Aid climbing

Last updated

Aid climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses mechanical devices and equipment, such as aiders (or ladders), for upward momentum. [1] Aid climbing is different than free climbing (which can be performed as traditional or sport free climbing), which only uses mechanical equipment for protection, but not to assist in upward momentum. "Aid climbing" sometimes involves hammering in pitons and bolts, into which aiders are clipped, but there is also "clean aid climbing" which avoids hammering, using only removable placements.

Contents

While aid climbing traces its origins to the start of all climbing when ladders and pitons were common, its use in single-pitch climbing waned in the early 20th century with the rise of free climbing. At the same time, the Dolomites became the birthplace of modern "big wall aid climbing", where pioneers like Emilio Comici developed the early tools and techniques. Aid climbing's "golden age" was in the 1960s and 1970s on Yosemite's granite big walls led by pioneers such as Royal Robbins and Warren Harding, and later Jim Bridwell, and was also where Robbins' ethos of minimal-aid, and Yvon Chouinard's ethos of "clean aid climbing", became dominant.

In the 1990s, the traditional A-grading system was expanded at Yosemite into a more detailed "new wave" system, and with the development and growth in "clean aid climbing", the A-grade became the C-grading system. The grading of aid-climbing routes is complex as successive repeats can substantially change the nature of the challenge through hammering and also the build-up of large amounts of in-situ fixed placements. It is not untypical for a new A5-graded aid-climbing route, to migrate to an A3-graded route over time.

Aid climbing is still used on large big wall climbing and alpine climbing routes to overcome sections of extreme difficulty that are beyond the difficulties of the rest of the route. A famous big wall climb such as The Nose on El Capitan is accessible to strong climbers as a partial-aid route graded VI 5.9  (5c) C2, but only a tiny handful can handle its 5.14a  (8b+) grade as a free climbed route. Aid is also used to develop "next generation" big wall routes (e.g. Riders on the Storm on Cordillera Paine, or the Grand Voyage on Trango Towers). Extreme C5-graded aid-only routes are also still being established, such as Nightmare on California Street on El Capitan.

Description

Climber standing in aiders while ascending aid climbing route, The Shield (VI 5.7 A3), on El Capitan The Shield P25 Yosemite.jpg
Climber standing in aiders while ascending aid climbing route, The Shield (VI 5.7 A3), on El Capitan

Aid climbing is a form of rock climbing that uses mechanical devices and equipment for upward momentum. It is considered the opposite of free climbing (whether done as traditional climbing or sport climbing), which only uses mechanical devices and equipment for climbing protection, but not to assist in upward momentum. Like traditional and sport climbing, aid climbing is typically done in pairs with a lead climber making the "placements" into which ladders (known as aiders) are clipped, thus enabling them to ascend. After the lead climber has reached the top, the second climber (or belayer) then removes the placements as they jumar up the rope. [2] [3]

"Traditional aid climbing" relied on fixed placements, which were mainly metal pitons that the lead climber hammered into the rock as they ascended. These placements remained permanently fixed on the route (and in such cases, the second (or belayer) didn't have to take any placement out and just jumared up on a fixed rope). "Clean aid climbing" avoids any hammering, and uses the temporary protection of traditional climbing (e.g. spring-loaded camming devices) for placements, which the second removed as they followed after the lead climber. "Clean aid climbing" avoids the damage that repeated hammering of metal does to aid routes, [2] [3] [4] and has been advocated by some as useful training and building up of experience in the placing of traditional climbing protection. [5] [6]

While the sport of aid climbing has waned as the free climbing movement has grown, elements of aid climbing are still a regular feature of many major big wall climbing and alpine climbing routes. These routes are long multi-pitch climbs where it is possible to find specific sections that are considerably above the difficulty level of the rest of the route. For such sections, aid climbing techniques are accepted, even by free climbers. [2] [3] For example, the world-famous big wall climbing route The Nose on El Capitan is a 31-pitch 870-metre graded partial clean aid climb at VI 5.9  (5c) C2, but as a fully free climb with no aid, it is graded VI 5.14a  (8b+), which is beyond the skills of only a very small group of elite free climbers. [7]

History

Royal Robbins resting on his aiders during the 3rd pitch of the FA of the Salathe Wall (VI 5.9 C2) Royal Robbins by Tom Frost.jpg
Royal Robbins resting on his aiders during the 3rd pitch of the FA of the Salathé Wall (VI 5.9 C2)

Aid climbing traces its origins to the start of all climbing, with ladders used on historic ascents such as the 1492 ascent of Mont Aiguille, the 1786 ascent of Mont Blanc, or the 1893 ascent of Devils Tower, and with drilled bolts on historic ascents such as the 1875 first ascent of Half Dome. [8] [4] By the start of the 20th century, the widespread use of aid (e.g. ladders and pitons) was challenged by the free climbing movement led by Paul Preuss. While the use of aid diminished on single-pitch routes, big wall climbers in the Dolomites, such as Tita Piaz  [ it ], further developed aid climbing techniques. [8] [4] The legacy of the Dolomites as the birthplace of big-wall and modern aid climbing was cemented by pioneer Emilio Comici who developed the multi-step aider (or ladder). In 1933, Comici used these aid climbing techniques to climb the overhanging north face of the Cima Grande, then the world's hardest big wall aid route. [8] [4] Comici's aid techniques were used by the leading European big wall and alpine climbers such as Riccardo Cassin on famous routes across the European Alps. [8] [4]

In 1946, John Salathé developed a piton made from high-carbon chrome-vanadium (salvaged from the axles of the Ford cars), which enabled him to overcome the hard granite cracks of Yosemite and climb the iconic Lost Arrow Spire in 1947 with Ax Nelson. [7] [9] Salathé's new aid climbing equipment (including the skyhook), led to a "golden age" in big wall aid climbing. [4] [9] In 1957, a team led by Royal Robbins used Salathé's aid tools to climb the Northwest Face of Half Dome in Yosemite, ushering in modern American big wall aid climbing. [7] In 1958, a team led by Warren Harding aid climbed The Nose on El Capitan using siege tactics (600 pitons and 125 bolts) over 47 days; while the ascent got worldwide recognition it was controversial due to the excessive use of aid. [7] Robbins' ethos of minimizing the use of aid prevailed over that of Harding, and his legacy of partially-aided ascents including the Salathé Wall (1961), the North American Wall (1964), and the Muir Wall (1968) cemented Yosemite, and the granite walls of El Capitan, as the world's most important big wall aid climbing venue, and Robbins' place in climbing history. [8] [10]

1970 saw one of the most infamous events in big wall aid climbing, with the creation of Cesare Maestri's Compressor Route on Cerro Torre. [8] Maestri drilled an extreme amount of bolts into the famous headwall using a 300-pound air compressor drill; in one section he drilled across a blank 90-metre face to avoid the wind. [4] Maestri's excessive use of aid was condemned. [4] [8] In 1971, Reinhold Messner wrote a now famous essay titled The Murder of the Impossible on the trend of excessive aid saying: "Today's climber ... carries his courage in his rucksack". Another famous essay in 1972, by big wall pioneers Yvon Chouinard and Tom Frost, appealed for "clean aid climbing" techniques to avoid the damage incurred by pitons and hammers. [9] [11] Messner's and Chouinard's essays marked the end of the excessive aid techniques. [4] The 1970s saw new big wall aid climbing pioneers such as Jim Bridwell pushing standards in Yosemite using less intrusive aid (e.g. Chouinard's RURPs) to put up groundbreaking routes such as Pacific Ocean Wall (1975) and Sea of Dreams (1978), with its famous A5-graded "Hook or Book" pitch, the first "if you fall, you die" rope length on El Capitan. [12] [8]

Bridwell and others pushed big wall aid climbing standards into the 1980s and 1990s with ever-harder A5-graded routes like Reticent Wall (1995), on the blank south faces of El Capitan. [8] The arrival sport climbing in the late 1980s saw a dramatic rise in rock climbing standards. [8] [9] Many big wall aid climbs were freed, with the most notable being Lynn Hill's 1993 free climb of The Nose on El Capitan at 5.14a. [7] [4] Aid climbing continued to be a skill set for big wall and alpine climbers in both being able to complete routes that would otherwise be almost impossible to most climbers (e.g. The Nose on El Capitan) and in creating "next generation" big wall and alpine routes that are not capable of being fully freed (e.g. the Grand Voyage on Trango Towers). [8] In a 1999 essay in Ascent titled The Mechanical Advantage, big wall aid climber and author, John Middendorf, said of that Hill's achievement on The Nose: "But without the old piton scars, without fixed protection, without her big-wall aid climbing experience, without the extraordinary free-climbing ability she gained from bolted sport climbs and indoor gyms and competitions, would there have ever been a such a free ascent?" [4]

In 2012, the Oxford English Dictionary added the term "aid climbing". [13]

Equipment

Aid climbing equipment
Laddder aider.jpg
Aider
Daisychainclimbing.JPG
Daisy chain
Profilhaken.jpg
Piton
Skyhook.jpg
Skyhook

Modern aid climbing typically uses most of the equipment used in traditional climbing, and particularly the protection equipment of traditional climbing (e.g. nuts, hexcentrics and tricams, and spring-loaded camming devices) that are needed for "clean aid climbing". [2]

In addition, a number of unique items of equipment are also used in aid climbing: [2] [14] [15]

Where aid climbing is done as part of big wall climbing – which is normally its most common format – then even more equipment is required (e.g. including haul bags, hauling pulleys and trail ropes; portaledges, and poop tubes). [2] [3]

Techniques

Aid climbing techniques on big wall climbs
Aid climbing on El Capitan.JPG
The second retrieving placements (including cam hooks) on El Capitan
Aid Climbing Peter Pan Mont Peney III.jpg
Using aiders on the roof of Peter Pan
Cerro Torre headwall.JPG
Jumaring on Cerro Torre headwall
El Capitan Aid Climbing - Copy.webp
Using aiders on the route Tribal Rite (VI, 5.8, A3+), on El Capitan

Aid climbing, for both "clean" and "traditional", is a very different type of climbing to traditional climbing, relying almost exclusively on mechanical devices for upward momentum. A number of specific techniques are important in aid climbing, which include the following: [2] [16] [3]

Grading

Issues with aid grading

Layton Kor on the first ascent of Exhibit A Eldarado Canyon; the route was then graded 5.9 A4 (original A-grade), but is now graded 5.8 C2+ R (post "new-wave" C-grade). Layton Kor, in Eldorado, on the climb "Exhibit A".jpg
Layton Kor on the first ascent of Exhibit A Eldarado Canyon; the route was then graded 5.9 A4 (original A-grade), but is now graded 5.8 C2+ R (post "new-wave" C-grade).

The grading of aid climbs is regarded as being complex and in a state of flux. [18] [19] Aid grades can change materially over time due to improvements in aid equipment but also due to the impact of repeated ascents that subsequent aid climbing teams make to a route. [18] [19] Big-wall and aid-climbing author Chris McNamara outlines in his 2011 book Yosemite Big Walls, how the grade of a typical "new A5 route" in Yosemite evolves over time: [20]

While different aid grading systems have been devised to address this (e.g. the "new wave"), in Yosemite Big Walls, McNamara says: "Although it was originally touted as being more precise, than the previous A1-A5 system, it is now clear the new wave system only brought more confusion to the rating process". [20] In practice, aid-climbing authors use a "composite" of the two systems (original and "new wave"), going from A0 to A6, and focused on the number of "bodyweight placements" (i.e. "tenuous" aid placements that can only hold a static bodyweight) vs. "bombproof placements" (belay-like aid placements that can hold a falling body) on a pitch, as a guide to the consequences of any leader fall. [18] [19] [20]

Original A-grades

Original aid climbing grades go from A0 to A5 and focus on the number of "bodyweight placements" vs. "bombproof placements" on a given pitch. [20] They are less concerned with the physical demands of an aid route. [18] In Yosemite, the "R" and "X" suffixes of the American YDS free climbing system are added for routes with dangers of falls onto ledges or ramps or the risk of cutting the rope on an edge, such as pitch 13 on Reticent Wall at A4R. [20]

The original aid climbing grades are described by the American Alpine Club (republished in 2013) as follows: "In general, older routes, routes with little aid, and those put up by climbers without extensive big-wall experience use the original aid rating system": [21] [22]

New wave A-grades

Climbers aiding on Zodiac (VI 5.8 A2+), on El Capitan. Craig DeMartino on Zodiac on El Capitan.jpg
Climbers aiding on Zodiac (VI 5.8 A2+), on El Capitan.

In the 1990s, Yosemite aid climbers created what they called a "new wave" aid grading system that expanded the range of the original system to A6, introduced an intermediate "+" grade from A2 onwards for specific tricky or strenuous sections, and gave detailed definitions at each level. As with the original system, the main focus is still on discerning the number of "bodyweight placements" on a route, and therefore the consequences of a fall. [20] [18]

"New wave" grades are described by the American Alpine Club (republished in 2013) as: "Newer routes put-up by big-wall aficionados often are given a "New Wave" aid rating using the same symbols with new definitions": [21] [22]

Clean C-grades

When the original or the "new wave" aid climbs can be ascended without the use of a hammer (for pitons or copperheads), the "A" suffix is replaced by a "C" to denote "clean climbing". [21] [22] In Yosemite, an "F" suffix is placed after the "C" if fixed gear (e.g. bolts) is required to go clean (or hammerless). [20]

Milestones

The following are some of the most notable milestones in the development of aid climbing routes:

North America

High altitude and expedition

In film

A few notable films have been made focused on aid wall climbing including: [33]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climbing</span> Activity to ascend a steep object

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains to small boulders. Climbing is done for locomotion, sporting recreation, for competition, and is also done in trades that rely on ascension, such as rescue and military operations. Climbing is done indoors and outdoors, on natural surfaces, and on artificial surfaces

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of climbing terms</span> For rock climbing and mountaineering

Glossary of climbing terms relates to rock climbing, mountaineering, and to ice climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-climbing equipment</span> List of manmade gear

Rock-climbing equipment varies with the type of climbing undertaken. Bouldering needs the least equipment outside of shoes and chalk and optional crash pads. Sport climbing adds ropes, harnesses, belay devices, and quickdraws to clip into pre-drilled bolts. Traditional climbing adds the need for carrying a "rack" of temporary passive and active protection devices. Multi-pitch climbing adds devices to assist in ascending and descending fixed ropes. And finally aid climbing uses unique equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Capitan</span> Vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park

El Capitan is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet (914 m) from base to summit along its tallest face and is a world-famous location for big wall climbing, including the disciplines of aid climbing, free climbing, and more recently for free solo climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solo climbing</span> Style of climbing performed alone

Solo climbing, or soloing, is a style of climbing in which the climber climbs a route alone, without the assistance of a belayer. By its very nature, it presents a higher degree of risk to the climber, and in some cases, is considered extremely high risk. Note that the use of the term "solo climbing" is generally separate from the action of bouldering, which is itself a form of solo climbing, but with less serious consequences in the case of a fall. The most dangerous form of solo climbing is free solo climbing, which means both climbing alone and without any form of climbing protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clean climbing</span> Rock climbing techniques which avoid damage to the rock

Clean climbing is rock climbing techniques and equipment which climbers use in order to avoid damage to the rock. These techniques date at least in part from the 1920s and earlier in England, but the term itself may have emerged in about 1970 during the widespread and rapid adoption in the United States and Canada of nuts, and the very similar but often larger hexes, in preference to pitons, which damage rock and are more difficult and time-consuming to install. Pitons were thus eliminated in North America as a primary means of climbing protection in a period of less than three years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piton</span> Metal tool used in rock climbing

A piton in big wall climbing and in aid climbing is a metal spike that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a climbing hammer, and which acts as an anchor for protecting the climber from falling or to assist progress in aid climbing. Pitons are equipped with an eye hole or a ring to which a carabiner is attached; the carabiner can then be directly or indirectly connected to a climbing rope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock climbing</span> Type of sport

Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations or indoor climbing walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and mentally demanding sport, one that often tests a climber's strength, endurance, agility and balance along with mental control. Knowledge of proper climbing techniques and the use of specialized climbing equipment is crucial for the safe completion of routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-pitch climbing</span> Type of climbing

Multi-pitch climbing is a type of climbing that typically takes place on routes that are more than a single rope length in height, and thus where the lead climber cannot complete the climb as a single pitch. Where the number of pitches exceeds 6–10, it can become big wall climbing, or where the pitches are in a mixed rock and ice mountain environment, it can become alpine climbing. Multi-pitch rock climbs can come in traditional, sport, and aid formats. Some have free soloed multi-pitch routes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Robbins</span> American rock climber (1935–2017)

Royal Robbins was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent of boltless, pitonless clean climbing, he, along with Yvon Chouinard, was instrumental in changing the climbing culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s by encouraging the use and preservation of the natural features of the rock. He went on to become a well-known kayaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Harding (climber)</span> American rock climber (1924–2002)

Warren Harding was one of the most accomplished and influential American big wall climbers and aid climbers of the 1950s to 1970s. He was the leader of the first team to climb El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, in 1958. The route they climbed, known as The Nose, ascends 2,900 feet (880 m) up the central buttress of what is one of the largest granite monoliths in the world. Harding made many first ascents in Yosemite, some 28 in all, including The Wall of Early Morning Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rope solo climbing</span> Type of solo climbing with protection

Rope-solo climbing or rope-soloing is a form of solo climbing, but unlike with free solo climbing, which is also performed alone and with no climbing protection whatsoever, the rope-solo climber uses a mechanical self-belay device and rope system, which enables them to use the standard climbing protection to protect themselves in the event of a fall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rock climbing</span> Key chronological milestones

In the history of rock climbing, the three main sub-disciplines—bouldering, single-pitch climbing, and big wall climbing—can trace their origins to late 19th-century Europe. Bouldering started in Fontainebleau, and was advanced by Pierre Allain in the 1930s, and John Gill in the 1950s. Big wall climbing started in the Dolomites, and was spread across the Alps in the 1930s by climbers such as Emilio Comici and Riccardo Cassin, and in the 1950s by Walter Bonatti, before reaching Yosemite where it was led in the 1950s to 1970s by climbers such as Royal Robbins. Single-pitch climbing started pre-1900 in both the Lake District and in Saxony, and by the late-1970s had spread widely with climbers such as Ron Fawcett (Britain), Bernd Arnold (Germany), Patrick Berhault (France), Ron Kauk and John Bachar (USA).

Robert John Slater was an American mountaineer known for his first ascent of the big wall route Wyoming Sheep Ranch on El Capitan. A tireless outdoor recreationalist, Slater built up an impressive climbing resume during his college years and later as he worked as a trader on the Chicago Board of Trade and for Goldman Sachs. He died on August 13, 1995, while descending from the summit of K2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topo (climbing)</span> Graphical representation of a climbing route

In climbing, a topo is a graphical representation of a climbing route. Topos range from a photograph of the climb on which the line of the route is overlaid, to a detailed diagram of the key features and challenges of the climb.

El Capitan is a film by filmmaker Fred Padula that captures one of the earliest ascents of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, California. It has won several awards at film festivals around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big wall climbing</span> Type of rock climbing

Big wall climbing is a form of rock climbing that takes place on long multi-pitch routes that normally require a full day, if not several days, to ascend. In addition, big wall routes are typically sustained and exposed, where the climbers remain suspended from the rock face, even sleeping hanging from the face, with limited options to sit down or escape unless they abseil back down the whole route. It is therefore a physically and mentally demanding form of climbing.

<i>The Nose</i> (El Capitan) Multi-pitch climbing route in Yosemite, US

The Nose is a big wall climbing route up El Capitan. Once considered impossible to climb, El Capitan is now the standard for big wall climbing. It is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.

<i>Salathé Wall</i> Technical climbing route up El Capitan

The Salathé Wall is one of the original big wall climbing routes up El Capitan, a 3,000-foot (900 m) high granite monolith in Yosemite National Park. The Salathé Wall was named by Yvon Chouinard in honor of John Salathé, a pioneer of rock climbing in Yosemite. The route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and is considered a classic around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Frost</span> American rock climber (1936–2018)

Thomas "Tom" M. Frost was an American rock climber known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley. He was also a photographer and climbing equipment manufacturer. Frost was born in Hollywood, California, and died in Oakdale, California.

References

  1. ↑ "Aid Climbing". Collins English Dictionary . 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023. climbing that employs mechanical devices (aids) to accomplish difficult maneuvers (artificial moves)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 The Mountaineers (2018). "Chapter 15. Aid and Big Wall Climbing". Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills (9th ed.). Quiller Publishing. pp. 276–317. ISBN   978-1846892622.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Synott, Mark (23 February 2022). "Everything You Need to Know for Your First Big Wall". Climbing . Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Middendorf, John (1999). "The Mechanical Advantage". Ascent Magazine. Climbing . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  5. ↑ Chapman, Jeff (28 October 2022). "Want to Get Better at Trad Climbing? Go Aid Climbing". Climbing . Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  6. ↑ Synott, Mark (2 August 2021). "Climb Long Routes Faster With This Simple Aid Climbing Trick". Climbing . Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Editorial (1 June 2016). "The 25 Greatest Moments in Yosemite Climbing History". Outside . Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Elli, Fabio; Zabrok, Peter (2019). "Chapter 2. A Brief History of Aid Climbing". Hooking Up – The Ultimate Big Wall and Aid Climbing Manual (1st ed.). Versante Sud. pp. 25–52. ISBN   978-8885475809.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Wilkinson, Freddie (14 March 2019). "Rock climbing: from ancient practice to Olympic sport". National Geographic . Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  10. ↑ Van Leuven, Chris (21 March 2017). "Royal Robbins: The Kingpin of Yosemite's Golden Age". Climbing . Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  11. ↑ Franz, Derek (10 March 2023). "Between safety and boldness". Alpinist . Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  12. 1 2 Van Leuven, Chris (16 February 2018). "Obituary: Jim "The Bird" Bridwell (1944-2018)". Climbing . Retrieved 26 May 2023. These included the hardest routes in the world at the time: first the Pacific Ocean Wall, and then later Sea of Dreams with its notorious A5 Hook or Book pitch—the first "if you fall, you die" rope length on the famed big wall.
  13. ↑ "New words List September 2012 : Aid Climbing". Oxford English Dictionary . 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  14. ↑ Ellison, Julie (16 December 2013). "Big Wall Kit". Climbing . Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  15. ↑ Ogden, Jared (2005). "Chapter 1: Fundamentals". Big Wall Climbing: Elite Technique (1st ed.). Mountaineers Books. pp. 16–56. ISBN   978-0898867480.
  16. ↑ Ogden, Jared (2005). "Chapter 2: Big Wall Climbing Procedures". Big Wall Climbing: Elite Technique (1st ed.). Mountaineers Books. pp. 94–140. ISBN   978-0898867480.
  17. ↑ "Exhibit A (5.8 C2+ R)". Mountain Project. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Ogden, Jared (2005). "Chapter 2: Big Wall Climbing Procedures, Grades & Ratings". Big Wall Climbing: Elite Technique (1st ed.). Mountaineers Books. pp. 59–60. ISBN   978-0898867480.
  19. 1 2 3 Elli, Fabio; Zabrok, Peter (2019). "Chapter 2. Aid Climbing Rating Systems". Hooking Up – The Ultimate Big Wall and Aid Climbing Manual (1st ed.). Versante Sud. pp. 71–87. ISBN   978-8885475809.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 McNamara, Chris; Van Leuven, Chris (2011). "Aid Ratings". Yosemite Big Walls (3rd ed.). SuperTopo. pp. 18–19. ISBN   978-0983322504.
  21. 1 2 3 "International Grade Comparison Chart". Alpinist . Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 "International Grade Comparison Chart". American Alpine Journal . 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  23. ↑ "Bird's Eye View". Alpinist . Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  24. ↑ Berry, Nathalie (8 July 2015). "Sea of Dreams: A4 Solo for Andy Kirkpatrick". UKClimbing. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  25. ↑ McDonald, Dougald (26 July 2006). "Reticent Wall in a Single Push". Climbing . Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  26. 1 2 McNeely, Ammon (December 2011). "El Cap's Hardest: Wings of Steel". Rock & Ice . Retrieved 30 May 2023. The aid route with hard and dangerous technical climbing is Warren Hollinger and Grant Gardner's 1998 Nightmare on California Street (A5), unrepeated despite strong attempts.
  27. ↑ Leonard, Brian (4 December 2017). "10 Climbs on El Capitan That Are As Impressive As the Dawn Wall". Men's Journal . Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  28. ↑ Gray, Will (9 December 2021). "These are the 10 hardest climbs in the world". Red Bull . Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  29. ↑ "Riders on the Storm". PlanetMountain. planetmountain.com. 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  30. ↑ Child, Greg (1 July 2005). "Trango Tower". Alpinist (11). Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  31. ↑ Lucas, James (16 August 2016). "Great Trango Tower: The Biggest Big Wall". Climbing. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  32. ↑ Elli, Fabio; Zabrok, Peter (2019). "Stories: Great Trango Tower and The Grand Voyage". Hooking Up – The Ultimate Big Wall and Aid Climbing Manual (1st ed.). Versante Sud. pp. 53–60. ISBN   978-8885475809.
  33. ↑ Bisharat, Andrew (6 September 2022). "The 20 Best Climbing Films of All Time". Outside . Retrieved 28 September 2023.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.