Speed Climbing News

Brian Biega climbed Snake Dike and Royal Arches back to back in six and half hours! Here are his splits:
Total Time: 6hrs 30min 4sec
The times in the list below are Section/Total Time

• 39.58.23/39.58.23 Car-Top of Vernal (Car parked at road closure/day use parking)
• 1.08.57/1.48.56 Top of Vernal-Base of Climb
• 56.37.80/2.45.33 Base of Climb-Summit
• 14.04.87/2.59.38 Summit-Bottom of Stairs (This is where you can go skiiers left to the reg. route or right back to lost lake)
• 24.22.96/3.24.07 Bottom of Stairs-Lost Lake (I guess this section took much longer than I remember, oh well)

[From the archives - sent in by Nick Fowler, January, 2002.]

I seem to constantly struggle to find partners that share the same ambitions that I do about climbing. Either they have jobs and can’t go climbing or they don’t have jobs and have to spend time looking for one. Then there is the issue of matching experience.

Like most weekends, I was going through my list of friends to find a climbing partner to do a push on El Cap or an ambitious Alpine peak. I had just spent my winter break from school sitting around looking for a climbing partner. I had gotten in a day or two here and there but the majority of my break was spent in the city wishing I were in the mountains. School started again the following Tuesday so I was antsy to get some more climbing in. On the phone I went through my usual spiel about why they should blow off life to do some climbing. Frustrated, with no luck I remember telling my friend Mike Kiparsky about the beautiful weather in the Valley right then and with no luck selling him on the weekend, I started thinking of what I could do by myself. I decided and declared “Mike, I’m going to go break the solo time on the Tower.”

Karl Bralich and Mark Albosta did the second ascent of the supposedly 41-pitch Galactic Hitchhiker on Glacier Point Apron (11b Grade VI) in something less than 8.5 hours. This was the first one-day ascent. By running pitches together and a little simul-climbing they did it in about 16 pitches. It is a nice route and comparable to the DNB except no chimneys and a couple of harder moves (with great pro)

[from the archives. Submitted by Ammon McNeeley, Aug. 2000]

The early August sun beat on my back as I studied the route, visualizing myself ascending the cracks. For only being 9:00 in the morning, I knew the Valley would see a scorching day. I laughed at myself, shaking my head about being such a slacker, having over slept for three hours. That's O.K., I told myself. I need the extra sleep for what I'm about to attempt. I felt as though I was taking a huge step toward the next level of climbing. My goal was to on-sight-solo El Capitan in a day, a very lofty goal for me since I am new to the speed-climbing arena. I felt like I was ready for this undertaking, even though to my knowledge nobody has yet accomplished such a task. The butterflies in my stomach did not help my situation.

Samo samo. Jim Herson arrives the night before, and we argue over the gear and such for more hours than the climbing on the route takes. Late night arrivals at my house made me think Jim was up again all night.

We left the stables at 8:15 am, arrived at the base at 10:15. A party hauling the first pitch immediately says "Hey you guys can climb through if you want," so we had a nice start. We passed another party without incident around the 7th pitch. We dispatched with the first four pitches 11 minutes faster than our previous "multi shoe joy ride". Next benchmark was the base of the chimneys, which we reached in 49 minutes, a cool 17 minutes faster than our MSJR. Big Sandy came up after 1 hr 15 minutes had elapsed and Jim yanked me to the top from there in 38 minutes.

[from archives, Lou Lorber]

I went to Yosemite last Friday. I drove to the alternate 'secretspot' just past Groveland Thursday evening and hit the sack about 9:30 after the customary 2 beers and some star gazing. I got up at 2:00 am, was in the valley by 3:00, and hiking towards Half Dome by 3:30. I figured I'd have over 2 hours to trudge along in the dark and did spend a little time wondering just what in the hell I was doing.

However, the morning was beautiful - 1/2 moon and brightstars -and the time passed quickly. Oh, and I also had the trail all to myself. I got to the Summit of Half Dome a couple of minutes before 7:00, relaxed in the brilliant sunshine for 45 seconds and started down. I was back at the car at 9:45. I ate some more food, made more Gator-aid and drove to YosemiteLodge.

[by Bill Wright; from the archives]
Hi Runners,

On my last day in Yosemite I had no climbing partner. I was staying at Hans Florine's house (the world's fastest climber) and he was too afraid to climb the Rostrum with me. His excuse was because there was no way we could break the record for the route (1:30 by Peter Croft - solo!). Actually, I think he was afraid to climb it with me as it would probably take two days and he'd have to z-pulley me up the route... Anyway, Hans says to me, "I know what you should do! You should try to break my record on running up Half Dome. I did it in 2:03 up and 3:33 roundtrip." Okay, I'd give it a try. The time officially starts at the Half Dome Trail sign just on the other side of the bridge (now closed) near Happy Isles. From here to the summit it is 8.2 miles and 4900 vertical feet (5100 vertical feet roundtrip).

[from the archives. Originally submitted by Greg Murphy]

Another weekend update coming your way. This time around we somehow managed to drive past El Capitan and find our way to the other big stone in Yosemite Valley, Half Dome. Chan Harrell, Peter Coward and I re-united as Team Pokey and climbed the historic and absolutely fantastic Tis-sa-ack route on Half Dome, VI, 5.10, A3+. We did what we believe is the first single push ascent of this route in 31h 45m. We are considering a break with tradition and redefining our particular brand of single push style as "weekend style", where a hectic work week and a long Friday night drive are mandatory elements of the ascent.

[from the archives, via Steve Edwards]

L'Esprit des Etats Unis!

by Jacques du Monde - Foreign Correspondant

The French have long asked, "When will the Americans finally come to understand the meaning of alliance and fraternity? Since World War II they have been nothing but arrogant ingrates!"

The response came late one August afternoon in the Valley of Yosemite, California. Three Americans, in commemoration of the triple alliance formed in World Wars I & II, set out to show their appreciation in a particularly French manner. In honour of the French spirit, the three Americans, known as the Lafayette Escadrille, announced that they will attempt to break the record set by a fellow American in the 1960's for the fastest ascent and descent of Half Dome without water. It was the hardened American Warren Harding, known for his stoic first ascents of climbs and stout drinking endurance in the Mountain Room, who set the record on a hot summer afternoon. It was nearly 100 degrees when Harding set out on the Mist trail. The trail is 16.4 miles roundtrip, ascending close to 5000 feet. The trail begins at the valley floor, approximately 3900 feet. Harding finished the run in 3 hours and 55 minutes.