Aid?

Post by **john e aragon** » Fri Oct 11, 2002 4:09 pm

i still need beta on the aid route above Handsome and Well Hung. thanks for any help you can give.

Post by **batguano** » Thu Oct 17, 2002 3:08 pm

Where is this route? and what does it look like?

(for what it's worth, Right On, Solid, and Far Out is a really cool aid pitch. It even takes some KB's and arrows.)

Post by **john e aragon** » Fri Oct 18, 2002 2:27 am

handsome and well hung is at the bridge buttress new river gorge. i definitely want to do right on solid and far out but i have no lost arrows and only a few kb's(6different sizes with repeats in the medium sizes). also i thought i might need a funkness. what do you suggest? all the aid i have done so far has been clean.

Post by **batguano** » Mon Oct 21, 2002 2:44 pm

I think we should do one of the red river aid routes together. If you wanna do RSFO you'd be welcome to use some of my iron. I could probably even hook you up with a funkness from the folks at marginal goods (where the slogan is marginal goods for marginal people). They do some good stuff. You'll have to keep an eye out for this rising young company. They do copper heads, aluminum heads, lead(Pb) heads, funknesses, aiders, gear slings, sub-racks, and an assortment of sewn slacklines and slacklining acessories as well as an aray of custom modifications. They also seem to be developing new products all the time. I hear talk of a soon to be released prototype "margarita blender bit". A must for anyone who owns a drill and has a passion for margaritas. (you can see some marginal goods circle heads in use in the photo gallery, they were supposed to go in the pets section but they have ended up in the RR trad section for now)

I'll send ya a pm.

Post by **john e aragon** » Fri Oct 25, 2002 5:28 pm

What are trying to say? Is this guy talking to me? Look you are talking to a farly old fart. Try again without all that double talk, PLEASE.

Post by **john e aragon** » Sun Oct 27, 2002 6:46 pm

right on solid and far out? well i can definitly say that it takes more than a set of KB's and a #1 Lost arrow. last weekend my silent partner and i went up to do this route. things went well until we reached the nailing section. after placing my largest KB, shortly after placing my only LA, i realized i did not have any more pitons to fit the crack. after a scary rappel and a weeks wait, i went back to fetch my gear. finding the top of the route proved to be difficult but not as bad as reaching my gear on the slightly overhanging wall 10+ feet away from my rappel line. The crux was hanging on the last piton, hitting it with my hammer (jumars fixed to the rappel line) preparing for the swing into the trees when my last piece of gear came off the wall! Why do i tell you all this? Well, i want to learn to aid climb and i think it is obvious that i need some guidance. Anyone, please, i need some help.

Post by **1idwarf** » Fri Nov 22, 2002 3:13 am

Ask yourself why you think you should go nail a one pitch route that has gon clean several times. As for getting better at aiding the New is not realy the best spot. Do you want to use aid to get to places that you can`t free climb to or are you just bored? I aid to go up realy big walls. Aid makes me feel clever. I feel like I am out smarting the rock, and for me outsmarting something is a big event. I like the expadition style of big wall climbing. Don`t get me wroung hammering is loads of fun, maybe just don`t pound a clean aid route. I did that roof with wires and cams, but don`t listen to what other people say go do what you wan`t. If your interested in going in long aid route fasion(as in multi-pitch gear pullin) go check out Looking Glass or Zion, Yosemite ect... The key is finding a partner who is into the same idea. Two will be motivated more than one. Financialy and physicaly and mentaly. To do big routes go do lots of cam cracks, and when the hard placements come use common sense and you will get through them. Anybody can aid! If you can place gear you can pull on it. The principal of getting from one anchor to the next is the same as all other trad climbing, only you are useing daisys to move. But you already know that. I went and taut myself, which it sounds like you are doing the same, so good luck. In the last four years I have done fourteen different big wall aid routes and many other aid routes under 1000'. Travling would bet the ticket to adventure so you should go to it. Most people don`t think they know what they are doing when they start aiding, and all of a sudden they find themselves way up on the rock having a good old time. I hope you find yourself there.

Post by **john e aragon** » Sun Dec 01, 2002 8:54 pm

thanks for the encouragement. i will keep plugin away at that big bad rock.

Post by **Don McGlone** » Mon Dec 02, 2002 4:21 pm

Hey Fred,
1idwarf said "The key is finding a partner who is into the same idea." I think it may be hard to find a partner who likes swillin' 100 proof bourbon until midnight and then taking off up some aid route! Crazy fucker.

Post by **Steve** » Tue Dec 03, 2002 3:29 am

Doesn't sound like that bad a time to me.