depends on the climb. Some have walk offs, where you just hike down (I guess most of the big walls in yosemite are supposedly like that). The ones that dont, yeah they just rappel down in stages.

Dumb question(and I know I'm missing something obvious): how do they get the rope undone when they rappel down from say point A to a lower point hundreds of feet below?

Going down seems way more freaky to me than the up part lol. Unless you just go the Dean Potter route and base jump

The rope isnt tied to a fixed point, so when you get to the next rappel station you just pull one side of the rope and the whole thing comes down. Think if like there was a rafter over your head and you threw a rope over the rafter and then grabbed both ends of it and hung on it. Same thing basically.

You can also tie 2 ropes together and do the same thing for really long rappels.

Something like 80% of all accidents and deaths occur during the rappel, so going down is def scarier than up. There is also nothing more pants ****ting than your first overhanging rappel where you basically lean back into oblivion and dont even get to use your feet or legs.

To expand on this, something to consider is that many trad climbers climb below their limits to avoid falling. Even if the gear placements are not good, or the rope might load over an edge or the belay anchor is marginal, if no one falls nothing happens. When people rappel you depend 100% of the time on the gear system and any failures in setup or use will result in a fall. Combine this with the exhaustion, impatience and darkness at the end of the day and it can be pretty dangerous. Walking off is a good option a lot of the time, even if its a bit longer.

prolly for the same reasons you dont see many playing hockey. Because the areas where its popular arent areas populated by lots of black people.

But they do exist

I just got back from 3 weeks of bouldering in Rocklands South Africa, and it was ****ing amazing. I think id have to rank it as my favorite bouldering spot so far. Definitely will be going back next summer. Was gunna do like a full TR type thing, but Im too lazy and really 85% of the time I was climbing, so that doesnt make for a interesting TR post. So heres a few pics and a couple vids of the trip instead











Lamberts bay which was like 60km away


baboons were thick out there!


Me on "Nymph" 6c+ Its hard to see but theres a waterfal and pool right behind the boulder, was amazing


Me on "Rhino" 7b+, prolly the coolest boulder ive ever seen, and one of the funner climbs ive done.


trying to figure the moves out on "Sneak" 6c


on "Take off your shoes" fun highball 6a

heres a couple vids

http://www.idspispopd.net/sa/minki.wmv
me doing a really fun 7b called "Minki"

http://www.idspispopd.net/sa/sexetiquette.wmv
Me on "Sex Etiquette" 6c. Heh, I scream like a ****** in this one, but it was my 4th day of climbing in a row so I had no gas in the tank, and you cant tell in the video but its higher than it looks and the landing was bad, so I was basically scared as hell I was gunna fall and break something.

Looks like a blast. Did you have to fly pads out there or are there rental places out there? I feel like thats an impediment to bouldering in faraway places.

I was able to check my old small mad rock pad as one of my pieces of luggage with out getting charged the oversized bag fee (which is $200, so I would have just left it at the airport if they made me pay it, heh). It sucked bouldering with such small pads, but since its such a world class spot there are climbers from all over the world there, so its pretty easy to climb with other people and well pad a problem. You can rent pads there, but they only have a couple and its first come first serve, I never saw one there available.

I broke my talus bone two months ago highballing at the buttermilks. I'm still in a cast but can't wait to get back out there

Looks fun, but one slip aaand *fml.* (Mats don't seem sufficient, iyam. Then again, I know ****-all about those mats.)

This is why I like indoor climbing.

doh! Which climb? You miss the pad, or just bottom one out?

haha yeah the only time i flew with a pad i measured it and it was technically oversized but only by a little. i checked it at the curbside thing with 5 bucks in hand and the guy is kind of eying it warily and picks it up and realizes it weighs nothing and then doesn't care. its a ~200 dollar pad so id probably have to pay the ~50 buck domestic fee, but id have been pissed.

im all for some pad sharing but its still nice to have a good rig of your own so you can work whatever you want.

looks excellent alobar, nice work.

going to kings canyon and sequioa to do some hiking for the next week, then i'm going to yosemite go go climbing...i'm so pumped. will provide TR when i get back.

What's on the tick list for Yosemite?

It happened on East Side Story, a 2 star V3 with a high crux. My right foot missed the pad by a few inches.

My first doctor appointment in a month is two days away. I'm hoping for some good news

ouch! Thats by flyboy right? I think I remember seeing it (and being too scared to try it ). good luck at the Dr!!

just learning how to climb. anyone climb in the dfw area? i know they have climbing at mineral wells but don't know any others. i have never climbed outside just a few times on a indoor wall

Do you boulder or top rope?
Hueco tanks is near el paso, and is one of the best places for bouldering.

Edit: I guess tx is much larger than I had thought. Hueco is nowhere near dallas. If you ever get the chance though, go to hueco

was able to climb at yosemite. TR to come when i'm not lazy-

Awesome thread. Wasted most of my day watching the video links in here.

Edit to add: As for personal climbing experience, I only did enough to get my Mountain Climbing Merit Badge in scouts, which were all on outdoor towers and stuff. No real rock climbing. Kind of interested in mountain hiking, but anything you'd need a rope or upper body strength for kind of freaks me out.

yeah Texas if ****ing huge, i found that out driving out here from CA, got to Texas thought i was almost here, 9 hours later i finally get here. Also it's way too hot right now, the 1 outdoor place i know is almost all in the shade. It was 105 today yuck. I have nothing against bouldering other than the fact that I'm not very strong yet climbing wise, I assume that will get better with time. Also the outdoor place here is only top roping, the state park doesn't allow sport/traditional lead climbing for some reason

Cathedral Peak?

How did I not discover this thread earlier? For a few years I blogged about the shenanigans of being a full time poker player and rock bum. I could have just been here No idea there was this big an interest in climbing. I havent climbed as much int he last year due to injury and moving to a ski town, so got hooked on powder for a bit, but I am pretty much healed up and psyched on it again.

Proudest climbing moment was probably flashing V7 up in Leavenworth Washington, and most memorable places I have climbed is Vietnam. Deep water soloing is pretty amazing out there.

Anyways, just got really excited about this thread and wanted to say Hello. Tomorrow I take off for an outdoor educator program and am hoping to start teaching climbing at a school. What else is a poker playing rock bum from the U.S. gonna do post Black Friday?

- Dap

Also, How many people in this thread from CA? Seems like a bit from the places most are climbing. I am from the Bay Area originally, but currently live in Lake Tahoe, and frequent Bishop and Yosemite.

Poker playing/sport climbing dirtbag here. With fall coming, im planning a 2-3 month trip which im getting pretty excited about.

A friend and i will be starting off in Horne Lake, Squamish, then to Skaha and Lake Louise. Then its down to Smith Rocks, Sonora (jailhouse is amazing), Red Rocks, and maybe Colorado. My friend wants to get all the way over to Red River Gorge, but thats one huge drive. The climbing is supposed to be world class though, anyone ever been there?

Will any other 2+2ers be on the 'circuit'?