Barefootin!

Barefootin Submitted By: bhoran on Nov 16, 2009

Someone asked, "what was the hardest thing you tried barefoot?". Here it is, with shoes, for I was unable to do it barefoot although I came close.

Bob H. = Old School Badass Through & Through.
Mad respect.

I've soloed a few classic climbs >= 5.9 in the Yosemite/Sierra Region, but nothing substantially hard. Mostly repeats of ritualistic climbs under ritualistic circumstances. Kudos to the 'au natural' ethos.

On a Western State College geology field trip in the late 70's, Bob Dickerson and I did an all nude, tandem, free-solo ascent of an 800 foot dome (about 5.2 to 5.6) in Capitol Reef National Monument. Later, on the drive to our joint (and I use the term both literally and figuratively) camping spot, most of the people on the trip stayed away from us. But, I ended up sharing a tent with one fellow student that seemed quite impressed with our daring do!

Bob, you and Skip helped me solve a problem I had back then; no money for rock shoes. Living in Eldo, I toughened my feet by only waering shoes to go to town. As I walked up the canyon, I would pick up rocks with my toes and chuck 'em into the creek...Led some good routes, Outer Space being most memorable. Like Jeff says, shoes are aid, but we can all be comfortable with the idea that they are standardized aid. By the way, is it barefoot if your toe blows out while toproping the Ticket?

I've only climbed ropeless above water landings barefoot, except the time I accidentally dropped my shoes at the top of the first pitch of T2 in Eldo and wasn't willing to go back down for them.
Boy my feet were sore the next day!

Once I forgot my shoes on a trip to go bouldering at the grove boulders. That was funny. Did a V2, which is about as hard as I climb anyways....

Thought this was pretty cool!