UKC

i have been watching a few climbing videos recently where pro climbers get to the top of a route where you cant walk off from.ie the spires in the middle of the desert in this jimmy chin video

http://matadornetwork.com/sports/camp-4-collective-films-the-north-face-cli...

i understand they lead to get up and belay the seconds but once they are all up how does the last person get down without leaving protection for the anchor at the top?.do they just down climb all the way?

In reply to bobtheclimber:

Commonly you do leave some sort of anchor at the top. Smetimes there are bolts or a stake. Sometimes you can thread/sling something. Sometimes you have to leave some gear.

Then there are times you can simply loop your rope around a tree, rock spike etc and ab off that then pull the rope. There are also places where you can counterbalance abseil off a feature, one climber goes down each side of say a fin or spire. Much care is needed to do it safely and there are countless variations on the theme

Sometimes you can downclimb/traverse a little to a feature you can ab off safely and easily (eg tree).

jk

In reply to bobtheclimber: Depends on the route/spire. Sometimes they are equipped with bolts, etc for abseiling off. Otherwise, yes it is leave gear behind to abseil off.

Ben

In reply to bobtheclimber:

Failing that if you can get to the floor in a single abseil it is possible to counter balance

In reply to bobtheclimber:

What actually happens is that the helicopter that has been filming them comes in and picks them up off the top. The sponsors pick up the bill for the helicopter. What a life.

In reply to bobtheclimber:

Often, since they are sponsered climbers, they don't need to pay for their own bouldering mats. So they stock up big on buldering mats and then make a huge pile at the bottom. So once they finish the climb they can just jump onto their soft mats. I would assume.

In reply to bobtheclimber: im talking about never before climbed routes that are upto a quite few hundred feet high like these ones

http://cdn.videos.thenorthface.com/AzNDlkMjoypSSoAsBFh3UNn-gjhQx-ZX/promo12...

do the helis actually pick them up or am i being gullible,the same question for people the guy who soloed the tower on the right of that picture

In reply to bobtheclimber:
It`s easy, like this youtube.com/watch?v=ttz5oPpF1Js& you should seen the Barmans face in the Wasdale Head Inn when I flew in through the window after doing Napes Needle.

In reply to bobtheclimber:

Sometimes they even climb it a day or two before the shoot, so that they can put in in-situ gear/bolts/tat/pitons. Then on the day of the shoot they look slick (because they know all the moves) and don't have to carry unnecessary crap, and they can make a quick exit for the camara/cameraman/helicopter. What a life.