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winkwinklambonini
Sep 26, 2002, 9:21 PM
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Has anyone ever thought about aid bouldering? It seems like a good way to practice hard moves. The idea came to me when I saw a guy dry tooling on a classic Lincoln Woods problem, breaking a key hold in the process. It could be the next big thing, with new gear invented!
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grigriese
Sep 26, 2002, 9:32 PM
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Isn't the next new thing sport rapping
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pbjosh
Sep 26, 2002, 9:41 PM
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Drytooling and aiding on boulders / s--- crags for practice is an old game. Don't do it on existing problems though or you'll get drytooled by the locals.
josh
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dsafanda
Sep 26, 2002, 9:42 PM
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Sorry to say it's not a new idea...but it is a good idea. I think every aid climber in the world has practiced on boulders at some point in their career.
Ever heard of LeConte boulder in Yosemite? It's even got a bolt ladder for practicing your technique on super steep terrain.
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apollodorus
Sep 26, 2002, 9:45 PM
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People have aid bouldered for years. There's a big boulder called Bear Rock near Camp 4 that has a couple of rurp cracks and even a bolt ladder for aid practice. Bear rock is in the trees between Camp 4 and the Three Brothers. You can't see it very well from below. It's about 50 or 75 high.
Having a toprope to hook your way up a big boulder is probably a great idea. That way, you can see for yourself that a 1/4" wide edge can be quite bomber.
And sport rapping is also old. Boy Scouts have been doing it since before nylon ropes existed. In fact, some of the Weekend Warrior Adventure camps/programs offer sport rapping as part of their curriculum.
The next big thing is rich guys paying the Yosemite Mountain School to take them up El Capitan. They'll charge about $3000 to let you jug up the Salathe, on toprope. They charge a little more if you just want them to take you up in a haul bag.
THIS JUST IN: I forgot to mention that the horizontal roof of the Bishop's Balcony, above the awesome 5.8 Bishop's Terrace hand cracks, is a practice aid climb. As far as I know, no one has ever been able to boulder this one. So got for it; it's totally fixed, but you might want to bring some gear and a hammer in case some of the Jurassic-era pieces pull out or break. The tourists headed to the Ahwannee Hotel will gawk and marvel at your dangling antics.
[ This Message was edited by: apollodorus on 2002-09-26 21:08 ]
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brisboy
Sep 27, 2002, 3:11 AM
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that bolt ladder looks awsome, we have a big bolt ladder over here in Aus it is very steep the only problem is the roof section is about 30m out and about 100m of the deck making it pretty scary if you havent aided on a roof before
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theclimer
Sep 27, 2002, 3:33 AM
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Brisboy,
That picture *is* of someone aiding out a roof that is 30m out and about 100m of the deck ... we're just really big over here, making it seem like it's right off the ground.
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philbox
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Sep 27, 2002, 3:52 AM
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You guys are behind the times. The new rage is to go free solo abseiling, you know leave the rope at home.
...Phil...
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kahuna3602
Sep 27, 2002, 4:31 AM
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Jeez Philbox as if the Aussie rap wasn't bad enough. Of course you would have to do it face down so you could watch as long as possible!
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nailzz
Sep 27, 2002, 4:41 AM
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Quote:
Isn't the next new thing sport rapping
I read a good deal of the thread that I assume you are referring to. Rich stuff!
Quote:
They charge a little more if you just want them to take you up in a haul bag.
I wonder how much folks will pay me to let them jug up a 5.8 here in Salt Lake? Could me a new future for me.
Great thread!
Laughing is good.
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glockaroo
Sep 27, 2002, 12:44 PM
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Aid bouldering is a really great way to learn to trust thin aid.
When I started aiding we had a chossy rock area near the spillway of a big lake. It had all kinds of cracks, flakes, and edges on a 20' tall cliff. There were good solid trees at the top so I set up a fixed dynamic rope and aided all over the place, taking in the slack when necessary.
I learned to hook and head this way. I also handplaced copperheads behind loose flakes and it worked.
Later when on the sharp end for real, it was nice to have gotten some experience on the thin stuff earlier. Gave me some good confidence.
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passthepitonspete
Oct 2, 2002, 6:56 AM
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Even a hottie can aid boulder if she chooses to!
One day you might just be standing at the base of the crag, the next minute she's grabbed your hooks and aiders and she's off and bouldering.
Ya just gotta love the heart of passion, eh?
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kindredlion
Oct 2, 2002, 7:09 PM
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Aid Bouldering and Aid Cragging, have both been around for a long while. The LeConte boulder/bolt ladder is great practice for overhanging Aid. Also, consider hanging a the base of ElCap where numerous Aid lines start. Just do the first pitches of whatever you like.. The "Road to the nose" supertopo claims the first pitches of North America Wall, and Pacific Ocean Wall, as being perfect practice for what you will se on the nose.
Also look in you local guide books, in the index past the free lines.. there just may be some established aid lines you can crag?
Don't have a partner? Figure out how to solo with a clove hitch or a Gri Gri. Aid is pretty slow so either brake will not be too annoying to feed, as you will not move very far every step. That's right...
Get out there!
Adam
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dsafanda
Oct 2, 2002, 8:18 PM
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Good adivce. That's exactly what I did when I wanted to teach myself how to solo. The first pitch of NA and PO Wall are both straightforward C1.
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dsafanda
Oct 2, 2002, 8:18 PM
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Good adivce. That's exactly what I did when I wanted to teach myself how to solo. The first pitch of NA and PO Wall were both straightforward C1.
...what the!? Sorry about the repeated posts folks.
[ This Message was edited by: dsafanda on 2002-10-02 13:27 ]
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bigwalling
Jan 3, 2003, 5:11 AM
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I was reading about this the other day: Here it is:
Other climbers have found ways to be active on the wet rock. Matt Maddaloni and friends came up with a new boulder problem that requires using only hooks. The 10m traverse is slightly overhanging and has never been freed. Several falls were taken before James ‘Scar’ Lorie came up with a ballsy opposing hook move to complete the problem with the new rating system AB1, aid bouldering.
This is from gripped website about squamish.
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wadeicey
Jan 6, 2003, 2:09 AM
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Perhaps my good friend Copperhead might be persuaded to write a few words on the subsport of aid bouldering known as drunkhooking. It's very complicated and may require a seperate forum of it's own.
[ This Message was edited by: wadeicey on 2003-01-07 12:25 ]
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wv5ten
Jan 6, 2003, 2:26 AM
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Quote:opposing hook move to complete the problem with the new rating system AB1, aid bouldering.
oh lord, another one to get used too...
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copperhead
Jan 6, 2003, 5:14 AM
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Damn Wade, I was thinking “drunkhooking” from the very mention of ‘aid bouldering’. Good thing others are also thinking along these lines. OK, here’s the secret beta…
First thing you need to do is find a nice boulder or small cliff, keeping in mind that different rock types will be more hook-friendly than others. Make sure it’s not one of the boulders with chalk all over it; you don’t want to break holds and piss-off the real boulderers. Next thing you do is make sure it’s nice and dark out (so you can’t see the ground) and grab yourself a headlamp, two aiders, two biners, and whatever hooks you want. No daisies allowed (we’ve got to keep this sporty, y’know). Once you have your set-up dialed, head for the stone. A proper mind-set is crucial to any serious ‘drunkhooking’ attempts so be well prepared. Traversing is usually the safest though high-ball hooking can be slightly more entertaining. Without your daisy, steep sections can become strenuous so be sure to keep moving; you don’t want to pump-out at the crux!
While trying to pull-off the first try of the FA of the first traverse of the mighty granite gumball with my fellow-swilling ‘drunkhooking’ accomplice in the middle of the piss-middle of nowhere desert, I encountered a mishap. A hook blew. PING!!! Before I knew it, I was on the ground, lying on my back. I took the whipper, but it was a fun whipper. Gravity. How neat that it instantly propels you downward until you are abruptly stopped. It was the most hilarious thing and we must have laughed hysterically for 15 or 20 minutes. Finally, we regained our senses and were ready for the next attempt, the next attempt at the mighty granite gumball. Crazy music filled the air as a bon-fire blazed, and fun was had by all.
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