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Posted
pink chalk,

having seen you climb, i'm fairly certain you didn't fall on the lower section of critical mass. which makes we wonder what the hell he could have been on???

 

as far as your question: i'm not sure there is a right answer. one thing is for sure though: people have been soloing since the beginning of climbing so it's an accepted part of the sport. having said that - i'm not sure why someone would want to solo in a crowd, if there were other options.

 

coming down to sunny!!! central oregon anytime soon?

 

Mark: he wasn’t on the 11+ when I swung over to say hi. I'll ask Jaime what the climbs were. The swing occurred ~3/4 high on Critical Mass, he was right and lower of me... warming up, but not snoop style ;)

 

I understand the history of soloist with some level of respect but it scares me to see how it is becoming more and more accepted and glorified in the magazines. Just my opinion. I don’t want to be around it and find it disturbing that this climber traveled so closely to us.

 

To his credit, I am amazed by his physical and mental strength. Looked to be 5.13+ climber. These guys keep pushing the limits til one day..... Kaboom.

 

i agree about the glorifying of it in the mags... - though i don't think this is a new trend. when you look at old mags, you can find plenty of pics of hersey, croft, barber and bachar amongst others soloing the high end grades of the time. i think the problem now-a-days is that climbing is a mainstream sport that *maybe* should have stayed a fringe sport.

 

i think a trip down to visit me IS in order.

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Posted

It's always been a part of the culture as Mark says - we were doing it back in the '70s in SoIll and most folks we knew in other areas did it to one degree or another as well. I still get the pull to do it, and would love to do YW, but I've promised my wife and daughter I won't, so I don't [by and large]. I make do with my roped soloes and it's kinda the same deal, but not really. Oh well, I had my days at it, and don't mind keeping to my word to my girls...

Posted (edited)
I went climbing with my girlfriend out at Beacon. It was her first time out there and someone soloed past her on P1.

 

probably ivan on one of his solo laps! ( just kidding ivan )

 

10 years ago it would have been andrew and ken because they were CRAZY!

 

Actually it was Ivan, singing "Gin and Juice" the whole way.

 

The closest I get to soloing is just cliping all the pins on the corner. But I'm sure they would hold a whipper.

 

Please send bags of shit to;

 

Snoop Dog

PO Box 911

Compton, Ca 42000

Edited by Stewart
Posted
people have been soloing since the beginning of climbing so it's an accepted part of the sport.

 

Mark….I don’t think soloing is an accepted part of climbing solely because climbers have been doing it since the beginning of climbing. Drivers cut me off everyday on the freeway and they have been doing it since the beginning of cars…..its definitely not accepted that they cut me off. Climbers just solo whether anyone likes it or not.

I would take it ever further and state that more climbers frown upon it than praise it.

I personally hate it when someone is soloing next to me or even in eyesight. It would ruin my day if I watched someone get messed up or even dye while I’m watching. All when it could have been prevented.

 

Posted

 

Please send bags of shit to;

 

Snoop Dog

PO Box 911

Compton, Ca 42000

 

Visions of some skinny assed black guy in Compton looking at the return address and driving up to my house and popping a hole in my head....LOL

 

Hey Stewart, what's your address? I need it for a package....yeah thats it....

 

:lmao:

Posted

Soloing and soloing past roped strangers are different deals. Most folks on a rope are not going to get it and they may or may not be gracious about it. Probably depends a lot on the area and route. To some extent it's common sense like, say jumping on p2 of the corner between a belayer and a leader, would be hard to categorize as anything but rude unless you asked for permission and received it...

Posted

it sure sucks watching someone obviously solo over their head. kinda gives you a sick feeling. i think non-climbers think we are all stupid because it's their right to beleive that, and i doubt you will stop climbing. i doubt if climbers will stop soloing because of the way you feel.in the past i have pissed alot of people off soloing, but i wasn't doing it for them or to show off. half the time i think the guy's with their girlfriends seemed the most threatened, but that's just the vibe i got. actually i have got rookie climbers out of lots of jams with my ability to solo. having had that mindset i truly understand the soloist mind and the purity of total control & focus.

 

i wonder what the statistics on solo deaths compared to careless roped up climber deaths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted
people have been soloing since the beginning of climbing so it's an accepted part of the sport.

 

Mark….I don’t think soloing is an accepted part of climbing solely because climbers have been doing it since the beginning of climbing. Drivers cut me off everyday on the freeway and they have been doing it since the beginning of cars…..its definitely not accepted that they cut me off. Climbers just solo whether anyone likes it or not.

I would take it ever further and state that more climbers frown upon it than praise it.

I personally hate it when someone is soloing next to me or even in eyesight. It would ruin my day if I watched someone get messed up or even dye while I’m watching. All when it could have been prevented.

 

maybe it's more fair to say, some people have thought of soloing as acceptable for a while now and some haven't. i'm not here to say what's right and wrong as far as soloing - i don't think they'll ever be consensus.

 

IMHO, soloing is one of many disciplines in climbing that is a worthwhile pursuit. it's part of being a well rounded climber.

 

i know i've seen you solo...

Posted

 

IMHO, soloing is one of many disciplines in climbing that is a worthwhile pursuit.

 

yup, fer sure.

 

it's part of being a well rounded climber.

 

Huh? Uhhh, could be big argument here. But what do I know, I still think offwidths suck.

Posted
It's always been a part of the culture as Mark says -

 

Mark said it was an accepted part of climbing. I dont remember he mentioning culture.

 

Same deal, people doing it makes it part of the culture, though acceptance in my book is that each climber accept it for themselves or not which is pretty much the only ones it really matters to until a soloist inconveniently craters or puts someone else at risk. Look at it as you please, but both statements are essentially true. And I think that to acheive a high level of multipitch trad climbing you're going to have to find some comfort level with at least a degree of free soloing be it by that name or not. If you mean 'broad acceptance' by a majority of climbers in terms of 'approval' - well, we all know that's never going to happen. Customs, cultures, and acceptance differs from crag-to-crag, some places it's never really seen, others it's rampant.

Posted
it sure sucks watching someone obviously solo over their head. kinda gives you a sick feeling.

 

I personally rate this up there with the very worst experiences you can have climbing - there is truly nothing worse than watching someone sketch a solo, other then them botching one all together...

Posted
I went climbing with my girlfriend out at Beacon. It was her first time out there and someone soloed past her on P1.

 

probably ivan on one of his solo laps! ( just kidding ivan )

 

10 years ago it would have been andrew and ken because they were CRAZY!

 

Actually it was Ivan, singing "Gin and Juice" the whole way.

 

:lmao: :lmao:

no way that's as bad as oleg n' pete watchign that guy soloing the north ridge of stuart and stopping to scream "someone's gonna die up here!!!" every 2 minutes

 

first time i ever climbed the corner my partner spent almost 2 hours leading the slab pitch during which the same soloist passed up two times - i was envious....

Posted
If you mean 'broad acceptance' by a majority of climbers in terms of 'approval' - well, we all know that's never going to happen. Customs, cultures, and acceptance differs from crag-to-crag, some places it's never really seen, others it's rampant.

 

Agreed!

Posted

I think too there is the ownership aspect of soloing as in - do you own it or does it own you? I think guys like Barber and Bachar owned their soloing whereas guys like Hershey and Reardon ended up being owned. I don't have much respect for the latter regardless of the person's climbing accomplishments.

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