Your First Big Wall

what was your first big wall experience?
supertopo.com/climbers-foru…

What did you climb?
Zodiac

Who did you partner with?
Dean, met him at a supertopo gathering.

How did you prepare?
Climbed about 20 pitches of aid, read a ton a bugged people on forums for advice.

What advice were you given?
Don't get ovewhelemed. Take it one section, one day, one pitch, one placement at a time. Don't overestimate your ability and think you can do it in 2 days, bring water and food for 1 or 2 days longer than you expect it to take.

What advice did you heed?
Nearly all of it.

And what did you (possibly regretfully) ignore?
None of it. But it does get emotionally draining, I started to want down when looking up after day 2.

What advice would you give?
Pick a date, and a wall, and a partner, plan and go for it. If going for El Cap, give yourself at least 9 days for a shorter route. You will have enough stressors up there, don't make time another one.

What worked well?
Fruit cups, it was August and 100 plus degrees. The sugar and water was always a treat. Cam hooks, offset cams and offset nuts.

What went wrong?
Nothing, and a lot of little things.

And one that might be too big for words... how did it feel?
On day 2 I decided to ask my wife to marry me, which I did later that fall in Red Rocks. When I got to the bottom I looked over my shoulder at El Cap from the Manure Pile Buttress parking lot, and was so overwhelmed at what I had just done that I started to cry.

Cheers,

Prod.

Depends. My first big wall free climb was done with a good friend. We didnt know much but what as in a simple guide book. we choose something that was right at out onsighting limit. We got scared, run out, took a few falls but made it up and down without any real problems. it was a great time. if your free climbing, go for something that will test you in all aspects not just height.
as for an aid route. I decide, do to current circumstances, that a solo was my best bet. I taught myself how to aid climb, as i didnt have anyone to teach me. learned how to solo. read a lot, and borrowed a lot of gear. It took three days and was way more work than i expected but one hundred percent worth it! My logic was, when things go wrong, i wont have anyone to blame it on but myself. I wont have anyone to get made at when im tired or scared or sick of it all. and when i got on a wall with someone else, i would have a really good idea of how it should work, help them to make it easier and be dialed with all my techniques. it work perfectly.

Nick Zmyewski wrote:Don't forget the can opener.

Can opener = nut tool + rock on a ledge

To the OP: don't let people discourage you; more importantly, don't let you discourage yourself. It's easy to want to give up and listen to internal negative feedback loops. Aiding, hauling and sh*tting on walls will be cumbersome, but it'll all be worth it. With the right partner. Also, people/books don't emphasize enough on how *slow* it can be. Here's a good thread to read: mountainproject.com/v/this-…

Get the new Supertopo big wall aid 101 book. I'm sure it will have everything you'll want to know without all the spray. Good luck and post up when you give it a go!

^^^
I don't think folks are being discouraging. I think they're being honest. Nothing worse than getting sandbagged by a lot of unrealistic 'go for it' kind of hype. Success on walls often involves preparing for the worst. Prepare for problems and hope that none of them arise.

Oh yeah, do lots of ab and back exercises. Aiding and hauling take a huge toll on your core. Strengthening those will pay off in spades.

Fat Dad wrote:^^^ I don't think folks are being discouraging. I think they're being honest. Nothing worse than getting sandbagged by a lot of unrealistic 'go for it' kind of hype.

I wasn't referring to the context of this thread (which yes, in hindsight, was stupid silly). I meant from a more expanded view (e.g. reading other posts or talking to those lamenting about how hard it is and questioning whether the effort and struggle is worth the satisfaction).

You won't be discouraged by someone saying, 'no way, you can't do it'. I trying to refer to *you* as your own worst enemy. It's easy to get caught up in the worry, doubt, bail stories and sufferfesting anecdotes-- remember, part truth and usually part hyperbole.

Big wall aid climbing is vertical engineering. Competence, problem solving and a heavy dose of mental and physical stamina will get you to the top. Read, practice, try, fail, try some more, but don't get caught up in the beta or spray. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Some are fortunate to have had a mentor. I didn't and there was satisfaction is figuring it all out with a partner that was equally as clueless. As long as failure doesn't result in death, failure will be as important as success. You will encounter failure, and that's not a bad thing. Because it will only amplify the satisfaction of overcoming.

Choose your own adventure. And report back!

A buddy and I are currently working on our first aid project, a chossy and challenging clean wall at smith. You most likely really won't know what your getting into the first time and the learning curve is steep (first pitch took 3 hrs the first time and 1:40 the next). My biggest challenge was actually organizing two 70M ropes and forming a nice belay. We are jumping straight into C2+/3 and it's terrifying at times but I feel like if/when we go to a more famous locale like Zion or the Valley it will be a cakewalk compared to the loose guano cracks we are getting used to!

Learn the basics: both of us are using one or no daisies and it certainly helps a lot with the cluster, also get your fifi and QuickDraw right for top stepping etc.
Haul something small before you try a huge haulbag, you will wan to know what your getting into.
Pick something you can retreat and attempt repeatedly, we had a fall rip out 3 cams and wanted out but by the time we walked to the lot we were scheming about the next attempt!

Another round of thanks to everyone that contributed. I've so enjoyed reading your stories. Your thoughts are sincerely appreciated, and your advice taken to heart. I'm not at all discouraged! My enthusiasm is as great as ever, though it is certainly coupled with a healthy dose of pragmatism. Planning to take on a wall in April, and the next three months will be spent working towards that end. Thus far, that's involved dropping a fixed line off my two story house and jugging/rapping, up and down, up and down, for about an hour every night and then loading my pig up with weights and hauling it up and down, up and down. It’s not a long way, but I’m getting the set up wired and my muscles used to the movements. And, Fat Dad, I’m definitely working on my abs!

What wall are you planning on doing in April?

Also. slap a knot in that line and practice passing the knot going up as well as going down. You may not need to do this on the wall, but it is a good skill to have. Same goes for hauling.

Prod.

Prod,

Zodiac with Lunar Ecstasy as a bad weather alternative. (Wow! It makes me so happy just to type that!!)

April is too early to reliably climb Zodiac, which is also a pretty involved wall for your first one. The weather is iffy that time of year and, unless you get a window of warm weather, those belays and bivies will be cold and seem endless, especially if your partner is new to aid and futzing his or her way up. Also, Zodiac has kind of become like The Nose, where the lower half of the route can be clogged with folks who don't know what they're doing and eventually bail. You'll either be wading (or waiting) through that or be one of the clogs.

Stick with a overnighter and if that goes well then you can aim bigger. Zodiac was my first route on the Captain (way back in '83!), but I had done both the NW Face of Half Dome and the Prow (not to mention of ton of longer Grade IIIs and IVs and alot of practice aid pitches), so I had the chance to sort out my stuff before a three and a half day wall.

I'd say stick with Zion if you're looking at April, either Space Shot or Moonlight Buttress. Fun, straightforward aid with decent weather and your bags won't weigh a ton.

Aeryn- i assume you are focused on an aid wall rather than a longer, mostly free climb ??
Leaning Tower will get youset, it's pretty easy and way steep.It's also short.
Half Dome was it for me.... I couldn't aid at all (still can't) and it's really better as a 5.10 A1 route

Agree with Watkins ... bad choice for #1 !! A great climb though and better suited for speed ascents.

I agree with Fat Dad's comments on El Cap in April. My first time on the Captain was mid May. Weather was nice - but there was still a lot of snow on top - which means the Captain was quite wet. One of the many reasons why we didn't top out on my first big wall.

Wally

I have done some big moderate trad climbs and thought about getting into aid climbing, but from the sounds of a lot of comments about aid climbing maybe it is good idea to just stick to trad and sport. Does aid climbing suck that much?

Some female wall climbing inspiration

Mia KCarver wrote: Can opener = nut tool + rock on a ledge To the OP: don't let people discourage you; more importantly, don't let you discourage yourself. It's easy to want to give up and listen to internal negative feedback loops. Aiding, hauling and sh*tting on walls will be cumbersome, but it'll all be worth it. With the right partner. Also, people/books don't emphasize enough on how *slow* it can be. Here's a good thread to read: mountainproject.com/v/this-… Get the new Supertopo big wall aid 101 book. I'm sure it will have everything you'll want to know without all the spray. Good luck and post up when you give it a go!

Genius! We didn't even think of using the nut tool. We just used a kinda pointy rock and another rock to hit it with. The 2nd bigwall, we brought one of the military style can openers. They work great and weigh nothing.

brianjames wrote:I have done some big moderate trad climbs and thought about getting into aid climbing, but from the sounds of a lot of comments about aid climbing maybe it is good idea to just stick to trad and sport. Does aid climbing suck that much?

That depends on you. I haven't done much aid, but I had a blast the whole time i was trying. Even when i was struggling, it was awesome.

I'd say stick to your plan. ElCap for your first wall is pretty sweet, and Zodiac is doable if you understand gear. Practice anchors (all bolted with at least 3 bomber) and hauling. My only concern would be snow pack at the top.

Cheers

Prod

Wally, Watkins, and John - your thoughts are so appreciated and have inspired another round of discussion on the route choice(s). Moonlight was in the running for a backup, so we'll give it another look, and look at Space Shot as well. Inside Yosemite, we'll give Leaning Tower a look. With respect to the weather, we are lucky to have someone who lives in the Valley reporting on conditions, specifically the snow pack, so we'll be able to make an informed decision on that front before we leave the house. I think that helps. If you've invested travel time, it might be harder to make a smart choice. Also, my partner's done a number of walls in Yosemite and in Zion. My goal is to work through my futzing stage as fast as possible...

Prod - thanks for the encouraging words and the advice. Anchors and hauling, hauling, hauling... got it!

You guys are awesome; I can't wait to report back and let you know how we fared.

Cheers, and happy climbing!

Aid climbing doesn't suck if you actually spend the time learning how to do it. It is awful if you just hop on a wall kinda sorta knowing what you are doing, but it goes relatively efficiently and painlessly if you put in the practice. CMac's new book really is wonderful for drilling you in ways that work well in the real world and being realistic about the time it takes to really master those skills. For some reason people expect to just start aid climbing and have it happen easily and naturally, which is just not the way it works.

If you haven't done a wall before, an attempt on Zodiac will fail most of the time. Not to say it can't be done - it definitely gets done, and if you are the sort that is really good at sticking with a miserable scary situation for days on end there is no reason you can't - but walls are something that are really easy to think big about on the ground, and are just way different when you start up.

In retrospect, I have no idea how I ever expected to do a grade VI for my first wall and have it be anything other than it was - 3 pitches and bailing. When I learned to trad climb, I did a bunch of easy 1 pitch routes, than a bunch of 2-3 pitch routes, and worked my way into doing longer and harder routes. Why do people think walls are different? The skills you learn building into things serve you well if somethings bad happens. If you are already pretty strung out and your partner falls, hits a ledge, and gets hurt on pitch 13 what do you do? No shame at all in building your skills in steps.

Aeryn - you are welcome. I look forward to hearing about your first big wall adventure.

Andrew brings up a good and valid point. It amazes me that some folks try to climb Everest, having never climbed anything higher than a 14er. The experience I first brought to the big wall table was not much. I practiced aid on crags near Denver. That was it. First attempt on the Nose failed. We were too slow, systems weren't dialed, too scared, it was really wet (beautiful and sunny, but a lot of snow melt from above). We bailed a bit before Dolt Tower. Next year came back hungrier and a bit wiser - and we got it!

I did bring to the table a lot of free climbing experience. Many Diamond in a day routes, lots of long alpine routes, and a strong mountaineering background, which teaches you nothing about aid, but perhaps a bit about really long days and how to suffer.

Climb on. Wally