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numbnut
Feb 1, 2005, 12:24 AM
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Is there any such thing as a "moderate" grade VI free route. The only thing I can think of that comes close is the reg route on Half dome. But most don't free the zig-zags.
I'm talking about a 5.10 or mid 5.11 free route up a huge face. Is there such a thing? If there is I wish to climb it. Something that without a doubt would take the average human acouple of days to do.
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slavetogravity
Feb 1, 2005, 12:29 AM
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The first thing that comes to mind in the NE Ridge of Mt Selesse found outside of Chiliwack British Columbia. It’s one of the 50 Classic Climbs of North America. I did it a few years ago. We did the original Fred Becky variation that starts directly off the toe of the ride and it was done in about 28 pitches of class 5 climbing. Most being in the 5.7/5.8 range with a few 5.9's thrown in for good measure. Took us two days.
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bandycoot
Feb 1, 2005, 12:31 AM
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The two longest routes that I've done are Resolution Arete and Darkstar. These are both significantly taller/longer than RNWFHD. Darkstar has one pitch that contains ~30' of 5.10. Resolution Arete has two pitches of one move wonder 5.10a-c and one 7' 5.12ish roof that can be quickly aided. I don't think that most people spend the night on long moderate routes due to the suffering that ensues trying to haul. It is much better to just blast in a day. Is that what you are looking for? Or do you want to spend the night? You could bivy on either of those routes easily although it's just not fun bringing bivy gear/water/food on 3000' of climbing if it's not needed.
Josh
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numbnut
Feb 1, 2005, 12:32 AM
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Oh yeah I think I remember seeing that one in there. Thanks.
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numbnut
Feb 1, 2005, 12:35 AM
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Yeah but resolution arete and dark star are still grade V's. They go quick. I'm thinkin' that for something to be at a fairly reasonable free grade (up to mid 5.11 for me) it has got to be butt long to warrant a grade VI rating. Isn't the troll wall in Norway really big? Doesn't it host some mega 5.9 on it?
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slavetogravity
Feb 1, 2005, 12:37 AM
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The Beckey/Chouinard on the West Buttress of the South Howser Tower in the Bugaboos is also Fn’ huge. Often done in two days. But a strong party can knock it off in one. It’s free at 5.10.
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iamthewallress
Feb 1, 2005, 12:40 AM
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In reply to: Is there any such thing as a "moderate" grade VI free route. The only thing I can think of that comes close is the reg route on Half dome. But most don't free the zig-zags. I'm talking about a 5.10 or mid 5.11 free route up a huge face. Is there such a thing? If there is I wish to climb it. Something that without a doubt would take the average human acouple of days to do.
I cringe when people dismiss 5.10...in particular 5.10/Grade VI... as moderate, but 5.11 Grade VI's are not moderate. Not even for the superheros. Sponsored climbers still fix ropes on the RNWF and work the hell out of the crux pitches...which are rated 5.12... to revel in that free-shoe-worthy tick. Eating popcorn on the sofa is moderate.
But some 5.11 and under very long climbs that I can think of in Yosemite are...
Galactic Hitchhiker on Glacier Point Apron.
Maybe Royal Arches/Dakshina or RA/Crest Jewel Direct? Though technically two routes, you never stop climbing upward till you top out on the North Dome. It would be more like a long route with a wicked long 3rd class pitch.
Is the 5.11 West something route (Face/Butress...I get confused which is which) considered a Grade VI or V?
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numbnut
Feb 1, 2005, 12:57 AM
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The west face of el cap is a grade V. A burly V but a V nonetheless. The first response was along the l;ines of what I was thinking of. Also the Galactic hitchiker or whatever it's called is too. Some thing with maybe a couple tough pitches but tons of cruiser pitches too. Like a northwest buttress of higher Cathedral rock on top of The East Buttress of el cap with a couple of 5.11 pitches thrown in. How good would that be? That has to exist somewhere in the world.
Disclaimer: This thread is just me rambling bored after work wishing I was in the middle of such a climb. Thanks for your responses.
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poorboy
Feb 1, 2005, 1:02 AM
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If you put up with a "little bit" of aid you could potentially find more moderate grade VI (mostly) free climbs.
The Nose is 75% free at 5.11 I hear.
Similar deal with the Salathe.
Galactic Hitchhiker is 40 plus pitches 11b, you could bivy on that for sure.
Rainbow Wall is supposed to be mostly 5.11 with a bit of 12 (Grade V).
Tricks of the Trade is only supposed to have 60 feet of aid, and goes at Grade V, 10+.
Stetind in Norway has a large wall with a 50 pitch route, supposedly. http://www.summitpost.org/show/mountain_link.pl/mountain_id/3406
Troll Wall is supposed to be rotten and nasty. Isn't there a 5.11 route up the Hand of Fatima that's pretty big?
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iamthewallress
Feb 1, 2005, 1:28 AM
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Red Rocks cognoscenti...What is the longest link-up that you can do up to the Painted Bowl and then up to either the top of the Rainbow (Wall/Butress...again I get confused on which is which) or the Eagle Wall? Anything worthy of a VI?
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brent_e
Feb 1, 2005, 2:06 AM
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There is a great article in Alpinist 7 regarding the troll wall. It might be on their site, too. alpinist.com
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vegastradguy
Feb 1, 2005, 2:09 AM
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if you were fast, and i mean damn fast, you could link up Black Orpheus and Lev 29 with a bit of work. That'd go at something like 20 odd some pitches and .11ish. Be a hell of a day, though- I think you'd be 4th classing/rappelling for about 30mins or longer between the two. This is probably the longest linkup in the Painted Bowl/Eagle Wall area possible...there's a couple other big climbs back there like Mountain Beast and Dances with Beagles that may be a good backup plan if L29 is occupied.
another (possibly more likely) option is one i've been pondering, but havent done yet. It's the Burlesque/Northeast Arete linkup in Icebox. If you did Frigid Air Buttress instead of Burlesque, i think that would be even longer. While only 5.9+ at the crux, it would be one hell of a day, and the two climbs are separated by several hours of 4th classing and the odd 5.9OW pitch. other possibilities for this include possibly Unfinished Symphony instead of Frigid Air, which would take it up into the 5.11 range- although I'm not entirely sure you can do this one, because i dont know that Unfinished Symphony tops out in a place that you could get to where you needed to go to continue.
those are the only two i can think of right now, although there could well be others possible. anything that big in RR though would involve lots of scrambling and falls into the category of adventure climbing...
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wingnut
Feb 1, 2005, 2:17 PM
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Russian Route (VI 5.10 A4, 1100m, Koshelenko-Ruchkin and Baltica (VI 5.11- A3+, 1300m, Odintsov-Potanikin.
those are VI's.
VI takes 3 or more days to climb i think.
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vegastradguy
Feb 1, 2005, 3:09 PM
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grade VII takes 10 or more days.
grade VI takes anywhere from 2 to 5 days for the average person (basically any line on El Cap is a grade VI)
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dingus
Feb 1, 2005, 3:11 PM
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There is a super long moderate free climb somewhere on Baffin, don't remember the route or the formation, but it was in one of the rags a few years back. Grade V or VI middling 5.10 as I recall. That route seemed to fit your bill, though getting to the base may be a tad expensive...
some dudes were going for a bigger climb but bailed and did this one instead.
DMT
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rockprodigy
Feb 1, 2005, 3:14 PM
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I think you need to be thinking in the alpine arena. Canada has some huge faces that might be what you are looking for, but I'm not sure if they apply the Grade V/VI title to these routes.
The East Face of Mt. Babbel is a huge wall (see Mark Twight's selection in Fifty Favorites). I believe that is commonly done in a day, but it probably still warrants the Grade VI, and is all free at 5.11.
The Becky-Chouinard is definitely a Grade V. Successful parties do it in a day pretty easily, those who choose to bivy usually end up bailing because it is so rare to have two good days in a row in that area. There is a route on the same formation called "All Along the Watchtower" that Topher Donahue and Kennan Harvery freed at 11+ or 12-...it's pretty long, though I'm not sure it's a VI.
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yosemite
Feb 1, 2005, 4:00 PM
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If you don't mind adding a significant horizontal component, there are long traverses in the Sierras - Sawtooth, Palisade, Minaret, etc. rated as VI. I'm sure other ranges have similar. Is the big link up in the Tetons a VI?
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johnhenry
Feb 1, 2005, 4:21 PM
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Ray Jardine, and presumably Royal Robbins, rate the West Face of El Cap as a grade VI. It goes at 5.11. Here is one of the few pieces of info on it available on the web:
http://www.rayjardine.com/magazines/1979-mt69/westface.shtml
That looks like a beautiful line. Can anyone through in some more info?
Cheers,
john
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cologman
Feb 1, 2005, 4:34 PM
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Both Baffin and Greenland have long hard free routes earning the Grade VI moniker. Cirque of the Unclimbables in Cananda has long free routes any much new route potetial. Pakistan for the brave & adventurous, then of course you could head to Antarctica. They are around and I think most climbing in that arena would agree that grade VI - .10 or .11 is a bit more than :wink: moderate
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takeme
Feb 1, 2005, 5:07 PM
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The Black Canyon has at least a couple VI 5.11 free routes, on the Painted Wall. I don't know that anyone would call them moderate though. Long runouts, sketchy gear, loose rock, major route finding problems, etc. They do look quite spectacular from the base of the wall.
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mattm
Feb 1, 2005, 5:16 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: Is there any such thing as a "moderate" grade VI free route. The only thing I can think of that comes close is the reg route on Half dome. But most don't free the zig-zags. I'm talking about a 5.10 or mid 5.11 free route up a huge face. Is there such a thing? If there is I wish to climb it. Something that without a doubt would take the average human acouple of days to do. Galactic Hitchhiker on Glacier Point Apron. Maybe Royal Arches/Dakshina or RA/Crest Jewel Direct? Though technically two routes, you never stop climbing upward till you top out on the North Dome. It would be more like a long route with a wicked long 3rd class pitch.
Haven't done Galactic Yet but this came to mind for me as well.
The RA/ Crest Jewel Link up is a LONG day if you're fast. I did that right before they finished the Direct start (seriously, I think it was posted the day I got BACK from the valley - DOH - Guess I'll have to do it again. Darn) Anyway - RA to Crest Jewel isn't bad and a GREAT long day. I did it just shy of 10 hrs car to car.
I wonder if you can link My Favorite things that goes up clouds rest with anything? Someone done it? http://www.mindspring.com/~thharper/FTTopo.html
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rockprodigy
Feb 1, 2005, 7:34 PM
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In reply to: The Black Canyon has at least a couple VI 5.11 free routes, on the Painted Wall.
Grade 6, 5.11's??? I'll admit to not being super familiar with the Black, so what are they?
Grade 4's and 5's, yes, but I don't think there are any that go all free and are called 5.11.
PS, A pretty good long one I have done there is Stoned Oven, and that's a stretch to call it Grade 5.
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jsj42
Feb 1, 2005, 7:57 PM
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In reply to: if you were fast, and i mean damn fast, you could link up Black Orpheus and Lev 29 with a bit of work..
If I had to rate this I'd call it IV, MAYBE grade V.
How about doing a climb on the lower east face of Long's to a climb on the Diamond? You have lots of options to choose from, and it would be pretty convenient to stack two grade IV's or a grade IV and a grade V together with minimal scrambling on Broadway.
I had heard once that the Southern Arete in the Black was "the longest 5.10 in Colorado (at grade V)." Charles, I'm also curious what are the grade VI's in the Black?
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mattm
Feb 1, 2005, 8:19 PM
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More thought given to this - I think it's really hard to have moderate grade VIs. Since the grade is based on time on route more than length of route you're fighting a difficult battle - the easier it gets the faster you go and thusly the longer the route has to be to get the "VI" status. I think if you're looking for a long continuous route the recommendations of linking or more likely doing ridge traverses will get you the length you want. Croft's Evolution Traverse for example. If spending the night isn't really what you're looking for and cruising a REALLY long day is the goal - linkups are the best bang for your buck. Head to squamish and do Ultimate Everything, Borderline to Angels Crest and The Grand Wall for a full day at 11a max. Or up the ante and go Grand Wall , Millennium Falcon, Freeway for lots of 10 and 11 climbing.
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takeme
Feb 1, 2005, 8:29 PM
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Grade VIs in the Black: Stratosfear, VI 5.11+ X and the Serpent, VI 5.11+, merely R/X. As listed in BC Rock Climbs.
It's my understanding that Stratosfear is usually done in a day, so maybe it should be a V, but then again only highly skilled, fast teams do it at all. And, it has benighted very strong teams like Pennings/Jim Surrette (sp?), Jeff Achey/Mark Synnott, and others. Where's Alpinestylist, I think he's done it.
The Serpent, on the other hand, has only seen 2 or 3 ascents by very strong parties including the FA in 1999, and they all took 4 days (including portaledges!), so that seems like a pretty worthy candidate!
The Painted Wall is amazing...to look at.
Sorry for the spray about routes I'll never do.
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