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passthepitonspete
Sep 8, 2003, 9:14 PM
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Please click on page 4 of this post for details....
Woo-hoo! It's that time again. I'm arriving in Yosemite on Monday September 15th, and plan to stick around long enough to do a couple of walls on El Cap.
Over the past two seasons, I've met lots of people through RC.com and shared plenty of big wall tips in my "Dr. Piton Mini-Big Wall Tutorials." You can click here and click here to read about previous tutorial sessions, so you get an idea of what to expect. It's always great to put a face to a user name, or better still, to meet one of those mysterious "lurkers" that populate the Aid Forum! I've even scored a b|tchin' home-made pair of Russian Aider cuffs from a reader I met for the first time on the summit of El Cap this spring, so I'll be stylin' indeed.
I'm first attempting to solo Gulf Stream, a PDH/DFU route on the SE Face of El Cap. Already I've heard from a number of people who've told me they can hang out a couple days while we fix pitches, and get everything sorted out. These dates will be Monday Sept 15 to Thursday Sept 18.
One of the best ways to learn stuff is to see it in action. Just having a look through all my gear, and seeing the little "tricks of the trade" can teach you lots. Bring along your questions and your problems - with any luck your "Wall Doctor" can diagnose and solve them. Feel free to bring a notepad and your camera. Sometimes a few sketches and some photos can be really helpful.
For the more intrepid and willing, we'll be moving the party up to the base of El Cap. Here you can really see how everything goes together. For the low low price of half an hour of back-breaking torture helping me schlep some food, drink or gear up to the base, you'll get a chance to watch how everything is assembled.
If there are one or two people who are keen, I'll be fixing a few pitches prior to "blast-off", and I can always use a bit of help belaying, zipping and hauling. No "hanging belays," mate - you'll be stylin' in my Crab-O-Ledge. Change a CD for me every so often, and zip me up some gear from time to time, and I'm a happy camper. If I whimper and whine in terror, you can offer helpful advice like, "shut up and climb!"
I'd like to get all my stuff three or four pitches up. I'll show you how we work the 2:1 and how to space haul and all that. If we've got enough people [like I did last year!] I'll tie two ropes together, and get a bunch of people to stand on the ground, and we'll pull that pig up to the first belay just like that! Man, that thing went up in about five minutes, and would have taken me an hour to haul solo.
After I get down from Gulf Stream and enjoy some [hopefully] well-earned R & R, I'll be heading up to the SW Face of El Cap for a change of scene to climb Never Never Land. I'm still looking for a partner for this one, so if you're interested, please check my index and profile, and email me. I'll most likely be getting started on this next project no earlier than Saturday October 4, and more likely a couple-three days later around October 6-7.
I'm hoping to meet as many people as possible! If you think you can make it, please leave a note here on this post, as I should get a chance to check it once or twice while I'm down there. I can give you more specific instructions on where and when to meet via PM, email or preferably phone.
If you want to reach me on the wall or hunt me down:
Honking code: Two short, pause, two short
Radio Channel: Channel 2, sub 10
Cheers,
Pete
P.S. If you really want to win the heart of your Wall Doctor, you can click here for a [HINT] about what to bring him!
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tenn_dawg
Sep 8, 2003, 9:27 PM
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In reply to: If I whimper and whine in terror, you can offer helpful advice like, "shut up and climb!"
I've always prefered the North Carolina version, "Do the moves, Girly man!". Heh.
Travis
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passthepitonspete
Sep 8, 2003, 9:29 PM
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Heh heh.... Travis even re-led a climb for me in Roppel Cave last fall [that led to several hundred feet of virgin passage which he and I and one other explored and surveyed] thus sparing me the bother. Unfortunately, I'll have to lead everything on El Cap for my ascent to qualify as a legit solo!
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atg200
Sep 8, 2003, 9:44 PM
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yeah, and haul, self-belay, and carry your own crap. otherwise the style of ascent is known as a circus.
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gawd
Sep 8, 2003, 10:20 PM
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thanks for the post. i will be letting the rangers know.
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gawd
Sep 8, 2003, 11:30 PM
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phil, think what you want. but this person does not deserve to visit america, nor does he deserve to be allowed inside yosemite. or for that matter near women or children.
please people avoid this person. he is not a good human being.
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xanx
Sep 8, 2003, 11:41 PM
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In reply to: he is not a good human being.
no, he is an exceptional human being. or a rather degraded god. you choose.
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deleted
Deleted
Sep 9, 2003, 12:13 AM
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hey pete,
i'll be in the valley sometime at the end of september and staying until early november! yah. i'd love to meet up and learn the better way to get more ladies and be a more successful person in general\
andrew
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hawgdrver
Sep 9, 2003, 5:15 AM
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epic_ed
Sep 9, 2003, 5:45 AM
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Gawd has established his disdain for Pete in several other threads. In fact, he can't seem to post anything that isn't vindictive against Pete. No need to re-hash it here, and this thread will not digress into yet another pissing match about Pete's methods and Gawds antics. Keep it on topic, please.
Ed
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ricardol
Sep 9, 2003, 5:56 AM
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well .. back in may it was pretty fun hanging out with the doc, tom, chad, and other folk who showed up ..
.. i enjoyed my first el cap bivy (learned to jug a fixed line at midnight), which was great since i had no other place to crash that night ..
-- ricardo
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joebuzz
Sep 9, 2003, 6:54 PM
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I'm blasting on Wall of Early Morning Light on probably the 17th. Pete, you wanna help me hump loads this time?
Where exactly is Gulf Stream, are we going to be neighbors for a week or so?
Buzz
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passthepitonspete
Sep 9, 2003, 9:26 PM
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Hell, yeah - we're neighbours! I remember when I did Aurora a few years ago with a non-local friend, he was amazed at the camaraderie on the wall. "Everybody knows each other," he exclaimed in amazement.
You and I are somewhat farther apart - I go straight up the right side of the North America Wall. It's named after the Gulf Stream ocean current, that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows northward along the east coast of North America, giving Bermuda its sub-tropical climate, and Ireland all its rain!
Think about the wall. "Get it?"
And hell yeah, I owe ya, mate! After those carries you've given me in the past, and most especially that pickup you made for me at the post office, I'm indebted.
Looks like a pretty good crew shaping up so far, so we'll see you up there! Who are you climbing with?
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diesel___smoke
Sep 10, 2003, 1:49 AM
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I'm going to be there and hopefully do a wall with the 'doc', though unfortunately I'll miss the tutorials, because it won't be until the 2nd of October when I arrive.
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calamity_chk
Sep 10, 2003, 2:52 AM
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In reply to: yeah, and haul, self-belay, and carry your own crap. otherwise the style of ascent is known as a circus.
/chuckles to herself/
In reply to: No need to re-hash it here, and this thread will not digress into yet another pissing match about Pete's methods and Gawds antics. Keep it on topic, please.
*sigh* .. okay dad. with any luck, i'll be learning aid in the valley and/or the desert this fall; though, i will be learning from a safe and trustworthy friend instead of 'the doc.'
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lambone
Sep 10, 2003, 3:44 AM
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Carry Pete's heavy ass bags, then watch him climb...
hmmmm....tempting.
well...nah, I'd rather get paid to work and go climbing on my vacations. Thanks anyway! :P
Really, not trying to diss on Pete here...I just highly disagree with this statement:
"The best way to learn stuff is to see it in action. Just having a look through all my gear, and seeing the little "tricks of the trade" can teach you lots."
If you think this is true then you are kidding yourself. Nothing is going to help you learn to aid climb better than going out and doing it...yourself.
Just my opinion. Have fun anyway, the Base is a cool place, keep it clean!
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passthepitonspete
Sep 10, 2003, 6:15 PM
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In reply to: "If you think this is true then you are kidding yourself. Nothing is going to help you learn to aid climb better than going out and doing it...yourself. Just my opinion.
Fair enough. Some of your comments are valid. If want to learn how to climb, as in "move upwards on rock by aid climbing," then it is quite true that nothing will help you learn to climb better than by tying into the sharp end. If you reread my original post, you will note that I did offer to take people on the wall to help me fix pitches, and to learn how to clean and haul.
However that being said, there are many other excellent ways to learn. I'll address this idea in two points - how I learned, and what I've taught.
How I Learned Stuff
When I was first learning the ropes, I learned a ton of stuff by hanging out with more experienced climbers. Not just climbing with them, but hanging out in the caf and drinking coffee and asking them stuff. I asked them to show me their systems, and give me big wall tips.
When I first met Chongo, he would usually show up with a hunk of cord or some carabiners, and say, "here's your Chongo Big Wall Tip of the Day." Some of his ideas were excellent, some didn't work, some needed testing in the field. "I should write a book sometime, Pete....."
When I was gearing up for Mescalito and Sunkist and some other of my early routes, Chongo was there to help me assemble the systems. He was and is my Wall Doctor. I helped schlep his gear to the base, and we fixed pitches and stuff. Believe me I was able to learn a lot more at the base of the wall than I could ever have learned in Camp 4 or the parking lot.
Chongo was the person who taught me the benefits of demonstrating systems, and drawing systems. The first time I learned how to build a 2:1 he drew it on the back of a serviette in the caf! ["Serviette" is Canadian for "paper napkin," eh?] If I had a problem, something I couldn't figure out, I'd bring it to him, and most of the time, he had some really good ideas that helped me.
But Chongo was just one of my teachers. I've picked the brains of most every top Yosemite climber who would give me the time of day. Warren Hollinger was particularly helpful.
The most help Chongo ever gave me, and this is exactly the sort of thing I help other climbers with, was my "post wall debriefing" after my first solo of El Cap, which was Iron Hawk. As well as hanging out at the base with me while I was fixing [and incidentally learning how to solo, as I had never done it before!] we did the Mini-Big Wall Tutorial in the parking lot after I got down after sixteen days on the wall. [Like I said, I didn't know how to solo! It took me a while the first time!] I brought all my problems to my Wall Doctor, and in under half an hour with a few little drawings and tricks, Chongo had taught me enough to improve my efficiency I figured in the 25% range. That is a HUGE improvement in efficiency I learned from him, simply because he diagnosed my systemic errors, and helped me streamline the operation.
Hanging out with my Wall Doctor, and picking the brains of more experienced climbers, taught me tons.
Stuff I've Taught
When you hang out at the base of the wall fixing pitches as much as I've done, you get a chance to talk to a LOT of people. The unfortunate fact is that only about half who try actually reach the summit of El Cap. After six and a half years of continuous observation, it is my estimation that only 50% of the people who start an El Cap route actually make it to the summit. This number is about 40% for Zodiac, incidentally.
Chongo started the East Side Water Commission simply by asking climbers to give him his water if they happened to bail. He gave me 44 litres of water for Iron Hawk!
A lot of people have no clue how to jug a free-hanging rope, for instance. Somewhere in my index you can find a testimony from heinz57 - I taught him how to do the Frog. Climbing Mag. likes the idea enough they're paying me to publish it in an upcoming Tech Tip.
I've taught people how to jug, how to clean, how to set up their aiders and daisies and lockers and lead carabiners, how to rig their harness, modifications to their harness, modifications to their lead rack. You know, the basics - the fundamentals. Stuff you think you know because "it has worked for you," but stuff that a more experienced climber might be able to help you improve, if you're willing to consider the idea.
Some climbers aren't willing. I remember one muscleman from the midwest who was struggling and cursing and storming his way up Zodiac solo. I offered a few suggestions, but he didn't want to change anything. I was betting against him, but he stubborn enough and strong enough and stupid enough to make it. [Qualities I admire, actually]. But man, if he were more willing to experiment with some new ideas, he might have made it a day or two quicker.
That was a few years ago, and I haven't seen him since.
I've taught tagging and tag racks and Continuous Loop and zipping. I've taught more load-release knots than you could shake a stick at. I've built so many 2:1 Hauling Ratchets at the base of the wall I've lost count. People on Zodiac have shouted across for help, and I've told them how to solve their problems from five hundred feet away! I've taught people how to legally and legitimately dispense with their "poop tubes", and not waste time and energy carrying their crap off the summit.
I've taught probably two dozen people at the top of the East Ledges how to rappel properly with their pig, and how to cross a knot on rappel. How to rappel a double rope with a Grigri, how not to crush their bollocks, how to ride the pig.
I can't tell you how many times I've demonstrated systems in the Mountain Shop! Climbers come in, ask how to do stuff, the staff hands me a bit of stuff off their racks like pulleys and slings and cordage and so on, and I build the system. The staff in the Mountain Shop likes it when I do this because I help them make sales. People buy stuff because I am able to tell them what they need. And people don't buy stuff because I can also tell them what they probably don't need.
This isn't exactly a new idea for me. I've been teaching stuff for years. I've even p*ssed a few people off - there are a few jealous types who don't want to share anything! Have you ever met an @sshole Yosemite local who won't give you beta or tips or even the time of day? I'm not like that. I'm happy to share. If you think Chris Mac's SuperTopos are detailed, you should see the notes I keep in my Reid Guidebook. I photocopy the route, blow it up on the copier, fill in all my super-duper beta, and then shrink it back and stick it in my book. You can borrow my book and photocopy it in the Lodge or Curry Village if you want. Many have, believe me.
One of the most amazing things I ever witnessed was when Tomaz Humar showed up in Yosemite with the intention of soloing The Reticent Wall, one of the hardest walls on El Cap. The fact that Tomaz had never soloed a big wall before was incidental - the Millennium Edition of Climbing Magazine chose him as the World's Best All-Round Climber not only for his solo of Reticent, but for the absolutely mind-numbingly rad stuff he's done in the Himalaya and Karakorum, at least before he busted both his legs. Check my photos - I've got a small album of photos he emailed me to publish for him.
Now the Reticent was [and] Pretty Darn Hard. Some jealous types do not like it when an "outsider" comes to climb their hard routes. They don't believe he can do it! Or worse, they won't give him beta.
Nobody would give Tomaz Bloody Humar a frickin' topo for Reticent Wall! He was so hurt and disappointed. He came all the way from Slovenia, and just asked for a little help, and he was completely snubbed. He was planning to solo this wall using a beat-up little useless topo he lifted off of Clay Wadman's El Cap poster! We were fixing pitches on Reticent when Tomaz showed up at the base, and his jaw nearly hit the ledge when I told him I'd be happy to give him a copy of our route topo. He couldn't believe it because nobody else would help him! Poor bugger was so grateful I thought he was going to cry.....
Anyway, Tomaz had never soloed a big wall before, and I taught him a whole bunch of stuff. You can read about it if you go to my profile, and click on my ascent of The Reticent Wall. It's a funny little story, actually. So I showed him how to build the 2:1 and how to tag and how to tie a load release knot and all the usual stuff that he had only partially understood.
Needless to say, he was a "quick study." He sent the route in fifteen days.
That was in 1998, and I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two since then. I've spent well over two thousand unpaid hours writing on RC.com, teaching people how to aid climb. If someone would like to return the favour and give me a hand soloing a wall, and learn some stuff at the same time, I'm only too thankful.
If Tomaz Humar can learn stuff from Dr. Piton, then maybe so can you.
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climbhigher
Sep 10, 2003, 8:39 PM
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Wow!!!! Pete! 16 days soloing your first grade 6! That's some staying power! Very impressive. I will be watching the circus over by N.A. wall from the Nose in a week or so. Should be entertaining. CHEERS>
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passthepitonspete
Sep 10, 2003, 8:52 PM
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Indeed. I am nothing if not persistent. [Being too stupid to quit, too dumb to give up after I cracked my rib, and having to learn how to climb solo kinda contributed, too]
Are you climbing with Joe Buzz? Have you got a Motorola? I'll be on Channel 2 sub 10. if we're on the ground together, be sure to stop by and join the party, eh?
Once we're on the wall, you can shout over your favourite AC/DC song. I'll be taking requests. That part of the wall is amazingly concave, and sound travels well.
[If you're interested, you can click here to read the trip report from my first solo of El Cap in 1997. Cheers.]
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climbhigher
Sep 10, 2003, 9:33 PM
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Come ON Pete, Keep your music to yourself. We will have our own. I will be climbing with one of my "KICK ASS" wall partners. I don't think she posts here on RC.com. But let me spray for her. She just got done climbing Wet Denim Day Dream in 10 or so hours and she lead most of the hard pitches.
I did briefly meet you and tom by the bear boxes in Camp 5 after you guys got down from your wall climbl. You where showing off those Yosemite Giants to me. I didn't tell you my name because i wanted to remain anonmous. (sp???) And I am shy. I'll say hi when i see yeah in a couple of weeks. (This summer was my first summer in the valley and it wont be my last). We are going to defenitly climb Tangerine Trip after the Nose and I am going to try to talk her into climbing Mescalito with me. Are we going to have blue bird days or will it be rainy and cold? How close is Bermuda to TT??? Should we bring our guide book, so we can see what everybody is on? CHEERS>
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epic_ed
Sep 10, 2003, 9:47 PM
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10 hours for WDD? That's mighty proud. Who is this chick? Or should I say "Super-Chick"? Have you been hooking up with Kim Csizmazia?
Ed
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passthepitonspete
Sep 10, 2003, 10:06 PM
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Dang. I need a hottie like her. Lucky bastard.....
Gulf Stream is just left of the Trip. Trip is out on kind of an arete - excellent views of the entire wall! Sure, bring your guidebook - it's always fun to try to figure out who's on what, which is not necessarily easy. Nothin' but bluebird skies in October, mate. I'd be surprised if it rains a drop. [However I would never venture on the wall without full-on rain gear, ledge fly, synthetic clothes and pit, and bivi sack]
When you see me this time, be sure to say hi, eh?
Voice of Austin Powers to Vanessa Kensington: "I won't bite ....... hard....."
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climbhigher
Sep 11, 2003, 2:31 AM
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I never go on a wall without rain gear. That's right it's Gulf Stream. We are going to speed climb Tangerine Trip after spending 6 days on the Nose. Keep an eye or two out for us. CHEERS.
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