Not For The Acrophobic

[guru]

oh...my...god


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k4Xk1mEwmI

[lonewolf]

Ditto..

[Daisy]

How do they find people who are willing to do that?

[kuha]

[Marlow]

So when you're climbing at the very tippy-top, you're not attached to anything??!!

[Daisy]

And now I think about it, it's got to be even worse going down!!!

[gh]

If i didn't have Acro before, i certainly do now!

Hokey-smokes! I had to stop halfway just to catch my breath.

[kuha]

Terrifying, for sure.

I wonder: How much they would have to pay ME to do that--even when I was 25 & fit? $10,000 wouldn't do it; $25,000 wouldn't do it... At the $100,000 level I'd at least start to think "could I actually do this?"--but I'm pretty sure the answer would still be NONONONONONONONO!

[Marlow]

I wonder: How much they would have to pay ME to do that--even when I was 25 & fit? $10,000 wouldn't do it; $25,000 wouldn't do it... At the $100,000 level I'd at least start to think "could I actually do this?"--but I'm pretty sure the answer would still be NONONONONONONONO!

Good question. One step further? How much would you bet? Do it and you keep all the money. Chicken out and you lose it.
$50K is a lot to lose, but maybe the right incentive to make oneself do it.
The problem is the lack of life-lines. Just getting dizzy up there would be fatal.

[Conor Dary]

There are plenty of people in Boulder who would do it, or at least there were.



Just go to Eldorado Canyon.

But seriously, I think the video is scarier than actually doing it. In my relatively short climbing career, I am kind of still surprised at some of the stuff I got up. Standing at the base of some vertical wall I sometime would pray for rain just so I could quit. But once you get started and are concentrating on what you are doing, i.e. looking at the rock etc, before you know it you are at the top.

The first time I did the Third Flatiron in Boulder, even though it is an easy climb it is so exposed that I had to quit about a third up. Looking around and taking in the view was not wise. But I did it again and this time only looked at the rock and had no problems.

[kuha]

The truth is, there are a few folks who would do this climb for the fun of it. Many (desperate impoverished folks?) that would do it for something in the range of $1,000; and plenty more that would do it (or try it) for $100,000. But not me...

[Conor Dary]

The truth is, there are a few folks who would do this climb for the fun of it. Many (desperate impoverished folks?) that would do it for something in the range of $1,000; and plenty more that would do it (or try it) for $100,000. But not me...

I wonder how many people could actually do it just for the money? I would bet it is not many. It is a loooong way up.

[Conor Dary]

But not me...

kuha the climbing ape!

[kuha]

But not me...

kuha the climbing ape!

Bingo! That was me in my younger, fit & handsome days...

[guru]

Here's a discussion thread on the video, including a guy who did it for awhile.

http://www.artifacting.com/blog/2010/09 ... ion-tower/

[Marlow]

There are plenty of people in Boulder who would do it, or at least there were.

But . . . the vast majority of sheer cliff climbers are on rope. These tower-climbers are free-climbing - no safety rope - and that makes all the difference in the world. I'd climb the tower for much less money if I were on a safety rope.

[Conor Dary]

There are plenty of people in Boulder who would do it, or at least there were.

But . . . the vast majority of sheer cliff climbers are on rope. These tower-climbers are free-climbing - no safety rope - and that makes all the difference in the world. I'd climb the tower for much less money if I were on a safety rope.

Sorry, but what do you think those tower guys clipping in during the video are doing?

Besides there are a few free soloists out there and have been for a while.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 824977185#

[kuha]

I'd climb the tower for much less money if I were on a safety rope.

I'll give ya the safety rope and $30. Let the fun begin!

[Conor Dary]

I'd climb the tower for much less money if I were on a safety rope.

I'll give ya the safety rope and $30. Let the fun begin!

Yes, let's hear it! If you have a fear of heights and don't know how to handle it, even a top rope isn't going to help.

[Marlow]

Sorry, but what do you think those tower guys clipping in during the video are doing?

PART of the way, but as he says when he first gets out in the open at the top, there are NO lines part of the time at the very top.

[guru]

Sorry, but what do you think those tower guys clipping in during the video are doing?

The only time they clip on is when they stop and rest on the way up, and once they get there.

[Conor Dary]

Sorry, but what do you think those tower guys clipping in during the video are doing?

The only time they clip on is when they stop and rest on the way up, and once they get there.

Well obviously they weren't on belay the whole time. But they were climbing a ladder. Clip in to rest, which only makes sense.

[gh]

what makes this worse than (all?) rock climbing is that you don't have the option of walking down the easy slope on the backside, or simply rappelling down.

My climbing was minimal, but it was always shocking how easy it is to go up a face and how brutal it is to come back down. the same way.

[guru]

Next time you're in Spain...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caminito_del_Rey

http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligen ... _path.html

[Conor Dary]

what makes this worse than (all?) rock climbing is that you don't have the option of walking down the easy slope on the backside, or simply rappelling down.

My climbing was minimal, but it was always shocking how easy it is to go up a face and how brutal it is to come back down. the same way.

Downclimbing a route is definitely much harder. Primarily because it is hard to spot the holds.

I think everyone here is overstating the danger here. While dangerous and of course scary, the guy is climbing a ladder, a very long ladder, but still a ladder. Assuming they aren't dumb enough to go up in a wind storm, it is primarily a matter of paying attention to what you are doing. Rest and repeat. Yes, going down is harder but not that much so.

Rocks aren't falling from above, hand and footholds are obvious and secure. And plenty of rest stops, whenever you want, unlike, say the Nose on El Cap which is 3000 ft long.

PS. As for rappelling, it is not a trivial exercise. Very experienced climbers have died rappelling, with failed anchors, broken harnesses, rappelling off the end of the rope, rock falls....

[guru]

This thred is reminding me of a movie I saw a month or so ago called "Man On Wire", the story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, the man who planned and executed a walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. It actually turned out to be several crossings, but not just walking. Running, jumping, laying down IN THE MIDDLE. Taunting the police, he finally left the wire when he became concerned the police helicopters would blow him off the wire. Mind-boggling stuff.

Here's a clip from the movie, but I HIGHLY recommend checking out the whole film. Just the planning of the thing was amazing in and of itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEU7lrtehDs

[Cooter Brown]

My wife's cousin is a cell tower repairman for AT&T in the Bay Area. My wife said he gets paid $25/hour and an additional $300-400 bonus for each tower that is climbed. He barely graduated high school, is 22 and makes over $100K per year. He's an adrenaline junkie so it's a perfect job for him until it kills him. He said the only thing that concerns him is an earthquake while on top of one.

[Marlow]

the only thing that concerns him is an earthquake while on top of one.

Might be the safest place to be!

[gh]

So why is the face of the second climber pixellated out?

[DrJay]

There are plenty of people in Boulder who would do it, or at least there were.



Just go to Eldorado Canyon.

Fifth pitch of a climb called "The Naked Edge", one I did a couple times in the '80s/'90s. Really exciting exposure, meaning way up there, steep, with a lot of air below your feet.

[DrJay]

I'm amazed OSHA doesn't require them to be clipped in at all times. I mean, they make us keep g@#damned Material Safety Data Sheets on Sharpies.

I wonder how much the top of the tower moves in a mild wind, say 15 mph?

[DrJay]

Besides there are a few free soloists out there and have been for a while.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 824977185#

Some well-known ones are six feet under...John Bachar, Derek Hersey (a fixture around Boulder in the mid-80s thru his death soloing in 1993), Jimmy Jewel. It wouldn't be at all surprising if Dean Potter, featured in the video, ended up buying it soloing as well.

[lonewolf]

I wonder how much the top of the tower moves in a mild wind, say 15 mph?

That thing looked pretty wobbly when they stepped up on the last "platform" I was concerned that if might snap off if their weight was flung around by the wind.

[DrJay]

I thought the same. Beefier rungs/attachments would make me feel better if I were up there.

[Conor Dary]

Fifth pitch of a climb called "The Naked Edge", one I did a couple times in the '80s/'90s. Really exciting exposure, meaning way up there, steep, with a lot of air below your feet.

Yes it is the Naked Edge. It got its name, from a pulp novel someone had just read, primarily because it is so exposed. Wow, so you climbed it. I am impressed! That was definitely above my abilities. I knew Jim Erickson, the first to free climb it, pretty well in Boulder. He used to show up to our all-comer meets at Potts.

Once, years ago, in Eldorado I was climbing with someone quite a bit younger, and Erickson was just starting the Bastille Crack. I went over and said hello and my partner was so excited I knew a Boulder legend.