Wow, I did some research and I'm supremely humbled by what I found. The 70s saw ascents of V10-13 (Trice is generally given as soft V13 or V12/13) by Holloway.

Wow, I did some research and I'm supremely humbled by what I found. The 70s saw ascents of V10-13 (Trice is generally given as soft V13 or V12/13) by Holloway.

You forgot to read the brackets in there. Re-read the sentence.


The italicized info is a seperate thought. :D

True true, but the climbers keep buying the magazines so they can find out what colour nailpolish Rands is wearing. I think that's more of a societal change than anything else but I haven't been around long enough to know what the media was like back in The Day.


What about Necessary Evil? Wasn't that his line? (I'm probably shooting myself in the foot here because I think it may have been bolted by someone else).

Wow, I did some research and I'm supremely humbled by what I found. The 70s saw ascents of V10-13 (Trice is generally given as soft V13 or V12/13) by Holloway.

I can understand a lot of the points you make, but I still don't get the point of the article. Was it related to the media and its treatment of climbing? Or to the fact that no one is doing anything new?

I know the superstars are out there (Fred Rouhling, Dai Koyamada, Johnny Dawes, Mauro Calibani) but are you upset that the media isn't representing them?

I have to leave work now, so no more b---- from me :p

1. Jason got the article because of his style of climbing. Eviloution was over 45 feet, not 20. He did this after another guy fell off and almost snapped himself in half.

2. 5.13 on toprope isnt quite the same as a 45 foot tall v10. i'd love to see you pull eviloution. let me know when you are gonna do it so i can make plans to go out there and watch.

3. Another reason he got the article is because he isnt the typical climber. He pushes the envelope and does stuff others dont. i.e. soloing "the fly" 5.14d.

4. Yet another reason he got the article is because he doesnt spew out the typical hippie babble like sharma, graham, and so many other climbers of today.

5. If you have ever had the pleasure of watching him climb then you wouldnt be complaining about why he got the article.

oh, and caldwell has only put up one route that the media dubbed 5.15 at the fortress. not quite the every other month you were talking about. Both sharma and caldwell decided not to rate the climbs.

And never stop b--s'ing Fiend, that's what makes you so charming!

the only opinion I have on that is... well, I don't care. :D.

1. It's 20 feet then drops to 5.9 (admitted by Jason himself). Plenty of folks have soloed several hundred feet of much harder grades without the comfort of 26 crashpads. The other guy fell off and fractured his ankle because of a bad spotter and a single crashpad if I remember correctly. A far cry from being "snapped in half".

2. The point wasn't climbing 5.13, the point was about the safety of climbing with 26 crashpads. V10 for 20 feet remember. I never said I was his equal. The guy boulders hard, no question. But if he's not pushing the standards does he deserve superstar status? I don't think so. Just maybe he'll get there one day, but not yet in my humble opinion. Christian Core sent Dreamtime in a quick couple days, barely got a sentence. Then he went to the Buttermilks and sent damn near everything, not even a mention. He's putting up unrepeatable problems in Italy, no mention. Jason sends a V10 and gets an article. Sounds a little unbalanced, but maybe it's just me. But you're more than welcome to watch me barely get off the ground the next time I'm out there. I'll even buy the beer. :wink:

3. Don't get me going about doing a 17 foot problem with 6 crashpads and four spotters. Then again, I'm not sure if a two bolt route where the crux is admittedly clipping the two bolts should have gotten as much spray as it did. Graham's a hard climber and proving it every time he heads out on a road trip. Now that's a person who's headed for superstar status.

4. And for that one, you're right. One thing I do appreciate is an article about a guy who didn't get picked for softball as a kid and now lines up dolls to watch him boulder in order to get attention from the media. If that's what people are hunkering for, then very cool. Let me go find my G.I. Joe so I can join the club....

5. Actually, I have watched him climb on several occasions. I personally like the way he attacks the boulders and screams like a banshee when going after something. He's got passion, but he also likes the attention. I'm not sure which one he likes more, the climbing or the attention. That's why what I wrote is an "opinion" column. We all got 'em :wink:

As for Caldwell, I have a soft spot for that little man. Besides being married to a hard trad climbing cutie, and extremely psyched about others getting their projects, avoiding being the center of attention when in a crowd of people, and oh yeah, a well rounded at bouldering, sport, and trad climbing, all with a missing chunk of a digit... Well, you get the idea. He's pullin' hard long routes, and you need to do your homework about the him and the Fortress if all you think he's done is one route. Then again, he didn't have dolls watching him so maybe he should stay in the background.

points well taken. and yes i know caldwell has done more than just that one route out there and i give him tons of respect also. i personally love the article about jason because its showed a different type of climbing personality. i think kehl is one of the truly great climbers of our day just for his attitude. no worries though!

Rock and Ice is owned by some car/sports magazine business that cares more about product placement than they do about content. They're going to publish what people are going to buy.

Oh, and aside from the fact that Tommy still climbs as hard as he does with one less finger, I have a hard time respecting anything he does after reading contradictory reports about thier version of the Kyrgyzstan episode, and that whole Yaniro, Legrande, Stack chipping nonsense.

As for Caldwell, I have a soft spot for that little man.

And before your naked steaming eyes, the King will arrive. It’s all a matter of looking beyond what the players preach to us. What your friends spray to us. What some old man claims to us. It’s all about pushing your limits and letting the cream know the crop is not so small and the harvest not so distant. We’re close, and getting closer.

So c’mon Elvis, I know you’re out there. Stop flipping burgers at McDonald’s, and touch that rock. We need you now like never before.

The thing about Evilution is that it's crux is sitting at 22 odd feet and caused repeated falls to the deck. Most of those people soloing hard grades (hundreds of feet of V11 huh?) only do so because they are secure enough in their ability that they won't fall. Soloing is not the risk most people attribute with. Except for a small handfull, very few soloists push themselves near their limit.

The other thing about Kehl is that people aren't doing what he's doing right now. No one has yet bouldered out the fly. No one topped out Evilution because they thought it was too high for such a hard section of moves. No one had sent After Midnight without a toprope.

either a misteak or a troll... R&I is owned by Duane, whereas Climbing is owned by the Sinister Primedia Keiretsu.

Legrand as much as admitted it... I don't climb at his level but it still strikes me as bogus to drill a pocket, if in fact that's what happened. Maybe it just grew there one day. Who knows.