toproping highballs

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Don't headpoint boulders, they're boulders. Rise to the challenge.

David Sahalie wrote:only to clean and tick or is it legit to rehearse moves too?

If you want to do it then do it. Who cares if others view it as 'legit' or not? Climb however you want, just be honest about it.

wtf, who cares?! do what you need to do to keep from injuring yourself. it's just climbing, er, bouldering.

Rope it, don't worry about what anyone thinks.

Do what you want, but personally I would only drop a rope and rehearse if the problem was more like a solo. You just have to deal with it if the problem is 15-25 feet, over that I would probably use the Kevin Jorgeson method, roped pre-rehearsal for a solo.

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David Sahalie wrote: I know my answer, but i've seen a lot high balls go up recently with a fair bit of pre-rehearsal. the send is then sent without a rope. in my mind, it is a bit fuzzy though seeing as a lot of routes in say the Peak District are pre-reheased. So, is it of ok if you are going to use a rope and gear but not if you are going to high-ball aka solo? Seems a bit hypocritical really.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Wearing expensive Prana or Patagonia climbing pants is lame when all you really need is a pair of expensive Carhart pants. It's unbelievable. These people should be banished from climbing for doing shit that I think is stupid.

Oops. Wrong thread. Sorry...

Crag Dweller wrote:wtf, who cares?! do what you need to do to keep from injuring yourself. it's just climbing, er, bouldering.

Amen. As someone who's had two knee surgeries for a blown out knee, it's not worth getting injured over. Plus, with some of these highballs, you're looking at not just a blown out knee, you're looking at spinal injury or death. Do you really want to put yourself or your family through that?

Crag Dweller wrote:wtf, who cares?! do what you need to do to keep from injuring yourself. it's just climbing, er, bouldering.

EDIT= turns out it was x3 did not make it to the bottom before posting.

Toproping has long been an accepted part of bouldering. Many of John Gill's famous boulder problems were originally done as topropes. That said, he also did some seriously bold, ground up highballs (like the Thimble).

Jump forward to modern practices, here in Bishop: many of the most serious highballs have only been done with TR rehearsal, some have been put up boldly without ever using a rope, and some have been done ground up by repeat ascentionists after being originally established using roped rehearsal.

The lesson: do whatever you like. Sometimes it is appropriate to be cautious, and other times you need to be bold.

Who cares? Make your own decisions, take your own risks, and reap your own rewards.

Bob Murray originally did his eponymous problems on the Mushroom Boulder at Hueco as topropes.

It is also worth thinking about how much bouldering has strayed from its "pure and simple" ideal in the age of highballs and pad-stacking. One of the best aspects of bouldering is the removal of the logistics that complicate other forms of climbing. It is really nice; go to a boulderfield with shoes, chalk, and a pad or two, and enjoy good movement on good rock.

This simplicity ideal falls apart, though, for highballs that demand many pads and many spotters. Rounding up 10+ pads and a number of spotters does not make for a simple outing. Doing these same problems by bringing a short rope and a bit of gear to drop a TR does, in fact, make for a much simpler and less gear-intensive outing, even if it is less bold.

Mike wrote: If you want to do it then do it. Who cares if others view it as 'legit' or not? Climb however you want, just be honest about it.

+1

The Larry wrote: Fixed that for ya. I agree, it is a bit fuzzy, but I think we as Americans have the duty to not soil the ascent of a highball with tactics used by gritstone prancers. Where do you draw the line between highball and solo?

You talk like there is some cut and dry rule for climbing, anything. I think by "fuzzy" you mean, "there are going to be mixed opinions because rules and ethics in climbing are solely based on 'opinions'." There's no governing body, there is no handbook, there is only what you think is the best style for you, that's it man. TR away. Who the F cares?

If I ever got injured bouldering, I'd be fuggin' pissed.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Wearing expensive Prana or Patagonia climbing pants is lame when all you really need is a pair of expensive Carhart pants. It's unbelievable. These people should be banished from climbing for doing shit that I think is stupid.

Dickies 20 bucks at Wal-Mart.

Having just badly sprained an ankle falling from a boulder i wish I had a rope ha. In all seriousness Gil top roped problems back in the day all the time, many people do it who are pretty respected in the community. Sure there are people who dont top rope a problem before hand, more power to them but there is nothing wrong with checking something out to avoid injury. I wish I had and then I could be climbing instead of sitting on my computer.

Forsty wrote:Having just badly sprained an ankle falling from a boulder i wish I had a rope ha. In all seriousness Gil top roped problems back in the day all the time, many people do it who are pretty respected in the community. Sure there are people who dont top rope a problem before hand, more power to them but there is nothing wrong with checking something out to avoid injury. I wish I had and then I could be climbing instead of sitting on my computer.

Gill also established a lot of problems without a rope, onsight, some that I know of (with my limited knowledge on the subject) in the 5.10 range and 60 or 70 feet tall. Example: mountainproject.com/v/gills…