solo attempt on space shot

Earth orbit seemed like it would be a great bivy if you had a ledge. it is kinda slopey and bivying on top would be way better. it would do in a pinch if you were running out of daylight though. be careful getting your pig across the ledge to haul to the top. when you get to earth orbit there are no anchors to fix off of and you build an anchor. if I had a pig I would leave the gear anchor and traverse the 30' to the bolt and fix a hand line to get your bag over. the single bolt anchor could use another one to really make it legit as the crack is really small and only takes a microcam. In retrospect I would have taken two cams in the smallest alien or tcu size to get a better anchor built

Caleb Padgett wrote:Earth orbit seemed like it would be a great bivy if you had a ledge. it is kinda slopey and bivying on top would be way better. it would do in a pinch if you were running out of daylight though. be careful getting your pig across the ledge to haul to the top. when you get to earth orbit there are no anchors to fix off of and you build an anchor. if I had a pig I would leave the gear anchor and traverse the 30' to the bolt and fix a hand line to get your bag over. the single bolt anchor could use another one to really make it legit as the crack is really small and only takes a microcam. In retrospect I would have taken two cams in the smallest alien or tcu size to get a better anchor built

Are you referring to an intermediate belay at the base of the final bolt ladder? Basically dividing the pitch for rope drag and the traverse? So the crux would just be to move myself and the pig to the bolt ladder before leading the final up so the haul is not so epic. I thnk that maybe what your talking about. Or maybe you are saying there are NO fixed anchors at all on earth orbit and the first fixed piece you hit is the first bolt or pin of the ladder.
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Right on SpaceShot should be a good solo. I'd take a few extra .75 and #2 cams. Jumping off the last ledge while cleaning the last pitch my clean your drawers after a day of soloing. It's crappy enough when you have a partner but that's part of the fun.

Ryan had some good soloing tips on Supertopo:
supertopo.com/climbing/thre…

The only "fixed" anchor on earth orbit is a single bolt. it really is not the first bolt of the ladder as it is still on the ledge about waist level. This can be backed up with mircocams but I clove hitched the first two bolts in the ladder to get a better anchor. Due to the number of soloists that do this route I am surprised this anchor has not bet beefed up with another bolt. either way you will want your haulbag at this bolt before your start hauling.

SO I haven't solo'ed anything in Zion, but I have solo'ed several walls in the past and thought I would add some thoughts to this conversation. If you plan to haul for a single bivy near the top of the wall I would have to say you are nuts....hauling triples the time it takes to rope solo a wall. Hauling is the difference between moving quickly and experiencing the freedom of soloing and SUFFERING!

Some examples:

Soloed The Prow in 3 days car to car vs soloed South Face of the Column in 12 hours ctc. It took me over 8 hours to ferry loads down the North Dome gully, vs running down in 2 hours.

Soloed the freeblast in 6 hours, picked up the haulbag (prehauled) and took the rest of the day to get 3 pitches to Hollow flake ledge.

So if you can make it to earth orbit hauling you can DEFINATELY make it to the top without. Start practicing jugging with a backpack, and learn how to unweight the pack on your upper jumar. You will have a lot more fun, and your hips will thank you.

Kevin Stricker wrote:SO I haven't solo'ed anything in Zion, but I have solo'ed several walls in the past and thought I would add some thoughts to this conversation. If you plan to haul for a single bivy near the top of the wall I would have to say you are nuts....hauling triples the time it takes to rope solo a wall. Hauling is the difference between moving quickly and experiencing the freedom of soloing and SUFFERING! Some examples: Soloed The Prow in 3 days car to car vs soloed South Face of the Column in 12 hours ctc. It took me over 8 hours to ferry loads down the North Dome gully, vs running down in 2 hours. Soloed the freeblast in 6 hours, picked up the haulbag (prehauled) and took the rest of the day to get 3 pitches to Hollow flake ledge. So if you can make it to earth orbit hauling you can DEFINATELY make it to the top without. Start practicing jugging with a backpack, and learn how to unweight the pack on your upper jumar. You will have a lot more fun, and your hips will thank you.

You are reading the other half of my mind. I thought it would also be easy enough to at least bivy at the base of the headwall and just suffer and push through the rest not hauling. I can return to that point to retrieve my bivy gear after the fact since it is only two easy pitches. That is a pretty good idea aswell :)
thx

Hi SAL - I soloed Space Shot in 1990, so things may have changed a bit, but probably not.
Given the route's popularity these days, your plan to bivy at the base of the headwall seems best. No need for a ledge. Here's how I did it; it worked out very nicely.

1. Start mid-morning to allow other people to get out of the way (this wasn't a problem in 1990, but I started mid-morning in any case).
2. Leave your haul bag at the base, and do the first two pitches. I free soloed the first, and rope soloed the second. Rappel straight back down to your bag, and jumar up with bag on harness.
3. Not much protection on the 3rd pitch; I don't believe I placed any. Again, jumar with the bag; hauling is not going to work well on that terrain.
4. Rebozo Pinnacle is the short (25 ft?) finger of rock up and right of the 3rd belay. There's an awesome flat, sandy ledge up behind it. Get your haul bag up there and claim the ledge; that's where you'll be sleeping. I don't remember the specifics, but I don't believe it was hard to gain this ledge. You could also do this after the next step.
5. Fix the next two pitches, and enjoy a fine, comfy bivy.
6. Top out next day (3 pitches), and you'll have plenty of light for the rappels. You'll also be ahead of everyone else.

My topo shows 5 bolts on Earth Orbit Ledge (two on the left, and three on the right). I can't imagine they're all gone, so you should have a good rope-solo anchor for that last pitch. I rappelled my haul line (fixed securely to the previous belay) and pulled/jumared my way back into the belay for all the leaning pitches. It's a lot easier than rappelling your lead line and back-clipping gear, though you may want to practice it once at your local crag (the horizontal jumaring is a bit funky). Cut the haul bag loose (I lowered it out with the remaining slack in the haul line) and let it hang while you clean each pitch; the hauling is straightforward from pitch 4 to the top (I jumared with my haul bag on my harness on the morning after the bivy to get to my high point; it's more efficient).

Bring a couple diapers for the last pitch. You'll crap your pants doing the free moves off of Earth Orbit Ledge, and then you'll crap them again as you rappel your haul line into space from the top anchors. I remember dangling in the air 15 feet below the lip of the huge roof, and just hanging there for a couple minutes to soak it all in -- I was on spring break from grad school, and was having the time of my life in Zion, not wanting to come back to Boulder. Actually, 3 or 4 diapers would be good. Watching the bag lower out on that last pitch loosens the bowels, and jumaring the last pitch is a trip.

Have fun up there!

I think if you made it to the base of the headwall and fixed a pitch it would be pretty easy to fire it in a day from there to the top and leave the bivy gear at the ledge. the raps took me two hours w/o a haulbag and I had done them before. taking a haulbag down the descent by yourself would suck..as of 10/07 there is only 1 bolt on the far right side of earth orbit. and one or two "bivy" bolts that really dont help for fixing the pitch getting to or leaving from the ledge.

The eternally humble Bernard makes no mention of the epic motorcycle ride...

Hey Brent! SAL didn't request beta on riding a motorcycle loaded down with haul bags, camping gear, extra gas... There's much I didn't mention about that trip: the lovely hike to the top of Angel's Landing, my friends Bruce and Jim checking in on me at the end of day two as a light rain came in, and driving me to some restaurant for a celebratory beer. The hike into Hidden Canyon on a rest day (after I backed off Space Shot on attempt #1, where I could barely grip my aiders due to mild nerve damage in my hands: too much time gripping the wide-open throttle on a vibrating motorcycle). And the outstanding hike into Orderville Canyon, followed by swimming pools in the river and exploring The Narrows -- didn't see another soul all day long, until, as I was hiking out, I met about a dozen sorority members from Santa Barbara University... who invited me to their campsite for dinner...

It was among the most enjoyable spring breaks I can recall. 11 days on the road (I skipped classes the last two days before break), a broken clutch cable in the middle of New Mexico, a light snow storm in the high Arizona desert, sleeping on the shores of Lake Powell. Brings back a lot of good memories.

And in case anyone out there is wondering: it was just a pleasant dinner with 15 college girls, and a welcome break from my bachelor campsite with its sad looking pup-tent. They didn't really get the whole climbing thing, but they were kind enough to cook a nice meal for me.

SAL, you're going to love it. Bring a pig and spend the night on the wall; makes it more of an adventure. The bivy ledge I mentioned is top-notch, a viewing platform for a sky of stars and sandstone walls stretching to infinity. You'll have the canyon to yourself, the sounds of the river, a moonrise if you're lucky, and the anticipation of the next day right in your face. You can't beat that (and you'll rob yourself of a wonderful experience if you just blitz it in a day).

Re Caleb's lone bolt on the right side of Earth Orbit: Caleb, is there still an anchor on the left side of the ledge, at the top of pitch 7? I'm thinking SAL could just stay anchored to that if need be so that he doesn't have to do the last pitch with a poor anchor. I may have even done that myself (?? can't remember).

After topping out after ptich 7 onto earth orbit there were no bolts and I built an anchor out of 4 good cams. midway across the ledge there was a single bolt and I believe a drilled angle. this did not suffice for fixing 7 or self-belaying 8. my anchor for the last pitch consisted of the one bolt on the far right of earht orbit and the first two bolts getting to the roof. not bad once I had all the bolts tied off but definitely gave a big WTF when seeing the setup.

Caleb Padgett wrote:I think if you made it to the base of the headwall and fixed a pitch it would be pretty easy to fire it in a day from there to the top and leave the bivy gear at the ledge. the raps took me two hours w/o a haulbag and I had done them before. taking a haulbag down the descent by yourself would suck...

Agree with that. There's a little section on the slabs at the top that got my attention. If you top out in the dark, I'd recommend bivyying on top rather than coming down the slabs to the first rap station in the dark.

Did it three years ago with a partner. We fixed from top 2 to top 4 with a 70M and from top 2 to ground with a 60. If you've got a 70 and you're confident in yer ability to jug and do the last 4 pitches before dark, another option is that you could fix 4, sleep in camp, and avoid hauling entirely.

IF I recall from reading and beta gathering I thought the anchor on earth orbit was place in an odd spot on the ledge and a directional was a good idea when getting to the ledge. I am probably wrong. Although arn't most the anchors pins and not actual bolts? I have done the first few pitches to the pin ladder starting the headwall. ALl the anchors were pins and not bolts.

Caleb. If you set an anchor on the left end of Earth orbit with the bomber cams as your anchor could you not set up an anchor on the bolt and drilled angle then set a directional?
I am leaning towards not hauling and just firing to the top planning to bivy on top suffer fest style. Bivy sack and clothes. Back pack on back. Hauling seems not necessary for the upper pitches especailly if i fix two pitches up from the ledge at the base of the headwall. That doesnt leave me too many pitches left to the top. I think that leading and cleaning is the way to go and avoid the extra gaggle and weight of hauling. I fully agree with everyone about not descending at night. That would be sketch. But if its well marked and i have no pig it may be slightly managable.
THanks for the beta yall.

So your trail line is a good way to extend your anchor...in this case you could leave the good cams in low and use the trail line to back up the upper bolt off those cams. Also screw the bivy sack, just bring 2 space bags, a down jacket and a few chem hand warmers...much warmer and lighter. Make sure your pack has a removable pad for your hips. Have fun and let us know how it goes!

Hey SAL---I am planning on climbing spaceshot sometime in March as well---mabey i'll see ya there

I found the beta in this thread helpful, so I thought I would chime in to offer some beta in return.

I solo-aided this wall, my first solo-aid, this weekend. I soloed the first three pitches, and then pitched out everything, didn't think about linking anything. I actually talked to a guy in the shuttle the next day who 'bonked' and had to bail after an aborted attempt to link 4 & 5 (not possible with a 70m!), he had to down aid to get to anchor of P4 and the subsequent raps sounded decidedly un-fun.

I found Caleb Padgett's beta to be spot on, and I wasn't rushing either, just constantly working my way up. I made it to the dirt in 12 hours after leaving the shuttle. If I recall, the anchor on the Left side of earth orbit ledge was at least one good pin (maybe two) and finger sized pieces, yellow alien was great.

My buddies in springdale joke that C2 in Zion is C1 if you have the dmm aluminum offset nuts. I certainly found them to be handy a few times.

rap beta: obvious to get to pine tree with slings then do a single rap, double rap, single rap, double rap, single rap, ground.

enough spray, go do it!