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supertopoz
Apr 25, 2003, 1:19 AM
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Registered: Feb 12, 2003
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If you read through all the stuff on these pages you begin to realise how much is involved in a big wall. Many out there will be reading all that is here why? because we are all of one kind of human. We read here because maybe we want to achieve something. I read here and try the theory because it's like going to school with out the hassel of other students.
It is a hard thing to climb a big wall when there is two of you, I think that climbing solo has to be the craziest idea around. There is no one else to check if you have made a mistake, their is no one else to offer encouragement when you turn white with fear. When you soloing there is so much chance of messing things up, and on top of all the science it's hard physical work too, might as well give up and go home now
No No No.
These are the reasons I want to solo, I like climbing with a partner, but I love climbing solo. You can have sack reduction, but if you make it to the top then you have balls the size of Bulls. There is no one else to tell you, "can we go done now". You are by yourself with yourself and in yourself. Are you selfish? yes when your on the wall it is all about you.
So why? Is it because I want to boast about my achivements to my mates. No thats about them, climbing a big wall is about me, it's about being at one with my self, being independent.
Is putting my self in that much danger really healthy? To those who stay on the ground NO. To those who are in the know, is it not surely about going to the edge and looking over at what might be possible then trying your hardest. And for me it's about learning, learning to endure and learning to imporve myself. So that when I return to the ground I can be a better kinder and less selfish person, up there life is fantastic!
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tenn_dawg
Apr 25, 2003, 1:35 AM
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Registered: Mar 14, 2002
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hippie.
Travis
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jono
Apr 25, 2003, 1:43 AM
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haha T-dawg is LIT!!!
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jono
Apr 25, 2003, 1:44 AM
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supertopoz, sorry for hijacking
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iamthewallress
Apr 25, 2003, 1:46 AM
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Registered: Jan 2, 2003
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"You can have sack reduction, but if you make it to the top then you have balls the size of Bulls"
Testicles only enter into my desire to solo in that sometimes no testicles are better than big or small ones. I get damn tired of people asking me if I led when I've climbed w/ guys.
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johnhenry
Apr 25, 2003, 1:57 AM
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Registered: Feb 28, 2002
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Interesting topic. You know a lot of people talk about the foolhardiness of soloing. But I am here to tell you that the last three near death experiences I have had climbing all involved partner errors! [two of the three were rockfall incidents]
My regular climbing buddy has retired because an inattentive belayer caused a narly ground fall.
I feel Iike I will take my chances with me, myself, and I for a while. If I fail or crater it will be my fault [ unless act of god or other party].
Right On,
John
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coyoteblues
Apr 25, 2003, 2:20 AM
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In reply to: Is it because I want to boast about my achivements to my mates. No thats about them.... So that when I return to the ground I can be a better kinder and less selfish person, up there life is fantastic!
Yo, supertopoz, I gotta like your motivation. But look around you here. Just look at all the spraying that goes on here! For some climbers this aid forum has become the ultimate spray nozzle. Kinda like someone who's got the flu and infects everyone else by sneezing their snot all over them. They've got SARS (Severely Annoying Redundant Spray). Best to stay the heck away from them. It might be contagious!
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coyoteblues
Apr 25, 2003, 3:16 AM
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In reply to: "You can have sack reduction, but if you make it to the top then you have balls the size of Bulls" Testicles only enter into my desire to solo in that sometimes no testicles is better than big or small ones. I get damn tired of people asking me if I led when I climb w/ guys.
wallress, you are way right here. Any "guy" who's ever caught a testicle during a fall has got to admit none would have been better than any size at that moment!
I am curious though, do you lead when you climb w/ guys?
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Just kiddin'! :lol: Here's to testicle free climbing! http://www.rockclimbing.com/icons/thumbsup.gif
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danskiz
Apr 25, 2003, 3:28 AM
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Registered: Jun 17, 2002
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You had to remind me, I got of my boys caught under my leg loop last year on a 30 foot fall. Not highly suggested.
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passthepitonspete
Apr 25, 2003, 4:54 AM
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Registered: Oct 10, 2001
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The best part of being on a wall is that nobody can bug me. My energies are focused on the task at hand, and the rest of the world can go to hell in a handbasket for all I care.
It's all about risk versus reward. Climbing is an esoteric pursuit that you do for no other reason than because it is difficult. Wall climbing is difficult enough, and climbing one solo is much harder still, and nearly three times the work, too.
Staring down death in the face makes you appreciate the comforts of home, even if your home is your portaledge. Sit back, relax, enjoy your favourite brewski, and chill. You've made it another day, and you've earned your R & R.
I climb my own way. I don't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks about the way I climb - the Valley Christians and any others who don't like my style of soloing can suck on my fat one. My goal is to continue raising the standards of Big Wall Leisure to new heights.
It's so very much a case of mind over matter. It really can be quite terrifying at times, but it sure teaches you self-reliance, problem solving, and tenacity.
The benefit of climbing in a team of one is that everyone gets to be the captain.
When you stand on the summit of a big wall that you have climbed completely alone, you will feel like a hero. It's a good feeling, a damned good feeling.
And it's a feeling I want others to share - those few who dare to try, those few who "get it." I care so much about seeing this happen that I invest all this time and effort and energy teaching others how to do it.
And I've met people on the summit - quite a few people, actually - who have told me that the stuff I've written has helped them get there. Some of them are semi-regulars around here, and others are lurkers. So it's good to know I'm not entirely wasting my time.
But one thing's for sure - more and more people are soloing big walls, because soloing big walls is a helluva lot of fun.
[I wonder what I'm going to do when I grow up?]
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rollingstone
Apr 25, 2003, 3:11 PM
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Registered: May 22, 2002
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iamthewallress wrote:
"I get damn tired of people asking me if I led when I've climbed w/ guys."
Melissa, you must be talking to fools who do not know that women can rock, often way harder than some guy. I cannot tell you the number of ladies I have watched crank way harder moves than I can do; and the added bonus of climbing with a lady is that quite often she will be lighter than a guy, so she is difinitely more qualified for those thin pitches for body weight placements... :lol:
The satisfaction derived from completing a solo ascent and returning safely cannot be described. But, I agree with Pete that it is an incredible amount of work, and one must focus on the task at hand...
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