UKC

Pete Whittaker recently returned from a three-week trip to Squamish, in British Columbia, Canada. Normally associated with hard crack climbs and Tom Randall, this time around Pete was out there on his own - practising rope solo techniques. Having barely any experience of using the technique prior to his trip, Pete impressively came away with fast multi-route rope-solo climbs, including two separate triple-route ascents on the 2,303ft granite monolith the Squamish Chief in under 24 hours.

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In reply to UKC News:

Interesting Pete says he is never tied in. Usually when rope soloing you tie in periodically as a back up - if the solo device goes belly up then ultimately you stop at the knot. I guess when speed climbing it's a decision you take to save time.

In reply to UKC News:

I recently did Roof Route in Burbage South ( Roof Route (VS 4c) ) as rope solo lead. I probably used similar system to what Pete was using because I was freaking out about clipping free hanging end of rope. Did a rope solo multi pitch on Zamarla Turnia in Polish Tatras ( Zamarła Turnia#maps) in 1993 and did not tie in periodically ... It was too much faff on free climbing even on short route

In reply to philhilo:

but you don't tie into the *end of the rope* (as far as i understand it, it's in a pack , on your back or at a belay )
unlike normal climbing

In reply to lithos:

True, if 'tying in' is tying on to the end of the rope then true you don't - unless you get to the end. Otherwise yes the other end is firmly attached to the belay!

In reply to UKC News:

Great little article

In reply to UKC News:

Nice article! It would be good to have more detail on Pete's system - he's clearly thought about this carefully and got a system that works quickly and effectively...
And first rope solo Happy Hart at Curbar? Joke?

In reply to beginner1:

Wouldn't it be the second ascent?! Would be an obvious target for PW I'd have thought.

In reply to beginner1:

Yeah I'd also like to hear more about his rope soloing system. I'm guessing he's using gear not made by his sponsors , so maybe that explains the lack of detail?

In reply to beginner1:

No joke:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BD3WUAZBeUT/

In reply to maxsmith:


Me too. I've also roped soled one of the routes he did in Squamish, but it took me three days.