Free Solo

[Alan Evil]

I think OW is upset because he is now aspiring to be a sport weenie (just look at his grudge list) and having a hard time dealing with these desires.

I'm not aspiring. I AM a sport weenie.

I even own an anodized grigri now......

And theres a stick clip in the backseat of my car.....

I knew that was the sound of the four horsemen! The end is nigh! Repent!!! Repent!!!

[Meadows]

512OW is aspiring to be my dedicated belayer!!

[Feanor007]

i'm still a bit of a noob, and don't solo much, esp in the gorge...but, i think people who say it is irresoponsible to solo. need to step back and look at them selves. what is responsible, r/x rated trad routes, trad routes, sport routes, bouldering, where is the line, sure some feal safer than others, but all it takes is one good screw up to end ya. climbing imo is sometimes "safer", but always irresonsible to an extant and selfish.

in a debate about soloing on rc.com dingus posted this, and imo is the best respons to the soloing debate:

Osman isn't so long departed that those who knew him well still don't ply these boards ya know? That's one of the things about this tribe... you can sit back and criticize 'those crazy fuckers' till one day it finally dawns upon you...
you are one of THEM. You are in the same tribe. You have more in common with that Wild Man who let himself run free, than you do the button down man looking over your shoulder from the back of your cube.
You are a climber. If you're in this game for good, let me be the first 'lifer' to encourage you to avoid this fatalistic thinking, that 'if only you can avoid the Dan Osman trap' you will climb long and prosper.
NO!
Revel in our mad men and women. Tell their stories! Live vicariously through their rash misadventures. Understand this...
you are a climber now. You've crossed the Rubicon of good sense. If you die from a freak top roping accident tomorrow afternoon, you will be regarded by your suvivors as every bit as reckless as Osman.

i'll say this for someone else, STFU Noob!

[Snowpuppy]

Solo climbing is so much fun!!! 8)

[Guest]

I used to think soloing was foolish and selfish, but have recently had my perspective shifted by people who have done it for various and personal reasons. None of those reasons included a death wish or desire to piss people off.

Life is short. Live it on your own terms.

[512OW]

512OW is aspiring to be my dedicated belayer!!

I'm already dedicated to you my dear....

Now if only you'd let me climb with you....

[SCIN]

When I stepped up to the base of Romantic Warrior, after never having been on it, I felt like a higher power was pushing me to solo it. I'd dreamt about soloing that line for years and never had even seen it. I'd only seen pictures of a couple of the pitches. From those pictures, and the words of others, I decided that it was placed on this earth for me to climb. A rope would only be a distraction, or an insult to this beautiful chunk of stone. It was the most terrifying climb of my life though. Midway through the first hard pitch I pooped my pants and almost fell because a little piece of it got on the bottom of my shoe. At the first big ledge I started screaming out for help hoping that someone would hear me but it was a weekday and nobody was around. I sat there crying for like half an hour and started getting really hungry. I was afraid that I would get the shakes so bad from low blood sugar if I didn't hurry up and get to the top so I just started climbing again. I about puked when I got to the base of the crux pitch and realized that there was no backing down. I knew that some top climbers had fallen on this pitch so I didn't have great confidence. I started up the technical section and got this insane elvis leg then pissed my pants. I downclimbed about 10 feet back to the ledge and cried again. I had no freakin' clue what to do at this point. I just didn't want to climb this pitch. An hour later I started feeling pretty weak and thirsty so I started up it again. I shook like a bitch the whole way and the climbing kind of sucked (chossy) but I made it to the next pitch. The rest of the route sucked and was pretty easy. I'll probably never solo again. The climbing mags made a big deal out of it but I kind of glorified it so they would because I need some new shoes and shit from the sponsors.

[Guest]

I'm gonna solo my ass cherry, but I hope I don't cry

[Cliff Heindel]

i wish i could post that

[Wes]

I'm gonna solo my ass cherry, but I hope I don't cry

Don't worry, with all the traffic that thing has seen over the last couple years, it has cleaned up really nicely. Not the choss pile it was the day it was first drilled.