Nicholas Gregoire You are fortunate. When I watch the MOST extreme freestyle climbing, my feet feel like they being beaten by thick, bamboo sticks. I kid you not!
What's with all the complaining about grabbing the chain anchor? It's the end of the pitch, there is no stance. It's a hanging belay. Pretty sure that's the way everybody does it. And yes, I have climbed the route (5-1/2 hours with the Apron Strings/Cruel Shoes start and one 45 meter rope, maybe 27 years ago). Nice video, I totally understand falling there. It's pumpy for sure. Next pitch, even more strenuous. Some of the people commenting below are not people I would ever want to meet. They are embarrassingly rude and must be unhappy with their situation in life. My advice? Go to Squamish, find out how awesome this climb is (and many, many other lines), and if you're still a grumpy know-it-all, post your own video to show us how you think it should be done.
Clearly a *real* climber would just glue themselves to the wall to belay. *eyeroll* Thanks for the comment. That looks like a beautiful and super tough line. So many walls, so little time....
Lived in Squamish many years, only ever took the trails. The last time descending I fell and started leaking all over the place. Cannot imagine climbing the faces, you that can and do are in incredible condition. Thank you for sharing this !
The haters coming out hard in the comments section! I know the feeling of being to pumped to hang on to anything and knowing you're going for a ride!! Awesome work!!! Great video!!
Balls of steel... skill and courage man.....I can have all the chains in the hardware store and still won't be able to do what you guys do...kudos to you....
Bret Shandro in the cases of skydivers surviving huge falls, the parachute opens enough to slow the fall. In this case the climber would die 100 %. It is a straight free fall of a couple hundred feet.
A woman survived a free fall from a disibtegrating passenger jet at 33000 feet, so yeah, you can survive falls that are considered 100 percent lethal. However, the chances are so slim that you still call it a 100 percent fatal fall.
Cool, you got to do it all over again. Mike Barter you're full of it. There was so a guidebook, a yellow covered paperback with sweet hand drawn topos. I don't remember chains but I do remember the two pitches of old fuzzy marine rope used to hand over hand it past the rivet ladder -- I imagined this as the cord that dangled the Sword of Damocles, ready to break at any moment.
The next pitch (that starts at those chains) is a mandatory A0 bolt ladder. Most people link the two pitches into one, so by any reasonable definition it's an A0 pitch anyway... but more importantly, who gives a shit?
Surprised you didn't yell for rock - cause I would have shit down my pants, especially being Trad. Sort of respect you grabbing the chain as that was some odd looking holds and toes 🤣 and again, knowing it's Trad under you
Does that not scare the shit out of you when it first lets go? What happens when you fall and say hurt your arm, its not broken but hurts really bad, and your hanging up side down. What do you do? Do you have a phone? is someone on the ground watching and if so how would they know if your hurt seriously? Great video, but scary . You would never catch me up there, no way!.
He didn't have to grab the chain! What a whimp! I know this because I climb all the time... In fact i never grab any chain when I change the lightbulbs in my house.
@@lindsayrogers6690 u right, dont matter. ur getting nuked soon anyway. fake elections bring military erections. should of had courage and election integrity. lights out time
I wish I was this fit, but if I was, I would not have grabbed for the bolt. I would have tried to climb it clean. But alas I am not this fit. Congratulations on your fitness and the effort you put into this venture it is admirable.
It looks like they chose the term bottom feeder correctly. One thing should be known. After a fall like that during rock climbing that usually ends the life of the rope. My question is is did this bottom feeder use that same rope again on another rock climb? If he did he could go from bottom feeder to bottom eater 🤣
Daaamn bro, you must have been gripped out of your mind not even being able to hang on the anchor...and fuck the people talking crap about grabbing the chains...if you can reach'em after a heinous layback, fair game.
People that just sport climb Don't understand what comes into play when you are trad climbing a multi pitch like that... you can't risk as much, ethics can go f*** themselves
@@Nuttyirishman85 it's funny, we were about to bring our film crew and stylists out and post some sick vids to the 'Gram but then we realized it was 2004.
Ha, my first lead of the sword almost ended exactly like this. I got my whole arm through the chains but I was so drained from that last layback and the chains were so slick that I just barely managed to get my personal anchor onto the chains before my arm gave way. I think they're perma-oily because everyone ends up grabbing them with sweaty hands.
My memory of the belay was clicking into the bolts (no chains 40 years ago) and getting settled into my belay seat. Then I looked around. Oh my God! What a view. I had been so focused on climbing for the last 300 feet that I had no idea where I was. It was incredible. I still get shivers from the thought.
Well done man. The skill of placing that cam to hold that fall is equal to the ability to climb that pitch. That granite looks so slippery for the layback.
Damn dude, that put me right in the headspace I occupy when leading trad. There's nothing quite like the thrill of pumped out exhaustion with a background of mild terror!
Well done!, Bellingham boi here, Squamish handed me many ass kickings in my day! That was one of them! The layback is pumpy AF! Lots of sends and greasy hands upon them walls of glory.
My thinking - hmmm, he’s not far from the anchor… must not be too bad of a whipper. With each step up… my hands started sweating myself and seeing how far the set places trad anchor was… you got balls of steel and climb like a boss. Great job, and surprisingly smooth fall lol hope you’re having a great year (in 2022!)
I love watching these rock climbers using their gear. They find a crack that is separating a 1000 ton slab of rock. And what do they do? Trust their lives in a little tool that essentially acts as a wedge between the two slabs!
Stood at the base of el Cap and watched tiny little colored specs climbing waaaay up on the wall. Anyone who climbs rock walls has my absolute respect. Watching this completely reaffirmed my lifelong rule to live by. If I get over 8 feet off the ground it will be only in something made by Boeing or Douglas Aircraft, period.
Holy cow, this brings back memories... I remember making a desperate lunge for those same chains at the top of the sword. Granted, Squamish 5.11 is pretty much equivalent to Index 5.9, but its still a scary and thin layback finger crack a long ways up.
All mountains are petrified giant wood stumps all minerals xome from these tree stumps you can confirm these, by watching hangman videos and also biblical trees on you tube
Cool video. Those who partake in this sport must maintain there wits about them. I personally could not do it. My fear of falling would overtake me. :-)
@@g.e.b.8159 if it's in the Olympics it's a sport (and even if it isn't in the Olympics that doesn't mean it's not a sport) also have you never heard of football boxing mma hockey skiing or snowboarding all of which are sports and all of which can cause serious injuries or death
The sword pitch is so slick from all the years of acents I am glad I got the Split Pillar pitch on my lead. Thanks for the vid. Been a few years since I have been on this climb.
Heheh, you must be French Canadian? 😂 Seriously, great rock and footage. I couldn’t lead this and if I could I would totally grab the chain! (I literally am 25% French Canadian)
Weirdly, I can jump out of a plane but climbing definitely scares the sh.. out of me. And these anchors that you just slip into the rock, it's just voodoo lol. How is that possible that these things stay in place while saving your falling ass ? Nah, man. That's too much, for me 😂
What is going on with the extra carabiner you have on the pro at 1:48? It looks like a double length sling over a horn left of the arete, which makes sense. Did you have both of them racked on the double-length, then decided to leave the extra when you looped the horn as a natural anchor? Thanks, just curious.
W Mashburn It is a 60 cm sling over a horn. Yes two biners on the sling when racked to double as a draw when needed, which usually just stay on the sling after being used on a horn unless a shortage of biners is anticipated.
OK that was weird. When the video first started I thought that was an almost horizontal ledge that you were traversing. Only when you started climbing did I realise it was actually a vertical crack. Haha :D
Honestly I am not 100 percent certain. I think it was a pile of tat. I do recall launching for it and making the grab. Back then there was no guide book for the route somebody just pointed it out from the parking lot and away we went with half dozen stem cams.
All set. I’ve climbed a few times and was scared the entire time. I totally enjoyed climbing up the “side” anchoring in and repelling, but for some reason, trying to climb the face made my knees knock every time.
When I watch these climbing videos I always find it difficult to work out what angle the rock is at. I get it that photographers are always wanting to exaggerate the steepness. This video is obviously someone with an action camera so can't be that. However if you watch something like "Free Solo", there are hardly any camera angles showing the horizon. Every shot is tilted to show the section of wall he is on as vertical. It took me a while to realise it's not vertical, it is terrifyingly steep with many vertical sections and the slope probably just makes the fall more painful. If you look at shots from the bottom of El Cap, it looks like the first section is vertical and the upper wall is over hung by 20*. When in reality the bottom section is laid back 30* and the top cliffs laid back 10*... with many vertical and overhung parts. Sometimes it takes you watch the ropes and how they hang, or watch how the climber uses their shoulder and hips against the wall, suggesting there is some gravity holding them against the wall.
I suppoose the question is, what difference does it make? You are still going to die if you miss place your step and don't have a rope and to avoid falling off, you really will have to get down against the rock and climb up it as if it was vertical. It's just that anything i have climbed where I know I can take a foot hold and lean into the rock, lie against it and take my hands off is much more comfortable than to literally be hanging like a boulder problem. The slope is steep enough, if you even slide one foot, you won't stop. But it still gives you a little gravity on your side to keep you on the wall. Or am I miss reading this? Highest thing I climbed was a slate cliff of 70ft when I was 15. No ropes, no gear. Stupid, risky, especially as it was vertical and the upper slate holds where actually full of wet grass and mud which I didn't expect and could have cost my life. So I'm no expert.
I have a great challenge for you Paul. If you have a refridgerator or a smal moveable closet in your house, or something other you know is vertical, place it in the middle of a room, and use your phone to film it. Start holding the phone at floor level, and film straight towards the legs of the closet. Now start moving towards the closet while keeping the camera level with the floor, and filming the closet legs. Onc you are 9ft or so away stop moving. Now tilt your camera upwards so you can film the top edge of the closet. I am willing to bet you money that it is not going to look vertical as vertical, but more sloped, like some of the close photos of el capitan does. I think to truly appreciate how steep and vertical el cap mostly is, you need to go there and see for your self. When it comes to the filming of Free Solo, of course they are going to use dramatic camera angles and some trickery here and there for even more dramatic effect. But from my understanding, you seem to try to discredit, or gaslight, which I find a bit odd, and kind of disrespectful. If you want to try to gaslight someone, you best be sure you have outmanned the person in question with a greater feat. If not, it's just pointless and makes no sense. I say that because most pictures of any wall or near vertical hill, will not look vertical at all. If you watch cross country skiers skiing up an alpine slope, you will get what I am saying. On camera it looks like you could run up that hill. In real life it looks near vertical, and nere impossible to get up at all On a final note, you bring up boulder problems. El capitans boulder problem is probably on of the scariest ones out there, seeing as you have to either dynojump or literally fall off the wall controlled to hit the proper set up with your ninjakick.
@@whimseyOFC I wasn't "gaslighting". I just realised most footage delibrately makes it look more vertical than it is. As you point out, camera lens do odd things, both promoting and hiding the true angle. Even looking at the topography of el cap there is a significant, non 90* gradient. But I've stood above a 30* scree slope in the mountains and choose to back-track a mile to avoid going down it. I understand that anything laid back less than 45* is equivalent to vertical. I also understand there are a "lot" of unavoidable vertical parts and overhung parts. I'm not belittling the achievement. I'd make it up the initial 10 foot of 30* laid back and freeze. I know my limits. I lost the "balls" from my teenage years after I matured. The other thing that strikes me watching these videos and why I can't do it, is my feet tingle and twitch. I've felt it with heights before, the feeling you can't trust you limbs, but it's literally like they aren't under my control. They fiss and burn with nerves and crumple. While I would like to feel I could train myself to overcome the fear, I wonder if my hippocampus would agree at 47. That said. I suffer depression. Watching these videos challenges me. It challenges tweaking my anxiety forcing me to control it while my feet crawl and twitch. It also has given a "sport" option that I can do, in a gym setting. I can also include my 5 yo daughter and make it a bonding exercise. I'm going to take her to the local climbing gym, make it about her to start with, she badly needs confidence training and the ability to pause, relax and think things through. Surely a kids climbing bolder wall with a huge big mat like jumping on a bed is a perfect thing?. But I can have a go too. ;) Maybe I can use the descenders and "fall practice" to stop my feet buzzing. So apologies I sounded like I was belittling things or gaslighting.
@@whimseyOFC When I was about 16, as the tree climber I was I choose to ascend a "conker", horse chestnut tree in autumn. Jump on a main limb to shake dozens of conkers loose for my friends below to race around and collect. The main limb was about 30ft up and about 6 inches thick. The upper limb I had my hand around was 1 inch thick. The lower 6 inch limb broke away and fell. That left me hanging in free air 30ft up from a 1 inch thing branch which was bending excessively. I immediately shuffled to the root of that branch and started calling for help. The main tree trunk was 6 or 7 feet from me I couldn't reach it. I looked down and as this tree was on a building site, my landing zone turned out to be a broken pile of concrete blocks and bricks. I noticed in response to my calling "Help!", my "friends" had all got on their bikes and fled. At first I paniced, cried out for help, felt like wetting myself. But it quickly became apparent, nobody could help me, my grip would not hold long enough. I looked at the main trunk, a sinking feeling as I'd never tried anything like it before, but if I could swing to it, I could catch it with my legs, I'd be practically upside down, but, ... it was my only choice. I made that swing. I grabbed the trunk between my legs, wrapped it tight, moved my hands and slowly, inch by inch rotated around it to be above it. You can imagine the sigh of relief. Dropped back down out of the tree was easy. I thought it was only in emergencies I would understand that level of thought, decision and commitment to implementation, but I took up paragliding and feel I've saved my life repeatedly many times now :) I hope I continue to do so. Live, love, hope or heal.
Haha, you did the same thing I did. You put your camera on the top of your helmet instead of the side, so it bangs against the rocks when you climb too. Still I like that angle better then on the side.
