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pbcowboy77
Jan 30, 2006, 2:50 AM
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so I've done about 4 or 5 pitches of aid on a belay. The problem is the guy teaching me has a diffrent scedual than I do, and it's hard to find people that are willing to sit and deal with someone learning.
My question is how many of you started out soloing? I'm not talking about doing a wall right off the start, but just doing single pitch stuff just to get faster. and how many of you did do your first wall solo?
I know what I need and know the basics. I just need miles. what do you all think?
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krusher4
Jan 30, 2006, 10:34 PM
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Solo Aid Away. A clove hitch is just as good as a body. Unless you hurt yourself.....no one will be there to rescue you. Just keep that in mind.
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caughtinside
Jan 30, 2006, 11:16 PM
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Hmm, I've done about 10 aid pitches. All solo with a grigri. Nothing hard, only C1 stuff.
Pretty fun, and I've learned quite a bit about what works, and what's slow. I also got Jared Ogden's Big Wall book to hopefully speed the learning process.
I got some good advice, and that was to remember that you're getting a static belay when soloing, so use screamers.
Good luck.
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yetanotherdave
Jan 31, 2006, 12:40 AM
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I'd say just get out there, on low-traffic routes so you're not causing traffic jams.
And learn to jumar efficiently before starting off soloing your first wall. The first few pitches of steep jugging/cleaning may be way more work than the leading. Not that I learned this the hard way...
:)
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cmclean
Jan 31, 2006, 1:07 AM
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I ran into the same problem too. I found I wasn't getting many takers when I'd ask people "hey, want to do some belaying tomorrow?" The nice thing about soloing to start is that you can take as long as you need to make sure everything is set up how you want it. Plus that way you get practice on both leading and cleaning. Quiet days out at the local crags solo aiding can be fun. Just be careful, since there may not be anyone else around, you don't want to be falling.
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grippedclimer
Jan 31, 2006, 1:13 AM
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I had the same problem. When I was all psyched on climbing walls, I would head out to Suicide and clean solo aid the Pirate and some crappy stuff in Riverside. Did the same out in Albuquerque when I lived out there. Teaches you good rope technique. Girth Hitch and Fig 8 on a bight and you're good.
Have fun, Be safe
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jeremy11
Jan 31, 2006, 7:19 PM
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I started aid going solo too. I've done somewhere around 10 pitches of aid, all C1, and funny thing is, my only aid fall was the one time I had a belayer and the first time aiding with cams (I have since loaded up on cams, that was back in the dark ages for me). clove hitches work fine, but the grigri works really good since at aid speed it self feeds most of the time and then it is also a rappel device and ascender (and good for hauling but I havent needed it for that yet).
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kristoffer
Jan 31, 2006, 7:33 PM
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pbcowboy77, solo aiding is an excellent trick to have in your bag of tricks.. it will open many doors for big wall climbing i.e. short fixing.
I started by soloing and have pretty much done all of my aid climbing solo and I have absolutely no regrets about doing it that way. I would recommend it to every one as long as you have a basic idea of what they are doing... just be sure to double check everything and it wouldn’t hurt to even give it a triple check!
Remember to back up your self belay with a solid knot; I use two clove hitches on separate carabineers, once you get use to it and proficient with it you will be surprised how fast you can move with the clove hitch.
good luck with your solo climbing!
climb safe, hard and high
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aspiringmonkey
Feb 4, 2006, 9:47 PM
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I wouldnt worry about your own safety as much as the rocks safety. If you dont know what you are doing, dont just hop on a route and start hammering alone without any instructions. Fubar-ing a classic route would not be cool at all. Not to discourage or anything, just make sure you know what you are doing first, before you start swinging away.
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stymingersfink
Feb 4, 2006, 10:09 PM
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In reply to: I wouldnt worry about your own safety as much as the rocks safety. If you dont know what you are doing, dont just hop on a route and start hammering alone without any instructions. Fubar-ing a classic route would not be cool at all. Not to discourage or anything, just make sure you know what you are doing first, before you start swinging away.
big difference between C-aiding and nailing.
Funny thing is, even when climbing with a partner I lead solo-style 90% of the time. The times I tend to WANT a belayer are the times when there's no good pro for a ways off the belay.
Solo-aiding with a partner you ask? It's faster overall in my experience. If you've got 60' of rope left when you reach the anchors, just fix the lines and keep going. Your second can zip you gear when they reach the belay, feed you the remainder of the (once fixed) lead line, then haul and re-arrange the anchor for their comfort.
Reached the high point for the day? Fix n haul.
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holdplease2
Feb 6, 2006, 5:24 AM
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Zac:
Next time we are in Josh I will show you aid soloing, when will you be there? We can have fun. And have red bull and watch law and order and then watch some more law and order and after that we can see if SVU new episode is on then we can watch law and order.
And get up at noon and drink some redbull then
Watch some more law and order.
Call me, punk.
-Kate.
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brin_long
Feb 12, 2006, 9:52 PM
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pay for instruction
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ricardol
Feb 13, 2006, 7:40 PM
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II taught myself to aid-solo ... and after 3 el cap routes (solo) -- i've only had to build 2 anchors that did not involve bolts...
.. so i dont think its neccesary to go out there and work tirelesly to figure out how to build an upside down anchor -- just work out how to use 2 or 3 bolts to build a solo anchor.
.. on a wall you will clip your haulbag to the powerpoint which keeps the anchor from turning upside down anyways .. (if its heavy enough) ..
.. best thing to do when aid-soloing is to go get some practice --
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426
Feb 24, 2006, 6:06 PM
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I started out aid soloing after a buddy taught me a few basics. We had homemade aiders and used prussiks to clean.
I did many an aid solo on bad weather days. It's good to learn all the anchoring and mechanics stuff on your "home" crags.
First wall was the "Prow" solo. Borrowed TM Herbert's jumars to do it and taught myself on the first pitch (again, not recommended~). Took a massive fall because all the heads were cleaned. 1/2 of my anchor unclipped because I was doing weird stuff on the pitch (like tying into pieces). Also, the screw gate had worked itself loose with all my finnaglin.
I rec' something like this..
http://gearx.com/product_info.php?products_id=200&osCsid=e2d682afe2c8265680b788d41020d3f8
PS-you can't use "brass nuts" as heads very easily. I didn't even know what a head was really; I should've hung out at the Deli and bought some from Minerals or one of the locals.
2nd wall was Zod, solo. Again, not really rec'd. The only thing that kept me psyched was climbing a short distance away from Eric Kohl, who was putting up a new horror show. Seemed 'light' compared to watching him hook and blade on loose diorite. Neither wall made me cry though~that came later ... on Salathe... :tinfoilhat:
Teach yourself how to deal with traverseses and lower outs as well as haulbags getting stuck. Regardless if you are going with a pard or solo, these are essential.
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