Missed Encounter at Eldo Saturday evening, 8/18

You: older male free soloing on the Wind Tower. You took a digger from 65' up.

Me: I was the stranger who's first experience (literally 30min after arriving) at Eldo was having a complete stranger spike himself 30 feet away - gnarly sound. I helped you down the trail and into your party's vehicle.

I hope you are doing better and you got away mostly unscathed!

Patrick

Magical.

jeez

Was he cute?

Aww.....so cute!

Make sure you two love birds use protection on all future hook up's!

Patrick: You come back now, y'heah?

Eldo is hungry

So as another thread instantly dissolves into complete and utter useless gibberish....

That sucks to have to experience that.

And it's a little thought provoking as I drink my coffee and don't want to really work yet.

Is it that there are more people climbing, soloing or perhaps it's more acceptable that seems to have increased the number of these types of accidents?

It seems soloing is more "socially acceptable", perhaps fueled by our extreme video culture etc, but do others think this is the case? Maybe we just hear about more accidents due to a general increase in climbers, but it seems that there are far more individuals soloing that, in my humble and meaningless opinion...shouldn't be.

Scott McMahon wrote:So as another thread instantly dissolves into complete and utter useless gibberish.... That sucks to have to experience that. And it's a little thought provoking as I drink my coffee and don't want to really work yet. Is it that there are more people climbing, soloing or perhaps it's more acceptable that seems to have increased the number of these types of accidents? It seems soloing is more "socially acceptable", perhaps fueled by our extreme video culture etc, but do others think this is the case? Maybe we just hear about more accidents due to a general increase in climbers, but it seems that there are far more individuals soloing that, in my humble and meaningless opinion...shouldn't be.

Probably a combination... any given weekend there are a ton of people solo'ing on wind tower.

Scott McMahon wrote: Is it that there are more people climbing, soloing or perhaps it's more acceptable that seems to have increased the number of these types of accidents? It seems soloing is more "socially acceptable", perhaps fueled by our extreme video culture etc, but do others think this is the case? Maybe we just hear about more accidents due to a general increase in climbers, but it seems that there are far more individuals soloing that, in my humble and meaningless opinion...shouldn't be.

I think you're right about that last point..more folks soloing.

But I think that Wind Tower soloists (5.Easy soloing, typically routes you've done 10x or more, speaking for myself) have always been rather visible and numerous and, for the most part, solid. Mostly crusty old traddies who can't find a partner or whatever. No?

I've soloed stuff on the WT on and off since the mid 90's. And I see people doing it all the time.
I don't recall, Scott M., a time when it was unacceptable. It may have been less common, but never unacceptable. If it was, then maybe that is the recent change we'd credit to Mt Dew Commercials?
I did a photo-shoot for a local guidebook that involved me soloing a 5.11. The author wanted it for the book and knew I was solid on the route and I have run laps on it. The publisher refused to print the photo, for exactly what stated reason I forget. (but then put a solo pic of an easier route on the front cover) But know this: Years ago, it would have been in there for sure.

I don't think soloing is becoming more acceptable - it's becoming more questioned by nanny-staters as climbing is now perceived as LESS an extreme sport where one 'must not fall' anyway and is more pedestrian and 'safe'. Blame the sport-climbing revolution, perhaps.

Tony B wrote:I've soloed stuff on the WT on and off since the mid 90's. And I see people doing it all the time. I don't recall, Scott M., a time when it was unacceptable. It may have been less common, but never unacceptable. If it was, then maybe that is the recent change we'd credit to Mt Dew Commercials? I did a photo-shoot for a local guidebook that involved me soloing a 5.11. The author wanted it for the book and knew I was solid on the route and I have run laps on it. The publisher refused to print the photo, for exactly what stated reason I forget. (but then put a solo pic of an easier route on the front cover) But know this: Years ago, it would have been in there for sure. I don't think soloing is becoming more acceptable - it's becoming more questioned by nanny-staters as climbing is now perceived as LESS an extreme sport where one 'must not fall' anyway and is more pedestrian and 'safe'. Blame the sport-climbing revolution, perhaps.

Thanks Tony...that's really more along the lines of what I was getting at. Not that soling was unacceptable since it's always been around, but more "normative" as perhaps a better term. And I'd agree with you, the whole Dew culture and overall exposure to the general population is a huge influence. Same thing with backcountry riding...videos have increased the number of riders with less experience, equipment and training therefore the number of accidents has increased.

And of course our own vested exposure to the news and the environments we climb in makes us more in tune to hear about these incidents as well.

probably falls into line with the recent comments I've heard by people saying they can't climb outside yet because they haven't taken a "class"

if you fall on solo ... well you arent exactly solid ;)

id rather flail on something hard, i find i learn more ...

JLP wrote:It's a lot easier on the ego to look cool doing something butt easy than it is to look weak doing something that's actually hard.

Yeah, that's got to be it-some old guy was trying to look cool by third classing on the Wind Tower. And here, all these years, I've been fooling myself into thinking it was kind of like taking a walk, only for a crusty old tradder. Thanks for clearing that up.