On the Dawn Wall, Climbing and Tweeting

Back when I climbed a fair bit on El Cap, the force-fed storyline at the time, hyped up by the first ascentionists, was that the Salathe Wall was 'the greatest rock climb in the world'. Royal Robbins, who established the route was the 'purest of the pure', a god. Warren Harding, who established the adjacent 'Nose' route and the 'New Dawn Wall' was the 'devil'.
Upon climbing both the Nose and the Salathe I concluded that there was no comparison: the Nose, by Harding, was a much better and more classic route than Robbin's Salathe Wall. It was politics, you see, that said otherwise.
Harding was the guy who got up El Cap first and should be remembered for the brilliance of his vision and effort. I think it is great what these guys are attempting, but Harding is the historical hero in my book, regardless of his transgressions.

I am wondering if any of the climbers reading this could compare it to Jeff' Lowe's solo winter ascent of the Eiger north face, the "metanoia" route he climbed in 1991?

Climbing in Yosemite has constantly evolved since the days of John Muir. You can be sure that once the Dawn Wall is free climbed, some other climber will try something even more audacious. For a comprehensive look at the, more or less complete, history of Yosemite climbing see VERTICAL FRONTIER. It is an award winning feature length documentary narrated by Tom Brokaw.

Its interesting that so many commenters are frothing at the mouth about the climbers tweeting and putting entries on social media. All they are doing is writing their journal, but doing so in a more immediate way than has been available in the past. This in fact makes the journal more relevant and meaningful as they don't have to rely on possible faulty memory to describe the experience and the hardship. So lighten up ... we live in an age of instant journaling, or blogging, or whatever you want to call it. In the meantime, hats off to these to adventurers. Its not my kind of adrenaline rush, but is clearly theirs.

Not for nothing but, WHY do humans cut down all their life-giving trees and then go climb rocks?

Elmo

Thanks, New York Times, for this series of articles! It's fascinating. I am cheering these young men on from my armchair.

Here we go again…. Automated Comment Form For The Layman:
1. If you're not curing cancer, [insert endeavor] is obviously purely selfish and ego-driven.
2. My taxpayer dollars better not be going towards this nonsense??!!
3. Totally insane/obvious death wish/[your armchair DSM diagnosis].
4. Irresponsible!! What about the children?!
5. I can't even see the climbers from the meadow, but what's the deal with all those bolts??
6. If they have a smartphone up there, all possible motivations other than craven greed/attention-seeking are automatically invalidated.

I've been reading this coverage and the biographical bits on the climbers. It's amazing and I hope they succeed in their endeavor. But before plunging into the ethical crevices of free vs aid climbing debate (rivets vs fresh avocado & Facetime chats with loved ones), ask one of the fundamental questions that so enthralled us all back in the "Batso" Harding time -- how do they do their doo-doo up there?

Warren Harding was quite a character. He wrote one of the most entertaining climbers memoirs, titled "Downward Bound: A Mad Guide to Rock Climbing." Highly recommended and very funny ... complete with his own wine-fueled cartoon illustrations.

As a woman of a certain age who is afraid of a high diving board, I can't even imagine this so it is the with the utmost interest and respect that keep tabs of this climb.

You go, guys. And be safe.

There are many different aspects of climbing. There is the aspect of physical difficulty, the aspect of confronting the unknown (inwardly, and outwardly), the aspect of overcoming fear (not a part of climbing for everyone, but certainly a common aspect), and the aspect of adventure (so broad a term, the question then becomes, what type of adventure). These aspects have been present in different proportions throughout climbing history.
As time goes on in a place like Yosemite, the aspect of the unknown diminishes because there is literally less of it (less unclimbed terrain). In it's place, other aspects grow: such as overcoming fear (Alex Honnold), and the aspect of physical difficulty (the Dawn Wall climb).
I'm not so sure about some of the claims I made in my blogpost any more. It's such an isolated style, and unique ascent, that this climb is hardly representative of climbing as a whole; and hence, I don't think it can speak to 'where climbing is going these days'. Where I think this climb CAN act as a barometer is in measuring where your own climbing interests lie. If you find yourself feeling slightly let down by the Dawn Wall climb, in spite of how amazing it is, it may be because to you, the aspects of climbing that are most important are largely unrepresented in this incredible ascent.

Or they could have built home for homeless or really challenged themselves and faced fear by working in an Ebola clinic.
I'm not impressed

Thanks for the intelligent, and given what has been written here previously, most knowledgeable discussion on Mike and Tommy's Greatest Adventure. From a guy who only managed a 5.9 crux move and barely could sustain 5.6, they are amazing.

More Bread and Circus….

To be the first to conquer any natural challenge requires skills never before tested in quite this way.. It requires unprecedented planning and execution of thee plan. Ir requires outsize confidence and innovation. And it blazes a trail for all those who follow. It is a pioneering enterprise that tests the limits of man and assures that no matter who does what next, you were the first to do this. The conquest of natural challenges has a long and storied history. To be part of this history is heroic. And if you have fun in the process, so much the better.

Climbing evolves. Confidence/fear don't change. Technique, equipment & training has changed the way we see these climbs.

The climbing community was outraged at the number of bolts drilled in 1970. On the 2nd ascent Royal Robbins began to chop the route. (remove the bolts). But, the higher his team went, the more respect he felt for the quality of the line Harding had produced. About 1/3 way up, he stopped doing so. But it was too late, original route was gone. When Charlie Porter added the traverse from El Cap tower into the 'Blank Dihedrals', we had what is now called 'New Dawn', a route I did in 1976.

Aid climbing (Harding’s way) has gotten a bad rep. But, it’s its own discipline - one that requires strength, technique & mental toughness. Take the 'Blank Dihedrals'. They’re not hard, but boy are they mental. Rather than all bolts for 3 pitches Harding instead drilled shallow holes and placed long sections of rivets. For some reason, the few bolts here had no hangers. Climbing the rivet ladders with etriers (stirrups), we arrived at each bolt, reached in our pockets for hanger & nut. After hand tightening we clipped and continued upwards. Heady stuff maybe 5 bolts in 150'. Also 1/4" bolts not todays 3/8" bolts.

We spent 6 days on the route and finished with mixed emotions. The camaraderie of the rope is intoxicating and we left it reluctantly. At the same time we welcomed the return to the horizontal, knowing that at least for the moment, we had 'feed the rat'.

I rather imagine this free climb benefits from the previous bolting and its lasting damage in the use of grips. It also benefits from ropes arresting falls. I would imagine a true free climb would involve once a fall and arrest, then back to the bottom

I enjoyed this polished article with such fine grained, pithy observations and expert knowledge. Even as it seemed to be a little on high and in control of a distinctive spin... but hey, judging from all the odd reader comments, we reallly need this rock climbing appreciation training. lol

New York Times: Thank you for allowing a climber to describe how fantastic this climb is!

I dare anyone that thinks that they need to post a negative comment about this climb spend a few minutes of introspection about why they feel the need. (Hint: ego).

I'm glad that this article is mostly about the climb and not too much about electronic media.

It's really impressive that these guys are taking on a challenge that is barely doable if not impossible. Both climbers should be proud of what they have accomplished so far.

Once the first free ascent is done it will be interesting to see if there are other climbers that repeat this climb.

Where is the solitude? With twitter, and the stupidity of smart devices it all becomes a questionable joke. Imagine the solitary mountain man with a smart phone--So much for any spirituality of endeavor.

Can't anything be done these days without "Tweeting"? Tweeting trivializes everything. We live in a world that has been so trivialized by useless technology that its time for to be saved, by what I don't know. Save the world!

Climbers have always defined their own meaning of adventure. What's different nowadays is that apparently nothing has meaning unless it's tweeted, facebooked, instagrammed and who-knows-what-else to the masses while it's happening.

Bolting stinks. Leave no trace! If you can't climb a wall in a national park without permanently scarring it with drill holes and hardware, then don't climb it. How is the bolting of the Dawn Wall any different than the defacing of stone in national parks by the "artist" who recently crossed the country to paint pictures on wilderness stone?

"for ages, men have wandered intentionally into extreme hardship, and they are notoriously bad at saying why..." F.Spufford,

Nowadays, one had to be overtly naive assuming these guys wouldn't tap into instant fame provided by social media output as they were on the climb. Just the current state of things.

Back in time, men would willingly drift off the record, off their family and altogether off the charted map to step into territories where no one had ever been. In between departure and return was filling mostly by a frenzy of wild speculations. Which otherwise implied that over the course of months or even years, these would slip away from the public view, turn into ghosts or forgotten figures during -the leave of absence-, thus drawing even more fascination upon their potential return.

Things now are played differently and although it doesn't rob off any bits for the colossal task undertaken by the both of these climbers, nevertheless the 'tacky' brush stroke in which the half-way-through the event is already being shared and publicized perhaps throws a dim light to it.

its funny -- as mentioned, climbers have been scaling Yosemite's walls, and thousands of others, virtually every single day since the 1970s. And yet this week the Times has more stories about Caldwell's (remarkable) efforts than it has published in all the previous years combined. Why the sudden interest? So much interest that Times editors even decided to run this additional op-ed, which mostly repeats the same exact information already run in a different article in your paper earlier in the day.

I like to hike in the mountains of New Hampshire and Maine but I'm not a rock climber. I have always been fascinated by the early attempts on Everest. However these days it seems that most rock climbing is purposeless stunts. Everest is now a joke with ladders and fixed ropes. I'd rather see more stories about Class 3 Scrambling.

I climbed Half Dome, another of Yosemite's jewels. Technique-wise, I am not a patch on what Tommy Caldwell is capable of. He is indeed a master of this arcane craft, and I respect him for his sustained efforts on El Cap and elsewhere. Best wishes to him. He and Warren Harding are kindred spirits: they understand and embrace the risks, demands, and ewards of our beloved don't-call-it-a-sport. Non-climbers cannot "get" it, any more than non-dancers "get" the demands and rewards of the strenuous, athletic, artistic world of dance. But they don't have to.

Why is the NY Times giving this so much coverage? My word, don't people just go out and climb rocks for the heck of it any longer? It has to be a media spectacle and trumped up as some great achievement? My word! A public school teacher is more heroic than a pair of climbing bums (a term I use affectionately-- I was one long ago and loved the life completely) on any given day. But they don't get heroicized for sanding their fingertips now do they.

Excellent article. But lets get a few things out of the way:
1) You don't dump your human waste down the wall. You carry it out.
2) As the article states, free climbing uses ropes and bolts for safety. Climbing without a rope is called free solo and is insane on anything but easy or moderate terrain. (On large alpine peaks it is justified due to objective dangers such as falling rocks).
3) If done correctly, rock climbing is not particularly dangerous. The walls are vertical (nothing to hit if you fall) and the ropes and bolts are REALLY strong.
4) And climbing on large walls such as El Cap is REALLY fun.

"In California’s beatnik climbing circles, Warren Harding..."
Oh, lord -- beatniks, really?!? For whatever it's worth, I was there then and beatniks had long faded into obscurity. There was a vibrant and slightly crazed climbing community putting up new routes using new techniques. Camp 4 climbing bums, maybe, but beatniks? In your fevered eastern dreams... .

I really wish the effete eastern aesthetic would accept trees, cliffs and open space as integral to a shared America; that the New Yorker US cover of many years ago was ironic and not an actual reflection of reality. Arguably, Clarence King, Bret Harte and, alas, even Mark Twain contributed to the crazed, bohemian (even that an eastern construct) image of the west. But here's the thing: we don't need to do that anymore. Well, except to sell newspapers. Still, it's dishonest and perpetuates this "ha ha, those crazy westerners with their moonbeam governor" image. It gets in the way of a real exchange of ideas.

So, let's move on. Nothing to see here. Accept climbers, surfers, river runners -- with our without cell phones -- as no more and no less than what they are, people who develop a visceral appreciation of the land, however they choose to experience it. Kawabunga, dude!

This very article is an example of what I love about climbing -- it takes my mind off the ugliness of the day. Nice article. Nice story. Impressive feat.

As T. M. once said, "Enjoyment is the keynote."

Just amazing to me that some folks would voice skepticism about this climb; suggesting that Caldwell and Jorgenson are living the life of Riley by, for example, being "surrounded by camera crews, fixed lines, and other media accoutrements; getting goodies brought up to you by friend. . ."

Seriously? So getting a Snickers bar or two somehow detracts from this dangerous and difficult effort. For goodness sakes, the climbers are using their finger tips to grab hold of slivers of rock. One fellow is missing a finger. They have to postpone their forward progress for days so that their fingers can heal.

There's just no pleasing some people.

There will be a host of comments by those who have never climbed.
They might have when children, but were scared off by parents who yelled at them to "get down from there." Kids like to climb, it just seems natural to do so.

I helped tech a climbing class we had at CSU Fullerton in the early 80s, the students loved it, and some of the most enthusiastic were the women.
We took them to Joshua Tree NP, where climbing is probably the most popular activity there.
I have only done some small climbs on El Cap, and did not have the time to spend for longer ones. I have also climbed peaks in the Sierra Nevada, where we used protection, but free climbed, none so difficult as the wall.

Climbing is a sport just like any sport. It takes training, conditioning, and a lot of self confidence. It is hard to explain the rush you get, when you have finished a difficult climb. These guys are masters of the craft, and the funny thing about it, when they finish it, someone else will try for a more difficult one.

You can watch athletes perform amazing feats, be it gymnastics, or tennis, and these climbers are world class athletes.