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guaraira
Oct 4, 2004, 3:17 AM
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Registered: Jun 4, 2004
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i want to begin climb in artificial route. What do you recomended how firts big wall route? which difficult? how many people?........ can you tell me how was your firts big wall route? i have been doing some artificial routes in my country, but i never climbed in a big wall, please help me.....
kind regard.
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lambone
Oct 4, 2004, 5:28 PM
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Registered: May 1, 2003
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South Face of Washington Column was technically my first grade V wall because we slept on Dinner Ledge. It has a good mix of free climbing and easy aid climbing. Only drawback is it's popularity.
The Leaning Tower (WF) was my first "real" wall. Great route, it is not so easy to bail off of, which makes it a good motivator to keep going up.
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tomtom
Oct 5, 2004, 12:02 AM
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Registered: Jan 9, 2004
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My first was The Prow on Washington Column in Yosemite two weeks ago. We had a team of three, climbed 4 pitches per day, and finished at the end of the third day.
The route was C2F, and was pretty straightforward. There were a couple hook moves, but the placements had pretty solid pockets. Lots of fixed gear (pitons and copperheads). Spent my first night on a portaledge on top of pitch 8 (we rapped down the first night from the top of p4.)
Good times.
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bigwalling
Oct 5, 2004, 12:52 AM
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Registered: Dec 29, 2001
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Any wall is doable depending on how nuts you are. Hauling can be minorly confusing. Having a partner who has done stuff helps.
Motivation is key! If you want to bail, you likely will. Belays suck, you will think about the ground and the fun to be had, but when you start clean those thoughts leave till you belay again. It's kinda weird. On my first wall, I never even thought about bailing. All I wanted was to get up the wall. I thought about nothing but climbing the whole time.
I haven't done the routes reccomended, but I'll tell you I don't have much desire to do the SF. Prow looks cool, same with the LT. If you are concerned about actully getting up a wall, stick with those. If you know you are capeable of something big, get on El Cap. Lots of routes to choose from. I've only done Mescalito, which is nice and LONG. Zodiac is probably similar difficulty and much shorter. I guess if you have to ask about routes, I wouldn't do anything too serious, stick to the trade routes.
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holdplease2
Oct 7, 2004, 4:05 AM
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Registered: Dec 18, 2002
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The world of great first walls doesn't begin and end in Yosemite.
Zion has some routes, including Prodigal Sun, Moonlight Buttress, and Space Shot which are many folk's first walls. They are crowded, just like many of the Yosemite walls listed.
A common reason for not finishing your first wall is being "shut down" by crowds...getting off the ground a day late, getting "trapped" for an extra day on the wall.
I would recommend building an extra day or even two into your plan to avoid such things.
Also, if you don't have your heart set on a "Bivy" on the wall, select a Zion route and fix lines on the first four pitches, sleep on the ground, and climb your lines and top out the next day. This is referred to as "fix and fire" and is a good system for your first wall...if it is short enough. Eliminating the time/confusion of hauling will improve your chances for success.
Best of luck and enjoy! Remember to be nice to all the people who get in your way...this is hard to do sometimes during the stress of a wall, especially your first. :)
-Kate.
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guaraira
Oct 7, 2004, 10:53 PM
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Registered: Jun 4, 2004
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thanks for all guys....i hope to see you soon in some route...but now i would like to know what is the endurance of the rope in a big wall? and know if is true that the rope have a short life when you get up with jumars?
i heard that you donīt have use the rope after a long big wall, because the damage of the rope by the jumars is very serius. Do you usually use the same rope for climb another route or you buy a new rope? I ask you this because i think that the climbing is something serius, itīs not a game, and i wish to know more stuff about it before that iīm climbing in big walls.....thanks for all.
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holdplease2
Oct 7, 2004, 11:05 PM
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Registered: Dec 18, 2002
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If you use your jumars with good technique, especially when cleaning traversing pitches, you can be gentle on the rope. There are two ways that you can damage your rope when jugging:
Rough/Sharp Edges: When the leader leads, he/she must watch where the rope goes...remembering that the second will be weighting the rope and jugging, which can involve a little bouncing around, especially for new climbers. Does the rope run across an edge? If its sharp, it could damage the rope, or worst case scenario, it could be cut! You will want a rope protector which the leader can attach to the rope or a role of duct tape for coating rough/sharp edges of the rock. My vote is that the second removes this tape when cleaning the pitch.
Teeth on Jumar: Most (if not all) jumars have sharp teeth. But when jugging under normal circumstances, they don't damage the sheath noticably until many trips up the rope...several walls. HOWEVER, when cleaning pitches, taking the jumars off and on the rope, and sliding the rope backwards through the jumars, the teeth can catch on fibers on the sheath. Shockloading a jumar which is on the rope can actually tear the sheath creating a core shot. Not common, but not good. It would be possible, if one made a mistake and somehow took a big fall onto a Jumar, the rope could be cut...
Rope Selection: So, if you are careful to protect your rope when on lead, and your second has good technique, a rope can last for many walls. Most folks will use a rope of 10.5mm or bigger for their wall rope. Some ropes have double sheath or extra thick sheath with bigwalls in mind. Edge-rated ropes like the Mammut Supersafe are nice, too, though sharp edge rating has now been called into question.
Also, know what to do in the event that your rope develops a core-shot. Know how to isolate it and know how to self-belay on lead, because you cannot pull a knot through gear on the wall....figure this stuff out before you get on a big wall...or use a dynamic lead line and a dynamic haul line so you have a spare lead rope, just in case.
Run "what if" scenarios in your head.
-Kate.
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