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Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time
- buzzdenver 10y agoAdam is a total bad-ass and amazing how he's world class in so many disciplines and styles of climbing.
- cfontes 10y agoAlso he is from an amazing climbing family, everybody is freaking awesome at it.
- raftaa 10y agoYeah, but it was also nice to see him struggling with his nervousness. Just like the rest of us. Maybe he's just human too.
- Fricken 10y agoI wonder if in my lifetime we'll ever see a big, sustained free climb go up that surpasses the Dawn Wall. It took Tommy Caldwell 7 years just to unlock it. Testpieces like that don't come around very often.
- saiya-jin 10y agoit's considered the hardest climb globally in this type of climbing. you won't find such a huge face in himalaya for example. so first we would need to find a tougher one. if you look at the photos/description, there are not many massive polished almost-vertical walls like this one
- jdale27 10y agoThat is fucking amazing. I can't even comprehend what it must be like to be living on that wall for eight days (let alone 19 or 28). The mental and emotional state it must put you in...
- Someone 10y agoThis has been getting a bit easier, emotionally. He had a phone and Internet (he posted on Instagram from the wall, if I read the article correctly)
- mattnumbe 10y agoNo amount of internet would change my mental state when trying to sleep on a tiny platform 2,000 feet above the ground.
- CmdrSprinkles 10y agoIt seems crazy, but it is really no different than sleeping in a hotel room or going camping. You initially are uncomfortable and it takes a bit of time for your brain to acknowledge it is safe to sleep in a strange place. Then you realize you are exhausted and pass out. And unless you REALLY toss and turn in your sleep, you are as safe as your anchors (and if you are doing this, you know how to make anchors. Or are so incredibly stupid that you are trying to win a Darwin award).
- Someone 10y agoThe people who do this probably know, not only rationally but also emotionally, that the difference between 100 and 2000 feet is only a few seconds: the seconds that you stay alive longer if you fall from the latter height.
- tjsnyder 10y agoI've been on El Cap for 4 days. You get used to the exposure and you're usually too tired to do anything but sleep when you aren't climbing.
- bmj 10y agoIf you want to get a sense of what this was like in the "old days," read about Charlie Porter spending nine days, alone, climbing a new, difficult route on Mount Asgard [0], in the Baffin Mountains. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Asgard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Asgard
- wolf550e 10y agoAre there more photos of what this climb looks like? Maybe a video?
- function_seven 10y agoJust now I found this: http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-topo http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-topo EDIT: I should note that this image is the route that a different pair of climbers took last year. I’m not sure if Adam followed the same route or not.
- carsonbaker 10y agoYep, that's exactly what he did.
- Fricken 10y agoHere's Caldwell on pitch 15 last year: https://youtu.be/PLd_c4CjG44 https://youtu.be/PLd_c4CjG44
- tmd83 10y agoWhat kind of strength does one have to have on the finger to be able to hold himself with just the tip? I have always wondered. I only saw climbing scenes in movies and have always wondered if people actually are able to work with such little grip and it seems they are. So for such climbing do they use earlier runs to put the rings (whatever they are call) for the safety lines during the actual climb?
- jasonkester 10y agoIn general, when you see a climber bearing down on a tiny crimp that fits the very tip of just one finger, seeming to support his body weight on it, that is exactly what is happening. His feet will be on holds that are considerably worse. The amazing thing is that if you apply yourself to climbing and train for a few years, you will be able to move off similar holds in similar positions. It's a pretty cool feeling.
- peace011 10y agoKeep in mind that although he did it in a single push of 8 days, he has actually been up and down the wall for a lot longer, freeing and aiding every pitch many times. I was on the Nose almost a month ago and I could see his portaledge hanging out there. His accomplishment is really amazing and the Dawn Wall is so damn blank! No idea how these people get so good!
- lorenzhs 10y agoWell yeah, but Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson studied the wall for years. That this is Adam Ondra's first trip to Yosemite Valley and his first big wall makes it even more impressive. What an amazing achievement!
- petrbela 10y agoAdam actually consulted with Caldwell so he had quite a lot of prior knowledge but still, he's only really studied it for a month. Source: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2016/climber-adam-ondra-dawn-wall-yosemite-success/ http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2016/climber-ada...
- ethbro 10y agoPlug for Valley Uprising (on Netflix) if you're interested in climbing. The progression of difficulty and (mostly friendly and supportive) competition between climbers is inspiring. Amazing feat! PS: Would be happy to take anyone else's recommendations for videos or books too.
- lorenzhs 10y agoSeconded! Valley Uprising is worth watching (and available on Netflix in loads of countries, not just the US) I just finished Alex Honnold's book (Alone on the Wall) and it's a fun read. Gives you a bit of backstory to the media frenzy that surrounds him at times. In terms of videos, the Reel Rock film tour is amazing. They cover some really awesome climbs. And "Meru" is on Amazon Prime Video in a lot of countries (a short version was in Reel Rock one or two years ago).
- mkingston 10y agoOften Banff Mountain Film Festival has a good climbing film or two. The Caldwell/Honnold Fitz Traverse (for which they won Piolets d'Or) was in there this year. Strongly recommended- a really great story.
- drej 10y agoThis is only relevant if you understand Ondra's native tongue (Czech), which is extremely unlikely :-) But for anyone who does speak Czech: this is a rather fun interview, especially if you don't know much about climbing. https://video.aktualne.cz/dvtv/mam-lezecky-mozek-sedi-mi-divne-cesty-pady-na-skale-do-lana/r~ccaec1968f9111e682380025900fea04/ https://video.aktualne.cz/dvtv/mam-lezecky-mozek-sedi-mi-div...
- iliketrains 10y agoExtremely unlikely but possible :) Nice interview, thanks! For English speakers I would recommend "La Dura Complete: The Hardest Rock Climb In The World" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1P97VVt6_k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1P97VVt6_k)
- frrp 10y agoFollowing in photos is much better than just reading about Ondra: www.instagram.com/adam.ondra/
- toppy 10y agoHow it compares to what Alex Honnold achieved on The Nose? Difficulty or size is different?
- spuz 10y agoAlex Honnold has done the fastest aid climb of the Nose. It's the same height as the Dawn Wall but much easier difficulty wise (5.8 vs 5.14d).
- carsonbaker 10y agoIt's also worth mentioning that 95% of the Nose can be free-climbed by just about anyone that really trains for it. It's hard, but it's not that hard. The Dawn Wall, in contrast, is basically off limits for your average free climber -- especially the middle pitches -- unless you're among the best of the very best. You can check out the topos for each climb. This is the nose (http://www.supertopo.com/topos/yosemite/thenose.pdf http://www.supertopo.com/topos/yosemite/thenose.pdf [p15-16]), and you can see, with just a few exceptions, most of the pitches are graded 5.10 or easier. This is the Dawn Wall (http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-topo http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-topo). It's much, much harder, particularly when you realize that the Yosemite Decimal System progresses like the Richter scale, in the sense that a step from 5.13a to 5.13b (an increase of 1 grade unit) is leaps and bounds harder to achieve than improving from, say, 5.8 to 5.9.
- justinator 10y agoIt's much, much harder, particularly when you realize that the Yosemite Decimal System progresses like the Richter scale, in the sense that a step from 5.13a to 5.13b (an increase of 1 grade unit) is leaps and bounds harder to achieve than improving from, say, 5.8 to 5.9. Although this was the myth I was taught (or what us precocious kids must have made ourselves believed, since obv. we were progressing so well/so poorly) as well as a teenager, it's false. The Richter scale goes up logarithmic base 10, so that 2 in magnitude is 10 times more than 1 in magnitude. Climbing grades don't follow that, nor do they follow a linear pattern, (although they follow MORE closer to a linear pattern...). It's just that 5.10 is harder than 5.9; 5.13b is harder than 5.13a. There's no mathematically exactitude over it. A 5.13b climb just "feels" harder than a 5.13a climb, and a consensus has been reached. YDS is after all, open ended. If it was logarithmic like the Richter scale, going from 5.13 to 5.14 (5.13a, b, c, d, then 5.14a) would be 100,000x more difficult, which obviously it is not. The original YDS from 5.0 to 5.9 were based on benchmark climbs (not in Yosemite, strangely enough). Grades afterwards were added as things were getting a little crazy to be calling them, "5.9", so "5.10" was born. This also gives you the peculiarity where established 5.9 climbs are, "harder" than newer 5.10 climbs, and this repeats for 5.10d/5.11a; 5.11d/5.12a, as the scale kept going up. Then you gotta remember that all the climbing areas in even just this country are geographically isolated, so a 5.9 in Eldorado Canyon is different than a 5.9 at Devil's Lake. Yosemite itself is known to be pretty stiff. Unless you're good at a particular style, then... Anyways, it's a big mess, and it'll never be fixed. What Ondra is doing is pretty hard. Let's remember he's only 23.
- toppy 10y agoHow it compares to what Alex Honnold achieved on The Nose? Difficulty or size is different?
- jasonkester 10y agoI think that this style of climbing resonates a lot better with the general public because it does such a good job of conveying difficulty. If you look at a photo of Adam on one of his 9b's [1], it looks like a guy having a really hard time in a really steep place, but there are holds there. You see things that seem like a fella could hang from them. Compare to the photo in the article, with its dead vertical, mile-high flat granite surface that's, well, kinda bumpy. There is nowhere in that image that the layman could picture himself existing for even a second before falling off. It's a shame, in a way, that we sort of climbed off the top of the feasible difficulty for this style of route back in the '90s and had to turn to steeper, longer routes. You just don't get the captivating photos like you used to these days. [1] https://www.8a.nu/images/news/large/636002137114161240_13320515_786795324755406_315282076536749870_o.jpg https://www.8a.nu/images/news/large/636002137114161240_13320...
- saiya-jin 10y agotrue, only those who tried climbing for at least few times do know how much difference the shape of the hold and the angle of the wall makes the difference. layman can see me climbing some easy overhang in the gym (say 5c) in amazement, but it's basically a series of pullups with some stamina required (yeah, I am not a very good climber). on real rock with similar surface angle, or on some proper route I wouldn't last there for 2 seconds
- markatkinson 10y agoI started indoor climbing about 3-4 months back as there is a gym nearby and I go with one of our devs. My goodness what an amazingly functional sport. I have such immense respect and awe for those people that can climb such a flat surface. You really realise the insane grip strength and stamina they must have to be able to actually not fall off, let alone climb up. I am quite happy with my positive holds on a flat surface and indoors though. Youtube bouldering world championships for some insane athletes!
- Jaruzel 10y agoWhat amazes me more, right now, is that there are people on HN who not only KNOW about climbing, but actually DO it. By comparison, I tend to consider a brisk walk too much exercise.
- robin_reala 10y agoClimbing seems to be the developer’s sport. It’s not team based (beyond your belayer), there’s no schedule so you can fit it in around other things, and especially with bouldering it’s split into short challenges that are as much mental as physical.
- Fricken 10y agoIf you draw a venn diagram for jocks, hippies and nerds, the point where the three circles intersect is where you find climbers.
- steveax 10y agoFrank Sacherer worked at CERN: http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/tnb-forgotten-hero-frank-sacherer-1940-1978 http://www.rockandice.com/lates-news/tnb-forgotten-hero-fran...
- bhickey 10y agoBill Shockley won the Nobel Prize in Physics (https://www.mountainproject.com/v/shockleys-ceiling/105799687 https://www.mountainproject.com/v/shockleys-ceiling/10579968...) Hans Kraus was JFK's back doctor (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Kraus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Kraus)
- sideshowb 10y ago@Fricken Genius. That's the first new thing I've heard said about climbing in years, and hits the nail right on the head :D
- dwightgunning 10y ago
- erl 10y agoReading this I am once again fascinated by the link between body and mind. My hands start to sweat as soon as I read the headline.
- wlll 10y agoThat's what chalk is for :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1jwwagtaQ&feature=youtu.be&t=96 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1jwwagtaQ&feature=youtu.be... The whole video is pretty interesting, but may make your hands sweat even more.
- petval 10y agoHere's a google translation of just a few days old Czech article about him from his beginnings as a child. I thought Alex Honnold is the best one and didn't know about Ondra till this weekend although I am Czech as well. https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=cs&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reportermagazin.cz%2Fa%2FwYZ2K%2Fadam-ondra-muz-s-pavouci-dna&edit-text= https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&js=y&prev...
- yread 10y ago> "Vymrčel I get it," Google translate learnt Czech from people from Prague :)
- a-l-c-o 10y agoIn what way is this a hacker piece of news ? What's next ? "This cat completes Record Backflip" ? Please refrain, Thx
- toppy 10y agoYou can find an explanation here https://blog.codinghorror.com/software-projects-as-rock-climbing/ https://blog.codinghorror.com/software-projects-as-rock-clim... http://adaptivepatchwork.com/2011/01/10/why-programmers-love-to-climb/ http://adaptivepatchwork.com/2011/01/10/why-programmers-love... http://breckyunits.com/what-can-a-programmer-learn-from-rock-climbing.html http://breckyunits.com/what-can-a-programmer-learn-from-rock...
- a-l-c-o 10y agoThank You toppy. Your second link mentioning problem solving is interesting. But overall I think the comparison is a little stretched.
- JadeNB 10y ago> In what way is this a hacker piece of news ? As always when someone asks such questions (including when I asked one a week or so ago), the answer is that this is a site for news of interest to hackers, not necessarily news about hacking. If you want to judge whether this is of interest to hackers, then just look at the lively activity of the rest of the thread; it compares quite favourably to even some quieter front-page discussions.
- a-l-c-o 10y agoYou are right, this is not Hacking News. And I regret my vehemence. Still, the livelyhood of the thread is not much of a factor in my opinion. Though rock-climbing is in itself interesting (maybe more than average to devs) it has no direct link to being a hacker/dev. It borders on 'lifestyle' kind of content.
- JadeNB 10y ago
- sbisson 10y agoBack the end of September I was photographing folk on the Dawn Wall from down the valley, as we were passing through from the Bay to Park City, heading to a futurist conference... https://flic.kr/p/N3KDST https://flic.kr/p/N3KDST
- philfrasty 10y agoAs a non-climber: who drills these holes into the wall with the carabiners in them? (AND HOW???)
- avar 10y agoHow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO4zuO1XSxQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SO4zuO1XSxQ Who: Aside from Yosemite, the answer is "it depends", a lot of these are just set up by enterprising enthusiasts, often technically illegally, but few care enough to bother them. In some parks & locations they're set up by whoever manages the park / owns the area to attract climbers & the business that comes with it. Some people in the mountaineering / climbing community don't like them since they leave a permanent trace ("take only photos, leave only footprints"), and prefer to use removable versions of these for just the duration of the climb.
- jdietrich 10y agoDislike is something of an understatement. For many decades, there has been a tit-for-tat war between sport and trad climbers. Sport climbers bolt a route, then trad climbers come along with bolt croppers and remove the protection. In many areas, bolting is carried out under cover of darkness, for fear of violent confrontation with traditionalists. The Dawn Wall has been a significant battleground in this war. The first ascent was made by Harding and Caldwell in 1970 using bolts and significant aid climbing; A year later, Royal Robbins made the second ascent, chopping off the bolts as he went.
- spuz 10y agoI think that's overblowing it. 99.9% of the time, trad climbers and sport climbers and their respective ethics coexist peacefully. There are rock climbing areas that are better suited to trad and areas that are suited to sport, and most of the time those areas are pretty well agreed upon. There are also areas (such as Yosemite) where a mixture of removable gear and permanent gear is most appropriate and in those cases, the general rule of 'removable gear where possible, fixed gear where necessary' is also well agreed upon. What you're talking about with Harding and Robbins on the Dawn Wall is a clash of ethics that is long in the past. Very few people consider it worthwhile hammering pitons into a slice of blank rock in order to ascend it and aid climbing in itself is less popular with respect to free climbing.
- overcast 10y agoI'm sure this will get down voted into oblivion. I respect the passion of climbing, I really do. However, I never agreed with drilling holes, and placing bolts, in all of these amazing natural structures. Just another thing we have to ruin for human enjoyment :(
- doytch 10y agoJust FYI, the Clean Climbing movement that really picked up in the 70s has done a lot to try and minimize or avoid damage to rock. Just saying that as someone who doesn't climb, who didn't know about this (and nuts vs pitons) until I was bored and browsing the book store once. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_climbing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_climbing
- buzzdenver 10y agoNot sure there are enough people on HN who are so much into climbing that they'd downvote you. But it's pointless to have a trad vs sport argument or the tenmillionth time, especially here.
- wlll 10y agoRuined is a little strong. It's not like you can see the bolts unless you're up-close and personal with them, like for instance if you're climbing.
- takk309 10y agoSometimes it is easy to miss them while climbing!
- un-devmox 10y agoFor those interested in the bolt or not to bolt debate, the Dawn Wall has always been at the epicenter of this controversy. When Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell did the first ascent they placed many bolts (most were tiny brittle aluminum dowels). Later, Royal Robbins and Don Lauria, made the 2nd ascent with the intention of removing those bolts. But they stopped removing the bolts as the beauty of the climb became apparent. IMO, as someone who has climbed in the Valley for more than 25 years and has always been a traditionalist, drilled bolts have there place in climbing. It would be hard to convince me that bolts on El Cap or any where else in the Valley have 'ruined' the massif.
- mmartinson 10y agoEvery time time someone uses the world "conquer" to describe a climbing accomplishment, a million climbers face palm. That said, this is a pretty descriptive article describing what happened in a way accessible to fairly general audience. I particularly liked the comparison "it's akin to Usain Bolt also being the fastest marathoner alive. That’s the hold Ondra has on climbing." It's incredible to imagine how far this guy might push the sport, given everything he has already accomplished at such a young age.
- takk309 10y agoFor the non-climbers, conquer is much easier to understand than send.
- 24gttghh 10y agoEspecially since 'to send it' in other sports like snowboarding or skateboarding means "to get air" i.e. freefall.
- cmdrfred 10y agoNever heard of send before, is it just short for ascend?
- takk309 10y agoIn simple terms, yes. More often it is used to mean that you were able to make it up a climb without taking a fall, having your belayer hold you with the rope, or pulling on any fixed gear.