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kerman
Jan 25, 2005, 4:55 PM
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iv always been really impressed by big wall climbers because, in short, they've got balls!! apart from if their women, then they've got...big...somethin... anyway i just want to see if any big wall climbers out there have any stories, tips, dreams, opinions or wotever you want to say.
thanks y'all!!
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caughtinside
Jan 25, 2005, 5:02 PM
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If you want to read some good stories, you should try a google search. There's lots of great trip reports on the web. Just try 'Trip report' and "el cap' or some other big wall as search terms and you'll come up with something. I think bigwall.net has some good TRs on there as well. have fun!
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lambone
Jan 25, 2005, 5:40 PM
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you'd get more of a respoinse in the Aid Climbing forum.
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texplorer
Jan 25, 2005, 5:44 PM
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Big walls are not all that. If you ever go to Yosemite you'll see some way out of shape guys getting up some big walls. Ultimately, most walls are about just keeping things organized, efficient and continuously moving. I suppose it does require some balls but unlike free climbing you can rest at any point. The hardest things about climbing walls is getting up day after day and climbing from sun up to sunset.
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kimgraves
Jan 25, 2005, 8:58 PM
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Lambone is right that you would get more answers if you posted this to the Aid forum. Maybe it will get moved.
Let me start by saying that I’m not a big wall climber – yet. So what I say is what I imagine is needed for big walls. I am a multi-pitch trad climber who’s learning aid in pursuit of big walls. Since you posted this to the Sport forum I assume that you’ll have to learn both trad and aid before you begin. Not to mention the rope work, the self rescue, all the gear knowledge, etc. Gathering and having the large and varied skill set needed for a grade V or VI wall is a big part of climbing big projects. Alpinism is not about having big balls or making hard moves (though neither hurts). It’s about putting all the pieces together and holding it all together for an extended period of time. Making consistently good decisions when your cold, scared, tired, hungry, thirsty, sleep deprived, wet, wind blown, sun burned, and everything hurts. It’s a lot of work. You have to haul the bags. It can be boring belaying for hours at a time. And everyone says it’s terrifying at one point or another.
So why would anyone do it (or in my case want to do it)? I have two reasons: One is to get to really radical places – to witness the vertical wilderness. The second is that I’m interested in doing larger and more serious projects. I can give you an example: I’m a furniture and cabinetmaker by profession. At times I make something that only takes a day for which I’m paid around $500. Other times I make something that can take months for which I’m paid $50,000. Both projects may take the same kind of technical woodworking skill. The quick project is quick and dirty and instant gratification. The long project is much more serious. If I make a mistake, I can loose a lot of money. The big project has many more parts/people/materials that I need to be responsible for. There are project management issues in the big project that don’t exist in the small. With the risks of a big project come big rewards, both in terms of money and in terms of satisfaction. My hope is that climbing big walls would be the same. You get one level of risk and one level of satisfaction climbing a three-pitch trad route and quite a different kind of risk/satisfaction climbing a 30-pitch Grade VI in Yosemite. Neither one is better or worse than the other in an absolute sense. But they are very different.
So don't just be impressed with big wall climbers because they have "big balls." Be impressed because they have a lot of skills, both technical and emotional. Be impressed because they are willing to try something that not many other people are.
But I’m just talking off the top of my head. You should really post this to the aid forum and ask people who’ve actually climbed big walls what the difference is for them.
Regards, Kim
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kerman
Jan 27, 2005, 1:16 PM
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why...whats aid climbing? (you can tell im a dumbass!!)
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