Tis-sa-ack conditions?

Peter Zabrokwrote:

Donald is back....

And as obsessed as ever with a single route. 

Or breaking into a sweat, gnawing at the bit, as I watch Oliver Tippett carefully work his way through “A3,” each move demanding focus and precision. Honestly, we need this guy on that thing, so I can find an excuse to finally go do something else.

It seems a long walk just to die on C1...

Olly Tippettwrote:

It seems a long walk just to die on C1...

... or perhaps 5.9/5.10 if you manage to make it to the offwidth* section at the top of the flake before it falls off! 

* Used to be about 5-6 inches; no idea what size it is now. 

It's not that far, and you can go around it, over the top of it, not through it.  I could hold the rope.

Olly Tippettwrote:

It seems a long walk just to die on C1...

How many days do you think it would take to do that if you had all the gear at the base?  How many pitches a day?  Thanks!

donald perrywrote:

How many days do you think it would take to do that if you had all the gear at the base?  How many pitches a day?  Thanks!

This is a dangerous question to ask Olly.  Because .... Olly's not normal.  Olly's a mutant.  Olly solos hard routes in a fraction of the time it takes teams. Olly climbs through desperately hot weather that only he, Keiko and Andy KP can survive. [The rest of us fail from heat exhaustion] If Olly says three days, allow two weeks. If Olly says bring 3 gallons, bring 10 gallons. 

Forward, he cried 

From the rear 

I thought the hardest part was holding the rope.

donald perrywrote:

I thought the hardest part was holding the rope.

It certainly would be if the 'very heavy' flake to which it was bolted happened to take flight at an awkward moment. Survival, in that circumstance, would be a neat trick as well - if you could manage it! 

You know that it’s winter when all the snowflakes come out. Okay, okay, I’ll try and solo it again, failed on that wall so many times I could literally write a book about it, so what difference does it make if I try it again.  A little time and I’ll try it next year.  Not today though—too cold, and there’s a drought on.  It couldn’t get any worse unless it snows.

 I will pray that it rains enough ( the last thing I want to do is get myself into a pickle.)  so I don’t have to haul water up there. At least I won’t need to haul for two. And I should be able to knock out at least two pitches a day— I’ve done five in a single day on my first day on a big wall without a problem.  That’s between 5 and 10, so 12 gallons of water. or 90 pounds if I do need to carry it up.   So maybe I shouldn’t complain.

But I need to do it solo?   Drama is so subjective when you're soloing, which is why it’s so boring. Something happens? Pfft, just forget about it, and you’ll never hear about it again. You can do the dumbest stuff all day long and get away with it—just like Climber XYZ who says his close calls are commonplace and thinks he is actually doing something smart.  Yet, I suppose that nothing will happen when I do it because I will be using a rope.  So, no big deal.

I don’t get it 

Jabroni McChuffersonwrote:

I don’t get it 

you need to get your CTE decoder ring calibrated.

This thread is a saga of one route, safety concerns, shifting climbing culture, and unshakable determination to get the climb done—no matter what the snowflakes or rocks throw along the way. 

Jabroni McChuffersonwrote:

I don’t get it 

Don has a tendency to become obsessed with a route and then brings in a bunch of baggage, and his writing style is, well,....

Jabroni McChuffersonwrote:

I don’t get it 

He needs validation.  Lots of it.  Donald, a saga? Hahaha you are a massive wad.

M1 H1wrote:

He needs validation.  Lots of it.  Donald, a saga? Hahaha you are a massive wad.

Do you think this ("being a massive wad") may help me commit harder?   I need massive amounts of validation.  

I have a funny feeling that whatever you say it will perfectly repeat just when I need it most.

Kevin DeWeese wrote:

In 5 days it will have become a year since the OP has logged into MP. Kinda makes you wonder about the ripples we leave behind in our lives that go in directions we could never imagine.

I've been debating trying to claim ownership via nominative coincidence.

Kevin DeWeese wrote:

In 5 days it will have become a year since the OP has logged into MP. Kinda makes you wonder about the ripples we leave behind in our lives that go in directions we could never imagine.

That is a rather crazy thought, isn't it?

We believe in you Don!