Of this special signed and numbered limited first edition of Himmelsleiter
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This is number
By
Arthur Vyn Boennighausen
Solo Alpinism is considered the most dangerous discipline in the world. Use of this book under the guidance of a master of the discipline is essential to your safety and survival. Use of this book alone to self teach yourself this discipline is not advocated by the author.
Copyright (c) 1994 by Arthur Vyn Boennighausen
All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form except as provided by the U.S. Copyright Law. Exerpts may be used, with a clear, same-page, credit of the author and source.
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The Internet Knowledge Base
Foreward
Over the course of fifteen years I have developed a form of solo climbing which is in actuality a physical, mental and spiritual discipline. So that what I have discovered will not be lost I am recording what I know at this point in time, along with my vision of the future. Some of you who read this book will never go where I have gone, some will already be there and will nod their heads with understanding and others will read the words and smile for they have gone beyond me. Somewhere in the desert is a pictograph from the Anazazi Indians that looks like a person waving to you. The pictograph is over 1000 years old and is known as the "Howdy Man" as it looks like someone tried to wave "howdy!" to the people in the future. You might say that this book is my "Howdy Man". (See Plate I)
The various disciplines available to us evolved slowly over time. Most are the accumulation of a lifetime of study by an individual, this knowledge is passed on to others who build upon it and advance a few more steps toward whatever goal they have envisioned. The pedagogy of this book will attempt to give you a "feel" for Himmelsleiter along with specific skills and training regimes. I have liberally sprinkled the book with quotes which I have discovered over the years that I feel embody the spirit of Himmelsleiter. On the back cover is the quote I feel is the "Heart" of this discipline.
Thanks for being here!
Arthur Vyn Boennighausen
Mentoring
Let us consider what Himmelsleiter means. Himmelsleiter is a German word which translates into "Heavens Ladder". Mountains are considered ladders to Heaven for several reasons. First because they reach up into the sky toward Heaven, secondly because of the danger of some of the routes to the summit, these ladders can result in sudden death for the Soloist and therefore are a means of reaching Heaven. Lastly the struggles toward the summit can bring the Soloist to a philosophical Heaven that is available while still living on the Earth. On the North Face of Capitol Peak near Aspen, Colorado is a thirty-one pitch route that I climbed over ten years ago. I named the route Himmelsleiter and consider it one of the major steps on the path which I am now following.
Supposedly when Royal Robbins was asked why we climb he stated "We are searching for God". In a non-religious sense, God can refer to Wisdom and Knowledge in general.
The Yang style of the Tai-Chi Chinese Kung-fu system seems to provide similar mental and physical skills to that of solo climbing. I have been performing the solo Tai-Chi form at sunrise and sunset for as long as I have been climbing. My advancement in both disciplines has remained in parallel. Let us talk about Tai-chi for a moment. Remember Knowledge builds on previous Knowledge; Tai-Chi has been around for about 2000 years now. Tai-Chi translates into "supreme inner strength". Supreme inner strength is certainly what you will need during the course of some of the climbs you may choose to attempt. By slowly moving through the 106 individual positions which compromise the dance-like Tai-chi form you gradually change the nervous system and mind. After a time the very way you think begins to change. Your senses become keener, more sensitive to things that are always there but you are not aware of because your senses are too coarse. Tai-Chi is also the prelude to interpreting the book of divination known as the I-Ching.
I believe that the climbing routes put up by those that came before us are like the Tai-Chi form. The unyielding nature of the stone forces our physical body and mind to conform to the rock. A good climber looks like water moving up the cliff, flowing without pause from move to move. The Kung-fu forms are literally that, a form, just as a mold forms metal, and forms are used to shape concrete. Unlike metal and concrete the forms of Kung-fu and Alpinism create a flexible shape. As you can recognize water even though it has many forms, so also can you recognize the Alpinist by certain characteristics. The way the Alpinist thinks has been changed. His senses are keener, more sensitive; he thinks not so much logically as intuitively........life is not so much a plan as a series of moves toward his goal.
In the classical translation from the German of Eugene Herrigel's book, "Zen in the Art of Archery", Herrigel's Zen master comments on the different martial arts being like lightning bolts going in different directions out of the same cloud. I also believe that different forms evolve influenced by the same source. That the Kung-Fu disciplines and climbing disciplines are in fact; lighting bolts from the same cloud.
"From the dust we were made, and from the Rock
came the dust, and whence came the Rock we know as God"
- Chip Salun
So from some common source comes the inspiration that manifests itself as a form.
Since you don't get much slack from the stone when actually soloing I recommend that you prepare yourself mentally and physically for the climbs through training. The training involved is so extensive for solo climbing that you have to make it more of a lifestyle than a part of a conventional life. If you want to get good at solo climbing I am afraid you are going to have to sacrifice a few things to get enough time to climb or prepare for climbing. You must live in one of the mountain ranges. Training in a gym and going on vacation for a couple of weeks a year is not enough. This is a lifestyle as much as anything; not a hobby! I train for some amount of time seven days a week. Each day I choose whatever feels good for me from a limited selection of choices.
Long days hiking at altitude in the mountains is a staple for me since I live two miles from Rocky Mountain National Park's 14,256' high point, Longs Peak. One of the greatest Alpine Walls in North America, the Diamond on its East face is visible from my front porch. Inspired by the Alpine scenery while drinking a hot mug of tea in the morning, I often take off for a long day hiking with a light pack. You can combine hiking with the accent of a glacier to make things more interesting. Running on all fours up a steep glacier with a ice tool in each hand combined with a fast slide back down adds some fun to a normal hike. Let the scenery draw you along. Pick some aesthetic point and let your mind draw your body forward.
"We never tire of each other, the Mountain and I"
- Lao Tsu
I like self belayed top-roping for strength and technique development. The best is easy terrain next to severe rock climbs. Scramble or climb up the easy terrain one rope length and move over the first pitch of a difficult climb. Set some anchors, tie the rope in to them, let the rope down to the ground, then rappel the rope to the ground. I use a Soloist self-belay device from Rock Exotica to protect myself at this point. The Soloist allows movement up the rope, but in the case of a fall a cam grabs the rope and holds you sitting in your harness. (See Plate II)
You can substitute two Jumar ascenders or two prussic knots for the self-belay device but eventually you will need to buy a Soloist to rope solo climbs anyway, so you might as well get used to handling one.
Have you ever heard of Half Dome days? This expression refers to simulating climbing a route on Half Dome (the Regular Northwest Face) in Yosemite Valley without getting more than a rope length from the ground. Climb up to your anchors, then down climb to the ground (two simulated pitches). If you are doing a Half Dome day, twenty-two simulated pitches at the YDS 5.9 level will be enough. After a few pitches a hypnogogic state will be introduced. Use the state to refine your perceptions. After a while the small holds will appear larger. This is your mind changing its perception of the world. If Half Dome days are not enough of a challenge then how about a thirty-five pitch El Capitan day! (See Plate III & IV)
I was climbing last summer with a "pick up in the parking lot partner". It had been a long time since I had climbed with another person. As we ascended a twelve pitch 5.9 route in the Park, my partner kept looking at the topographic map of the route. Unable to make sense of the poorly drawn topographic map, I suggested he simply look at the rock and pick the path that seemed right. My partner revealed that he could not see any way to go that was different than any other. I commented, that it was obvious, could he not see the holds. He admitted he could not, yet to me it looked like a set of stairs. I reflected at that point on the heightened perceptions gained from following this discipline. My partner with only two years of occasional climbing under his belt had not yet developed the senses of sight, feel and intuition that allowed me to perceive what was always there.
Since you are climbing the same pitch over and over, use your imagination to keep things interesting. For a while move up and down the pitch using the holds that require the most strength. You can introduce more strain by using some old technology smooth soled climbing shoes. By old technology I mean rubber compounds that have a low coefficient of friction. I use a 10 year old pair of EB's (remember those?) that force you to use your hands and arms more. Remember those Stealth rubber compounds are supposed to reduce a moves difficulty by two decimal grades (5.9 becomes 5.7). I also sometimes use my Kolflach Ultra Extreme plastic mountaineering boots for these exercises. Training with Kolflach's plastic boot will get you used to moving over vertical terrain with a Vibram soled shoe. On Alpine terrain where you have mixed ice, snow and rock to negotiate along with an approach that may be over snow you will have to get used to these type of shoes anyway. Training with a rucksack on is a similar option. If you want, add some sand in a plastic trash bag to give it some weight or even better, have the same gear in the rucksack as you would on a proposed climb.
Then climb for a while trying to use almost no strength at all. Clever use of your feet helps in this, but remember to imagine yourself as water flowing up the cliff. Conform your shape to the shape of the rock. Move into unusual positions, turn to the other side, switch your feet on the hold. If you are holding on too hard you are not in the right position or you have attempted to stop in between natural resting places. When you get to a resting place, try several different positions in quick succession. One of the positions will be the easiest to stay in. Do not stay in one place any longer than necessary. Moving uses a variety of muscles. Staying in one place has you using a limited number of muscle groups that become exhausted and collapse on you.
Training with a overhead self belay allows you to push yourself beyond the limits of your physical body in a completely safe situation. Only when your muscles collapse and your mind tells your body to keep going do you start to tap into the intrinsic energy sometimes called "Chi" that gives you your real power. When the power of "Chi" reveals itself, you will feel lighter both mentally and physically. You will actually feel as if it is easier to hold on, that you are not trying so hard any more yet you are making your way up the face. (See Plate V)
I met a lady named Phyllis in the Sonoran desert of Arizona one year in the Harlaquallala Valley near Eagle Tail peak. I was living in a small self contained travel trailer while a member of the engineering team which was designing and constructing the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. With three 1100 megawatt nuclear generators even though it was 130 degrees farenheit outside the engineers always joked that at least we were cool in our offices. After all, we had designed ourselves a nuclear powered air conditioning system! I had decided to save money by living alone rather than commute to Phoenix which was seventy hot miles away. Also I had a number of Edward Abbey's books with me including his classic, "Desert Solitaire" and I enjoyed the thought of living for a while like Abbey did, alone in a trailer out in the desert. Phyllis was jogging down a dirt road that headed toward my trailer. With one hand she was rolling a tire mounted on a wheel. (Phyllis was making her way back to her car which had a flat, with the spare tire from a gas station about 10 miles away). She claimed she was out in the desert doing some field work that was part of the independent research she was doing for Arizona State University. As I drove her and the tire to her car we chatted about her research. Phyllis believed that altered states of consciousness which began as hypnogogic states could resurrect dormant abilities of the mind. She believed that those people who pursued the climbing disciplines were able to partially levitate their bodies. I also believe this is possible.
"Each one of us constantly sought to do anything which, in some small detail, by one little bit of help, could relieve his companions, both physically and morally. That is the spirit of the rope-team!"
- Gaston Rebuffat
The desire to live is so strong in some of us that by exposing yourself to a severe fall your mind is forced to find a way to keep the body alive. I believe that after a time abilities surface beyond physical strength and beyond "Chi" . John Gill in his book "Master of Rock" is the only other person I have read of who mentions this possibility. If we could somehow measure our weight continuously during the course of a climb would we see transitory weight decreases due to levitation? I'm not sure but it is interesting to consider.
Mountain biking is good for the cardio vascular system and major muscle groups of the legs. Riding in the mountains at altitude will help give you those "Legs of Steel" that allow you to step lightly even at the end of a long day (See Plate VI). I like to bike the high altitude gravel roads that cross over the Continental Divide. A lot of these roads can be biked ten to fifteen miles uphill to the Divide at the 12,000' level, where you can don windproof outer shells and enjoy the coast back.
Nordic skiing not only is a good cardio vascular workout but if you scrimp on the kick waxes a little you can really work the arm and shoulder muscles. The cold air helps raise the metabolic rate in combination with the exercise. Many approaches and descents have to be made on skis in the colder months or if the area is glaciated so developing your skills on skis is important to your overall development.
Reinholt Messner in his book, "The Seventh Grade" talks of three levels of endurance. The first level of endurance is to keep going for one day with little food or water. The second level is to be able to keep going for two days with no food and little water. The third level is to be able to keep going for three days with no food or water. I also seem to remember that Messner mentions running with bare hands holding a ball of snow in each hand to condition the hands to stay warm. Gloves in many situations are too clumsy to climb with. Even the thinnest gloves seem to come between you and the rock. Your mind can change the flesh of the hands to provide better circulation, which will keep the hands warm.
Do not get into a habit of falling when roped climbing with a partner. I believe this develops a dangerous habit when moving into roped or free soloing. Climbers who advocate falling frequently when roped as a means to push their limits are opening themselves up for disaster when soloing. Get used to never falling right now so that it is engrained in you. This includes lap climbing with an overhead belay. During this situation you are strengthening your body and teaching your mind what the body can do when it is not afraid of injury. When leading I have often found that I could not move over a particular section of rock merely because my mind was too tense, too tense because I was afraid of the situation.
"Beyond here there be dragons!"
- Notation found on old maps
Years ago Kevin Donald who was then the Director of the International Alpine School in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado told a group of us who were participating in one of his climbing camps that you need to make friends with the rock. One way to get in harmony with the stone is to believe it is alive and begin to develop a close personal relationship with it as you would a human being or animal. Kevin Donald's philosophy on making friends with the rock was based to some extent on watching novice climbers struggle to make moves on the rock with a constant expression of fear and apprehension on our faces. On the surface, by getting us in the mind set of trying to make friends with the rock Kevin was trying to get us to relax a little. But at a deeper level which was beyond us at the time, maybe Kevin was telling us that in the years to come that the stone would substitute for human friendship. Kevin was a big believer in physical fitness and always had us running up and down the trails of Flagstaff mountain immediately west of Boulder, Colorado getting in shape. Flagstaff mountain also has a plethora of boulder problems consisting of individual outcrops of conglomerate type rocks up to eighty feet in height. We would spend hours attempting to do problems such as the strenuous Monkey Traverse which goes sideways about fifty feet but required you to be no more than five feet from the ground.
One day I was walking past the Monkey Traverse and stopped to watch two men. Each in their middle sixties, they were quietly going back and forth across this cliff while discussing the Rubyatt of Omar Kayam! What struck me was, here I was in my late twenties and had been recently taking great pride in my ability to make it across the traverse once without falling. Here were two old professor types making it look easy while discussing obscure points of literature! I certainly aspire to keep as fit as those gentlemen when I reach my Autumn years.
The first person I ever saw roped soloing was Bill Todd who was spending the summer climbing in Rocky Mountain National Park. Bill would often talk to the rock as if it were alive; asking the rock to show him the holds, to let him live if he was afraid. When I would see Bill coming down from a climb I would ask him about the climb. At that time I was interested in the number of pitches, the difficulty and mostly did Bill think I was capable of doing the climb. In answer to my questions Bill would get a gleam in his eyes, grin widely and look somewhere in his own head for an answer to my questions. Usually his only reply would be...."Arthur, there are some great things up there... You should go see them!" This answer would frustrate me to no end as I never could get Bill to give me the answer I wanted. Now it is a little clearer why Bill chose this response. He did not care about the difficulty or the number of pitches. He was still in a dream like, mystical, altered state of consciousness for a while after the climb, in fact he was still on the climb for a while after getting down. When Bill was on the cliff he was with his friend, the mountain, for the day .
There is a lot of talk about mirrors nowadays; psychological mirrors. Other people are supposedly your mirrors most of the time. But what if you were not around other people most of the time. What if your mirror was a cliff of stone thousands of feet high. As you moved up the cliff you would see your psychological reflection in the stone. Let's think about that for a few moments. The stone is very hard, it has no feeling, it offers itself as it is, it will not change for you, it is you who must change and adapt to the stone in order to get along with it.
".........Yet, I swear I see my reflection somewhere so high above this wall"
- Bob Dylan
Bill Todd was one of the smartest guys I ever met in some respects. He used to regularly beat a good computer chess game to while away the time between climbs. If you played chess on a real board, you could feel free to knock the pieces to the floor at any time; Bill would simply pick them up and put the pieces in their correct places. If you ever asked Bill to show you how to tie a particular knot for instance, he would reveal the knot in the palm of his hand for but an instance. That mere glance at the knot was enough for Bill as far an explanation, once you had glanced at the solution, how could you forget it! These were just a few signs of eidetic memory. But between climbs he withdrew into his own world and would not communicate with other people. Only on a climb would his mind be coaxed from wherever it was. Discussions from days before on another climb would be continued. I believe that Bill's focus on a climb was so intense that it could not be broken even after we were down on the ground.
"The flame of Layton's energy burned bright"
- Jim McCarthy
I will now take you through the mechanics of roped soloing a multi-pitch climb using a Soloist self belay device. There are substitutes for the Soloist (Prussic knots, Jumar ascenders, figure eight knots on a bight, Gibbs ascenders) but I personally like the Soloist.
First we need to gear up on the ground... I use a Whillans sit harness, the Whillans tie in is not dependent on the buckle; which I consider the weak point in many modern sit harnesses. The Whillans harness has the climbing rope tie into two tabs that are an integral part of the waist of the harness. This design would require the entire harness to come apart simultaneously before it would come off you. The inventor of the harness, Don Whillans did a nice job as far as strength and reliability.
The Soloist must be used with a chest harness. You must fall in an upright position for the Soloist to function as designed. You can take one inch tubular webbing tied with a water knot into a loop; twist the loop into what looks like the figure 8 and slip your arms through it. A commercially made chest harness such as those made by Yvon Chounard's company; Black Diamond (by the way; there is a town in the Canadian Rockies named Black Diamond) is made of two inch wide webbing, adjustable and more comfortable.
Tie the Soloist into your sit harness using the largest diameter perlon you can get through the Soloist's tie in hole; I believe this would be 8 mm. Use double fisherman's knots to perform the tie in. The position of the Soloist must be high enough above the waist so that if you fall the Soloist is above your center of gravity. This helps you stay in an upright position if you end up hanging off the rope. You must not tie the soloist too high though or it will hit you in the chin or teeth when the rope snaps it up in a fall. I have a crescent shaped scar on my chin from that particular lesson. You will have to experiment in a controlled situation to get it positioned right; each persons body build (height, weight distribution, torso length) determines the fit.
I would recommend wearing some kind of shirt with this equipment; the Soloist will pull hair and skin into the mechanism as the rope moves through. The pain of this happening at a critical moment is distracting.
I recommend that you invest in a few pitons and a piton hammer. I can hear the cry of outrage from the climbing community coming but.....the weak link in self belay systems is the belay anchor. Remember there is not a person at the end of the rope to either soften the impact on the anchors nor manage the rope in any way. The anchors will be taking on the forces you generate in a fall directly and a fall can exert the force in any direction. If you fall before you get any protection in above the anchors then you can pull down on them. If you fall onto protection placed above the anchors then you will pull up on them. Falls resulting from a traverse with protection placed will exert a side pull.
So even though I do not normally use pitons, I use them as belay anchors only in roped solo climbs. I do not use pitons as intermediate protection between belay stances. The alternative is to use existing bolts at belay stances; these are actually the best in all respects and are left available for other climbers to either advance and retreat up and down the cliff. If you are unsure of the reliability of this system at first, I highly recommend choosing the first few difficult climbs that have bolt and chain belay stances. Again this not only gives you a little more piece of mind in your anchors, but you can also rappel the climb without leaving gear.
"You have to learn to crawl before you can walk, you have to walk before you can run"
- old saying
Let us talk about another piece of gear in the system.....the rope. Use the best 11 mm ropes made in 165 foot lengths for solo self belay lead climbing. I use the Mamut Stratos which has a piece of monofilament fishing line woven into the core. I understand that these ropes are the most resistant to cutting of any rope. As a second rope for retreat I use a 8.8 mm Rivory Johnny Oxygen. The 8.8 mm rope is for double rope rappels and can be used as a lead climbing rope in a variation of Alpine short roping which I will explain later in the book. On pure rock climbs in good weather I only take along the 11 mm rope. On easy Alpine climbs with very few difficult pitches but a good chance of a retreat I take the 8.8 mm rope only.
To re-iterate somewhat.....we now have on a sit-harness, chest harness, climbing shoes, and a Soloist self-belay device. (See Plate VII) We have our rope loosely piled free of tangles and knots lying at out feet. Since we are still on the ground, moving toward leading the first pitch of the climb we must prepare our first belay anchor. Tie a figure of eight knot on a bight at one end of the rope. Drive in two or three pitons into a crack at the base of the cliff. Clip a locking caribiner into each eye of each piton. Then using half inch tubular webbing or pre-sewn quick draws connect each of these locking caribiners together at a single point where you have two more locking caribiners. A pull on this system of webbing at the point of the last two locking caribiners in any direction should apply an equal amount of force to all three pitons simultaneously. Clip the figure eight knot into the last two locking caribiners and lock the caribiners closed in the manner determined by their design.
We now have a system which must fail at several points in order to totally collapse. Total collapse would require all three pitons to fail or all three locking caribiners or all three pieces of webbing or the entire kernmantle rope which contains multiple nylon cords inside of it's sheath. To keep up the triad of fault tolerance in the system you could use three locking caribiners at the clip in point of the rope but for me it suffices to use two locking caribiners of the type which uses the best engineering designs and manufacturing processes. (See Plate VIII)
Since we are on the ground where boulders and trees abound, it is satisfactory to tie into a living tree which is a minimum of six inches in diameter. Tie a figure eight knot in the rope, go around the tree twice and back through the figure eight knot. A large (four foot in diameter) boulder which has a shape that naturally will keep the rope around itself will also work. Go twice around these objects to minimize the force applied to the rope strand at any one point.
If by chance someone has installed bolts near the ground, clip a locking caribiner into each of the bolt eyes. Again tie a figure eight on a bight into one end of the rope. Clip the loop formed by the figure of eight into both locking caribiners and lock the caribiners. The system which uses two bolts is self equalizing. Pull on the rope in different directions and you will see how the force of your pull affects both the caribiners equally. Do not tie directly into the bolt hangers, the design of the hanger presents too thin of an edge and may damage the rope in the event of a fall.
Now that we have an anchor, insert the rope into the Soloist according to the manufacturers directions. The equipment handling skills necessary to manipulate the Soloist will seem awkward at first. You may have to practice assembling and dis-assembling the Soloist mechanism a few times to become familiar with it. Take your time....it is important to assemble the system correctly. The rope must feed through the Soloist in a particular direction in relation to the anchor. An arrow with the text "ANCHOR" is etched into the surface of the Soloist. Once the rope/device assembly is completed clip the top of the Soloist into your chest harness. I have found that an oversized locking caribiner works best at this point. Normal sized caribiners do not allow the slight freedom of movement necessary for the smooth functioning of the system.
At this point the only knots in the rope should be at the tie in to the anchor. Leaving your rucksack on the ground with extra clothes, food, water piton hammer and pitons; begin to ascend the climb. The rope drag from rope moving through the Soloist will be significant. Expect the climb to feel one to two decimal points harder than climbing with a partner feeding the rope. In other words a 5.7 YDS climb will feel like 5.8 or 5.9; so choose the route with this in mind.
Since you will be exposing yourself to a multitude of new skills, techniques and equipment, choose your first climbs ridiculously well within your limits. Even a 5.11 lead climber should go on a 5.2 climb to get the mechanics of using the system down to the point where its use becomes automatic.
Also remember that as you follow my explanation of the mechanics of self-belay you will realize that you must climb twice and rappel once every pitch on the climb. Thus if you are attempting a five pitch climb you will have to have the strength and endurance and time to actually climb ten pitches. I have found that since you have already led the pitch you will be quite fast at seconding since you have already solved the problems offered to you once, and you have the security of an overhead belay on the second go at each pitch. I have found that once you have achieved the necessary level of fitness you can keep up a pace similar to a two man rope team. In fact, since many rope-teams consist of a competent leader along with a less skillful second who has not yet been exposed to the pitch, you can often do a climb faster than a two man rope-team.
As you leave the ground and begin to feel the need for protection whether it is due to fear, difficulty of terrain, height from the ground or whatever; place the protection in the first acceptable spot. At the first protection point, I like to place two pieces of protection. (See PLate IX & X) If you are depending on a single placement to prevent ground fall and it fails, you will end up on the ground and possibly hurt. After the first placement, pick and choose the number and position of protection placements depending on terrain. I have found that fewer but secure placements conserve energy. Again consider two placements each time with good spacing between protection points.
To be redundant to some extent, as you move up the pitch, feel comfortable with making each move. You should be doing a climb that feels as if there is little or no possibility of falling off. (See Plate XI) This will be independent of the actual rated difficulty of the climb. This feeling will result from a combination of confidence, strength, endurance and mental and physical skill. Keep in mind the words of the legendary soloist Peter Croft when asked what advice he would give to aspiring soloists:
"Whatever you do.....Don't ever do it for anyone but yourself."
- Peter Croft
Remember that there are no judges, critics or audiences.....just you and the rock and the sky and the wind. Slow down mentally and enjoy each movement. Feel the texture of the stone. Look at the myriad forms the stone has taken. Don't bother thinking of the summit either. Just the move you are doing now. Enjoy the use of your mind and body unfettered by the rules and conventions of society; even the society which consists of a single companion.
As you approach the end of the physical rope during the course of a lead, there will be a tendency for the weight of the rope which is below you, to pull the entire rope through the Soloist suddenly and leave you on the cliff unattached to a rope. To prevent this from happening you need to tie a figure of eight knot on a bight of rope within the last three feet of the rope. I have found that this is best done when you get about twenty feet from the end of the rope. If you tie this safety knot sooner than this; I have experienced problems with this knot getting caught in cracks below me, forcing me to down climb a portion of the lead to free the knot.
If the knot gets stuck in a crack deep behind a flake of rock you may not be able to get the knot unstuck. One of the virtues of the new ropes is their elasticity which is great in minimizing the shock to the anchors or the leader; but it also prevents you from giving a good yank on the rope and freeing a rope which is stuck. A good pull on the rope merely stretches the rope a bit.....frustrating your efforts to free the rope. Also, look out for deep cracks in the cliff. Some cracks which are only an inch wide can be many feet deep. If you allow the rope to worm its way deep into the crack and form natural loose coils, you may find that you cannot extract the rope. Your best chance in this situation is to attempt to peer into the crack and study how the rope is stuck. Try to solve the puzzle instead of using brut force. As a last resort, evaluate the point at which the rope is stuck and cut the rope with a pocket knife. Losing five or ten feet off a rope is not a major disaster. We used 150 foot ropes for years!
Finally we are at a belay stance. Since the next maneuvers on the cliff will be a rappel followed by another accent of the pitch which only exert a downward pull on the anchors, set up a chocks only belay station with three chocks. Switch the Soloist self-belay device to a rappel device by pulling the rope through the machined slot which is provided. After pulling enough rope through the slot to get a caribiner around the rope; clip a locking caribiner through the bight of rope. The locking caribiner over rides the camming device which would normally prevent the device from sliding down the rope.
As in a rappel setup using a figure eight, carabiners, stitch plate or whatever hardware rappel system you are using; the same rules apply. Keep one hand on the rope, run the rope between your legs and hold on just past your buttocks if the rope is moving too freely through the belay device so that you find yourself holding too hard with your hand. Run the rope between your legs, past your left or right hip and around your leg two or three times if you need to use both of your hands for some reason such as removing a piece of protection that you had previously placed on lead.
After making one last check of your anchors, begin to rappel the pitch. Stop at each protection placement and remove the protection and re-rack the protection onto your gear sling. Re-rack the equipment in the same order as you use it for leading to save time on the next pitch lead. The order of racking the equipment is a personal preference that can even change during the course of the climb. A reason for changing the order during the course of the climb might be observing that the pitch you are about to lead is such that only wired stoppers and quick draws will be used. If this is the case then re-order the equipment so that the wired stoppers and quick draws are easiest to reach.
One possible equipment racking system that I like to use starts with a conventional commercially made gear sling formed of sewn and rolled flat webbing. Place all wired chocks on one or two locking caribiners....it will look similar to a set of keys for your house or car. Setting up all of your wired chocks on less than two caribiners allows you to come to a place on the climb where you want to use a wired stopper and quickly choose the correct size by trying several chocks in a row at the same placement point just as you would try several unfamiliar keys on a key ring in a lock until you got one that fit. If you put too many wired chocks on a single caribiner, you will not be able to easily try several and get one off as it is placed. Remember there must be enough room on the caribiner to allow all the wired chocks to be rotated completely around the caribiner. The one you choose to place must be moved near the gate of the caribiner and moved completely off the caribiner. Using more than two caribiners for handling wired chocks defeats the purpose of handling most of all of the wired chocks quickly.
The only disadvantage to this method is if you drop the caribiner of wired chocks you lose all the wired chocks in one incident. I have never had this happen to me, but I have seen it happen. You should train yourself to handle the chocks carefully so you do not drop them. Mental awareness and discipline can keep your hand closed on the equipment even if you are startled by a gust of wind or even falling unexpectedly. Training yourself to stay in control of your limbs and extremities has other applications. I was once suddenly turned upside down while belaying a leader who sudden fell past me while in a hanging belay on the lip of a roof system. Mental awareness and discipline allowed me to belay the leader back up to me even though I was forced to remain up-side down, hanging in the air while my partner gathered his wits and slowly came back up some very difficult terrain.
Keep one quick draw set up for every two wired stoppers. A quick draw by the way is a length of 1/2 inch tubular webbing sewn or tied into a six to eight inch loop. Two caribiners are placed on the loop and form the connection between the primary climbing rope and the wired chock. The quick draw also allows the wired chock to "lie quietly" in its placement in the rock. Because the quick draw is formed of quite limber material, little or no force is transmitted from the climbing rope to the chock. I keep all of the quick draws together near the front of my gear sling.
Next, rack the remaining chocks from front to back from smallest to largest keeping chocks of a similar size and shape together. On big hexentric chocks that have long cordage attached to them; double up the cordage so that you don't trip on the chock while moving around the cliff. This shortening of the cordage is most important if the climber is of shorter stature. I like to use long cordage on all my chocks to allow them to lie quietly when placed without adding a runner. Placing the chock and clipping into the lead rope is enough to do on a difficult climb. You will want to make the minimum number of movements to accomplish each placement. (See Plate XII)
If you are using active camming devices, intermingle these devices among the passive chocks. Placing an active camming device next to a chock of similar size will allow you to sort through the choices for a particular placement with maximum efficiency.
I watched some Californians I was climbing with make chock placements by glancing at a possible placement and with a single glance at their selection of chocks, correctly choosing and placing the chock in one smooth motion. These fellows never had to try more than one chock. Their ability to evaluate two shapes; that of the rock and that of the chock in order to quickly get a match is to be emulated. Another similar skill is that of removing the chocks when cleaning the pitch after leading. If you have placed all the chocks yourself by leading the pitch you should be able to remember exactly how you fitted the chock into the crack. Simply reverse the movements that placed the chock. Use a cleaning tool to manipulate the chock if the cordage or wire attached to the chock is not giving you enough control. Regardless of whether you placed the chock yourself, a moments study of the chock before attempting to move it from its placement always helps. Simply getting near the chock, grabbing the cordage or wire and yanking suddenly usually results in a chock that is stuck.
A good way to avoid difficult to remove chocks is in correct original placement. A good combination of chock shape and rock shape resulting in a good fit does not require the leader to seat the chock by repeatedly yanking on the cordage to set the chock. Overly setting the chock usually results in the rock slightly gouging the metal of the chock making removal difficult or impossible. If the metal of the chock is deformed you may need to tap the chock out of its placement. Do this by holding the end of the cleaning tool against the chock and striking the end of the cleaning tool with your largest hexcentric or with your piton hammer.
The placement and removal of active camming devices (Friends, Camelots, etc.) requires similar skills. A feature unique to active camming devices is the ability to get them stuck by retracting the cams too far during placement. Since to remove you must retract the cams until they are smaller than the crack that you have put them in; fully retracting the cams during placement does not allow you to retract them to a greater extent during removal; you are already at one end of their range of motion. If you use active camming devices carry a Friend extractor. The Friend extractor allows you to retract the cams beyond the range of motion allowed by the normal trigger that retracts the cams and can often remove the device that appears (and is) hopelessly stuck. I have gathered two complete sets of active camming devices and countless chocks from popular local climbing areas by going up the easy routes on a Monday after novice climbers on Saturday and Sunday have abandoned their equipment on the cliff. About 90% of the time the chock or active camming device comes out of its placement with little or no effort. In fact most come out so easily that it has to be the tensing up of the mind of the novice that does not allow the novice to solve the simple problem offered by the chock placement.
Continue to remove the chocks as you come to them until you reach the set of anchors that were used to lead this pitch. Tie yourself into these anchors and switch the Soloist self-belay device from its rappel mode into the mode that allows it to function similar to a Jumar ascender. Again look for the arrow etched into the surface of the Soloist that points toward one end of the Soloist and has the characters ANCHOR next to the arrow. At this point even though you have two sets of anchors in, you need to set up the Soloist to use the anchors that are above you. Once you have the Soloist properly configured, you have an overhead belay and are free to untie from the anchors that are next to you. Once untied, you can remove the caribiners and slings from the anchor system and remove the anchors themselves from their placement in the cliff. I normally place the pitons used for anchors and the piton hammer in my rucksack at this point to unencumbered myself as much as possible for the second accent of the pitch. Since I have just ascended this pitch, I have the advantage of knowing what to expect in the way of difficulty. In addition I know the resting spots and have worked out the more difficult combinational moves.
I always enjoy coming up the pitch the second time. With an overhead belay you can relax more and take the time to savor each move. I also try and perfect the moves I used when leading the pitch. Did I use unnecessary strength instead of better technique. Did I miss an obvious combination of holds that makes the climbing easier because I was too tense mentally and physically on the lead. If a pitch that was difficult to do on lead seems much easier when you go up it a second time then you have more skill available than you can demonstrate on lead. If you are climbing at your current limits and if your mental abilities are in balance with your physical abilities; then the pitch should seem the same whether you are leading the pitch or being protected by an overhead belay.
"Shade", said he, "where can it be? This land called Eldorado. Over the mountains of the Moon, through the valley of shadow. Ride, boldly ride" the shade replied, "if you search for Eldorado."
- Eldorado, by Edgar Allan Poe
When you reach the anchors above you, hang your rucksack from the anchors and begin to prepare to lead the next pitch. Your Soloist is already configured correctly so you can leave it alone. Pull on the rope that is hanging below you to see if it is free. If possible bring the entire rope up to where you are at and leave it in a loose pile on the ledge on which you are standing. If you are not on a ledge and must leave the full length of the rope hanging below you, it will be more difficult to get the rope to move through the Soloist. Piling the rope on the ledge takes much of the weight of the rope off of you. At the least, try and make sure the rope is out of the way of any crack systems below you which could trap the rope when you are busy leading the next pitch.
Evaluate the anchors you are at for multi-directional stability and add chocks and pitons as appropriate before moving up the next pitch. Also evaluate the pitch coming up against the protection you will be taking on lead. If the pitch is never more than following a one inch crack, taking along chocks and active camming devices larger than one inch is an unnecessary burden. Leave the extra gear in the rucksack for possible use farther up the mountain. Before you really start climbing the next pitch, place one or two pieces of protection above your head so that if you fall making the first move of the pitch you will not fall past the anchors.
While doing some work on the global computer network known as the Internet, I came upon a cry of anguish from a Colorado climber in the form of an electronic message posted to an electronic bulletin board devoted to the subject of climbing. The message was a complaint that while climbing with a partner this man was often passed by climbers free soloing the route he was on. Once the soloist passed him by, he was uncomfortable with continuing the route he and his partner were on due to fear of being hit by a falling soloist. Comments were requested by all on the network so since once asked, I am always more than glad to offer my opinion on something, here are my comments on courtesies associated with soloing:
If you reach the base of a climb and a roped party is getting their gear ready but has not started, I usually say hello politely and begin climbing the route. This is if I am free soloing. Since free soloing is fast as I have no equipment with me to manage, if you let a roped party start the climb ahead of you, you will quickly overtake them and have to pass them anyway. To give you an idea of the relative times between roped climbing with a partner and free soloing, I normally take 15-20 minutes to climb a route that a rope team of two takes 4-5 hours to complete. On the other hand, I have problems concentrating with an audience on hand; especially on difficult routes so many times I will say hello, think of another climb I might find interesting and walk to the base of it so I have some solitude.
On a bigger wall you might not see that there is a climbing party ahead of you due to the fact that they are standing on a ledge or are around a corner. So by the time you reach the roped party you may be hundreds or thousands of feet from the ground. The best approach is to again say hello to the people in the other party and politely ask if you can pass them by. If they say no you can try to go around them on that particular pitch by climbing to the side until well past the leader then regain the route or you can pick up another route and continue this new route to the top. Alternatives that are not so appealing are waiting for the roped party and climbing behind them for the rest of the route or as a last resort down climbing the route and calling it a day.
From my experience the custom is for the roped party to let you pass them by as soon as possible. You will be moving so fast without a rope that the inconvenience will be minimal for them. The roped party should also realize that they do have a rope and other equipment while you have nothing but your native strength and sagacity to stay alive. Since your resources are limited, you cannot afford to hang around a cliff losing your nerve to continue, stiffening up mentally and physically and maybe move into the period of the day when storms are more common. The concerns of the roped party in letting you by are two-fold. The first concern is simple ego......we were here first and do not want to display any courtesy to the soloist out of meanness of spirit. The second concern is a little more real. What if the soloist slips.....will we, the roped party be hit and injured by a falling body. What I recommend for the roped party is to think of the soloist as an objective hazard such as rock fall. If the soloist appears to be moving quickly, confidently and smoothly up the cliff, then he is probably in complete control of himself and will not fall. If on the other hand the soloist appears to be struggling on the section of rock that he is negotiating, then the leader of the roped team should place at least two pieces of protection in the cliff and watch and wait until the soloist is moving easily again. Instead of complaining that the soloist is a bother; admire his personal courage and skill in a difficult situation. Aspire to the level of mastery of the soloist, even if you never intend to solo, instead of complaining of him being a nuisance.
"I had climbed , but had never been a climber. I had never crossed that line where people on one side were crawling grubs wallowing in shallows and miseries, and those on the other who were doers of visions - fire in their eyes, questing after the mystical crystal, or whatever might be their personal ideal."
- Wayne Goss
In the case of a roped soloist, the customs are the same as that between two roped parties. You can politely ask to pass the other party but if they politely refuse you just have to be patient. I do usually climb roped solo a bit faster than a roped party of two, so take that into account before you begin to follow a rope team up the same route.
Placing and removing protection, handling the rope and even moving on the rock are actually straightforward if you are relaxed mentally. From closely observing other people I am with on climbs, it is interesting to pass along a few observations. First of all even the simplest things are difficult for the person who is in a state of fear. I have seen people so afraid of the situation that we are in that if you ask them to do the simplest thing such as hand you a water bottle that is hanging right in front of them they will say that they do not see a water bottle and ask where is it. Their minds are not with you any more. They are somewhere else mentally, maybe wishing they are home or visualizing having something bad happen such as a fall resulting in injury.
Thoughts along these lines seem to use up the capacity available from the mind until there is nothing left to accomplish a mental task. When climbing you only have a finite amount of resources available to you. So much physical strength, so much mental ability and so on. You must husband these resources and not waste them unnecessarily. You probably would not purposely start doing one arm chin ups until your arm was exhausted while on a climb. Worrying unnecessarily is like doing one arm chin ups. Sure sometimes you are frightened, but you can not waste resources on useless fear. Teach yourself to focus on the problems at hand. There is always plenty of positive things to do on a climb with your mind. Take the time to enjoy the feeling of the warm sun on your face or the sight of a bird or small flower. This will help break your focus on how small a ledge you are standing on or how high you are from the ground.
Once when with a new climbing partner named Daniel, I was forced to rappel from Tower One in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado in the dark. My partner revealed that he had never rappelled before, let alone in the dark. After trying to teach this young man the basics of rappelling by touch in the dark I was still concerned with him rappelling off the end of the rope. I decided to have he and I rappel together so that if he lost control of the hardware he would have me on the same rope behind him to stop the slide. Well, after four or five pitches of rappelling, I reached the ground and stood there while my partner rappelled the last thirty feet. To my amazement he reached the ground with his feet, then lowered the rest of his body to the ground until he was lying flat on his face. Now feeling the end of the rope with his hand he began to cry that he could not hold on much longer, that his strength was waning and that he needed my help. At this point I realized that he had no idea that he was lying on the ground safe. In his mind he was still hundreds of feet from the ground hanging from the cliff; about to slide off the end of the rope.
Realizing we were completely safe I decided to entertain myself a little. Still standing several feet away from my partner I began to describe my difficulty in reaching him and that he was about to slide off the end of the rope to his death. By the light of the stars and a gibbous moon I watched my partner claw at the ground desperately trying to hold on to what he thought was the cliff. After a few moments of watching this young man scrabble around in mental and physical agony on the ground I walked up and tapped him on the shoulder and said in a loud but calm voice "hey, stand up and lets go home!". Only then did he realize that he was merely lying on the ground and stood up and declared that he did not care if he looked foolish he was just glad we were safe. The situation itself plus the natural relief that welled up now that the adventure was over caused us both to begin laughing until tears were coming out of our eyes. If this story sounds a little on the sadistic side please note that Dan exhibited great relish in telling the story over and over to his friends and acquaintances after it was all over!
When I first started climbing, I was taught by a fellow named Richard whose background was in mathematics and computer science. Each section of rock was a problem, each hold a possible solution to the problem offered. While climbing we mentally calculated forces, mechanical advantage of certain positions, probability of a fall from using marginal hand and footholds. Having excellent mental recall we could remember every hold we used on the rock, the shape of the hold, its texture and could reverse any sequence of moves because we taught ourselves to memorize the sequences in case we needed to climb down a section of rock.
While this approach seemed fine at the time, I now believe that this is a waste of mental energy also. Intuitive movement using feedback from the rock itself through all six senses allows fluid movement on the rock. Pausing time and time again while calculating the next few moves is inefficient. Now I teach people to feel the position they are in on the cliff. That you will feel more comfortable using some hand and foot holds over others. That if you are in any particular position and feel strained, rapidly change positions of the hand and feet. One particular combination of hand and foot holds will feel the easiest to maintain. That combination is the best you can do on that section of rock. If none of the positions allow relatively easy maintenance of contact with the rock then you have paused in the wrong place. Quickly move either up or down the cliff until you are confident that you can maintain contact with the rock.
Continuous movement is best. Most people do not walk down a path pausing with each step, then taking another step and even pausing between steps with one foot in the air while they think of what to do next. So try and not do this while climbing. In training sessions with an overhead self belay try to climb the pitch without pausing. Since there are no consequences to a fall in this situation do not even think of what to do next. Just do it, as they say. Your body will begin to use many more senses than the eyes after a while. It is my understanding that the average human beings mind relies 90% on the sense of sight. Animals such as dogs are not like this; dogs use all of their senses equally. Take away the sense of sight from a dog and he loses 1/6th of his perception of the world. One of my companions is a 120 pound Chesapeake Bay retriever that goes by the name of Tai-Chi. Due to a genetic defect, Tai-Chi's retinas lost their supply of blood at the age of two and soon ceased to function. Tai-Chi is now six years old and except that his pupils are completely dilated in an attempt to get light to the retinas which are no longer there; most people cannot tell that he is completely blind. Tai-Chi goes with me on Nordic ski tours, hiking and mountain biking. To the casual observer this animal is moving freely through the world using the sense of sight. What I know is that he is doing two things. First he is perceiving the world through his remaining senses......touch, smell, hearing, taste and what is broadly known as the sixth sense. Second, through the sixth sense, Tai-Chi is not only perceiving the world himself but is in mental contact with me. By tuning into my senses when necessary to supplement his own; Tai-Chi is able to function pretty much normally. Two close human companions such as a climbing team often exhibit this same sharing of the senses during the course of a climb.
"We Alpinists are of one mind with many bodies"
- Arthur Vyn Boennighausen
The mind gets all kinds of clues from the world it is in that by-pass the logical mind. If you try to climb too logically you override what intuition is telling you to do next. Intuitive climbing at first will seem like simply guessing what to do next. That is the phase when you are learning to use intuition. After a time you will start to gain confidence in what feels like simply guessing what to do next. And you will stop thinking of it as guessing and refer to it as intuitive climbing.
One of my students who later became a great Alpinist and trusted friend in his own right was Michael Zinsley. Michael not only learned the art of Alpinism very quickly but the relationship between Michael and I evolved along classical lines to where the teacher became the student and the student the teacher. I met Michael in the Boulder, Colorado climbing shop known as the Boulder Mountaineer. While I was standing at the cash register paying for an item I desired to own, I casually remarked that my climbing partner had moved to another state and I was looking for a new partner. A cheerful voice behind me said "How about me!". I turned around and before me stood a six foot three inch young man with blond hair cut into a flat top haircut, no shoes, green army surplus pants and a shirt two times too big. I thought, am I that desperate? The answer was yes, without a partner how could I climb. Thus started a ten year relationship bonded by climbing with Zinsley. After many years Michael started getting so good at Alpinism that I was hard pressed to keep up with him. After a while I started to ask him to teach me how to get better.
"Mountains are the source of life and light."
- Michael Mills Kiley
On the subject of aid climbing, I asked Michael what his secret to moving fast while aid climbing was. His simple and correct answer was that you simply had to be fearless! Fearless in the respect that once you placed the next piece of protection, you without hesitation clipped in the rope and etriers and moved yourself to the next higher position. You did not check the protection a few times, you did not carefully put your weight into the etriers, you did not gather your courage to move......you just moved as quickly as you could and started to place the next piece of hardware for protection.
On the subject of fear of falling and having the rope break, Michael's advice was that no rope had broken in a fall without being cut first. That if you had a good rope and did not allow the rope to go against a sharp edge while under tension, the rope would simply not break. Zinsley took this conviction to the extreme in the course of his mental training to convince himself of the ropes infallibility. Michael took a new 165' rope to the edge of a two hundred foot high cliff and after tying the rope to a tree at the edge of the cliff and making sure there were no ledges or sharp projections nearby he tied the other end of the rope into the diaper seat he had created using half inch tubular webbing and jumped off the cliff!! After this test Michael had no fear of the rope breaking! He had absolute faith in this piece of equipment.
When I asked Michael what he had learned from climbing the Triple Direct route on El Capitan he told me that he learned that the world indeed worked in the fashion described by the Taoist priests. The influence of the Tao became apparent to Michael after this climb. Zinsley also believed in remaining in contact with the Earth, not only by spending a lot of time in the outdoors but by literally not wearing shoes as much as possible. Michael believed that shoes insulated you from the subtle energy fields of the Earth.
"Shoes are blindfolds on the feet"
- Kiche'
There are theories that people considered geniuses in various fields are actually very good at receiving information that is all around them. If this is the case then Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking are not generating theories about physics from their own minds, but merely receiving information that is already there in the universe. In this situation the mind acts as much as a receiver as a processor. A researcher at the University of Colorado at Boulder not too many years ago claimed that he had identified the specific area of the electromagnetic spectrum where all knowledge was stored. This researchers policy at the time was to not bother with proving that which he said was true. He claimed that he had too much to do to prove to the western scientific community that each of his theories were indeed facts. What he planned to do was discover a significant fact, publish the fact in the local newspaper and move on in his research while others spent years proving these facts were correct. When the time came that the fact was acknowledged by the scientific community out would come the newspaper article he had submitted allowing him to claim rights to first discovery of an important fact.
In 1918 a young German scientist named Albert Einstein gave a speech. The following passage from the speech applies to Alpinism as well as science:
"In the temple of science are many mansions......and various indeed are they that dwell therein and the motives that have led them there.
Many take to science out of a joyful sense of superior intellectual power; science is their own special sport to which they look for vivid experience and the satisfaction of ambition; many others are to be found in the temple who have offered the products of their brains on this altar for purely utilitarian purposes. Were an Angel of the Lord to come and drive all the people belonging to these two categories out of the temple, it would be noticeably emptier but there would still be some men of both present and past times left inside.......If the types we have just expelled were the only types there were, the temple would never have existed any more than one can have a wood consisting of nothing but creepers......those who have found favor with the Angel......are somewhat odd, uncommunicative, solitary fellows, really less like each other than the hosts of the rejected.
What has brought them to the temple.....no single answer will cover.....escape from everyday life, with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from his noisy cramped surroundings into the silence of the high mountains where the eye ranges freely through the still pure air and fondly traces out the restful contours apparently built for eternity."
This book you are reading has a little of that concept built into it. If some of the ideas seem unusual in this book, consider them as possible facts that I have discovered and am using from day to day. I like using knowledge as soon as it is acquired in practical applications such as climbing a cliff. If my newly acquired knowledge is not a fact, then I come off the cliff and I get instant feedback. I am still alive at this time after 15 years of climbing and 1500 some climbs so I must have learned something!
I would recommend becoming familiar with all the types of protection that are available. Last summer I climbed with a partner that had never used anything but active camming devices on a climb. At the trailhead I had suggested that since I was familiar with the area and had already packed a rucksack with the necessary equipment that he should just bring climbing shoes, harness and personal clothing. Since I prefer chocks only climbing, I did not have a single active camming device along. When we got to the second pitch of the climb my partner for the day started complaining as he led the pitch that there was no place to put in any of the chocks. It wasn't the lack of placement spots, it was his inability to see them because he was used to the crutch of easy to place active camming devices. It takes a bit more time to master the use of chocks but they are relatively inexpensive and quite foolproof. There are no moving parts and will last as long as you do if you replace the cordage every few years. If a retreat becomes necessary from the mountain I don't feel so bad leaving ten dollars worth of chocks on the cliff instead of sixty or more dollars worth of active camming devices.
Teaching others:
As you have seen, over the years I have been taught and have taught other people the Art of Solo Climbing and over the years I have developed my own philosophies on teaching Alpinism to another person. First of all, solo Alpinism is not for everyone. I remember reading somewhere that solo climbing is considered the most dangerous sport in the world. This statement is relative, relative in the respect that for the uninitiated, yes it is shear madness to attempt to scale a major wall alone, and relative because for the master of the discipline it appears quite reasonable while he or she is involved in an accent. The Chinese have a tradition of knocking at the door of the Master a hundred times before entry is gained. What this is referring to is that the person who is meant to follow this path to any extent will seek out a teacher; you will not have to look for students. If someone asks me to teach them to climb I still accept the request with skepticism. The aspiring Alpinist may have read a book or observed the dress and demeanor of a climber and expressed a desire to try it for themselves. That does not automatically mean they will walk this path for a lifetime. Over the years, the number of people that try Alpinism and continue for 5-10 years is around 10%. So 90% of the people who even express an interest quit for some reason.
On the first outing with an aspiring Alpinist of some potential, choose an experience that while mildly challenging is primarily in a beautiful setting on a day with good weather. Emphasize the beauty of the surroundings and through lively conversation and a display of self confidence make the aspiring Alpinist feel that the day is one of good companionship that happens to be in an Alpine setting. I do not try and pass along much in the way of use of the equipment for many of the initial outings. The first lessons are focused on enjoying and appreciating the environment and movement on moderately difficult terrain. If roped climbing is involved I literally fit the rope and harness to the student and explain a little about how strong and well made the rope is to give him or her confidence in falling without consequence. I explain a little about using your feet to walk up the climb and how it is not necessary to grip the cliff very hard to make progress. After thus assuring the novice of their safety, I lead the first pitch of the climb without putting any protection in that they would have to remove.
Upon reaching the halfway point of the rope I set up a secure belay station and ask the student to follow me up the pitch. By staying close to the student I can watch their movements and easily talk to them in a quiet voice. The rest of the outing has a similar theme......talking, enjoying the day and learning to move over steep terrain both mentally and physically. If the aspiring Alpinist begins to express an interest in using the equipment then slowly introduce its use during the course of the climb. Show what knots are used in different situations, explain why we are doing this instead of that with the equipment. The student can be shown how to tie a knot for instance, but do not waste a day in the mountains tying knots. Encourage the student to practice things like knot tying on their own. Give them ten feet of cordage to practice with. Even a knot such as a bowline on a coil can be constructed with ten foot of 7 mm cordage.
Your own superior resources should be lent to the student to help them make the climb. Choose appropriate terrain for their abilities, give them a tight rope and a encouraging word when they are struggling. Exhibit self confidence and obvious enjoyment of the situation so that they too can share in your enthusiasm. If they seem to be getting too tired, offer to carry some of the contents of their rucksack or slow down and pause for a rest more often than you are used to giving yourself. The French Alpinist Gaston Rebuffat once said that the Alpinist creates a manly poem through his actions in the mountains. Poetry in motion, that is what you are teaching. If the novice is unable to make progress up a section of the cliff it is usually because they do not know what to do next. Suggest to them that you know exactly what to do and that if your mind were in their body that you could continue moving up the cliff. Offer to take over the responsibility for movement of their limbs by telling them in a quiet voice each move to make until they are past the problematic section of the climb.
The mind can learn from the body. If you have the novice make the moves correctly a few times by talking them through what holds should be used and what movements should be made, the subconscious mind will remember the lesson for future use on its own. Remember those Kung-Fu forms I talked about early in this book? The Kung-Fu forms are practiced as a series of physical movements that are teaching and re-configuring the mind and nervous system. You as the teacher, along with the stone, are forming the mind and nervous system of the aspiring Alpinist.
A few years ago I was teaching Marty Vyn (who later became my life long companion and wife) the basics of Alpinism. While sitting waiting on the belay ledge of a climb that was much to easy to hold my attention I thought of a way to maintain a level of interest for a climb myself while keeping the climb within the level of abilities of the student. When Marty and I climb together we use an 8.8 mm rope which when used as a single strand is sufficiently strong to belay a second or rappel down the cliff; but is not strong enough to catch a leader fall. By having me always lead without placing intermediate protection; only belay anchors. I keep up a level of enthusiasm for the climb since I am basically soloing while Marty is protected by an overhead belay. If I have mis-judged the severity of the route and do not feel comfortable soloing a particular section of the cliff. We fold the rope in half and climb with a double rope system until I feel good about continuing to solo.
If after a few outings the student is not showing any interest to continue learning Alpinism, let them go! They were not meant to follow this path and should not be forced to continue. I believe that alpinists with small children should remember this philosophy. Your child may not share your enthusiasm for this sort of life and should be allowed to pursue their own interests. Also, out of the many people I have taught; so many have given up, and when they give up it is suddenly. In fact the longer their immersion in the discipline the more sudden may be their decision to do something else. I have known several people who after six months or a year, suddenly call and ask if I would like their equipment. For personal reasons they do not care to explain too deeply, they are ending their careers in Alpinism. One friend took ten years to reach this point but when it happened it was the same theme......"I am not going to climb anymore.....there are other things for me in life..... I hope you continue to climb, I enjoy hearing what you are doing as an Alpinist but I do not want to continue pursuing the discipline myself".
Suggestions:
I will now offer some small suggestions that you would have discovered on your own over the course of the years. My goal is to let you start where I left off so that you can see just how much we can learn by going down this particular path. So many of the ideas in this book could be learned through personal self discovery but we are trying to learn as much as we can in each lifetime.
Buy climbing shoes that can be worn with warm socks. The custom of buying shoes that hurt your feet even when worn without socks does allow maximum performance and feel of the rock; however on Alpine climbs your feet can be so cold and miserable that you are distracted from what you are doing. Frostbite due to the cold and reduced circulation is a real possibility. Even on warm sunny days excessively tight shoes can be more of a hindrance than a benefit. If you do not take along a second pair of shoes for the decent, you will be walking downhill, forcing already sore toes into the fronts of your shoes. Once after climbing the Royal Arches route in Yosemite Valley, California I was forced to cross the Death Slabs and descend the North Dome gully with a pair of shoes that hurt so much that I had to take them off. I just could not stand the pain any more. The remainder of the decent was a nightmare of stepping on thorns and sharp stones that cut the soles of my feet with every step. By the time I reached the valley floor I was practically a cripple for the next several days. I avoid the practice of wearing the climbing shoes without any sock at all. A thin silk or nylon sock still allows you to feel the rock through your shoes and the sock will keep the inside of your shoe cleaner which will make the shoe last longer. Dirt and oils from your skin will break down the leather of the shoe.
With comfortable shoes in mind, consider using high topped canvas tennis shoes as your approach and decent shoes. They are light weight. The canvas top allows the top of the shoe to lay flat against the sole for stowing in your rucksack while taking up minimal space. The ankle height tops keep dirt, sand and small stones out of the shoe. The soles which are made of gum rubber give a high enough coefficient of friction to allow movement over terrain in the lower fifth class range (5.0-5.4). The canvas also breathes well allowing perspiration to evaporate on a hot day. I use Converse All-Stars in white. The white color reflects solar radiation and helps keep your feet cool.
As far as the use of gymnasts chalk and chalk bags are concerned.......95% of the time I do not use gymnasts chalk for climbing. Here is my reasoning, see if you agree enough to follow my example. Reaching into the chalk bag takes time and energy. I have personally experienced and witnessed difficulty in reaching into the chalk bag and getting the hand back out. I have observed people holding on to the cliff for half and hour or more, dipping their hands in the chalk bag over and over to do a single move when what they really need is simple self confidence and personal courage. Gymnasts chalk does not provide personal courage; that comes from your inner self. You in fact become mentally and physically addicted to the use of the chalk bag. Some people will go home if they have forgotten to bring their chalk bag along because they have become so dependent on it that they feel they cannot climb without it. Drop the chalk bag accidentally during the course of the climb and you will feel that you cannot continue. This is the mental addiction of the chalk bag. The physical addiction is associated with my belief that after a time the mind recognizes the benefits of not having the hand sweat so much during the course of the climb. After a time the mind is able to teach the flesh of the hand to reduce its output of sweat. If you use a chalk bag the mind takes a look at two ways to reduce the wetness of the hand due to sweating. One way for the mind to reduce wetness is to tell the hand to reach into the chalk bag and get chalk all over itself. This is the easy way but you do not evolve, you just keep buying and using gymnasts chalk. The second way to reduce the wetness of the hand due to sweating is to teach the hand not to produce sweat. This is the harder way but gives you the ability to keep the hand dry without the use of a man made substance. By teaching your hand not to sweat you have just eliminated the need for one more piece of gear on the climb.
What else can we eliminate on the climb? Heavy clothing can be eliminated by staying outside a lot and eating foods that are high in calories. Do not sleep in a house that is kept above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The greater the difference in temperature between your home and the outdoor temperature the more you will feel the cold. As a side benefit, your heating bill will be lower. If the climb you are on is in the sun then wear dark colored clothing to pick up solar radiation. Many times a pair of black licra tights and a black turtleneck shirt allow me to climb comfortably on a sunny winter day. Clothing should be either elastic or allow freedom of movement through a loose fit. Heavy canvas shorts purchase two sizes larger than normal with a full cut in the legs are good for warmer weather. In fact look for shorts that allow the leg to move freely without the cloth preventing movement. Wearing a pair of knee socks with shorts allows you to warm or cool your legs by simply pulling the sock up or down depending on air temperature. Reaching down to 'hike up' your pants to make a move can be more than a bother. Clothing made of synthetic material that retains heat even when wet is an excellent choice. Pile and Licra materials have excellent properties.
I like the pile version of a Balaclava helmet for a hat. The Balaclava helmet type hat tucks into your shirt and keeps not only the head warm but the neck also where the carotid arteries are. If as you are climbing you start generating heat you can quickly pull the Balaclava helmet down around your neck and leave it there protecting the neck, ready to pull back up with one hand if a cloud passes over the Sun or a cool breeze picks up. If even having the Balaclava around your neck is making you too hot, you can take it off completely and hang it from your gear sling by clipping a caribiner through the hole in the material that your face projects from. I like the turtleneck shirt for almost all seasons. Wear light colored cotton ones in Summer and dark colored wool or synthetic turtleneck in Winter. The addition of a silk turtleneck under the outer clothing will increase warmth and reduce the itching wool causes that is bothersome to individuals with sensitive skin.
Do not wear rings or watches while climbing. A ring especially can get caught in a crack and if you fall while it is jammed you could tear your finger off. A good way to carry an expensive ring or one that has sentimental value such as wedding rings is to keep it around your neck on a good quality shoestring. Feed the shoe lace through the ring and tie the string into a loop with just enough room to slip over your head with a figure of eight on a bight. The danger of losing part of your body is not so high with a watch but you can crush the face of a watch by torqing your wrist after reaching deep into a crack to set a hand jam. I like the watches designed and manufactured by Casio known as G-Shocks. They can take a lot of abuse and have some features such as alarms that help when attempting to awaken to an Alpine start to a climb. While we are on the subject of watches.......some people say throw your watch away when you go into the wilderness and just tell the time by the passage of the sun. I believe that the vertical environment is too unforgiving to be casual in moving about in it. Many times there is little or no slack as far as time in making the summit of a climb and back down again safely. A watch helps you to pace yourself and to make wise decisions if it looks like you may be benighted.
Once an Italian partner and I found ourselves 90% of the way up a climb in Eldorado Canyon in Colorado after the Sun had set. Thinking that we had already completed the most difficult part of the climb while it was still daylight we decided to press on. Little did I realize just how slow climbing by starlight can be. I had to literally feel each hand and foot hold by sense of touch. By the time we reached the top of the climb it was 11:00 at night. Knowing that we had people who would be concerned for our safety we began the decent. As fate would have it, just as we started down the decent route, clouds began forming and even the light from the stars was obscured. What we had to do was get into a low crouch or duck-walk and use our extended hands as feelers to sense the world about us. We must have taken five hours to move down a climbers trail that we could have speed hiked down in daylight in about twenty minutes! After five hours of low duck-walking, my partner and I could barely stand up normally. We actually had to lay down on the ground and slowly extend our legs and straighten our backs for about five minutes before we could stand up and get in our cars.
If you climb a lot, especially in areas with crystalline granite and lots of hand jams (See Plate XIII) you can have small cuts accumulate on your hands. It does not take long for a cut here and a scrape there to add up to a pair of hands that look like raw meat. Take the time at the end of each day to wash your hands thoroughly and apply an antiseptic to the cuts. If you are on a multi-day climb and do not have the ability to clean and treat your hands then lick the cuts with your tongue like many animals do to clean their wounds. Be more careful than usual with personal hygiene when it comes to cut up hands.
I once had my hand swell up to three times normal size due to streptococcus bacteria entering a tiny little scratch on my hand. If you decide to follow my suggestion to lap climb with an overhead belay a lot, consider taping your hands with inch and a half cotton athletic tape. The tape will prevent your hands from getting so cut up during training and save them for the real climbs that you go on. Besides the danger of infection, hands that are cut up quite a bit have a harder time holding on. It is simply painful to attempt secure hand and fist jams if your hands are very sore. On multi-day climbs you may want to tape your hands each day for the same reasons just mentioned. Be sure and take the tape off at the end of each day to allow the circulation to flow freely through the hand and to allow air to reach the skin of the hand. Do not tape the hand too tightly as the circulation of blood to the muscles of the hands will be cut off and a muscle without the bloods oxygen and nutrients has a difficult time functioning at its optimum. If you expand the intrinsic muscles of the hand to their maximum while taping (See Plate XIV) and do not wrap the tape excessively tight; the fit of the tape will be just right when you relax the hand. (See Plate XV)
"There is a sound of one hand clapping............ you just have to listen harder to hear it! Try clapping with one hand very close to your ear. It is the sound of hand and wind, the collision of gas and flesh, of air and substance, of space and time."
- Michael Luttrell
Vision of the Future:
I know that on a clear day you are supposed to be able to see forever but I can only see a vague shape of the future of climbing. I feel that climbing physical mountains will not be part of the discipline of solo climbing at the advanced stages.........that the great walls and airy summits will become metaphors and memories leading to something else. What that something else will be I am not quite sure but it seems to be important at this time to begin to teach others this stage of the discipline so that I can continue to evolve. I feel that the mental, physical and spiritual resources that develop from years of Alpinism will be needed for some purpose not yet clear to me. I also feel that the higher levels of awareness that are available can be reached thru doors that I am only vaguely able to see at this time.
"Climbing is not great in spite of the demands it makes upon us, but because of them.....It demands our best"
- Royal Robbins
Suggested Reading:
The following suggested readings are to increase your knowledge and generate enthusiasm for Alpinism. Some are factual, some are historical and maybe best ofall most are inspirational. Many or all of these books can be obtained from James Havranek at Inonomate Crux Books in Yonkers, New York. James can be reached at 58 Ramsey Avenue - Yonkers, New York 10701-5654. or Voice:914.969.1554 Internet:73362.2710@CompuServe.com
"Why do you climb?............... Because you are not there!"
- James Havranek
"Wilderness Skiing" by Lito Tejada-Flores and Allen Steck
"Rocky Heights - A Guide to Boulder Free Climbs" by James S. Erickson
"Moving over Stone" a video by Range of Light Productions, narrated by Doug Robinson
"Beyond the Vertical" by Layton Kor
"I Choose to Climb" by Chris Bonington
"Tai-Chi" by Cheng Man-ch'ing and Robert W. Smith
"The Climbers Guide to North America" by John Harlin III
"Cascade Alpine Guide - Climbing and High Routes" by Fred Beckey
"Desert Rock" by Eric Bjornstad
"Taking the Quantum Leap" by Alan Wolf
"Spirit of the Age - The biography of Royal Robbins " by Pat Ament
"The White Tower" by James Ramsey Ulmann
"The Vertical World of Yosemite" by Galen A. Rowell
"Climbing in North America" by Chris Jones
"Mountaineering - The Freedom of the Hills" by The Mountaineers
"Between Heaven and Earth" by Gaston Rebuffat
"Climbing Ice" by Yvon Chouinard
"Advanced Rockcraft" by Royal Robbins
"Climb" by Bob Godfrey and Dudley Chelton
"The High Peaks" by Richard Dumais
"Care and Consciousness in Climbing" by Pat Ament
"High over Boulder" by Pat Ament & Cleve McCarthy
"Thath-Aa-Ai-Atah - a climbers guide to Lumpy Ridge" by Chip Salaun and Scott Kimball
"Learning to Climb" by Michael Loughman
"Guide to the Colorado Mountains" by Robert M. Ormes
"A complete climbers guide to the Teton Range" by Ortenburger and Jackson
"Climbers Guide to Yosemite Valley" by Steve Roper
"Selected Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies" by Sean Dougherty
"The Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tsu
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig
"Extreme Alpine Rock" by Pause and Winkler
"Everest the Hard Way" by Chris Bonington
"50 Classic Climbs of North America" by Steve Roper and Allen Steck
" Channeling - Information from paranormal sources" by Jon Klimo
"Johnathan Livingston Seagull" by Richard Bach
"Yosemite Climbs" by George Meyers
" Saviours of God" by Nikos Kazanzaki
"What is Scientology" by L. Ron Hubbard
Equipment:
The following list of equipment will hopefully help you avoid the pitfalls of what to buy if you are just starting out as a climber. Much money is wasted at first by buying equipment that is of poor quality or of the wrong type for the application. Many a aspiring climber is sold gear by sales clerks who have little or no knowledge or experience in this field of endeavor. I have closets full of equipment that I have purchased over the years that fall into this category. On the other hand, when it comes to things like chocks, it is simply difficult to choose how many of each type and size will allow you to safely protect a pitch that you are leading. The way the combination of chocks I have collected has come together is by climbing for many years and during the course of each climb finding that I either carried a particular chock up yet another climb without using it or found that I was unable to adequately protect a pitch because I did not have a chock along of a particular size and shape. So after buying and discarding chocks (and other equipment) over time I believe I have a set of equipment that is the most durable and efficient for the discipline.
1- Pair smooth soled climbing shoes (Fire' Ballet's) resoled with Stealth C4 rubber
1- Sit Harness (Don Whillans Classic design or Yvon Chouinards XX series)
1 - Gear Sling ( Climb High's )
1 - Rock Exotica Soloist Self belay device
1 - Chest harness ( Yvon Chouinards)
1 - 11 mm, 165 foot kernmantel ropes, ever dry (Mammut Stratos series)
1 - 8.8 mm, 165 foot kernmantel rope, ever dry (Rivory Johnny Oxygen series)
1 - Chock cleaning tool in 6"-8" length (Wild Country Nut Key)
1 - 3000 kg figure of eight combination Belay/Rappel device
1 - Rucksack (Lowe Alpine Systems Klettersack series)
1 - Wide mouthed polyethylene water bottle
40 - Carabiners (Yvon Chouinard's Black Diamond Light D series)
1 - Set of Camelot series active camming devices (a set being one of each size available)
16 - Commercially sewn 'Quick Draws' (any name brand)
16 - Wired chocks:
2- #7 Black Diamond stopper
2- #11 Black Diamond stopper
2- #6 Black Diamond stopper
2- #4 Wild Country Rock
1 - #6 Wild Country Rock
3 - #1 Wild Country Rock
1 - #10 Black Diamond stopper
2- #1 Black Diamond hexcentric
1- #8 Black Diamond stopper
8 - Chocks with cordage
2 - #8 Black Diamond hexcentic
4 - #7 Black Diamond hexcentric
2 - #8 SMC taper locks
Reflections
St. Catherine's of Sienna
A tale of the American Alps
Nestled at the base of 14,256 foot Longs Peak in the American Alps of Colorado is a small Catholic church known as Saint Catherine's of Sienna. St. Catherine's is made of rough hewn blocks of native stone lovingly set together by local stone masons and surrounded by the sweeping pine forests and streams that give this area its year round beauty. In contrast to the quiet forests and only a few miles in the background rears one of the greatest Alpine walls in North America. Known simply as the Diamond for its beauty and difficulty the East face of Longs Peak has been coveted and feared by Alpinists the world over. A vertical to overhanging half mile high cliff of brown granite; the Diamond is over one million square feet of exposed stone. Subjected to sudden storms that rake the face with thunder and lightning; even in high Summer only a few lucky and skilled climbers attain the summit.
Years ago a young Alpinist entered this church to pray. Collapsed with grief over the death of his mother Margaret; who died in his arms of an unexpected heart attack; he struggles with the emotions that sweep through his body. Having only one momento of his mother, a Diamond ring on a cord around his neck, he prays for guidance. Thoughts seem to enter his head........she worked so hard for the family and made every sacrifice for their benefit. Not a moments pleasure for herself other than seeing her children attaining their own dreams. Would not his mother have enjoyed the glorious feeling he himself experienced high above the ground on the great walls of the mountains. Yes! That is what I will do he thought. I will take my mothers ring and her spirit that lives within me and make another attempt on the Diamond which has already beaten me back down so many times. But this time I will go alone he thinks......... My only companion; my mothers spirit!
And so the young man tries the climb he has feared for so long and this time he succeeds! Tired beyond imagining while descending by the easy hiking trail from the summit he is forced to crawl on his hands and knees the last mile to his bivouac spot. As he lays under the stars, looking out into the universe he remembers some of the words from an old quote......."I had done it myself and know this at least; that not only was it a pearl of great price, but that nothing else in this world was worth doing".
Today the church is locked most of the time because of vandals. The Pope of the Holy Roman Empire has visited St. Catherine's so the authorities have closed it to the throngs of tourists that want entry. But I still drive by and remember that day so long ago; when I sat in that pew and wept and prayed. But now I smile and think.....of how sometimes boldness does have genius; and what you dream you can do, can be done. (See Plate XVI, Batik by Kathleen Theriault)
"Thanks for being here!"
-Marty Vyn Boennighausen
About the Author
Living in the American Alps of Colorado on the border of Rocky Mountain National Park, Arthur Vyn Boennighausen pursues the challenges offered by both Alpinism and Engineering. He has been educated in the field of Engineering with undergraduate training in the field of Industrial Engineering specializing in the areas of Operations Research and Information Systems Analysis along with significant graduate coursework in the areas of Software Engineering and Engineering Systems Analysis.
Arthur is also the founder of the sole entrepenuership known as Hummingbird_Engineering who's motto is of course "Engineering with a Mountaineering Heritage". As a consulting engineer Arthur has provided technical support in the areas of CAE-CADD and network design and implementation to multi-national engineering research and development teams attempting to design systems ranging from 160 gigabyte RAID 6+ disk arrays to 3800 megawatt nuclear generating stations.
Arthur's current interests include Project Verve; the design and implementation of a 5000 node WAN which will provide Internet service to the Town of Estes Park, Colorado.
In between engineering projects Arthur pursues not only his own goals in the discipline of Alpinism but privately guides clients in many of the mountain ranges of North America.