Chris Kalous Aid Rant

[mneagle]

I went to high school with Chris back in Illinois. I came across this video and just had to post it. As far as credibility goes, he did the second ascent of World's End (amongst many other psycho routes). The climax of the story he told me involved holding a sling over a sloping rock with his fingertips and wetting himself for an eternity before finding the courage to high step. He was rewarded by a hidden bolt on what otherwise looked like a blank field of dirt.

 

 

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[catbirdseat]

Invite that guy to Pub Club. He's the kind of guy you could just sit and listen to for hours.

[mountainmatt]

To what degree is the lack of deaths on A5 routes due to the fact that the climbers are safe versus the fact that only very experienced (or insane) people try them?

[billcoe]

I'd seen that b4, good stuff!

 

Couple more drinks, about40 more lbs on his ass from an office job, he'd probably fit in right here eh?!

[mneagle]

Couple more drinks, about40 more lbs on his ass from an office job, he'd probably fit in right here eh?!

 

Not much chance of that happening (the wt gain). He's been on the road climbing in South America, Europe and the Middle East for most of the last few years. I do plan on trying to get him up to the North Cascades sometime. My only chance of contributing to any joint climbing effort would be to take him up some ultimate bushwhack, suffering slog-fest and carry most of the gear.

 

I e-mailed Chris after I put this up and he wrote back that he was flamed relentlessly for months afterward. He also directed me to one of his recent adventures, here:

 

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He's got a pretty tough lifestyle.

Edited December 18, 2007 by mneagle

[hafilax]

I saw that a while ago; made me laugh. It was posted on ST which brought out some great comments the best of which was Jeff Lowe completely agreeing with him.

[Bug]

So if there is not a crater at the base, it isn't A5.

This seems more akin to free soloing than free climbing. Instead of rubber on the rock, it is metal. Other than that, the same rules apply. Ever hook a crystal? It can require a lot of balance. Link several of these. Or a full pitch of them.

It comes down to the security of the belay and the frequency of landing zones. That is not so different from the placement of bolts or pro on a 5.13 or harder.

Making the security of the belay part of the rating is different from rating the difficulty of a move and the succession thereafter.

[letsroll]

but the security of the belay is part of the aid ratings.

[hafilax]

I thought A grades were a 'danger factor' not a technical difficulty. Assuming you are skilled at placing gear, the higher the grade to more body weight only placements there are in a row.

[letsroll]

Aid Ratings explained