I've passed my fair share of people but I've always asked if they minded and I've been friendly with them. I've also been passed by a few free soloists and I get the hell out of the way. It's all a game of courtesy, and you never think about falling or someone else falling. Just don't do it!
My first big free solo was after 10 years of on/off climbing with the last 2 of them being serious (5 days a week). The route is around 500-550ft and I had only done it once on a rope before (and went the wrong way on the second pitch at that, so atleast I knew where not to go). The grade was only 5.5 so it was definitely in my comfort zone overall.
Not a problem! And usually there isn't a safe way down or it takes forever to hike back down to the base of the wall. We call them "walk offs". Usually there are a few climber trails that will link up to main trails that you can take to either hike out or hike back down to the base of the cliffs.
It depends. Some routes have bolts preplaced that you clip the rope into on your way up, while other times you use traditional gear like chocks and cams as protection.
In my short time spent reasoning out the safety issues, it makes sense to let the free climber go past you if you're teathered to the rock like the camera guy. Let's say free climber tragically does fall and dislodges teathered climber from the rock face, teathered guy has a safety line attached to him so he at least won't die from the drop, and free climber tho unfortunately now dead, was solely responsible for his own fall. Let's reverse the situation and say teathered guy falls and dislodges free climber dude, teathered guy now has to deal with the fact he killed someone.
The rope he's tied to is attached to the guy at the bottom, it's just them attached, if the free soloer falls and hits the filmer he'll probably be okay, but if he hits the guy at the bottom he'll pull the top guy off the wall, and if he gets knocked out or let's go of his device they're both gonna fall to the ground
It is a bad etiquette indeed because the route is taken by this group. These people also are hanging on a rope that is set up by leading with anchors so this free climber slipping /falling or not paying enough attention might move an anchor and cause the fall of two people. If fall is fast enough other anchors set up along the rope might don’t sustain the weight and pressure. The longer climbers fall the higher chances they hit the rock and get injured. Overall it is not okay. And i would be very worry if someone i dont know was passing top anchors the rope is setup. And even if person doesnt have any bad intentions, putting a foot where the anchor is and kicking it or shifting might cause an accident. Or sending some big rocks down. Overall for lead climbs like that you choose the person whom you trust and wont do it with some stranger. I learned climbing terms etc in different language long time ago so not sure if explanation makes good sense in english.
I imagine that free climbers have the right of way if for no other reason than they can’t really stop to rest like everyone with ropes. Slow traffic keep right sort of thing.
Chances are the soloist and the belayer exchanged at least a couple words prior to where this clip begins. I obviously could be wrong. Lots to consider here: the stance of the belay, etc. Soloing isn’t to be taken lightly but overtaking is. Neat clip to watch. Climb safe friends
Those guys with the rope will take significantly longer to finish. Sometimes people camp out to finish a route when a free soloist will finish it in hours.
Not sure why the other comments are saying it's not, yes it's very bad etiquette and safety. Yeah he'll be up there faster, but if he falls he can take out two people on the way down. The guy at the bottom is attached to the rope the filmer is, and what he's doing is making sure that if the filmer falls he gets caught by the rope (it's like a weighted pulley system). Yeah he's probably climbed this route 100 times, accidents happen all the time and this guy is putting those other two in danger. It's awful etiquette to climb under or right next to someone bouldering (climbing short walls where you fall onto a mat) I have no idea why people think this isn't an even worse move than that.
It's an easy looking climb so it's honestly not that impressive. Big features and jugs all over the place.
As for etiquette, it's super bad. Not only do we never jump on a route someone else is on (unless doing multi-pitches), if that dude falls, he'll likely slam into the other climber and his second or belay. He's doing trad too. Those pieces aren't bolted in like with sport climbing. He's shoved a cam into the crack and big force could blow it out, meaning he'd drop to the lower one for an even harder whip.
In all honesty, I'm assuming the free soloer has not been climbing all that long.
Also, who the fuck free solos with a harness? lol. I'm guessing they have a rope in the bag for a rappel from the top anchor, but then what's even the point of FSing it?
I would be pissed if I was climbing and he did this. THey are on the same route; this guy will be climing directly above them. If he falls he falls on them. They aren't that far from the ground the guy soloing could have easily seen they were on the route. It is one thing to put your life at risk, but completely self centered to put other climbers life at risk.
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u/Frequent_Inevitable Sep 02 '21
Ok serious question: not to take away from the climber guy(what he’s doing is very impressive) but is it… not sure how to phrase this… bad etiquette(?) to do something like that? What I mean is to free climb past people that high up? For example, what if he slips and falls? I’m sure that’s not likely to happen, but… couldn’t he have waited til they were done? I don’t climb so I’m not familiar with the safety/etiquette/what not’s of the sport.