Between Pitching and Free Solo Climbing "Easier" Terrain, Part I: Thinking About Bringing a Rope

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I feel as strongly about this short series (of which this is the first video) as I have about anything that we’ve produced. I think we don’t have to accept the premise that using a rope on moderate terrain (think whatever level of technical climbing feels technical but easy compared to your abilities) will slow us down to the point of a) not feeling the flow of movement through the mountains, or b) maybe even being unsafe due to the extra time we are taking (think storms rolling in, etc.).

I have this theory that the application of a rope in moderate terrain is becoming something of a lost skill.

Originally, when rock climbing was a practice for bigger mountains, there was a greater emphasis on protecting low angled terrain that still had serious consequences if a climber fell. After all, that’s what a lot of mountain terrain looks like. Also, factor in less user-friendly and less-safe equipment (no spring-loaded cams and the like), and there was added emphasis on not always needing to place gear (back then, it would have meant hammering in a piton) because of the tremendous time suck.

Modern climbing shoes, modern exercise science, and modern protection - like cams and kernmantle ropes - all allowed climbers to free climb (using a rope in case of a fall but only using the rock features for progress, as opposed to aid climbing which used equipment to help us move up) much harder than the “old mountaineers” ever could. Being able to climb tougher routes meant that low angled climbing was never really sought out and - further - the increase in abilities made the likelihood of a fall pretty small.

But now we’ve reached the point where climbers are so good, people you’ve never heard of are routinely free soloing (not using any equipment except modern shoes and maybe chalk) beginner level climbs that, nonetheless, you can still die from if you fall.

I’m not here to tell anyone not to free solo. But I do no people that free solo because they find using a rope cumbersome on low-angled terrain. Now, there is a difference between wanting to experience that “total freedom” of being “fully unencumbered,” that is seeking a particular experience, and avoiding a different experience of having to move slowly from pitch to pitch on a climb. Well, like most things in life, there is a middle ground. On lower-angled terrain, we can use a rope in ways that we cannot in a fully vertical environment due to the forces involved if someone falls. Those lower-angled techniques can be incredibly efficient and detract very little from the feeling of flowing over the rock.

So, we’re going to talk about that over the next four videos. Maybe recycling some of the knowledge of those “old mountaineers” will spark a curiosity to try it for those who feel free soloing isn’t quite the right fit for them.

As we add videos to this series, you can check them out by following this link.