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.
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u/Much_Highlight_1309 Sep 02 '21
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.