RRC Archives

I'd always thought that to free a big wall, one had to climb it from the ground to the end of the last pitch without any falls. An article I read recently made it sound like it's okay to fall, as long as you lower to the beginning of the pitch on which you fell and climb it without falling. Initially I was a little surprised, but then I realized that I'd taken my assumed definition for granted all these years, and it might be okay to fall as long as you redpoint it during that "attempt" on the wall, for lack of a better term. Anybody have more insight on this?

back in the day ('93) when Lynn Hill free the Nose, I wondered the same thing when I learned she worked it like a sport climb. Free is free I guess no matter how many tries you have at freeing unfreed pitches.

I do think the next big thing we are going to hear about in the valley are climbers onsighting (free) those big wall routes.

yuji hirayama goes for that style (onsight).

I believe Tommy fell 2 or 3 times when he freed the nose. I think Lynn did too.

Damn sport climbers.

you can fall, but you just have to lower back down to the belay and lead it clean. you also dont have to do the pitches in order. some people rap in and free the top pitches and go to the bottom and free the lower pitches. just as long as you free all the pitches you have freed the route, regardless of the order you do them in.

of course most people TRY to do it in better style, but hell i cant even come close to freeing them, so i cant say much...

It seems like the usual thing - there aren't any 'rules', just be clear about what you did.

If someone said they 'freed every pitch', I'd assume that they took some falls, but went back and sent each pitch clean. If someone said they 'onsighted the route' I'd have to assume no falls at all. After Hill did the Nose, there was some guy who spent a few years working the route - I think he eventually had "done every pitch clean" but not continuously or in one bottom-to-top push.

Then there's the issue when you talk about two or more people climbing together - did one lead every pitch? Did they alternate leads and cleaning, but do all the pitches without falling or hanging? etc, etc....

It seems like you will always need a couple of sentences to actually explain what went on with something that big and potentially complicated. "JimmyBob freed the Nose" usually doesn't cut it.

Yep. Just report your ascent honestly, and let people call it what they want....


Yuji DOES attempt to onsight, but he also doesn't do any wall work on his own. He has a dedicated team who does EVERYTHING for him. That way he can focus on the climbing.

Genius? Cheating?

Scott Burke was the guy who worked the Nose. He never led the Great Roof pitch without falling, so his "free" ascent never actually happened. That article was just a way to justify the two wasted years he'd spent.

Who gives a shit. Just go do it.

time spent climbing is wasted? guess that equals Go Buckeyes

or Go Cats.