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janeothejungle
Mar 23, 2003, 10:34 PM
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Hey y'all,
Just wondering if anyone has some good recommendations for sweet short routes to practice my aid skills on?? I'd prefer something out of the way, so I don't have to worry about holding anyone up. Just some sweet 2 or 3 pitch lines that are straightforward and can build my confidence a bit??
On a different note.... How do I go about learning pendulums and where can I practice ?? Any advice on those, as well???
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simzboardr
Mar 23, 2003, 10:50 PM
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Yea!! good call. Im headed out to yosemite hopefully this fall and i don't want to wait in the big lines for the nose(next summer) so what should i climb maybe even a two dayer or something
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smithclimber
Mar 24, 2003, 12:40 AM
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Hey Kat,
You could aid your way up free cracks in the Valley such as Church Bowl Tree or Outer Limits. You do take a chance on others possibly wanting to free climb them.
If you own a copy of the Big Wall Supertopo, flip through it. You would be quite surprised at just how many of the routes have a C1/C2 first pitch.
You can go play around on the first couple pitches of just about any El Cap route.
Practicing pendulums is a bit trickier (although it can be done). Not because pendulums are inherently difficult, but because a real pendulum on a real wall will have a fixed "pendulum point" (very important in regards to how to go about cleaning the pendulum as the follower) and an actual place for you to aim for when you are doing the pendulum (important in regards to leading the pendulum).
Pendulums are one of the aspects of aiding/walls that is actually more complicated to follow than to lead, so spend more time practicing how to clean a pendulum than how to lead one. Leading a "penji" is a cakewalk. Cleaning a "penji" has hosed way too many followers. Apparently, many people just don't give it much thought.
One way you can practice a pendulum is to find two longish sport routes on a near vertical wall that are within about ten feet of each other. Lets call the lefthand route Route A and the righthand route Route B.
Free climb up Route A (maybe 2/3 of the way up), clip your rope to the draw, have your belayer give you tension, have your belayer lower you down about 15-20', then penji over to Route B.
NOTE Before you begin leading Route A, rig a toprope up on Route B and remain tied to this toprope while you are leading the initial part of Route A.
Now that you have pendulumed over to Route B, climb it's upper portion (you are now actually being protected from a nasty fall via the toprope) and continue clipping the rope (that was used to lead up Route A) into the bolts. When you arrive at Route B's anchor clip the rope used for the penji into it as well. Have your belayer lower you to the ground.
The rope (used for the penji, not the TR rope) should now be going up Route A to a bolt (the pendulum point) then it goes down and to the right diagonally to a bolt roughly 1/2 way up Route B and then it continues up through the remaining bolts and finally through Route B's anchor and back down to the ground. Essentially, the rope forms the letter "N".
Now have someone tie into the end of the "N" rope that should be hanging near the start of Route B (just to be clear, this is the same end of the "N" rope that you had tied to you while "leading")
Now with the other person tied in (as a counterweight) you can start jugging up the other side of the "N" rope using your ascenders, perform your lower-out from the pendulum point (you will have to temporarily leave a biner or a ratty old sling you no longer care about at the penji point), after lowering out resume jugging up to the anchor of Route B.
After you retrieve everything (including your toprope setup) off Route B don't forget to go re-climb Route A in it's entirety (picking up the biner and/or sling you left on the penji bolt).
Get it?
Cheers, Wes
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apollodorus
Mar 24, 2003, 12:59 AM
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I wouldn't suggest aiding up Outer Limits. That's one of the most popular free routes in the Valley.
Church Bowl Tree is the thin splitter crack just left of the CB Chimney: It's C1, #4 stopper through hand sized pieces. It goes straight up 50 feet to two bolts, and then pendulums left and up a slanting crack for another 60 feet. The pendulum is only about 20 feet. The first pitch is short enough you can do a 4-to-1 lowerout with a 50m rope, if you want. There is even a second pitch!
If you get on this one, and other climbers complain, send them off to any of ten other crack climbs within a five minute walk. CB Tree doesn't have the classic/legendary status to allow them to enforce their free will against your aid will (like Outer Limits does).
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smithclimber
Mar 24, 2003, 1:11 AM
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Not that I advocate spending 3 hours aiding up a classic free line, but .....
First come, first serve. The early bird gets the worm.
If others show up to free climb something you are practicing aid on, it would be polite (not mandatory) for you to lower off, let them have a quick burn at it, and then resume your aid practice.
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copperhead
Mar 25, 2003, 4:27 AM
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Forget the free climbs. Do a little research and you will find several practice aid cimbs in the Valley that are just that - aid climbs.
Have fun.
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pbjosh
Mar 25, 2003, 6:06 AM
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I agree that aiding Outer Limits would be spectacularly poor style.
josh
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smithclimber
Mar 25, 2003, 6:43 AM
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Aiding anything could be considered poor style, depending on who you talk to.
:)
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janeothejungle
Mar 25, 2003, 10:22 PM
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Thanks to all who responded!! Your myriad advice is very appreciated!!
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davidji
Mar 25, 2003, 10:46 PM
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Church Bowl Tree is fairly popular, and unless you move quickly, you'd be likely to be in the way. In Ried's guidebook, it's a 2-star (of 3) climb, and the approach is very short.
If I wanted short aid practice in the valley, I might try the Direct South Face of Rixon's Pinnacle. I haven't climbed it (aid or free), but I'd expect it to be a lot more fun and less crowded than CBT. I know Rixon's has a rockfall rep, but I'm not sure that really applies to the DSF.
David
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iamthewallress
Mar 25, 2003, 11:52 PM
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There other aid lines with less rock fall than Rixons. Church Bowl Tree is a popular free climb, but also pretty accepted as a place to practice aid. It's as easy access as it gets.
There's lots of stuff at the base of El Cap that's good if there aren't already people there. Climb to Dinner Ledge (if you are there at a time when no one is in front of you) and aid the second pitch. That will give you a little practice with big wall logistics and schleping your load.
If you aid Outer Limits (or any other popular climb at the Cookie) on a crowded weekend, you might get yanked off the wall. Besides, it'll be more fun if you pick a practice route that doesn't require a full rack of #2 and #3 camalots if you want to leave a little pro behind.
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bigwalling
Mar 26, 2003, 12:26 AM
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How bout you just mess around on the first couple pitches of certain aid climbs.
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apollodorus
Mar 26, 2003, 9:45 PM
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Between the Three Brothers and Camp 4 (closer to Camp 4), in the forest where you can't see it from the road, is Bear Rock. There's a bolt ladder near the SE corner. You start in a tree, and do a few free moves to get to the ladder.
And 20 to the right of that is a rurp and beak crack (A3?), which you could toprope after doing the bolt line.
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dirko
Mar 26, 2003, 9:49 PM
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Only practice aiding at Rixon's if you also want practice getting hit by large rocks.
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apollodorus
Mar 26, 2003, 9:59 PM
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Speaking of getting hit by large rocks, is Glacier Point still shaking itself loose? There are quite a few cracks there that would be super-easy to aid up because of the low angle.
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janeothejungle
Apr 2, 2003, 7:19 PM
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Thanks for the tip on Bear rock, apollo.
I'll be up next weekend to give it a go.
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