Naked Edge record broken!

Are these guys at the point where the only way to go faster is to compromise on safety?  How much runway is left?

Daniel Joder wrote:

Is there any actual video footage from, say, the Bastille? Totally insane!

EDIT: And I, too, hope this is the final record. 

video is here!! https://vimeo.com/764407847/description 

Amazing!!!!! Thanks for sharing the stoke! What I really want to see is how Joe coiled the rope so neatly while running. :) Really inspiring to see the whole thing! 

Well done and congratulations! So much impressive athleticism to see here, from the climbing to the (yikes!) stair running. Just wish there had been a camera on Joe as he made a perfect rope coil while running, as Erika pointed out. 

Super entertaining video!

Joe Kennedy is the secret weapon in this endeavor! Originally he was leading the climb since he can get to the base faster. Then after a hot lap where we left the top at the same time and he beat me to the bridge by a full 1m30s, I started brainstorming what we could change logistically.  It made more sense for me to lead so we could take advantage of Joe's catlike agility on the crazy descent back to the bridge. And he could still carry the rope to the base since he arrives there first. Sweet! As soon as he tops out, I unclip from the rope and get a head start. He has all the gear, changes out of climbing shoes, and coils and secures the rope in about 1 minute. Then he still catches me down by the Wind Tower! The overall timing is perfect, I love it. To go any faster, I need to get in better cardio shape - in the video it looks like we are moving laughably slow on the approach and up the route!

For the Edge simul round-trip, the most dangerous part is descending the east slabs and 3 of the solo moves (5.7) on the approach. One mistake and you're a goner. Once we are roped for the harder climbing, we follow 2 strict rules for simul-climbing:

1. Two bomber pieces of gear (minimum) between climbers at all time. Had Jason and Tim followed this rule on El Cap, they'd still be with us today. :-(
2. Microtraxions anytime the follower is on 5.9 or harder climbing.

Here is the rope (23m) and rack (6 cams, 5 draws, 1 biner, 3 microtraxions)

This is rock climbing and it is inherently dangerous. On the middle 5.8 pitch - a lead fall could be huge, and if the follower were to fall, it could be disaster for both of us since there is no microtraxion in place to protect the leader from getting pulled off. On the difficult climbing sections, a fall would likely be without injury. The exception being if the pin protecting the moves into the Bombay chimney blows, that would really suck. How many of you reading this have fallen on that pin on a normal, pitched-out ascent of the Edge? Scary right? I've seen multiple people fall on it and I cringe every time. 

Anyone remember this photo of Alex and Tommy on the Nose? Alex is run-out further than the length of our Naked Edge rope! Of course he free solos El Cap, and I'm only good enough to free solo the 1st Flatiron... 

Finally, this post wouldn't be complete without adding a new line to the FKT history! Who's gonna give it a go next?! It's really, REALLY fun!

"Woooooo Hooooo!!!"
       -- Jason Wells

1980s, Bob Horan & Skip Guerin (barefoot!!?!) 45 min, ascent only.
1990s, Michael Gilbert & Rob Slater, 1h 30m CTC.
2006-09-06, Bob Rotert & Dave Vaughn, 1h 22m CTC.
2010-12-??, Scott Bennett & Blake Harrington, 1h 13m (fastest non-simul climbing).
2012-05-??, Stefan Griebel & Jason Wells, 49m 44s (simul-climbing now).
2013-01-??, Scott Bennett & Brad Gobright, 44m 00s.
2014-04-09, Stefan Griebel & Jason Wells, 40m 36s.
2014-04-22, Stefan & Jason, 35m 01s.
2014-06-09, Scott & Brad, 29m 53s.
2014-08-15, Stefan & Jason, 26m 33s.
2014-09-24, Scott & Brad, 26m 16s.
2014-10-08, Scott & Brad, 24m 57s.
2015-09-19, Stefan & Jason, 24m 29s
2020-05-22, John Ebers & Ben Wilbur, 24m 14s
2022-10-22, Joe Kennedy & Stefan Griebel, 22m 44s

‘Looks like we’re moving laughably slow….’ Right….

Thanks for the added info - I wondered what length rope you were using. It’s also really nice to hear about some of the decision making and mindset around the risks and how you mitigate some things.

Great job to both of you!!!!! 

Nice write up in Climbing: climbing.com/news/speed-bar…

Lots of comments from people that don't know wtf they're talking about on here! My favorites are the speed climber 56 second one and the 'I could see Honnold doing it faster except maybe the run part' one. I've actually climbed the Edge WITH Stefan! I hope my grandkids end up as climbers so they at least understand me when I inevitably brag about that ceaselessly. As somebody that has climbed this route, has done a little speed climbing in Eldo, and who knows these two guys, I will throw whatever authority that might bring behind the following statement: this is ELITE!  Of course, you don't have to care. You are free to posit safety concerns just like your grandma does when you talk about your top roped sport climb. You can do the math on the length and figure out how fast a muscle bound Euro could run up it were it 5.10, repeating plastic holds and on autobelay. In the end though, the accomplishment cannot be denied. 

A proper effort by Stefan and Joe, no doubt. And good thing neither of them shit the bed on the run down. That would be a good mess. 

What really impressed me though is that in a lengthy write up about a huge personal achievement, Stefan only changed the font size and used bold once. Did ya catch it? It was when he gave a shout out to his friend, Jason. That says a lot. Chapeau, Stefan.

Danny Gilbert wrote:

Lots of comments from people that don't know wtf they're talking about on here! My favorites are the speed climber 56 second one and the 'I could see Honnold doing it faster except maybe the run part' one.

Danny, what did (could?) you have a problem with what I wrote? I compared Honnold with Stefan on the speed of climbing the Naked Edge, but I noted Stefan could probably still go faster on everything else. That seems to be gushing about Stefan while also comparing him to perhaps the greatest big wall speed climber who ever lived. I know Stefan first from being the race director for the Colorado Trail MTB race, back when you'd read about his XTERRA (off road triathlons) race reports - the spread of his talent is enormous. He's been super inspirational to me for well over a decade.

Danny Gilbert wrote:

Lots of comments from people that don't know wtf they're talking about on here! My favorites are the speed climber 56 second one and the 'I could see Honnold doing it faster except maybe the run part' one. I've actually climbed the Edge WITH Stefan! I hope my grandkids end up as climbers so they at least understand me when I inevitably brag about that ceaselessly. As somebody that has climbed this route, has done a little speed climbing in Eldo, and who knows these two guys, I will throw whatever authority that might bring behind the following statement: this is ELITE!  Of course, you don't have to care. You are free to posit safety concerns just like your grandma does when you talk about your top roped sport climb. You can do the math on the length and figure out how fast a muscle bound Euro could run up it were it 5.10, repeating plastic holds and on autobelay. In the end though, the accomplishment cannot be denied. 

About the safety…a few dead or paralyzed speed climbers might disagree.

How does one go faster on a climb? Pretty much they use less gear and anyone could tell you that the faster you do something the less of a margin of error you will have.

I sincerely hope the speed climbing fad dies off before more climbers do.

Tradiban wrote:

About the safety…a few dead or paralyzed speed climbers might disagree.

How does one go faster on a climb? Pretty much they use less gear and anyone could tell you that the faster you do something the less of a margin of error you will have.

I sincerely hope the speed climbing fad dies off before more climbers do.

I hope so too, but my hopes for humans not going stronger, faster, higher are quite small. I am proudly part of the problem, though I am not speed scrambling anymore.

Long Ranger wrote:

Danny, what did (could?) you have a problem with what I wrote? I compared Honnold with Stefan on the speed of climbing the Naked Edge, but I noted Stefan could probably still go faster on everything else. That seems to be gushing about Stefan while also comparing him to perhaps the greatest big wall speed climber who ever lived. I know Stefan first from being the race director for the Colorado Trail MTB race, back when you'd read about his XTERRA (off road triathlons) race reports - the spread of his talent is enormous. He's been super inspirational to me for well over a decade.

No, I get that - I didn't take it as shitting on Stefan at all and I recall the two of us even having a conversation about how rad Stefan is before. It's just, such a trope I guess to just take the most famous climber and assume you know what he can and can't do in this context, because I guess you saw a Reel Rock? I don't know Honnold's running / scrambling capabilities and they might well be superior to Stefan and Joe, just as an example. I know for sure he can't climb the Edge that fast though, not at first anyway. It just shows a lack of understanding of what this takes I guess so I had to laugh. I mean, I don't know your resume but I assume it doesn't include this route or any route which is comparable, any speed climbing whatsoever, any simul climbing or use of micro traxions, any time spent running or scrambling with Honnold, or really any of the things that would make such a statement possible. I will conceded that your comment was not even close to as silly as the 56 second speed climber one, and I'm probably just a little tired of hearing about what Honnold could or couldn't do from literally everyone that wants to talk about climbing. 

Danny Gilbert wrote:

I mean, I don't know your resume but I assume it doesn't include this route or any route which is comparable, any speed climbing whatsoever, any simul climbing or use of micro traxions, any time spent running or scrambling with Honnold, or really any of the things that would make such a statement possible.

LOL yeah dude: just shootin' the shit. I didn't think anyone was looking for scientific rigour here, but yeah I have a crush on both of them for sure.

Stefan Griebel wrote:

Here is the rope (23m) and rack (6 cams, 5 draws, 1 biner, 3 microtraxions)

Curious to know how did you come up with that specific length for the rope..

Mauricio Herrera Cuadra wrote:

Curious to know how did you come up with that specific length for the rope..

The rope length was chosen so that the follower is still on a microtraxion (#2 in the handcrack) when the leader is on top safely.

Bob Carmichael film of The Naked Edge before it had been free climbed, very early '70's, Roger Briggs & Duncan Ferguson climbing.  

Exceptional Tommy Bolin & Energy soundtrack!!! :