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10-May-2004 1:22:17 PM
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With Hubers recent solo of a grade 32 at Schleier Wasserfall, made me wonder what would be the hardest solo to date by an Australian?
Sperm Bitches 31 at Nowra has been soloed, but is really no more than an highball boulder problem.
Saxon Johns has soloed Ain't No Sunshine 28 with the crux ~8m above blocks.
Any others?
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10-May-2004 1:46:23 PM
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whooo did i read grade 32!!!
THAT MAKES ME SICK!! & WAY IMPRESSED (ok i turned off caps lock)
what about his solo of the 550m 7A Brandler Hasse?, http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/older.html?
date=200302
respect
what a sight it would be to see someone ambeling up to a grade 32 with climbing shoes and chalkbag
dalai, what height is sperm bitches?, less than 8m?
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10-May-2004 1:51:49 PM
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On 10/05/2004 Donut King wrote:
>
>dalai, what height is sperm bitches?, less than 8m?
Total height would probably be 8 metres I am guessing, but I vaguely recall the hard moves end a couple of moves before the anchors.
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10-May-2004 2:56:24 PM
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Though also not Australian...
Another person who has been soloing for many years though known more for his climbing of buildings, Alain Robert a.k.a spiderman has soloed up to 8b (31). Read more http://www.alainrobert.com/en/falaise.htm
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10-May-2004 4:47:54 PM
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On 10/05/2004 dalai wrote:
>Though also not Australian...
> Another person who has been soloing for many years though known more
>for his climbing of buildings, Alain Robert a.k.a spiderman has soloed
>up to 8b (31). Read more http://www.alainrobert.com/en/falaise.htm
http://www.alainrobert.com/fr/photos/big/photo4.jpg
No so confidence inspiring, this guy must have fallen a few times with the ironwork present in his body
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10-May-2004 5:15:31 PM
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>what about his solo of the 550m 7A Brandler Hasse?, http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/older.
one of the Hubers also soloed one of the classic North Faces in the Dolomites (Cime de Lavaredo??).... can't remeber the exact details but it was hard (25-ish) & long (several hundred metres). Is this the same route??
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10-May-2004 5:15:39 PM
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Soloing is so pure and inspirational...is their a more pure way of climbing...apart from naked and bare foot which is probably just asking for trouble!
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10-May-2004 5:35:03 PM
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On 10/05/2004 adamk wrote:
>Soloing is so pure and inspirational...
Inspirational?
Although I (rope)-solo, what these guys do scares me.
I do not find it inspirational at all, ... although I can appreciate to a small extent the skill and mindset involved, as a direct result of my (lesser comparison and relatively safe) roped-soloing.
I say to a 'small extent' because the more roped-soloing I do, the more I appreciate the absurdity of it and how vulnerable those who free-solo are.
Skilful, strong (endurance), and strong-minded they must be.
Pure form of climbing? ... definitely.
Inspirational??? ... perhaps to those who wish to emulate them, ... though advice (context only) from the late Derick Hersey (sp?) and the (still alive) Peter Croft is ...
'only (solo) climb for yourself, as anything else will lead you to disaster' ... (eventually?)
What they do is incredibly impressive and blows my mind, but that is different to inspiring me.
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10-May-2004 6:45:41 PM
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A5 you make me think. i myself think soloing is great and must give you a very special feeling when your up there. ive never done it but maybe when i am much older an wiser.
but how many of you out there think that soloeing is ethicaly wrong, their must be a few of you. im curiouse because even though at the moment i think soloeing is amazing, there must be some ethics to consider on the topic.
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10-May-2004 6:48:02 PM
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yeah im used to coming last
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10-May-2004 7:38:09 PM
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Wierdly enough, he also did it wearing a helmet.
Seems a bit peculiar to me, unless he was worried about a wee bit of rockfall.
tim
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10-May-2004 8:22:59 PM
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tim,
in an interview in a magazine (one of the american ones, cant remember which) huber said threre was an issue with rock fall on the top slab sections of the climb...though he also mentioned that there was alot of fractured rock on the route too, scares the hell out of me just thinking about it!
clancy
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10-May-2004 8:31:04 PM
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Be interested to hear from those who solo why they have done it? I have done one solo that was quite spontaneous and i wondered for weeks after why i did it and couldnt really believe i had done it. Crackhead who was there at the time said once you start doing solo's you wont be able to stop, i have stopped physically doing it but mentally am gearing up to do more, but this time probably solo as in no one else around. I feel that to be truely personally worthwhile it should be on my own and personal and no one else really needs to know about it. Would be keen to hear opinions of others who solo?
Remdan:- used to finishing last? School sprint champion? Hot with the ladies? Cut and style your own hair. Gets a's in Sacs, boy u talkin nonsense!!!!
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10-May-2004 8:49:12 PM
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Soloing is a great thing to do when you are mentally fit for it. I have done large bursts of it here and there over the last 10 years or so. I usually do a lot of routes in a day, building up my confidence and grades before finally calling it quits when it gets a little scary. At no stage am i soloing with any real fear. If you are feeling sketchy then GET THE HELL DOWN. You need to be 100% confident and controlled. I don't solo all the time - in fact it might be several years betwen sessions. At no stage have i gone out delibartly to go soloing. I just feel right at the time when standing at the base of the route and off I go. I guess the why reason is because the feeling you get is like the best, smoothest, easist onsight you have ever done - multiply it by 10. You are relying totally on your body to get you safely to the top - you can disregard thoughts about protection and falling. [disclaimer - Don't do this at home kids!]
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10-May-2004 9:05:18 PM
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Yeah i think the disclaimer thing is important. I dont know if we are totally responsible if we ramble on about the joys of soloing on this forum. The reasons for it need to be personal and perhaps we could inadvertantly encourage people to do it for wrong reasons...hard one coz half of me would love to hear peoples stories but the other shudders to think what influence it could have...maybe we need to address Remdans question about ethics of soloing?
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10-May-2004 9:35:00 PM
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Like Neil says, I reckon you have to be in the mood for soloing. Some days you are relaxed and confident with 100% focus on the climb and it all comes together. It feels great but you have to be totally in control of your mind. You have to know you won't fall and if you start to sketch you should get out of there.
I solo well below my on sight level, only on rock I trust and I guess when I am soloing I tend to prefer slabby and vertical to overhung routes, and corners to aretes. I know far better climbers than me have died on easy solo routes when holds have broken and this I think is the major risk. I'd be reluctant to climb a new solo route on Sydney sandstone for instance. Often I find getting down the worst part of the whole experience. Recently I climbed the first Flatiron in Colorado- 330 metres of airy slabby exposure to about Grade 13, felt great to the top and then had about a 70 m Grade 9 downclimb with spots of rain which wasn't so pleasant.
IMHO being able to focus the mind in soloing situations is great training for run out climbs and mountaineering routes when there isn't a protection option always at your feet.
I don't see the point of working a hard route on lead or toprope to solo it.
A question- where does bouldering stop and soloing start?
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10-May-2004 9:59:45 PM
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>A question- where does bouldering stop and soloing start?
i think that this is different for everyone...as far i can see theres no absolute defining line, but IMHO it's when you are high enough that you no longer consider falling off an acceptable option...
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10-May-2004 10:05:06 PM
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Interesting that Jon Muir soloed Trojan 25 (Arapiles) to above the crux and then down-climbed because he wasn't happy with a higher move. That's control.
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10-May-2004 10:58:46 PM
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Yes I too have had my fair share of solos .. fortunately stopped before anything went wrong. Was soloing to within 1-2 grades of my best leads (not onsights!). Only on routes previously climbed and on solid rock. When your mind is working properly it all works for you. If not, then it's time to stop. I've backed off a 14 on a lead rope 'when it didn't feel right' yet soloed to 20. A dangerous game that is only for each individual to choose to play.
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10-May-2004 11:31:38 PM
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>Interesting that Jon Muir soloed Trojan 25 (Arapiles) to above the crux
>and then down-climbed because he wasn't happy with a higher move. That's
>control.
Damn straight kieran, downclimbing is way hard! whenever i down-climb i end up dangling foot-free off a good handhold, i'll bet there's no doing that on grade 25.
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