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Alphaboth
Feb 15, 2010, 6:34 PM
Post #1 of 12
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Registered: Apr 2, 2008
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How do you know when your ready to give el cap a shot?
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csproul
Feb 15, 2010, 7:30 PM
Post #2 of 12
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Registered: Jun 4, 2004
Posts: 1769
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When you don't have to ask!
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coastal_climber
Feb 15, 2010, 8:06 PM
Post #3 of 12
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Registered: Nov 17, 2006
Posts: 2542
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csproul wrote: When you don't have to ask!
That pretty much sums it up....
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johnwesely
Feb 15, 2010, 8:12 PM
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Registered: Jun 13, 2006
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How do you know when to make a confusing thread title?
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coastal_climber
Feb 15, 2010, 8:14 PM
Post #5 of 12
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Registered: Nov 17, 2006
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johnwesely wrote: How do you know when to make a confusing thread title?
When your alphaboth?
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johnwesely
Feb 15, 2010, 8:34 PM
Post #6 of 12
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Registered: Jun 13, 2006
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coastal_climber wrote: johnwesely wrote: How do you know when to make a confusing thread title? When your alphaboth?
But he wasn't always alphaboth.
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swoopee
Feb 16, 2010, 3:38 PM
Post #7 of 12
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Registered: Nov 17, 2008
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I can climb 5.5 in the gym, so El Cap should be easy. I think I'll go climb it next week. 
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mrtristan
Feb 16, 2010, 5:27 PM
Post #8 of 12
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Registered: Jun 21, 2002
Posts: 596
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When you're a very experienced trad climber, when you know how to place gear, when you've done a ton of multi pitch stuff, when you're not scared, when you know you won't get yourself, your partner, or anyone else hurt or killed, when you've done smaller walls, realized that you can stomach slowly creeping up a massive wall, when you know what to do if something goes wrong, when you have lots of gear, when you don' t have to ask, when you've just gone through some sort of trauma in your life, when you just get laid off and happen to have some extra time, when you've just inherited a bunch of money and are willing to pay some Camp 4 dirtbag 50 bucks to haul you up, when you've got a really nice camera so you can take wicked awesome pics of the first three pitches (before you bail, that is), and when you've got a good weather forecast, when you've got more balls than brains.
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euroford
Feb 16, 2010, 6:07 PM
Post #9 of 12
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Registered: Aug 26, 2002
Posts: 2913
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really a worthwhile topic, and one worth some contemplation.
so really "when am i ready to actually try a wall?"
you'll need to have some fundamentals in order obviously. leading, jugging, hauling, BAILING...
unless you plan to solo, you'll need to have a solid partner worked out.
you'll need to have the requisite gear. its allot of crap, so either a bunch of money or some serious creativity will be in order.
you'll have a lot of logistics to get in order, from wall stuff like eating sleeping and pooping, to travel stuff and info on approaches and routes and topos.
the hard part will be getting stoked, and having a stoked partner. way in advance to take care of the logistics and practice, and in the moment to haul the pigs to the base and actually sack up to leave the ground.
then you got nothing else to do but go for it.
somewhere between the drunken idea that you should climb a wall, and the top of said wall, you might bail. if so, it wasn't your time, for some reason you weren't ready. it may not be your fault, the weather, or your partner, or your POS car could go wrong, that stuff happens. you'll have to get back on the horse and try again, or not.
if no bailage occurs, and after some toil you find yourself on top of something, well by golly i guess you really were ready.
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graniteboy
Feb 17, 2010, 12:29 AM
Post #10 of 12
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Registered: Dec 1, 2001
Posts: 1092
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This topic has been discussed to death repeatedly in here. Go over to supertopo and look at Macnamara's training tick list for becoming a big kid wall climber.
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guangzhou
Feb 24, 2010, 2:21 AM
Post #12 of 12
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Registered: Sep 27, 2004
Posts: 3389
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The choice is your really. If you want to climb it and think you can, go for it. Feeling a bit intimidated by the wall is a good thing and normal.
Some people can be ready after one year of climbing, even without multi-pitch experience. Other can take 20 years and not be ready.
If you can lead 5.8/5.9 on gear consistently, the rest of the skills are easy to learn. Hauling is hard work, but after you haul a few pitches and read a couple books/articles on how to make it more efficient, you'll be fine. As you go up, you improve your technique.
Jumaring is hard, just need to find your flow. A few pitched into the route, you'll have it down.
A route like the Nose on Elcap is more about desire and mental stamina.
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