Hardest Ground-up, hand drilled route?
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Title asks the question. What’s the hardest route done in this style? Bonus: any non slabs? What’s the steepest route drilled by hand on lead? |
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Off of hooks or not? |
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Eric Engberg wrote: Important distinction.. I meant no hooks, just ground up on lead, maybe I should rephrase the question. |
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I saw a video of a young Ondra repeatedly whipping off a route he was trying to establish on lead with a power drill. I’ll try to find it |
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Lots of history on this exact topic here: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=492354&tn=0&mr=0 |
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Bachar Yerian? |
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The Bachar Yerian was drilled from hooks. I'm not sure of the style that all of his routes were done in but Ron Carson put up some darn hard routes at Dome Rock hand drilling. Most routes in the 5.12 and up range were probably done using hooks since that style of ascent was in use and approved by the time those grades were being established. |
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Miss Cat wrote: Hooks are ground-up on lead. Just a point of aid to drill from where there's no stance. I did some FA's with that Herb Laeger guy. He was very good at stance drilling, and didn't think much of hooking. I've always kind of dug the thin hook gig, so on the routes we did he handled the kooky stanced bolts, and I happily hooked... Jan mentioned Ron Carson. I don't think Ron used hooks. Some of those Dome Rock power-slab test pieces of his, Chemotherapy and Carsonoma in particular, have to be among the hardest stance drilled routes in this part of the world. Steep as they are, just off vertical, I'd call them face climbs, not slab, but whatever ... |
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Looks like in 2011 Ondra established a 9a ground up with a power drill. https://www.climbing.com/videos/adam-ondra-sketchy-ground-up-bolting-on-czech-sandstone/ |
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I think benedictus on cannon have been drilled on lead, probably not the hardest climb but drilling 5.11 slab on lead is pretty impressive, i may be wrong but great video on vimeo of it |
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Steve Williams wrote: Didn’t Bachar put up “You Asked for It” by stance drilling after he was criticized for drilling BY from hooks? |
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It was standard in California during pretty much the entire decade of the 70’s. Lots of it done before sticky rubber too. Glacier Point Apron, Tahquitz and Suicide, Arches Slabs, Middle Cathedral, Josh, Courtright Reservoir, The Needles, Tuolumne, and lots of smaller areas. |
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I remember looking up at TRON on El Cap and being impressed to the point of bewilderment. |
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Frank Stein wrote: I've read this somewhere but can't remember where, know the grade on you asked for it? I've only hand drilled from the stance a couple times, both in sandstone and would have to drum up some serious stamina to do it in granite. |
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Bolting Karen wrote: I believe it is graded 5.10c X. |
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I also would not be surprised if most hardish slab horror shows in the SE weren’t stance drilled. I remember talking to a NC climber back in the aughts who was debating bolting some variation on one of the NC slabfests. He figured it would go about .11+, which I cannot vouch for as I never climbed in NC. I politely suggested that he could drill from hooks, which resulted in a reaction appropriate to me threatening to eat his children. |
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Frank Stein wrote: Bachar established You Asked For It prior to the Bachar-Yerian. The two bolts on the first pitch of YAFI were drilled from hooks. |
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The hardest slab routes that I drilled on stance were Space Babble, 11b, 1976, Black Primo, 11b, 1974, and The Direct Start to Central Pillar, 11d, in 1974. Greasy But Groovy on the Arches Apron, and the traverse from the first pitch of The Nose to the Salathe, led and drilled by Mike Graham were comparable Valley routes at the time. Tightrope on the GPA also. I’m sure there’s more, especially in The Meadows |
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Helter Skelter (5.13a) FA: Steve Schneider and Gary Slate (1989) on Stately Pleasure Dome. |
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A Johnny Woodward or Darrell Hensell rte? |
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How do you define Ground Up? |