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Pete's looking a bit crabby before drinking his first cup of coffee in the morning. Taken beneath the Pinnacle of Hammerdom on our ascent of Never Never Land on the Southwest Face of El Cap. |
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For years, I've been looking down on this teetering heap of boulders which is the Pinnacle of Hammerdom on the Southwest Face of El Cap. Little did I realize that when I finally reached it on our ascent of Never Never Land, that there would be a beauty bivi here, eh?
Pete at centre, Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab hanging down and left below the Crab-O-Ledge. |
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Sometimes one of the best selection criteria for a wall partner is how well he can haul, and this is often in direct proportion to his lard-assly-ness. Here Shawn [pirate] shows us the Better Way to operate a 2:1 Hauling Ratchet while hauling up to Timbuktu Towers during our ascent of Never Never Land on El Cap's Southwest Face.
Never for a moment would Dr. Piton imply, suggest or otherwise [HINT] that Shawn is a lard-ass, and the Doc sincerly apologizes if he has accidentally conveyed this message in any way whatsoever.
Incidentally, the 2:1 Hauling Ratchet will be the next Aid Climbing Tech Tip in Climbing Magazine. You can click here to read my most recent Tech Tip - Froggy Goes A'Juggin'. |
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Taken from the pullout, the sun sits low in the sky during late October.
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In the 2:1 Hauling Ratchet post and the 2:1 Aid Climbing [PTPP] post, there seems to be some, uh, "confusion" among the Big Wall Theorists about whether this thing really is 2:1.
Dr. Piton wishes to assure you that the preposterous myth is true.
Illustration by Mike! Clelland |
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The shagadelic valygrl demonstrates the Better Way to clean an aid pitch using a jug and a Grigri.
You can see she has passed the free end of the lead rope through a crab on the jug to create a 2:1 Body Hoist.
Please read her comments below. |
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Thomas is known to use some "earthy" language, and during his slide show in the Mountain Shop I was passed this note to give to him.
"Vhat does zis vord 'cussing' mean, Pete?" whispered Thomas, just loud enough to be heard through the microphone by the 300 people in attendance.
"Like, you're not supposed to use the F-word, eh?"
"Vell, zen," announces Thomas, "if you do not like ze language, you can take your beer, and drink it outside on ze deck!" Thunderous applause erupted.
You can click here to read about Thomas Huber's superb slide show!
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On Sunday June 15, 2003 during my solo ascent of Lost In America, I was sitting at the base of the sixth pitch. I was enjoying an extra pot of coffee after having sent the scary "obligatory 5.10" bit the day before.
Suddenly Alex and Thomas came flying up Zodiac! I've never seen people climb a wall so fast - those boys climbed two pitches in the time it took me to drink one cup! Here you see Thomas short-fixing at the top of the Black Tower while his brother Alex [not shown] hurriedly cleans the pitch.
The ascent you see here has become the El Cap Speed Record at 2:31:30, but Yuji and Hans came close in September on The Nose at 2:48:30. The Nose is perhaps twice as long as Zodiac! |
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No, "draught frog" isn't a new kind of beer.....
I was delighted when Mike! added Wee-Wee to Froggy's harness!
Man, we should write a book....
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It's our tenth morning on Excalibur, but we're in no rush - time for another cup of coffee. That's Lower Cathedral Rock beneath.
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Tom and I look pretty darn knackered after our fourteen-day ascent of Bermuda Dunes.
"It ain't over til it's over," but when we've made it to the parking lot and have beers in hand, it's over, mate!
Hillary's superb photo catches the moment perfectly.
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What a great day this was! Andria had just made her first trad lead of Hai Karate.
Never content to leave it at just that, Andria jumped onto the sharp end and led another pitch on the backside of the North Fin.
I captured this image just before sunset - gorgeous colours, eh?
It was a special day for us, but it's only now - after Andria is gone - that I realize just how special it really was. {sigh} |
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It was one of those days you might take for granted - perfect weather, perfect climbing, perfect partners.
Andria cruised this five-pitch route so easily, even though she had fewer than a half-dozen trad leads under her belt, a week later she went back and led the whole thing.
It's funny - how you'll never forget a special day you spent with a beloved friend who has died.
And this was one of those days. {sigh}
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I love this photo! The colours are superb. This was the day Andria made her first trad leads.
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Andria and I enjoyed a beautiful day at Rappel Rock, high on the Summit Crags of Mt. Lemmon.
I can't remember if we made it down in time to hit the pie shop.....
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I can't remember the name of this route - it started out with a 5.8 crack, and got progressively easier as we climbed higher.
I led the first pitch, and after an interlude at the first belay, she led the second pitch. The route was about four or five pitches high, and we simulclimbed the last few.
The rock was magnificently bumpy!
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You know, hard at work? Pete, Andria and Hillary at the Chocolate Iguana in Tucson, Arizona
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Just a pretty profile photo of my pretty friend Andria, the day she made her first trad lead on the North Fin of Mount Lemmon.
I love this photo because she is wearing her beloved Andria Suit, as we called it.
{sigh} I miss her..... |
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Ya just gotta treat your sherpas right!
Spike pours our morning coffee while Wee-Wee oversees from the rock underneath. The food bags are hung in the air to discourage pilfering by a certain blonde-haired bear.
[Note: While Dr. Piton is known to be fond of blondes, this bear does not happen to be one of them!]
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I really like the idea of a butterfly knot in the Catch Line to help you lift your stuff more easily.
You can sometimes clip your Catch Lines beneath your pig as shown to reduce clusterf*ckage while hauling on slabs. |
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This pitch was memorable, if only for its "sandbaggedness". It runs up the left side of the White Circle next to Zodiac.
The Continuous Loop begins at the lower station which is next to my Crab-O-Ledge which you can see beneath and at right.
The turquoise lead rope comes up through the rivet where it is rebelayed with a long prusik and then up to the slippery overhand chain knot just right of my right toe.
The long purple sling is a Sliding X beneath which another blue sling is attached, and into this blue sling goes the fifi on the Solo Tag Rack.
You can click here to see another shot of the backup slipknot, and you can click here to read a more comprehensive explanation of the system.
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Looking from the top down, the main anchor is the red cordalette, which goes to the Power Point Locker just left of the corner of the ledge. The ledge has been firmly fastened to the wall so it does not blow around and tangle stuff. The pigs are attached to the Power Point with two Docking Tethers, red at left and brownish-yellow at right.
From the Power Point, the turquoise lead rope goes straight up to the blue screamer, which is the first piece of pro I have placed. You can see how I've used a short red prusik loop of a unique size and colour to hold the lead rope in the correct orientation.
The lead rope goes from the blue screamer to my Grigri, and thence to the backup knot on my harness, neither of which are shown since like I'm taking the picture, eh?
From me, the turquoise lead rope returns in front of the left beige pig, and enters the Green Lead Rope Bag which is attached to the Solo Tag Rack.
The almost-end of the turquoise rope comes out the top of the green lead rope bag, and through the slippery overhand knot chain which is directly overtop of the knot protector I use to protect the fifi hook locker on the Solo Tag Rack. You can click here to see a better shot of the slippery overhand chain knot.
The Solo Tag Rack is all that stuff left of the green bag. You can see a thin rope coming out of the bag to the fifi, then back into the bag. That is my 10m-long Solo Tag Extension Rope. The things directly in front of the green bag are cordalettes on the Solo Tag Rack.
Not shown is the top of the Haul Line attached to the bottom of the Solo Tag Rack, which goes to the Blue Haul Line Bag which you can see beneath the green lead rope bag.
The bottom end of the haul line white rope that returns to the Power Point immediately left of the red Docking Tether, thus completing the Continuous Loop.
You can click here for an excellent photo of the Tag Rack at mid-pitch.
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NOTE: The Continuous Loop with Double Tagging is a solo aid-climbing technique that should be attempted by EXPERTS ONLY!
If you blow it, you could possibly die.
However if you do it right, it can make your life a lot easier. But it's not for everyone, that's for sure.
First of all, you should click here to Ask Dr. Piton ... about the Solo Tag Rack, which is the heart of the Continuous Loop.
After that, you can Ask Dr. Piton .... about the Continuous Loop Method.
[Thanks to Travis [tenndawg] for his help in making a few changes, additions and notations to the drawing, and to Tom [apollodorus] for making it readable.]
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When Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab takes to the big wall, he's stylin'! I mean, like any fool can be uncomfortable, eh?
Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab drawn by Elise
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One advantage to having six feet is that you can wear a shoe for most every style of climbing!
Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab drawn by Elise
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Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab comes out of free climbing retirement, and shows us how to sink a bomber hand jam. Er, uh, crab jam.....
Wee-Wee drawn by Elise
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Wee-Wee the Big Wall Crab demonstrates the proper technique for climbing finger cracks.
Wee-Wee drawn by Elise
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Chris Falkenstein rappelled six hundred feet to get this photo high on the Southeast Face of El Cap during my solo ascent of Native Son. This is the Golden Nipple pitch, and you can see my pigs docked behind me.
Beyond is the sweeping vertiginous concavity of the North America Wall.
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We walked up to the base of Old Baldy one pristine spring morning in 1982, and I spied this line begging to be climbed.
It was actually John Kaandorp's turn to lead, but he balked at it, fearing the pro to be a bit thin.
"I'll have a go," I said. Fortunately it took a few small wires, and I managed to make it.
I climbed this route the way I feel a route should be climbed - from the ground up, on-sight, clean, and with no falls or rests on the rope.
A classic.
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This photo was taken in December, 1979 when a bunch of us from M.U.C.C.C. - the McMaster University Caving and Climbing Club - discovered, explored and surveyed the cave.
Perhaps two cumecs of crystal-clear water flows out the entrance, and we explored by swimming upstream barely afloat on mouth-inflated inner tubes.
This is one of the finest caving photos I've ever taken, and was used on the front cover of Caving International Magazine #11.
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This is photo #5 of 5. You can click here to return to photo 1.
Cragchica tops out!
Afterwards I climbed another route nearby - sans etriers! - to take us to the summit. Then Andria and I rapped off the back, and she led us up a couple more.
What a great day!
And just look at Andria's smile! What a sweetie. I miss her. Lots. |
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This is photo #4 of 5. You can click here to return to photo 1.
After cruising through the crux, there is a little kicker at the end, in the form of this off-width. The fact that Andria had never climbed an off-width before didn't bother her too much.
In this photo, you can see that she is wearing her beloved Andria Suit. After Andria died, Hillary scarfed the outfit. Andria would have expected no less. I can't wait to see Hillary climb in it. No doubt it'll feel bittersweet. {sigh}
You can click here to move to the last photo in the series.
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This is photo #3 of 5. You can click here to return to photo #1.
I can only begin to tell you of the joy we shared this day!
Andria was totally jonesed - she was pumped! She sent the route in good style.
Right here was the moment she looked up at me and exclaimed, "I'm having so much fun!"
You can see the joy on her face as she climbs. I was her Wall Doctor, and I couldn't have been prouder.
You can click here to move to the next photo. |
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This is photo #2 of 5. You can click here to return to photo #1.
This day was particularly memorable for Andria and me. Here's what she had to say:
"Woo Hoo!!! I couldn't be more excited to be able to say that this was my very first gear lead. It was one of the best climbing experiences of my life! It was a perfect first lead. There were plenty of options for placements,but the climbing was not too easy that it was even remotely dull. The views are stunning!"
You can click here to move to the next photo in the series. |
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This is photo #1 of 5.
Andria takes the sharp end for this, her First Trad Lead.
The route is Hai Karate on North Fin of Mt. Lemmon. You can see that she's leading on double 9's, the Better Way of trad climbing.
As Tree Hoser belays, her Wall Doctor dangles from his jugs on a fixed rope and checks that her placements are good. I was like taking pictures too, eh?
If you're wondering why this photo is a little on the small side, I have used it as part of a series of photos that is found in this post which honours the life of Andria Ligas. You can find more photos on pages 4, 6, 8 and 10 of this post.
Please click here to move to the next photo in the series. |
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The Carpenter-Swago Cave System is one of West Virginia's finest. The Swago entrance follows the stream down a series of waterfalls to the master cave beneath.
The Carpenter Pit entrance is 150' deep, and slightly offset.
We've got five thirty-foot cable ladders coiled and ready for action. I sometimes prefer cable ladders for shorter pitches, but nowadays I would probably just SRT it.
The big hunk of Bluewater over Grog's shoulder is for belaying the top bit. I see there's a pulley there so we can belay from the bottom, too. I've got a coil of Goldline over my shoulder. Check out the carbide lamps on our construction helmets. I've got a proper helmet these days, but I still love my carbide! A nice cheery warm flame.
The photo was taken on August 2, 1980.
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Do you ever "Rob Large it?"
I used to, but not any more. You can click here to understand what I mean by 'Rob Large-ing it.'
Check out the blue jeans, knotted slings [sewn ones didn't exist!] and the hex.
You can just see the orange toe of my Galibier Contacts, the hardest rubber you could find. In these days before retreads, when the toes wore out, I put my shoes on the opposite feet!
This photo was taken twenty-three years ago in 1980, but looks like it could have been taken yesterday. See all the chalk on my hands?? Me neither. I was part of the Clean Hands Gang.
My caving mentor Chas Yonge led the pitch. It's still a bold lead. My other caving mentor Tom Miller told me that I was now a better climber than him, at least above ground. |
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I believe this photo was taken by Bobby Starke when he and Micah made their one-day ascent of Zodiac.
As they were blasting up, I was enjoying another pot of coffee one pitch below the Nine O'Clock Roof, which is on the left side of the White Circle.
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I caught this monster 31 pound northern pike in 1998 up on Lake Athabasca in northern Saskatchewan with Lakers Unlimited.
At the time it was the Lodge Record.
The guide promised me, "the record will never stand. We'll break it next year for sure!"
As of the end of 2002 it still stands! You can click here to read about their latest season - close, but no cigar!
In 1998, my dad and I caught twelve northerns 20 pounds or more, including a 27 and 28. In 1997, we caught eight lake trout between 25 and 30 pounds. All these trophy fish, including this one, were live released, though we kept a few small ones for shore lunches each day.
This may be the best lake trout and northern fishing in the world! |
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This is photo #21 in a series of 32. You can click here
to
return
to Photo #1.
This thing had me a bit worried. It said A4 expando on the topo. When
I got up to it, it was a fairly normal-looking though awkward flake. Was
it A1, or was it A4?
[It's all A1 until you fall. - Tom]
There are two ways to look at an expanding flake - you can look from
below, or you can look from above. Believe me, it always looks
better from above!
It might look innocent enough in this photo - check out the cams and
the ground six- or seven-hundred feet beneath - but this bastard still packs
a punch, as you are about to read.
You can click here to
watch
me lead another A4 pitch through Tom's camera.
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This is photo #20 in a series of 32. You can click here
to
return
to Photo #1.
Ha! I must have been scared. Check out the doubled Scream-Aids above
the Screamer near the top. A superb photo of our sub-loads
on their multi-coloured Catch Lines, and hanging beneath
everything else, our fragrant Wall Flower.
After Tom finished cleaning P4, I fixed half of P5 and equalized a bunch
of rivets, then rapped off and returned to Cape Wild Bivi. Our
accommodations for the night consisted of nothing more than four manky
quarter-inchers in a horizontal array [the topo showed five - sheesh]
- so it felt good to have the belay backed up to the rivets above.
The next morning, I tried some crazy Rubber Band Man pendulums across
and towards Aurora in an effort to score the booty. With each subsequent
swing, Tom would whip me farther across the wall in giant forty-foot arcs
over five-hundred feet off the deck! After I caromed and bounced off
porta-ledges, pigs, and sub-loads, got tangled in the Wall Flower, and spun
round like a top until I felt sick, I finally succumbed to the futility of
my actions, and escaped the vertiginous exposure to collapse exhausted in
my ledge.
[But not before wearing a core shot into the sheath of my 3-month old 11mm
x 60m Mammut Flex lead rope. - Tom]
Nothing to do but climb the A4 expanding Poison Pill, and try to swing
over from higher.
Now, you may be wondering what an expanding flake actually looks like. Believe
me, it looks better once you're past it then when you're actually
climbing it.
You can click here to
see
it from the friendly side.
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This is photo #18 in a series of 32. You can click here
to
return
to Photo #1.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I arrived here at Cape Wild Bivi,
the top of 5 on Scorched Earth. Over to my right, the pitch on Aurora was
festooned with gear! [Great word, that...] Evidently it had been left
behind by a retreating party which had to down-aid the pitch. This could
prove to be one of the most booty-licious coups of all time!
If only I could get there......
[Pete's eyes aren't as good as mine, especially without my 300mm lens. All
he could see was a bunch of Booty. When I came up and used my camera as a
telescope, he couldn't believe it as I called out what I saw: two Yellow
Aliens, two Purple #4 Camalots, a few smaller cams, some stoppers,
biners, lockers, slings and even a pair of aiders. Basically, it was a complete
trad rack! - Tom]
But with all that booty just waiting to be plundered -
ARRRR, may-tee! - I knew that I just had to find a
way!
Anyway, enough with the drooling - it's time to
get
to work and haul those pigs!
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This is photo #16 in a series of 32. You can click here
to
return
to Photo #1.
Ha! I actually remember this move! I had to hook that little edge
I'm leaning towards, and then make this wicked topstep to stuff a
cam into the roof! Long reach, you say? No problem with my
Russian
Aiders!
Cool shadow, cool body position. Please click here to
check
out the view from Tom's ledge.
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This is photo #15 in a series of 32. You can click here
to
return
to Photo #1.
This photo is absolutely remarkable, in that it was taken from El
Cap Meadows! You know William had to be so far away because of the angle
of the shot.
You can see the cordalettes equalizing all the cams I stuffed into
the crack above us [no bolts!], the green and purple rope bags, the white
handkerchief protecting the back of Tom's neck from the sun, the Blue Whale,
the fruit bucket. Hell, you can even see the Hoser Flag on Wee-Wee's
hat!
Please click here for
another
great shot by William.
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