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ridgeclimber
Nov 23, 2005, 9:11 PM
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I was thinking about what rope-soloing on ice would involve (I've done it on rock, but I haven't done any ice yet). I guess the main thing would be making the anchor multidirectional -- I assume this would involve turning some of the ice screw hangers to face up and putting them in at an opposite angle than one would if you were placing them for a downward pull. I guess you could also make two bollards and cut one of them for an upward pull to make an anchor multidirectional. Hmmmm.... :?: Pardon me if I sound stupid, but I'm not much of an ice climber.
The second consideration would be self-belay devices. Grigris are no good on ice, and I suspect SP's weren't designed for cold wealther. A clove hitch would certainly work, but, speaking from experience, it's a royal pain in the ass.
Does anyone have thoughts on this?
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brad84
Nov 23, 2005, 9:53 PM
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i climb rock and ice too; i rope solo as well. ive soloed ice also- sans rope.
due to a variety of differences in mediums, i would say just leave the rope at home and go have a vertical day on the ice. just you and your tools.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 23, 2005, 10:04 PM
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I understand that free-soloing is great in its own way, but I just don't think its my cup of tea. It's great that you enjoy it, but I think I'm going to rope up; can anyone answer my original question?
Thanks
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brianinslc
Nov 23, 2005, 10:04 PM
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In reply to: I was thinking about what rope-soloing on ice would involve... Does anyone have thoughts on this?
Yeah, given the medium, you may be be better off soloing ice sans rope.
Even a small fall on any angle ice, could result in broken bones. The only thing even remotely safe, might be to rig a self belay on a top rope type set up, ie, run a USHBA basic up a fixed single line (and make sure it stays super snug to/on you!).
Bad idea jeans, methinks. If its easy enough to be soloing on, then don't use a rope. If its challenging enough to require a rope, then find a partner.
My advice? Don't fall ice climbing. If you want to push it, or train, do it with a partner, on a tight and very attentive top rope.
Brian in SLC
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ridgeclimber
Nov 23, 2005, 10:08 PM
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In reply to: Even a small fall on any angle ice, could result in broken bones. Brian in SLC
I don't see why this would be true; the fall forces would be similar to those on rock. I guess if I were really concerned about it, I would use screamers on the anchors.
Could you explain what you mean by that statement? Do you mean that the static belay would cause greater forces (which is true, but would not result in broken bones), or do you mean that simply falling and hitting something? Thanks.
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kixx
Nov 23, 2005, 10:24 PM
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I have had some great climbs solo on ice with a chest ascender clipped to a top rope. Simply climb up an easier route (or hike up) and rap down after fixing a top rope - great fun and no partner required... although still easier with a partner unless their all bone heads.
Also, remember a foot prussik to get yourself back on the ice if you slip off the vertical stuff.
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brianinslc
Nov 23, 2005, 10:32 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Even a small fall on any angle ice, could result in broken bones. I don't see why this would be true; the fall forces would be similar to those on rock. I guess if I were really concerned about it, I would use screamers on the anchors.
Dude, its ice climbing. Every appendage is sporting pointy bits. A short fall of three feet onto your crampons could bust your foot. Etc etc etc.
Has very little to do with fall factors...
Also, ice is a very poor medium for bomber protection. The standard deviation for ice screws in a solid, repeatable block of ice is very high. If folks like BD used three sigma to rate ice screws, based on batch testing in ice, they'd be rated at only around 800 or so pounds.
You'd be living, at best, on false hopes. Better to not have a rope, and, have the "I must not fall at all costs" mindset. Seriously.
That said, I do know folks who lead climb solo with a rope. But, they are super talented, very experienced, never fall, and treat their situation as if they ARE soloing.
I'm sure it could be done. You could build an anchor at the bottom for pure upward pull (I'm not sure why you'd mention multi directional, if you're lead soloing with a rope, the force on your pro is either straight up at the belay anchor, or straight down for the lead pro). Lead out and place screws or rock gear (mixed) and clip them using whatever type of rope solo self belay device. But, I think its a foolish idea. I know what ANAM would say.
Very little or no margin for error, and, ice is a sketchy enough medium as it is. Way less risky to just free solo, IMHO, because at least you know what'll happen if you fall (and therefore, you don't). Plus, with sharp tool bits, screw hangers, easy to cut/damage your slings and rope too.
Bad idea. And, no amount of chit chat about fall forces, screw ratings, ropes, screamers, etc, will make it any safer. Folks fall ice climbing WITH partners and get hurt or killed. Without? Hey, no one to hear your screams...
Sorry to be so grim...ice climbing is fun...but...be safe, and keep it fun!
Brian in SLC
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ridgeclimber
Nov 23, 2005, 10:48 PM
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The reason I say it needs to be multidrection is that you can take a factor 2 downward fall on the anchor before you place gear; thus it needs to handle pulls in both directions. That's how it works on rock; I can't see any way it would be different on ice.
What you say makes sense, but it seems to me that you're relying on your anchors just as much with a partener; if all your screws rip, you're dead anyway. If your belay anchor blows, you're dead too. I could be misguided, but I think I would feel comfortable solo leading off a really solid bunch of screws; then again, I haven't really done much ice so I'm not speaking from experience.
Thanks for the advice,
Ridgeclimber
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brianinslc
Nov 23, 2005, 11:07 PM
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In reply to: The reason I say it needs to be multidrection is that you can take a factor 2 downward fall on the anchor before you place gear; thus it needs to handle pulls in both directions. That's how it works on rock; I can't see any way it would be different on ice.
At the risk of being a dink, I'd say you haven't done much multi pitch ice climbing...
Best practice is to either not leave the belay prior to placing your first lead piece, or, place it right off the belay, in the "no fall" zone.
Most experienced ice climbing folks I know, build their anchor for multi pitch with a top screw already clipped in for the follower to swing leads on. Very common and smart practice.
In reply to: What you say makes sense, but it seems to me that you're relying on your anchors just as much with a partener; if all your screws rip, you're dead anyway. If your belay anchor blows, you're dead too. I could be misguided, but I think I would feel comfortable solo leading off a really solid bunch of screws; then again, I haven't really done much ice so I'm not speaking from experience.
Since I don't fall (knock on wood), I'm not relaying on either a partner or my anchors. Ha ha. But, having a partner gives me SO much more margin...
Personally, I'd rather free solo and be solid, than rope solo and be sketchy. Stopping to place pro takes time and effort. Marginal sometimes at best.
Look at the super good ice climbers out there. You ever see them soloing with a rope? Nah. Its just not done. You're either solid or you're not. Therefore, you should either solo, or not. Pretty simple.
Ice climbing is a much more unforgiving game than rock. Read the last couple years of ANAM and look at the ice accidents. Then think about how many folks whip rock climbing and never get hurt, or, only minor injuries. I'd venture to say, a very high percentage of folks who fall ice climbing get hurt or killed. Much higher than rock climbing falls. Much much higher.
I'm a pretty avid ice climber. 23 years plus. Lead ice prior to learning to rock climb. Maybe its an old school mentality, but, for ice climbing, it shouldn't be: do not fall.
Anyhoo, have fun, be safe, happy turkey day, don't fall, yada yada...
Brian in SLC
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brad84
Nov 23, 2005, 11:16 PM
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In reply to: ...but it seems to me that you're relying on your anchors just as much with a partener
a vast majority of the time when i catch a fall as a belayer i do not need to rely on the anchor due to the simple reason that i have a good enough stance to catch the fall myself. in fact, i cant think of a time off the top of my head when i have needed the anchor to arrest a fall (of course i always place a totally bomber anchor nonetheless).
In reply to: ...but I think I would feel comfortable solo leading off a really solid bunch of screws..
ever seen a screw melt out of its placement because of sunlight? i have, it doesn't take long either.
i agree w/ Brian; rope soloing ice will give you a false sense of (mental) security.
braininslc has given you a slew of great reasons to not rope solo ice. he has spoken from experience and it sure sounds like he knows his stuff. we're not flaming you. experientially, this just doesn't sound like a good idea to us. if you must r.solo ice, go. but dont rationalize to yourself that you are any safer than you would be if you were sans rope.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 23, 2005, 11:26 PM
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I understand that you're both experienced climbers giving good advice. I understand your points and they are good ones. However, regardless of how I feel psychologically about falling, if I must fall I'd sure as hell rather have a rope. As I said before, I haven't really done much ice before. I'm not disagreeing with you; I'm just speaking personally.
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ghosthaunter
Nov 24, 2005, 12:29 AM
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ummmm, why not use an abaklov (we call them billy bobs round here)anchor, your going to need them anyhow to rap(unless you walk off) and they are multi-directional plus don't melt out as fast as ice screws.
i agree with the other posts, you don't want to fall ice climbing, i've seen messed up ankles and legs from falls as short as three feet. it has more to do with catching a poon as you fall than any thing else.
gh
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brad84
Nov 24, 2005, 12:34 AM
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woah woah, wait a minute...ridgeclimber: you wouldnt happen to be either charlie or sam would you? i just noticed that we both have each other listed as people that we have climbed w/.
if so, how'd the rest of your summer turn out?
remember that amazing looking thin crack at Sundown that we were looking at? i ended up ticking that one off the next time i got up there.
and if youre looking to solo for lack of a partner, drop me a line.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 24, 2005, 12:41 AM
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I'm sorry, you must have me confused; If I clicked the "climbed with" icon it must have been an accident. Sorry to disappoint you...
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jeldship
Nov 24, 2005, 2:31 AM
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it would be great to hear from some climbers who do solo ice? and then how?
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akclimber
Nov 24, 2005, 4:20 AM
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Silent Partner: Says specifically in the manual, do not use below 40 degrees. I bet the clutch would freeze open.
Gri-gri or ascender: Ever notice when ice climbing everything seems to freeze? (At least here it does) Woudn't want them to freeze open..
Clove: How are you going to make a clove hitch with a frozen rope?
As for all the gear: I wouldn't want to fuck with it while leading. And if it comes down to taking your gloves off?
Brain knows his shit, his info is dead on.
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fear
Nov 24, 2005, 5:18 AM
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Anyone thinking of chopping multi-directional bollards hasn't really done much ice... as you stated.....
That being said just get in some solid time with a solo TR setup if you don't want to free solo anything(which doesn't sound like a good idea for you anyway)...
-Fear
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glyrocks
Nov 24, 2005, 5:33 AM
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The two problems I see specific to rope-soloing ice are 1) impact forces and 2) it would be an enormous pain in the ass.
Using a gri-gri or one the wren devices is out of the question; you'd have to use some knot method, like the clove hitch (as far as I know anyway). I don't think tying clove hitches would be that hard if you used a well-treated dry rope, and kept it out of any water. The problem I can think of is the increased impact force on the screw. Ice pro does actually work (despite the incessant hawking that it doesn't) but it needs correct placement and a dynamic belay through screamers and/or an active belayer, and some luck. You can put screamers on your screws, but tying off with a clove hitch makes it a very static belay. And you really don't want to test your screws, because most of the time you will get fucked.
The second problem is rope-soloing is just a shit ton of work. I enjoy the solitude and being one bad mofo and blah blah blah, but it's way more work than climbing with a partner. More work means more time which means more opportunity to get jacked by melting ice, fatigue, the cold, bad weather, etc. Despite what your top-roping gym partner thinks, unroped climbing is often much safer than being roped because you can dramatically increase your speed. That doesn't apply as much to single pitch ice-crags... but the point is the same.
The points about messing with gear and breaking bones because of your crampons are kind of irrelevent because they pertain to partner climbing as well. I mean, you want to keep in mind that you might get jacked up if you fall while rope-soloing and no one is around to help, but that isn't a problem inherent or limited to rope-soloing/partner as opposed to free-soloing.
Nonetheless, my advice is similar: either stick to free soloing routes you simply will not fall on, fix a line on harder routes, or find a partner. Good for you though for thinking it out and requiring legitimate answers. Most people just ask a question and turn of their brain.
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timl
Nov 24, 2005, 8:57 AM
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Couple of things that come to mind. If you do not have much experience ice climbing, find somebody to take you out and teach you a couple things. People think that ice climbing is easy...whack the axes into the ice and go. It´s not, to climb ice correctly, there is a lot of technique that you need to learn. Learn the basics before you go out and solo stuff. Do you even know how to set up an ablokov?
Modern gear is much better than the old stuff, but still the nature of the medium demands that you run out placements much farther than you would on rock. As for using an Usba, gri gri or wren to solo...that is a dumb idea. The devices freeze. Secondly, due to the nature of th medium, the ropes get wet and freeze which would cause what ever device you have to be useless anyways. And there is no way to keep water off your rope. Sure you can buy a dry treated rope, but that will stop it from being wet about one whole minute longer than a non dry treated rope.
In terms of anchor placement, and this tells me you don´t know much about the medium, most ice climbing anchors are multi directional. Sure you can arrange them better depending on the area of the belay, bit your putting them in a chunk of ice. Its not like a crack that faces up or down and you have to set a directional anchor.
Last thing. Usually you solo with one rope. Most of the time you climb ice on doubles. This is a huge problem in and of itself for several reasons. Depending on the terrain, exception a thin column, Ice climbing terrain wanders a lot, and depending on the quality of the ice, your pro will cause you tons of rope drag. Also, with the amount of falling ice that is caused by ice climbing, its safer to have two ropes in case one gets cut.
Do yourself a big favor, find a partner and learn the basics or hire a guide for a day.
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jeldship
Nov 24, 2005, 10:06 AM
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not commenting on the thread's posts but just in case he doesn't know for some reason, it's an abalkov--named after a russian climber, vitali abalkov...
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adnix
Nov 24, 2005, 11:37 AM
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In reply to: I was thinking about what rope-soloing on ice would involve
In general hard ice climbing is very close to soloing. Hard ice is 90% of the time difficult to protect and it's much easier not bother about protection. In stead, keep moving steady and you're safe. Waterfall ice and alpine climbing are the last bastions of climbing where you should be very scared of falling. Typical result of falling is either broken bones or something worse. Unless you top rope, of course.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 24, 2005, 1:27 PM
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Yes, I know what an abalakov is. No, I don't have experience on ice. No, I don't intend to go off and solo routes before I get more experience. Just to clear things up.
As for the other posts (bear in mind that I'm not arguing with any of you, I know you all have experience, I'm just musing): I agree that the impact forces are greater when you're soloing, (I have rope-soloed on rock). It seems to me that the only solution would be to set significantly more protection than you otherwise would, and really hope that it's strong. I know this won't always be possible, but maybe in those circumstances it's just better to go home.
You guys are giving me good reasons not to rope-solo ice. But I have heard of people doing it, not waterfall ice, but on alpine routes; I was just reading a thread about devices for rope-soloing alpine climbs. One member said he used clove hitches. What do you guys think about rope-soloing alpine climbs? I think they often include mixed climbing, and I for one definately don't want to be sans rope on rock. What do you think?
Thanks,
Ridgeclimber
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evanmfreeman
Nov 24, 2005, 1:49 PM
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a famous ice climber once said: ice comes in two versions--good quality, on which you don't need protection because each axe swing is like a belay; and bad qality, on which you need pro, but can't get it because the ice sucks.
the simple answer to this discussion is that ice is not the place to push one's limits solo. if you're soloing ice, it should be in plastic condition, and you should be climbing well below your lead grade. i've rope soloed a _lot_ of rock, including at the fisher towers and other areas not known for good rock. i've also free soloed a lot on rock and ice, so i know of what i speak.
the reason: falling on ice is not allowed, period. if you fall while leading, you will almost certainly be fucked up somehow, and getting off the route and out to civilisation/warmth is paramount--doing so alone is much more difficult and dangerous.
just set up a solo top-rope and use a chest ascender or mini-traxion for ice practice. climb until you can't feel your tools any more, and when you finally land a partner, you'll be dialed.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 24, 2005, 1:55 PM
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I'm sure you're right, and that you speak from extensive experience, but what about my last post? People rope solo alpine routes?
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sixpack
Nov 24, 2005, 2:39 PM
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In reply to: not commenting on the thread's posts but just in case he doesn't know for some reason, it's an abalkov--named after a russian climber, vitali abalkov...
Probably just a typo, but it is Vitaly Abalakov..... :)
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pyramid
Nov 24, 2005, 3:20 PM
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I have roped soloed on ice and top rope soloed as well. Soloed alpine routes in the U.S. Canada and Europe, but usually only when I wanted to
climb alone, and only after years of climbing with partners. The best way
to climb ice when your alone is without a rope. My early season routine is to go out and climb WI3 to get the head right, then push it to WI4, usually
on climbs I know well. I climb up and then down.
Out here in CO ropes aren't freezing as much but when they do it creates huge problems. I was soloing a hard WI5 after a snow and my devise froze up after I was about 90ft up, almost crapped my pants, slammed in a screw clipped to it and thought about my options. Put a prussic on the rope but I had no cordage. I had 60ft to go so I said f#@k it and climbed on out of there without any room for error.
My advise is to climb a few years with a partner before ever contemplating soloing anything at height, ie... climb 20ft off the ground and then back down, other wise have a partner. Hopefully a cute girly.
Happy Turkey day.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 24, 2005, 3:36 PM
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Interesting story, and good to have some input from someone who has rope-soloed on ice. What type of device were you using when it froze up? What did you intend by tying a prussik? As a self- belay device? If so, what was to stop it melting the rope?
I didn't quite understand the rest of your post; after your device froze up, did you just climb the rest of the route free-soloing?
Thanks,
ridgeclimber
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adnix
Nov 24, 2005, 8:28 PM
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In reply to: But I have heard of people doing it, not waterfall ice, but on alpine routes;
The typical distance between protection points can be very high on alpine routes. According to my logic having a rope doesn't make much difference in reality (unless you're in the most popular areas with heli rescue, of course). One option is that you die slowly with a broken hip and the other is that you die fast hitting the ground.
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pyramid
Nov 25, 2005, 3:34 PM
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Sorry if I wasn't clear. Wren devise, prussic to keep me at least
feeling good about something. Basically climbed without protection
to the anchors. Fresh snow everywhere, and that was the problem,
froze everything up. Years of soloing easy ice helped immensely.
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kungfuclimber
Nov 25, 2005, 4:31 PM
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In reply to: the reason: falling on ice is not allowed, period. if you fall while leading, you will almost certainly be f--- up somehow, and getting off the route and out to civilisation/warmth is paramount--doing so alone is much more difficult and dangerous..
Let me give a few examples:
1) I was leading what was supposed to be grade 3 ice but the bottom had melted out, leading to overhanging chandeliered ice. It got hard quick. At the back of one of the many ice roofs there was some solid, glass clear ice. I put in a 22cm screw with a screamer (it took alot of work but was worth it..). so I kept going and got in over my head. Trying to pull this overhang to an ice ledge I lost it and fell. I fell about 5 meters. Because a) the ice was acutally overhanging, b) chandeliered, c) I was on double ropes and a screamer, the catch was super soft. Where my crampons hit the ice on the way down the ice broke away. The screamer ripped halfway. I was not hurt at all and was very lucky.
2) My friend was climbing some moderate ice. On the walk off he slid a bit and his crampons bit in the ice. The ice was solid and this was the result:
http://www.engsoc.carleton.ca/...images/new/x-ray.jpg
I was very lucky, even a small fall can ruin your day.
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rossgoddard
Nov 26, 2005, 4:06 AM
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ridge,
i think you need to get out ice climbing to really understand why rope soloing doesnt work with it.
re rope soloing alpine routes, i believe steve house rope soloed a pitch or two on k7. i give him a bye on that one, as he is the most efficient ice climber i have ever watched (dracula, wi4+, frankenstein NH). us mortals cant handle that kinda stuff, even on easy ice.
-harrison
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ridgeclimber
Nov 26, 2005, 4:27 PM
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I tend to agree with you, and I certainly won't go out soloing ice before I get some experience.
That said, there has been at least one person on this thread who has rope-soloed ice, and I have read other threads where people say they rope-solo alpine climbs using clove-hitches. I'm not advocating it, but what is your opinion on this?
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rossgoddard
Nov 26, 2005, 5:18 PM
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alpine climbing and ice climbing i like to move light and fast. the antithesis of rope soloing. in the alpine, there is no point. bring a partner along for safety, simulclimb and pitch it out when you need to. ice climbing you should be 90% confident that you arent going to fall- a little less confident than you would be if soloing. why deal with ropes and such if you are alone (no social interaction between partners). get a little more dialed, and solo it.
the only time i really see soloing as a practical technique is aid climbing, where i happen to use it quite a bit.
-harrison
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reno
Nov 26, 2005, 5:29 PM
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In reply to: No, I don't have experience on ice.
Ridge:
I say this with all ue respect and all that, but if you don't have much experience on ice then you really have no business climbing ice solo.
Not trying to be an ass... really, I'm not.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 26, 2005, 7:40 PM
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Reno:
In reply to: I certainly won't go out soloing ice before I get some experience.
:wink:
But thanks for your concern.
rossgoddard: what you say makes complete sense. But sometimes on alpine routes you encounter mixed climbing. Say, for instance, that you are on some dense, thick, hard ice, and you see more ice above you, then a blank headwall with just enough holds to climb by drytooling and no cracks for protection. If you want to rope up, then your only option for a base anchor is the hard ice you are standing on. Personally, would you choose to rope up or free solo?
Thanks, ridgeclimber
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anykineclimb
Nov 26, 2005, 8:00 PM
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In reply to: rossgoddard: what you say makes complete sense. But sometimes on alpine routes you encounter mixed climbing. Say, for instance, that you are on some dense, thick, hard ice, and you see more ice above you, then a blank headwall with just enough holds to climb by drytooling and no cracks for protection. If you want to rope up, then your only option for a base anchor is the hard ice you are standing on. Personally, would you choose to rope up or free solo? Thanks, ridgeclimber
besides, you can always go around... :roll:
hey who the Hell has that sig line here from jeff lowe?
something like "a rope gives the illusion of security, real security comes from not falling"
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ridgeclimber
Nov 26, 2005, 8:10 PM
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I never claimed to have extensive experience. In fact, if you look at my posts, I say just the opposite.
I didn't have a particular route in mind when I gave that example, but I think it's a reasonable hypothetical.
Does anybody have an opinion about the example I gave above?
Thanks,
Ridgeclimber
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anykineclimb
Nov 26, 2005, 8:19 PM
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yes, we ALL know you don't have any experience. That is painfully obvious
Whats getting annoying is despite EVERYONE saying not to do it (because its too DANGEROUS) you insist on wanting to try it anyway. even though you have NO experience! you ask for opinions from experienced people then just blow it off because you think its doable anyway? you are mocking people genuinely concerned for your safety.
read through this thread again. all the answers are already here.
In reply to: Does anybody have an opinion about the example I gave above? |
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iceisnice
Nov 26, 2005, 8:22 PM
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i'm with Reno 100% on this. however, unlike him, i'll be an ass. if you don't have experience in ice then soloing is pretty fucking stupid. ice climbing very different than rock climbing. 99% of ice climbing is learning the medium. its about gaining a wealth of experience on ice (10x more than you did on rock) and then soloing. as its been point out...ropes, screws, belays....all give a false sense of security. i would also add that running laps on toprope at Ouray, or something like that, isn't the kind of "experience" you need. i would say that if you think it is ok to solo ice with out experience you are either very niave, or stupid. there, i said, i'm an ass. i don't really care.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 26, 2005, 8:28 PM
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In reply to: Whats getting annoying is despite EVERYONE saying not to do it (because its too DANGEROUS) you insist on wanting to try it anyway. even though you have NO experience! you ask for opinions from experienced people then just blow it off because you think its doable anyway? you are mocking people genuinely concerned for your safety.
I'm bewildered. When did I ever mock anyone? :?: In fact if you read the thread, then you would find that I said I never intended to solo anything until I had more experience. Despite what you're ranting about, I never blew off anyone; I'm asking questions. I never insisted it was "doable." But thanks anyway.
Does anyone have a coherent opinion about the example I asked about? Simply going around isn't always feasible.
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roy_hinkley_jr
Nov 26, 2005, 8:38 PM
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For your scenario, free solo is the only answer that makes sense...much easier for them to scoop the body at the bottom than retrieve it part way up.
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reno
Nov 26, 2005, 9:03 PM
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In reply to: Does anyone have a coherent opinion about the example I asked about? Simply going around isn't always feasible.
Sure.
"It Depends." (tm)
It really does... sometimes you're better off making a few free moves, with no pro at all. Sometimes it's best to do a few moves of French Free climbing. Sometimes you'll bust out the alpine aiders. Sometimes your best bet is to go down and around. Sometimes the best idea is to rap/downclimb, return to your car, and go home, alive to climb another day.
Your Original Post question was so vague as to defy any chance at a comprehensive answer. Add to that your admitted lack of experience on ice, and the tendency of each situation to be unique, and you'll understand why people here won't give you hard-and-fast answers.
Sorry, guy, but that's the way it is.
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ridgeclimber
Nov 26, 2005, 9:38 PM
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Alright, I understand what you're getting at. Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to force an answer out of any of you; I accepted the answers that you gave. Thank you to everyone who helped.
One last thing, pyramid: you said you rope-soloed on ice. What where the particulars of your situation that you deemed it safer to rope solo than to go sans rope like the other posters in this thread suggest?
Thanks,
Ridgeclimber
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pyramid
Nov 29, 2005, 2:09 PM
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I was up on the Argentiere glacier in 89 climbing 300ft Mur De Grand Blue
without a partner so I rope soloed having found sufficient rock for an
anchor. But this wasn't the only time. Perfer to have a partner, more
enjoyable. 8^) Don't listen to iceisnice, my friend says he climbs with
no skill.
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stymingersfink
Dec 5, 2005, 2:51 AM
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In reply to: At the risk of being a dink, I'd say you haven't done much multi pitch ice climbing...
I'm a pretty avid ice climber. 23 years plus. Lead ice prior to learning to rock climb. Maybe its an old school mentality, but, for ice climbing, it shouldn't be: do not fall.
Anyhoo, have fun, be safe, happy turkey day, don't fall, yada yada...
Brian in SLC
In reply to: In reply to: I was thinking about what rope-soloing on ice would involve Nobody does that.
I'm Nobody, completely self-taught in the beginning, rope-soloed on clove hitches up to WI3+ till i found a partner, now would solo before roped soloing on ice.
Listen to this next guy. Trust us.
In reply to: Brain knows his s---, his info is dead on. |
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