Dry tooling sport routes...

http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/jeff-mercier-onsights-d13

Watch the vid. This guy is climbing a sport route, shirtless, with ice tools and crampons, with a dub step soundtrack, and R&I is presenting this like some kind of accomplishment.

Worst. Climbing. Vid. Ever.

C. Archibald wrote:sport route

Bolted route you mean? Cause you know, one would expect a sport route to be climbable without tools. This looks more like 60 feet of massively overhung choss with giant moves between holds that are probably more or less monos...
Maybe if Ondra was 8' tall and 80 lbs lighter he could do it?

It's presented as some kind of dry-tooling accomplishment and certainly looks hard enough to be worthy of a mention. How many front levers does a guy in fruit boots need to do before you're impressed?? I counted a dozen... Plus the grip of the tools matches the pants, what's not to like? Other than the music that is.

He's got gloves on, so it must be winter.

Or maybe he's just warm-blooded.

Clothing aside, while I don't doubt the route's physicality, it looks remarkably repetitive: stretch to bomber hook, match and dangle, clip rope, repeat.

Gunkiemike wrote:it looks remarkably repetitive: stretch to bomber hook, match and dangle, clip rope, repeat.

You ever climb at Indian Creek? As far as variety goes I can't say it's any more exciting but very few people seem to think it's a stupid pursuit...

I changed the title to attract more haters.

I just feel like there should be ice on the route somewhere to justify ice tools. Maybe I'm crazy.

Boissal wrote: You ever climb at Indian Creek? As far as variety goes I can't say it's any more exciting but very few people seem to think it's a stupid pursuit...

Good point.

Ignoring the ethical issues, I'm really left wondering why this is worth a video. It looks like a hell of an athletic achievement, but its less interesting to watch than somebody just campusing, which is quite the separate achievement. There was never really a moment where I thought "yeah, that'd be hard to onsight", mostly because you don't really see the quality of the holds he's hooking, just how apparently secure he is on them, since he campuses up his tools on every single move.
Looks crazy hard but its really boring to watch.

Crack climbing is way more varied. As soon as you've mastered one size, there's another size waiting and you're back to square one.

It's the artificiality of this "route" that really shocks me.

Haters gonna hate. Dry tooling in the caves and quarries is what these folks did to train for scottish winter - and its a sport in its own right now. Boswell is an accomplished climber of mixed on gear. Exhibit A onsight attempt:

youtube.com/watch?v=mflA7TH…

Sound track was real bad tho.

C. Archibald wrote:I changed the title to attract more haters. I just feel like there should be ice on the route somewhere to justify ice tools. Maybe I'm crazy.

You'd think the term DRY-tooling would evoke something reasonably ice-free but apparently that's still a stretch. Maybe we can petition manufacturers to rename everything with a really curved shaft (giggidy) as a choss tool instead of an ice tool? Sure, you can use them to climb low angle gully ice but that's not really what they're meant for. Kinda like using a pair of blown-out mythos to send ultra steep limestone...

C. Archibald wrote:Crack climbing is way more varied. As soon as you've mastered one size, there's another size waiting and you're back to square one. It's the artificiality of this "route" that really shocks me.

Artificiality? It's no different than aid climbing really... Do you hate that too or do you like to gargle the balls of Yosemite hardmen of old, just like 90% of the aspiring trad beaters out there?

As far as variety, you missed the point. This one route is 30 identical moves, just like climbing Supercrak is 60 identical hand jams. For every size of crack out there with its specific set of techniques I bet there is a unique style of dry-tooling.

Kinda like using a pair of blown-out mythos to send ultra steep limestone...

Do we know each other? Cause I've totally done that.

For the haters here, have you ever tried pumpy aid? It's probably the second most fun you can have with a tool in your hand.

If I lived somewhere that had essentially unclimbable choss I'd be all over that. Every time I've found something like that though, with cleaning, it turned into a good sport area.

Hopefully that's the last ascent of that "song"

Tim Lutz wrote:Dry tolling is to climbing Like musical theatre is to acting?

It probably takes more skill and few appreciate it?

Tim Lutz wrote:Dry tolling is to climbing Like musical theatre is to acting?

Dry trolling?

I hate when people have fun in different ways than I do. Makes me so angry.

Some really amazing points, fellas. You've changed my mind. This video is rad, kinda like motocross or snowmobiling. This guy should get sponsored by Fox Racing and go on the shirtless dry-tooling dub-step circuit.

Boissal wrote:How many front levers does a guy in fruit boots need to do before you're impressed?? I counted a dozen...

I was pretty pschyed to see a front lever in action on a real climb, so I watched the video. Sadly, I didn't see any front levers.

I don't understand this at all. I am sure it's difficult in someway and I couldn't do it but your holding on to the same thing the entire time. I understand the difficulty in trying to find a good place to put the tip but other then that it's all just a matter of hanging on!

aikibujin wrote: I was pretty pschyed to see a front lever in action on a real climb, so I watched the video. Sadly, I didn't see any front levers.

I'm sorry if my post equated to false advertising... Will it result in a number of gymnastics coaches shitting themselves in rage over my poor understanding of what a proper front lever entails?
Here, let me rephrase: "How many moves indicative of impressive core strength does a guy in fruit boots need to do"

mustardtiger wrote:I understand the difficulty in trying to find a good place to put the tip

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.

mustardtiger wrote:other then that it's all just a matter of hanging on!

As opposed to climbing without tools which is just a matter of... hanging on after finding a good place to put the tip (of your fingers).

For the record, I think the video is heinous. Maybe it wouldn't suck as bad if the camera wasn't held by a guy with Parkinsons tremors and the viewers were deaf. The "climbing" itself is impressive though. Reminds me of Fred Rhouhling climbing Hugh. Absolute beast.

Dudes, Colorado Springs is the nexus of dry toolers now. You haters need to make it down to the Ghetto sometime. We even have people practicing in their back yards with 60 foot aluminum ladders. It's a total shit show.

Do you think he got pumped clipping all those bolts?