EWolfe Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 From 8a.nu: What does 8a.nu mean by freepoint? Climbing is about moving upwards and reaching the top. The spirit is sometimes hindered due to safety reasons, scariness and clipping bolts. The community salutes the brave and laughs at the cowards and every year several climbers are killed and houndreds (sic) are badly injured. How many disasters could have been avoided if the community would except (sic ) top-roping? How many more climbing metres would you be doing if you would not have to lead all the time? Indoor we have already seen a dramatic and positive change towards top-roping. Looking back, it's ridiculous to see how the ethic rules forced us to lead indoors all the time. Hopefully, we will look back and say the same thing about outdoor climbing, in a few years . That's at least the aim with this article about freepoint. 8a.nu suggests and will make our scorecard avaliable for register free-points. As long as you do not weight the rope you can free-point both routes and boulders in any way you like. Top-rope would be the most common way but when you free-point very steep routes you could chose to follow and unclip or by using as many pre-clipped carbiners as you wish. In the scorecard system we will value freepoint one grade lower than a redpoint. In practice we assume that freepoints will be used mainly at lower difficulty levels and less steeper routes. But some of us will also be doing it, in order to freepoint, that badly protected but super nice 8a! Discuss. Quote
HRoark Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 This is the stupidestest thing I've ever heard of, besides sportclimbing. Quote
EWolfe Posted December 26, 2003 Author Posted December 26, 2003 Back in the day, we used to call a "top-rope flash" a "brownpoint" Quote
MysticNacho Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 This would be for wussies and sailors. Quote
Off_White Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 On the otherhand, the lack of recognition given to top-rope routes leads to bolt proliferation and other funny ego politics. A good example is a 50' long route that my friend put up in 1978 at Mission Gorge in San Diego. He rated it 10c, it was in several guidebooks, and years later another guy TR'd it, put in 7 bolts, renamed it, graded it 11a, and claimed a first ascent. I'll wager there are a number of local examples of this same thing. Particularly in terms of short routes, maybe not everything needs to be leadable? Quote
EWolfe Posted December 26, 2003 Author Posted December 26, 2003 Good point, OW. Although, I bet the Brits will be pissed when those TR-rehearsed headpoints start showing up as claimed "freepoint" ascents. Quote
HRoark Posted December 26, 2003 Posted December 26, 2003 This is as bad as the "reeling in a leader fall" thread. Quote
HRoark Posted December 27, 2003 Posted December 27, 2003 Spoken like a 5.9 leader, Howie. I led 5.9 once. It was scary... Quote
Dru Posted December 27, 2003 Posted December 27, 2003 I told them they should call an onsight-freepoint a snafflepoint but Bjorn didn't listen to me Quote
Norsky Posted December 29, 2003 Posted December 29, 2003 Spoken like a 5.9 leader, Howie. I led 5.9 once. It was scary... If you led more sport routes you wouldn't be scared and you wouldn't still be leading 5.9 Your call. Quote
HRoark Posted December 29, 2003 Posted December 29, 2003 Spoken like a 5.9 leader, Howie. I led 5.9 once. It was scary... If you led more sport routes you wouldn't be scared and you wouldn't still be leading 5.9 Your call. No way, I'm just a 4th Class master of mayhem now...Classic Crack gives me nightmares and I break out in a cold sweat. Quote
HRoark Posted December 29, 2003 Posted December 29, 2003 Classic Crack...Layback it! Good one. With all those nice jams, why fuck it up by laying it back? Quote
Norsky Posted December 29, 2003 Posted December 29, 2003 Classic Crack...Layback it! Good one. With all those nice jams, why fuck it up by laying it back? To save the skin on your hands for the crack to the right of it about 20 ft. I still have the scars from my flailing from 7 years ago. Besides, laying it back is how Becky did it! Quote
HRoark Posted December 29, 2003 Posted December 29, 2003 Classic Crack...Layback it! Good one. With all those nice jams, why fuck it up by laying it back? To save the skin on your hands for the crack to the right of it about 20 ft. I still have the scars from my flailing from 7 years ago. Besides, laying it back is how Becky did it! 20' right? You mean 'Deception Crack' (5.9) or 'Twin Crack' (5.8) just to the left? Who's Becky? I heard that Fred Beckey laid it back, but that was before jamming really took off. Quote
Norsky Posted December 29, 2003 Posted December 29, 2003 Classic Crack...Layback it! Good one. With all those nice jams, why fuck it up by laying it back? To save the skin on your hands for the crack to the right of it about 20 ft. I still have the scars from my flailing from 7 years ago. Besides, laying it back is how Becky did it! 20' right? You mean 'Deception Crack' (5.9) or 'Twin Crack' (5.8) just to the left? Who's Becky? I heard that Fred Beckey laid it back, but that was before jamming really took off. Yeah yeah Deception and yeah yeah BeckEy. Quote
HRoark Posted December 29, 2003 Posted December 29, 2003 I didn't really tear up my hands on Deception; it's not too bad, just one not-so-secure jam and then you're good. Quote
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