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40-514: 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

80-512: A 17-year-old Georg Winkler free soloed the Vajolet Towers in the Dolomites . The Dolomites were the birthplace of big wall climbing, and where pioneer Emilio Comici invented many big wall techniques such as aid climbing with multi-step aiders , hanging belays and bivouacs , advanced rope maneuvers, and leading with a trail rope . In 1933, Comici climbed the overhanging north face of

120-404: A classic around the world. The first ascent was in 1961 by Royal Robbins , Tom Frost , and Chuck Pratt . After climbing about a quarter of the route, they retreated to re-supply, leaving four fixed ropes in place. Quickly returning, they jumared back up the ropes and totally committed to climbing the upper wall in a single push, which they did in 6 days using only 15 bolts total. The route

160-446: A grade of 5.13b. In 2005, Steph Davis made the first female free ascent , with the grade at 5.13b. Big wall climbing Big wall climbing is typically done in pairs in a traditional climbing format, but with the distinction that the non-lead climber usually ascends by jumaring up a fixed rope to save time and energy. It requires an extensive range of supplies and equipment over and above that of traditional climbing that

200-402: A more direct route up the west face than that taken in 1952. On 10–13 August 1965, Royal Robbins, this time accompanied by John Harlin , climbed the 'American Direttissima'. This route was destroyed by the 2005 rockfall. In 1966 two German climbers became stuck on a climb of the west face. Attempts to rescue them were made by three teams, including climbers such as Gary Hemming who were in

240-512: A team led by Royal Robbins climbed the Northwest Face of Half Dome in Yosemite , ushering in modern American big wall climbing. 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. Robbins' ethos of minimizing

280-545: A worldwide search for new big walls. In 1963, a team led by Chris Bonington established the first big wall routes on the Cordillera Paine , Chile and Patagonia , followed closely by new Italian-led routes. In 1972, Doug Scott , and later Charlie Porter , developed big wall routes on Mount Asgard , and highlighted the enormous big wall potential of Baffin Island . In 1976, a British team led by Joe Brown ascended one of

320-605: Is a "big wall", there is not only debate about the height requirements but also on whether it includes alpine climbs such as the north faces of the Eiger and the Matterhorn , which also have a lot of snow and ice. Regardless, a number of walls are considered particularly notable in the development of big-wall climbing: In addition to the above big walls, several other locations are regarded as having impressive big walls that are climbed. However, their level of challenge (sometimes due to

360-402: Is carried in haul bags , including portaledges , aid climbing equipment, poop tubes , and food and water. It requires additional techniques such as pendulums/tension traversing, aid climbing, using trail ropes , jumaring, and sometimes simul climbing . Big wall climbing began in the Dolomites with early pioneers such as Emilio Comici inventing many of the first techniques and tools in

400-668: Is overlap in the skill sets, and many famous alpinists such as Walter Bonatti , Catherine Destivelle , and Alexander Huber , were also big wall climbers. The most common grading systems used in big wall climbing are the French , American (also known as the Yosemite Decimal System), and to a lesser extent the UIAA rock climbing grades for free climbing ; the A-grade or C-grade systems are used for sections of aid climbing . In addition to

440-436: Is required for multi-pitch routes. Big wall climbers need to be able to haul gear and supplies up the route as they climb (using pulleys and haul bags ), ascend on fixed ropes (the non-leading climber), build major anchor points (for hanging belays ), hammer-in bolts and pitons as required, and set up portaledges for resting and sleeping. Given the length of the routes, this must happen efficiently. In determining what

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480-470: Is usually done in pairs as lead climbing , however, due to the length of the climbs, the second climber usually ascends via a fixed rope to save energy and time. Big wall climbing can be performed as free climbing , however, it is common for big wall climbers to use some level of aid climbing on the route, as it is often impossible for very large multi-pitch routes to have a uniform level of difficulty (i.e. there may be some sections that are well beyond

520-609: The Brèche du Dru (3,697 m). The north face of the Petit Dru is considered one of the six great north faces of the Alps . The southwest "Bonatti Pillar" and its eponymous climbing route were destroyed in a 2005 rock fall. The first ascent of the Grand Dru was by British alpinists Clinton Thomas Dent and James Walker Hartley, with guides Alexander Burgener and K. Maurer, who climbed it via

560-615: The Cima Grande in 2012 at 7a+  (5.12a), by Hansjörg Auer , with Fish Route on the Marmolada in 2007 at 7b+  (5.12c), and by Alex Honnold with Freerider on El Capitan in 2017 at 7c+  (5.13a). Big wall climbing requires the equipment used in traditional climbing and multi-pitch climbing (but in greater volume as the pitches are of fuller length), as well as specific additional items that are needed for extended multi-day muti-pitch big wall routes, including: While

600-422: The Cima Grande , then the world's hardest big wall route. Other pioneers such as Riccardo Cassin , himself a leading alpinist , created even harder new routes and spread big wall techniques across the Alps. In 1955, Walter Bonatti ushered in modern big wall climbing with his six-day solo of a new route on the southwest pillar of the Petit Dru , one of the most important big wall climbs in history. In 1957,

640-765: The Dru or the Drus ; French , Les Drus ) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps . It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French. The mountain's highest summit is: Another, slightly lower sub-summit is: The two summits are on the west ridge of the Aiguille Verte (4,122 m) and are connected to each other by

680-456: The Himalayas . Big wall climbing is rock climbing on large routes that often take a full day, if not several days, of continuous climbing to ascend. Big wall climbing is a form of multi-pitch climbing but there is no definition of how many pitches are needed for a route to be a big wall; a minimum of at least 6–10 pitches (or roughly 300–500 metres) is typically required. Big wall climbing

720-587: The 1930s, and then spreading throughout the entire European Alps by climbers such as Riccardo Cassin and Walter Bonatti with his milestone solo ascent of the Dru in 1955. From the 1960s, American climbers led by Royal Robbins developed Yosemite into the most important big wall climbing venue in the world, with Lynn Hill 's 1993 first free ascent of The Nose at 5.14a  (8b+) on El Capitan being an important milestone in big wall history. Major high-altitude big-walls have been scaled in Patagonia and in

760-720: The Drus was by Armand Charlet and Camille Devouassoux on 25 February 1938. In 1889 both peaks of the Dru were climbed for the first time from the Petit Dru to the Grand Dru by two parties. One party contained Katharine Richardson and guides Emile Rey and Jean-Baptiste Bich, and the other Mr Nash and Mr Williams with guides François Simond, Frederic Payot and Edouard Cupelin. These 1000 m-high rock faces have seen serious rockfalls in 1950, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2011, which have considerably affected

800-567: The Italian climber Walter Bonatti climbed a difficult solo route on the south-west pillar of the Petit Dru (the Bonatti Pillar ); this route – like many on the west face – no longer exists in its original state owing to rockfall, the scars of which remain clearly visible from the Chamonix valley. Seven years later, from 24–26 July 1962, Gary Hemming and Royal Robbins climbed the 'American Direct',

840-569: The Nose route, traversed left a bit to join this route and free climbed pitches 4 through 10 of Salathe Wall Route up to Mammoth Terraces, adding three pitches of 5.11. A little later, John Long , and John Bachar free climbed pitch three (5.11b) making all 10 pitches free. These ten free pitches, often free climbed as a standalone multi-pitch climbing route in its own right, are known as Freeblast (5.11c). In 1979, Mark Hudon and Max Jones, climbing from

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880-730: The Storm on the Torres del Paine. In 1993, Lynn Hill claimed one of the greatest prizes in big wall climbing by freeing The Nose on El Capitan at 5.14a  (8b+). In 2001, Alexander Huber freed Bellavista  [ it ] on the Cima Ovest at 8c  (5.14b). In 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson freed Dawn Wall on El Capitan at 5.14d  (9a). During this era, new milestones were also set in big-wall free solo climbing by Alexander Huber , with Brandler-Hasse Direttissima on

920-500: The above rock climbing grades (for both free climbing and for aid climbing), a National Climbing Classification System (NCCS) grade is sometimes quoted on North American big-wall (and alpine ) climbs, that are described by the American Alpine Club (republished in 2013) as follows: "North American NCCS grades, often called "commitment grades", indicate the time investment in a route for an "average" climbing team": Because of

960-412: The area and had climbed the face themselves. The rescue extended over seven days and received international press and TV coverage. The two climbers were rescued but a companion involved in the rescue died in the attempt. On 4 September 1913 a party of climbers led by Camille Simond and Roberts Charlet-Straton attempted to carry a hollow metal statue of Our Lady of Lourdes up the peak. The statue, almost

1000-502: The difficulties of the rest of the route). Most big wall routes require traditional climbing techniques for climbing protection however some routes have bolted sections (or pitons ) like sport climbing routes. Big wall routes have also been free solo climbed. Big wall climbing routes are typically sustained and exposed, where the climbers are suspended from the rock wall during their entire ascent with limited availability to sit down (e.g. few large ledges), or to escape from

1040-447: The essence of big wall climbing is that of traditional climbing , and particularly multi-pitch climbing , it also uses a number of specific techniques that are important in being able to meet the unique challenges of ascending big wall routes, which include the following: Big wall climbing is used exclusively in relation to rock climbing. Long rock climbing routes that also have ice or snow, are referred to as alpine climbing . There

1080-470: The evolution of big wall climbing grade milestones and standards from being a skill used in alpine climbing to a standalone sport in its own right; some are at the borderline of being multi-pitch rather than big wall climbs: A number of big wall-free climbs are notable for their high altitude or the remoteness of the expedition: A number of notable films have been made focused on big wall climbing including: Petit Dru The Aiguille du Dru (also

1120-462: The first-ever high-altitude big wall routes with the granite Trango (Nameless) Tower in the Karakoram , which was followed in 1992 by the two-man team of John Middendorf and Xaver Bongard  [ de ] who ascended the east buttress of the neighboring Great Trango Tower , putting up The Grand Voyage (1,340-metres, 33-pitches, VII 5.10 A4+), the longest big wall route in the world. From

1160-525: The great length of big-wall routes, detailed topos are usually provided outlining the grades on each pitch, and the aid climbing versus free climbing options at key sections. For example, one of the most famous big wall routes is the 31-pitch 870-metre route The Nose , on El Capitan, which is graded VI 5.9 C2 as a partial aid climb (mainly due to its roof section), but which is graded VI 5.14a  (8b+) if climbed completely free. The following big wall free climbing redpoints (i.e. no aid) are notable in

1200-458: The ground up, led all but 250 feet of the route free, adding three pitches of 5.12 and 5 or 6 of 5.11. In 1988, Todd Skinner and Paul Piana made the first free ascent by free climbing all the sections (each climber free climbed only about half of the route, with 2 hanging belays for resting) during a nine-day push, after thirty days of working the route, and gave it a grade of 5.13c. The Salathe Wall

1240-501: The late 1980s, leading sport climbers began to fully free-climb major big wall routes, and establish new testpieces. In 1988, Todd Skinner and Paul Piana freed the Salathe Wall on El Capitan at 5.13b  (8a). In 1989, Wolfgang Gullich , with others, established the mega-route Eternal Flame on Nameless Tower (fully freed by the Hubers in 2009), and in 1991, created Riders on

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1280-483: The mountain is never safe when snow is on the rocks, and at such times stones fall freely down the couloir leading up from the head of the glacier. The best time for the expedition would be, in ordinary seasons, in the month of August. The rocks are sound and are peculiarly unlike those of other mountains. From the moment the glacier is left, hard climbing begins, and the hands as well as the feet are continuously employed. The difficulties are therefore enormously increased if

1320-434: The rocks be glazed or cold; and in bad weather the crags of the Dru would be as pretty a place for an accident as can well be imagined. The Petit Dru was climbed in the following year, on 29 August 1879, by J. E. Charlet-Straton, P. Payot and F. Follignet via the south face and the south-west ridge. The first traverse of both summits of the Drus was by E. Fontaine and J. Ravanel on 23 August 1901. The first winter traverse of

1360-486: The south-east face on 12 September 1878. Dent, in his description of the climb, wrote: Those who follow us, and I think there will be many, will perhaps be glad of a few hints about this peak. Taken together, it affords the most continuously interesting rock climb with which I am acquainted. There is no wearisome tramp over moraine, no great extent of snow fields to traverse. Sleeping out as we did, it would be possible to ascend and return to Chamonix in about 16 to 18 hrs. But

1400-442: The structure of the mountain and destroyed a number of routes. Although at the time of the first ascent of the north face ( Pierre Allain and R. Leininger on 1 August 1935), Pierre Allain considered the west face to be unclimbable, the team of A. Dagory, Guido Magnone, Lucien Bérardini and Marcel Lainé succeeded on the face in a series of attempts on 5 July and 17–19 July 1952 using considerable artificial aid. From 17–22 August 1955,

1440-653: 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 climbing venue and Robbins' place in big wall history. The development of big wall techniques and tools in the European Alps and Yosemite led to

1480-410: The variable or poor quality of the rock) has not been as notable in the development of big wall climbing; they include Troll Wall (Norway), Cerro Autana (Venezuela), Naranjo de Bulnes (Spain), Tsaratanana Massif (Madagascar), Potrero Chico (Mexico), Ketil (Greenland), and Notch Peak and The Streaked Wall (Utah). One of the earliest examples of "big wall climbing" dates from 1887 when

1520-435: The wall other than by abseiling back down the entire route (which can be itself a risky process). Big wall climbing is thus a more serious undertaking than multi-pitch climbing, and climbers will generally only attempt big wall routes at grades that they can easily manage as multi-pitch routes. The duration and sustained exposure of big wall climbs require greater equipment—and equipment-handling skills—over and above what

1560-494: Was about 25% free climbing with sections of run-out at grade 5.9, and the rest being aid climbing which was also difficult at grade A4. A year later, Robbins and Frost returned and did the route in a single push from the bottom. In 1972, Peter Haan became the first to aid climb the route alone as a rope solo , using pitons for aid and protection. It was his first big wall climb. In 1975, Kevin Worral and Mike Graham, starting from

1600-420: Was the first major route on El Capitan to be fully free climbed, and was the first-ever free ascent of a big wall route in history at the grade of 5.13b  (8a). In 1995, Alexander Huber became the first individual to free climb all the individual pitches, leading every pitch free himself in a single push (with one hanging belay for a rest), and using an easier variation at one of the cruxes and assigned

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