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stewbabby
May 7, 2002, 8:10 PM
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well as you could guess being from alabama i dont see a lot of ice. but i was talking to a guy at a local crag the other day that is from austria. he was telling me that in europe the new trend is leashless ice climbing. i was wondering if this trend is catching on yet in the states. i know i have never seen anyone tool without them and i never would. i guess it would kinda be like soloing. what do you guys think? have youm do you , would you, does your mom, ice climb without leashes?
stew
[ This Message was edited by: stewbabby on 2002-05-07 13:11 ]
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dustinap
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May 7, 2002, 8:23 PM
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I don't ice climb as a note, but wouldn't leashless mean that there is no "keeper" on the ice axe?
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stewbabby
May 7, 2002, 8:26 PM
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exactly, im sorry i didnt clarify.
[ This Message was edited by: stewbabby on 2002-05-07 13:27 ]
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sauron
May 7, 2002, 8:42 PM
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I guess the extra thrill comes from the possibillity of dropping your gear on others..
Or of you falling cuz the leash doesn't catch on your wrist as you're falling
Either way, you drop something.
- d.
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findaway
May 7, 2002, 9:07 PM
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As I understand it the only thing a leash does is catch your axe if you drop it. Could be wrong so correct me if I am. If I am right then leashless climbing doesn't make sense to me. It shouldn't produce any new thrill because your doing the exact same thing, and the removal of gear, seemingly making the climb more pure, is minimal. As I see it ice climbing without a leash only increases the likliehood of bad things happening, dropping the tool thus injuring those below you, or if you drop your tool you blow that attempt at the route. If someone could post the advantages of leashless climbing it might shed some light, but right now I think of it as night repelling without tying knots in the rope ends, a pointless increase of risk.
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compclimber
May 7, 2002, 9:16 PM
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Leashes not only hold the ice axe to your hand, they also "grip" down on your wrists... so you kind of hang off your wrist not just your grip on the axe. Thus, climbing leashless is a lot harder because you're holding your entire body weight with your grip on the axe.
And yes, leashless is catching on in the states. And even more so in Canada around Canmore... this can be attributed to the likes of Sean Issac, Will Gad, Raphael Slawinski, and many others.
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wigglestick
May 7, 2002, 9:21 PM
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compclimber has it right as far as I know. The leashless movement is catching on here in the states. Mixed climbing is where it seems to be most prevalent. Many new testpieces are being put up leashless.
I read somewhere that at a recent trend among some of the euros is to wear velcro covered suits and have their ice tools wrapped in velcro so when they needed a free hand to place pro or whatever they would just stick the axe to their body.
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beyond_gravity
May 7, 2002, 10:33 PM
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Leashes are not ment primarly so you dont drop your tools, leashs are an asset on overhanging ice, or ice pillars! I normally Ice climb M5, and WI5...Leashless I climb M3 WI4. It's very hard! On steep terrain you hang off your leashes. Climbing without leshes is not so bad untill you have to place a screw! it's like trying to place a screw when your on your front points, very tiring. I'm in Calgary just outside canmore and There was alot of leashless climbing going on at the ice festival. There are also leashless tools made just for dry tooling and pre drilled ice. These tools are used mainly for comp climbing tho.
Rock On,
Jeremy
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kman
May 8, 2002, 7:49 AM
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I think i'll keep my leashes.
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bradhill
May 10, 2002, 6:47 PM
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Leashless climbing is for comps and testpieces - "sport" ice and mixed climbing - where the challenge is mostly raw strength to go from placement to placement and the routes tend to be shorter and single pitch. Being able to hang on your leashes and transfer weight to your skeletal system is important on longer pure-ice routes where endurance matters, and dropping a tool from above the first pitch sucks for you and anybody following.
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beyond_gravity
May 11, 2002, 12:11 AM
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Some people tie a string to there aze with alot of slack, so if they drop the took, it doesnt go by by but they never hang off it.
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graniteboy
May 11, 2002, 1:38 AM
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Leashless is cute on short routes. It's a game, like skiing the steeps on XC touring skiis instead of tele gear. I'm not heading up any Alaska monsters without them though. A dropped tool on a big route means you're dead. And they tell me that's not any fun.
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