Just So We’re Clear…

All this non sense about climbing V17 ie Megatron and Burden Of Dreams, is still just practice for actual meaningful climbing, ya?  

Without any actual risk, (I can see very little injury risk on either boulder) or fear factor, I am just not that impressed.

Watch Dawn Wall if you need to remember what real, hard scary climbing looks like. 

Have any of these boulder bros done anything of significance on a rope???

Honnold, Caldwell, Ondra, McCloud, Whittaker, those of this ilk are still the best actual climbers, just so we’re clear. 

K

1/10, you could do better

I’m serious, I truly feel this way, not trolling. At least give a counter argument. 

And rock climbing is practice for mountaineering. Therefore Steck, Anker, Lowe, and their ilk are the only climbers who did/are doing anything of note. 

See, I can agree with Roc and Jimmy, those are decent counter points. 

I’m not saying I don’t respect what these guys are doing, I absolutely do, but I hope everyone keeps it in perspective when comparing their accomplishments versus multi pitch trad / big wall / alpine. 

Fuck it I’ll bite. Will Bosi has climbed several 5.15s and out of any discipline Dave MacLeod would choose to boulder for the rest of his life. 

Now this is the thread where John Gill should chime in.

Do you think on running forums the marathoners log on to poo on the sprinters and the ultramarathon trail runners log on to poo on the road marathoners?  Or is it possible to appreciate that the same sport can take multiple forms? And that likely, runners who want to be good at distance also train sprints? Or are sprints just "practice for actual meaningful" running?

Harry Kwrote:

...

Watch Dawn Wall if you need to remember what real, hard scary climbing looks like. 

...

uh, you do know that Jorgenson's climbing foundation was built on bouldering?

to each their own. he's earned it. didn't see you leading anything there

I think you are over invested in the "meaning" of other people's climbing. Who cares if you are impressed? Climb whatever YOU want for whatever reason you want to. Why other people climb is their prerogative. 

Facing danger is only one of millions of facets of climbing. Many folks climb for the pure joy of the movement and minimizing danger just maximizes sustainability. 

Ego can be a great thing if following it leads you to how you want to feel and who you want to be. Your ego caused you to post this, and within this context it doesn't sound like it's leading you in a satisfactory direction.  

Buff Johnsonwrote:

uh, you do know that Jorgenson's climbing foundation was built on bouldering?

to each their own. he's earned it. didn't see you leading anything there

Jorgenson didn’t “send” the Dawn Wall.

Andy Shoemakerwrote:

have you met a trail runner. The first thing they talk about is how they do the natural and real hardcore form of running.

Andy Shoemakerwrote:

Do you think on running forums the marathoners log on to poo on the sprinters and the ultramarathon trail runners log on to poo on the road marathoners? 

Having spent some time on running forums, yes they do. Pooing on others is the great human pastime. If I were more witty I’d think of something to poo on half-hearted troll posters trying to kick of a classic mountain project poo-slinging thread. At any rate, without the innate human interest in pooing on each other this forum would be a lot less interesting, if perhaps a bit more sanitary.

Harry Kwrote:

All this non sense about climbing V17 ie Megatron and Burden Of Dreams, is still just practice for actual meaningful climbing, ya?  

Without any actual risk, (I can see very little injury risk on either boulder) or fear factor, I am just not that impressed.

Watch Dawn Wall if you need to remember what real, hard scary climbing looks like. 

Have any of these boulder bros done anything of significance on a rope???

Honnold, Caldwell, Ondra, McCloud, Whittaker, those of this ilk are still the best actual climbers, just so we’re clear. 

Megatron is quite scary... even with the built up platform and plenty of pads.  If you decide to try it, without a rope, please let me know so I can watch you puss out at the top out (only V11).

The "boulder bro" who put up Burden (Nalle Hukkataival) has done terrifying highballs sometimes with high cruxes (e.g., Livin' Large).  Where on the Dawn Wall is a guaranteed pair of broken legs if you fall on 5.14 climbing?  You can take big falls on the Dawn Wall (because Tommy couldn't retro bolt a lot of it) and Ondra said it's the scariest climbing he's done because of the sketchy pro, but even these big falls are relatively safe compared to hitting the ground from 25 feet up.

Bouldering doesn't have the commitment of a big wall (or a big alpine route!), but it can be "hard scary" climbing oftentimes.

Also, it's MacLeod, not McCloud.

Ok, to repeat…

“The best climber is the one having the most fun.”

It has nothing to do with grade, ego, style, or anything else.

So sayeth the great Anon. (EDIT: Alex Lowe, actually. Thanks, Jimmy, for the reminder.)

(The problem, I guess, is that everyone defines “fun” differently. So maybe we are back to square one on this issue… dang.)

It’s just a different kind of hard. None of these climbers of different disciplines could do what the others do. It’s all relevant. 

Harry Kwrote:

All this non sense about climbing V17 ie Megatron and Burden Of Dreams, is still just practice for actual meaningful climbing, ya?  

Without any actual risk, (I can see very little injury risk on either boulder) or fear factor, I am just not that impressed.

Watch Dawn Wall if you need to remember what real, hard scary climbing looks like. 

Have any of these boulder bros done anything of significance on a rope???

Honnold, Caldwell, Ondra, McCloud, Whittaker, those of this ilk are still the best actual climbers, just so we’re clear. 

Now this is the thread where John Gill should chime in.

A natural progression from ground level bouldering is just go higher. It's all 3rd class climbing, Chouinard and I would say BITD. To make the very hardest moves you might want to avoid an entry in Accidents in American Mountaineering by practicing on them close to mother Earth. That was my take on the sport - a continuum with shoes and chalk. 3.0 to 3.??

You want the ultimate in rock climbing? It's the game of free solo exploration. That begins with bouldering low down, then, as I saw it seventy years ago, difficulty tapers the higher you go. But, you can play this game however you wish. It's very solitary and rewarding or fatal. Paul Preuss was an early practitioner. It was my approach on the Thimble, and, afterwards I decided that was as far as I wanted to go regarding exploration + difficulty + risk. Although I am sometimes cited as an early highball boulderer, I never advocated it. Once married and with a small child I became more conservative.

I was not a very good traditional rock climber, and I had no interest to be. I was labeled a "mere boulderer" - those words are now embroidered on a workout shirt I wear to the fitness center. But I have wandered, exploring, up many miles of rock, sometimes with a short rappel line, other times just me and the stone. With lots of exposure. Always keeping a balance between risk and difficulty. As I told Honnold, when things got a tad dicey I would visualize an invisible rope above me, the other end in the firmament. 

Mine was not a typical journey. 

(You are right. I never should have commented in that other thread!  )

John, if I read this correctly you are saying that the hard bouldering close to the ground was in fact practice for bigger solos? 

Pretty sure Nalle took a crack at the dawn wall. Actually, that might prove the OP's point. 

Climbing v17 is an athletic feat that takes extraordinary discipline and practice. How are you not impressed by watching somebody perform at peak physical ability? 1/10 troll job