Non-Climber Commenters on Dawn Wall NYT Article

[jma233]

Hilarious.

http://www.adventure-journal.com/201...climb-is-dumb/

[Bromontana]

ahhh good laughs.

Patrick:

Tom Cruise did something like this for that movie Mission Impossible, not sure if it was the I or the II, but he definitely made it look easy. I actually canceled my own trip to El Capitan after seeing that film, and instead went bow hunting for lion in Kenya. Maybe this year I’ll give it the old spin.

[ex-powderbroker]

You should see the whinging for the tax payer comments anytime someone as much as rolls an ankle on Mount Washington. I'm sure every local paper is the same, I guess it just takes a higher caliber activity to break out the same babies in the NYT since they aren't usually "on it" about stuff like this.

This one went unnoticed by Brendan Leonard:

Sorry, these guys just don't interest me. Glad to see they are challenging themselves, that is wonderful for them. But living vicariously off their efforts, for me, is no better than reading about the exploits of Kim Kardasian.

[jmerrey]

I'm sure both Jorgenson and Caldwell are devastated to hear this news.

[zartagen]

Ah, the NYT used "free climbing" in the proper context for once and people have to "correct" them. Ha!

I can't even pick my favorite, they are just all hilariously ignorant

[coldfeet]

Steve:

“Breaking down individual pitches on a big wall climb is to treat El Cap like a local crag or large rock gym. If you can’t do the climb as one continuous route, put off doing it until you get good enough. Siege mentality is always regarded as bad form. This type of climbing would be laughed off the Diamond.”

Best ColoRADo comeback ever.

[jmerrey]

There's a live feed now on Rock and Ice of the final push via the Coloradoan.

http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news...dawn-wall-live

[coldfeet]

Saw the top out live this afternoon, then it was the leader on the NY Times home page - pretty remarkable!

Amazing effort by Tommy and Kevin, and intelligent coverage in the NYT by John Branch, who wrote the massive article on the Tunnel Creek avalanche. It's cool that they emphasize the planning, skill, and grit rather than "OMG daredevil risk takers!" aspect.

[hitek79]

I'm not sure I missed an explanation someplace, but what's the reasoning behind doing this so deep into winter with the days being so short?

[V.R.P]

Steve:


Best ColoRADo comeback ever.

Hilarious quote considering Tommy freed the hardest line on the Diamond and lives across the road from it.

[criscam]

I'm not sure I missed an explanation someplace, but what's the reasoning behind doing this so deep into winter with the days being so short?

from original article:
El Capitan sits in the sun. Warm granite can be hard to climb, especially when holds are small. In the winter, the air temperature is colder, maximizing the friction between skin and those tiny handholds, and shoe rubber and tiny footholds.

[Tye 1on]

i'm not a climber but don't get the significance of this achievement? I get that when Lynn Hill was the first to free climb the Nose, that she was a game-changer. But wasn't something a little easier than this free climbed in the last few years? Won't something marginally harder be sent in the next couple of years? To the uneducated this just seems like one more climb in the continuum...

[yeahman]

Yep, cold temps make sticking to the slick Yosemite granite much easier.

I've been pretty disappointed with the national media coverage of this climb. They keep saying it's the first time El Cap has been climbed using only hands and feet (free climbed), and any climber knows that is not true. It is the MOST DIFFICULT free climb on El Cap to date, yes, and perhaps the most difficult long free climb in the world. But to say it's the first time El Cap has been freed is probably making Todd Skinner roll over in his grave, and I bet Lynn Hill is steaming.

I probably shouldn't care because the mainstream media never gets it right when it comes to climbing, but it really wouldn't be that hard to make the distinction between the first time the wall has been free climbed and this being the most difficult free climb on the wall (and perhaps even in the world). They are just too lazy to get it right. (I did see that the NYT made this distinction, but the Associated Press and even NPR have not.)

Anyway, congrats to those guys for getting it done.

[Bromontana]

i'm not a climber but don't get the significance of this achievement? I get that when Lynn Hill was the first to free climb the Nose, that she was a game-changer. But wasn't something a little easier than this free climbed in the last few years? Won't something marginally harder be sent in the next couple of years? To the uneducated this just seems like one more climb in the continuum...

Difficulty + length + notoriety of the wall + 7 years of work and failure by a prominent climber. Few thousand feet up and a 5.14d grade: those two things are normally on opposite ends of the spectrum.

[yeahman]

Difficulty + length + notoriety of the wall + 7 years of work and failure by a prominent climber. Few thousand feet up and a 5.14d grade: those two things are normally on opposite ends of the spectrum.

This is all true, and Tommy Caldwell is such a badass that it's going to take a hell of an effort to outdo him on El Cap, but at the same time I kind of understand what Tye is saying...the media just sort of latched onto this for some reason, probably because of social media and how it started going viral. I actually thought it was a bit strange how it became such a huge national story. Which partly explains why the media had a hard time getting it right, calling it a "first" when it wasn't really a "first" necessarily...imagine if Lynn Hill had freed the Nose in the age of Instagram and FB.

[char]

Honnlove speaks!

http://abc7news.com/travel/fellow-cl...-climb/473993/

[ex-powderbroker]

That was cool.

The reporter looked pretty legit in her Freeride Systems jacket even if her knowledge was a little short.

No footage turned up of the baby on rappel? I thought it was a little more complicated than he was making it sound but he was probably just trying to sidestep the whole issue.

[Bromontana]

Honnlove breaks down alpine travel with a 25lb baby parcel, classic interview. The plan sounds pretty damn safe. Ascend or rappel with the baby in backpack, baby backed up with harness and rope leash to main rope. Amusing exchange and false name. How the hell is SF not up on Honnold? He's a California climber and household name thanks to 60mins, etc.

but at the same time I kind of understand what Tye is saying...the media just sort of latched onto this for some reason, probably because of social media and how it started going viral. I actually thought it was a bit strange how it became such a huge national story.

Ahhh yes, the point of the thread and Tye's point. I don't get the non-climber interest but don't have that much exposure to it. Here's a graph that demonstrates how much of an outlier the achievement is.

[Bromontana]

Pitch of Tommy C doing some delicate work.

http://www.rockandice.com/video-gall...-the-dawn-wall

[concretejungle]

Pitch of Tommy C doing some delicate work.

http://www.rockandice.com/video-gall...-the-dawn-wall

I hope they go back and scrub those tic marks.

Solid work by Tommy and Kevin.

[Tye 1on]

Pitch of Tommy C doing some delicate work.

http://www.rockandice.com/video-gall...-the-dawn-wall

holy fuck ya that's a little intense!

[Bromontana]

It's truly an amazing feat for climbing. I'd try to describe all the talents/skills required to pull something like that off. It's one of those things that helps define the edge of human ability. The biggest danger was rockfall, the biggest threat to the mission was the difficulty of the climb itself and the body breaking down (skin abrasion, ligament fatigue, muscle overuse). That grade typically isn't climbed in pairs, as so few people in the world can even ascend that stuff without aid.

On a personal level I've liked the way TC goes about his business. Seems to be a good person that does it for the right reasons. His dedication is admirable and he built the best comfy trad shoe I've used. Nuff said

[SkyIsland]

I heard a sports radio program the other day where the commenters had the impression that this was a project that entailed 7 years of more or less continuous effort, and they seemed as impressed by that as by the athletic and adventure element. They ultimately agreed that it was perhaps a tad less impressive than the young Walenda's recent tightrope...