UKC

After failing the day before, Adam Ondra recharged and made quick work pitches 14, 9a, and 15, 8c+ or 9a, on Dawn wall. All that stands between Adam and success now is pitch 16 ...and the rest of the pitches.

On cloud nine!

It has been magical evening. I was focused and calm. The...

Read more

In reply to UKC News:
Adam, if I were you I'd at least pretend to struggle with pitch 16. I doubt you'll get another visa if make the whole thing look a walk in the park.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:

Rope solo it free in a day or it doesn't count these days

In reply to UKC News:

Great news. Two 9a's in a day is pretty impressive by any standards let alone half way up a multi day ascent of El Cap.

Hope the weather stays good for him for the rest.



I thought he'd said previously he was planning to join the loop pitch with the next one because it seemed more logical to him that way - and made one combined pitch of 8c+.

In reply to stp:

I'm really glad you mention that, thanks.
The way it's reported sounds like he's opted for the 'easy'option... which just didn't sound right in the context of Mr Ondra's past efforts.
I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back for the dyno pitch after finishing off his preferred option.

In reply to La benya:


I think the beauty of the Dawn Wall is that Caldwell managed to find a line of least resistance which is only just possible at his and today's standards and the fact that Ondra hasn't cruised it seems to confirm this. To take the "hard" option would therefore seem somewhat contrived and missing the point (though which variation is harder seems to depend on which climber we are talking about). Having said that, the Loop pitch does sound a bizarre, even if logical, solution!

In reply to UKC News:

Absolutely mind boggling.
Inspiring to see Adam turn something he found humbling and impossible looking to begin with to a success.

Additionally, isn't pitch 14 , 9a climbing on trad gear? Inspiring.

In reply to zmv:

I believe the hard pitches are mainly bolted as it's face climbing away from placements for pro.

In reply to zmv:

I think that both Dike Traverse pitches - 14 and 15 - are pretty well entirely bolted. Here's a shot of 14:

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/01/05/sports/BRANCH1/BRANCH1-master105...

The first few feet are on Mescalito [which then disappears up the flake/ramp above the portaledge] and could possibly involve non-drilled gear, but after that the draws look as if they're on bolts.

In reply to Ian Parsons:

Thanks for the clarification.
There used to be a clip of Kevin Jorgenson up explaining one of the pitches was protected mainly by peckers and it was a bit nerve racking as they are mainly used for aid.
Nevertheless, two 9as in a day seems like a pretty good day at the crag!

In reply to zmv:
Probably pitch 10, also pitch 10 of Mescalito; while the route was still a project there was occasional comment about a number of newish fixed peckers on this pitch. Here's the general layout:

http://www.rockandice.com/Article-Images/News-Photos/November-2016/Dawn-Wal...

Can't find the shot looking up pitch 10, but here's the top bit:

http://cdn-r2.unilad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/climb2.jpg

Looking back across traverse at start of pitch 11 - on aid, obviously:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_u8RzBC9dWv0/TFuY4fZ64-I/AAAAAAAADUI/m5ULfBgGiNE/s...
https://i.vimeocdn.com/filter/overlay?src0=https%3A%2F%2Fi.vimeocdn.com%2Fv...

Not much to stand on!

The 5.14b Molar pitch would be a mixture of trad placements and occasional fixed aid gear.

Edit: here you go - scroll down for pitch 10.

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1317951&tn=40

In reply to UKC News:

good thing hes doing it now, cos the Dawn wall might be used to build the Mexican wall...

In reply to jondo:


Its more likely that Trump will turn the Dawn walk into his version of Mt Rushmore and call it Mt Trumpmore.

Andy F

In reply to andy farnell:



Don't know if it's deliberate or predictive, but love the implication that 'The Dawn Walk' is becoming a trade route!

In reply to The Fox: Fat fingers, not predictive text. But you're right, he is making it look rather easier than most thought he would. It just shows how good Ondra is compared to the rest.

Andy F

In reply to UKC News:

Pitches 16 and 17 are in the bag, so all the pitches he's thought would be hard are done.

I'm wondering how long the whole thing will have taken him, ie. number of days climbing on the route. Sure to finish in the next day or so I'd have thought and it doesn't seem like that many.

In reply to stp:

What an utterly remarkable achievement. Hope the weather - and skin, hold out for the next few days.

In reply to AP Melbourne:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNBO-W4A4WC/?hl=en

Wino tower is pitch 22 I think. Awesome!

In reply to AP Melbourne:

Yeah I agree. Not just for repeating it though. Seems like conditions have been far from ideal and he's dealt with that by climbing at night which seems pretty cutting edge. Boulderers have been doing that for years but I've not heard of people doing that on Big Wall climbs. Is this a new thing? Not ideal for the photographer Heinz Zak though.

Still hope the weather doesn't get too bad for them:
'We would have continued, but looks like it will rain soon. Which means forced restday tomorrow and hopefully finishing it off on Monday.'



Good topo showing the Wino Tower and the whole route
http://www.rockandice.com/Default.aspx?PageID=16904684&A

In reply to stp:


Caldwell and Jorgeson climbed a fair bit of it at night too, I think.

In reply to stp:

This is a pretty amazing 3D topo of it too (you use the right scroll bar):

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/09/sports/the-dawn-wall-el-capit...

In reply to stp:



This shot of him in the WoEML groove - https://www.instagram.com/p/BNBO-W4A4WC/?hl=en - suggests that he did indeed do the Loop pitch; any idea yet whether he did the combination that you mention?

In reply to Ian Parsons:

Read in one of the instagram accounts that he did try linking them, but due to the lenght of the pitch somewhere around the second section his feet went numb and he had to get back down to the middle belay to let the dogs out, so it ended up going in 2 pitches.

Someone posted a weather forecast in the supertopo thread and it looks like the climb is going to turn decisively alpine with low temperatures and snow, so those last 11 "easy" pitches will still put up a fight!

In reply to Mr Lopez:

Ah - thanks. Yes; I read somewhere that his approach shoes are size 44 and he's wearing 38.5 Katanas, so that might have something to do with it!

In reply to Ian Parsons:


Don't know sorry. I just remember he mentioned it as the plan a while back.

In reply to UKC News:
Interesting that the weather there at the moment is really cold. The forecast says -7C for tonight for Yosemite but presumably with being up on the wall it will be several degrees lower that. Monday night will be -10C. Daytime high for today is 2C and not much sun either, possible snow. But if it stays dry I'm guessing they'll probably finish it today.

In reply to Ian Parsons:


That shouldn't seem so surprising to you, Ian!

In reply to jon:

I never wear approach shoes that tight!

In reply to Ian Parsons:

Fabulous photo at the start of this article - http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/19/sports/adam-ondra-climbing-dawn-wall-yose...

In reply to John2:

that's a gorgeous shot, thanks for sharing

In reply to John2:

Yeah saw that, really crap headline though ( negative spin), considering the next day he crushed it, then upward and onward to the top of wino tower, an incredible performance , fingers crossed they finish as snow is forcast.

In reply to UKC News:

I knew he was still young but just read in the article he's only 23!? imagine what he'll do when he gets into his prime ...

In reply to Andy Clarke1965:

Snow is forecast in 4 hours time (2pm for them). 10 pitches left - if they haven't started already - and the hardest and penultimate pitch is 13a. Dry tomorrow but really cold (sub zero up there) but some sunshine so might be OK if today's snow isn't causing any problems..

In reply to Ian Parsons:

A recent update clarifies what he did here:

“Hard to find the words to describe how I feel. We made it up to the Wino Tower and no more hard pitches guard my way to the top. I could not have asked for a better day.

“Pitch 16 can be climbed via the dyno or the loop. If I am not wrong, the dyno was given 5.14c (8c+), and the loop is probably easier—I heard something about 5.14a— but due to the crazy character of the climbing, the grade is not relevant. The loop pitch or dyno pitch is followed by a 5.14a layback. In between, there is no belay, only a no-hands stance. My original goal was to connect the loop pitch into the layback, making a 60-meter mega-pitch at 5.14c at least.

“The loop pitch is an extremely hard pitch mentally. The down-climb is awkward, powerful and insecure and is the crux of the pitch for sure. At the bottom of the loop, there is a good ledge, but I could not sit down. As you start climbing, you get into a tiny layback with pin-scars, which is super easy to slip on. This section is probably at 5.13c, but it is really devastating if you slip and have to climb the down-climb again. I was lucky to fight through the down-climb, took a rest at the ledge and climbed super carefully through the layback into the no-hands stance—the end of the loop/dyno pitch. I continued into pitch 17 (5.14a layback), but after climbing for 45 mins, my feet were just gone. I took a little rest and did pitch 17 from the no-hands stance. Doing the whole 16 plus 17 link seemed impossible at that moment.

“In the next 4 hours, I climbed pitch 18 (5.13c) in possibly the biggest fight of the day. My feet were so painful & weak that I was shaking so badly on the second half of the pitch. But I made it. Pitch 19 is very short & bouldery (5.13c, but I think 5.13b is better) & pitch 20 (5.13c—one of the best pitches on the wall) went very smooth. Pitch 21 (5.13d) is the last hard pitch. I had never worked on this pitch very carefully and it got dark in the meantime. I switched on my headlamp and headed towards the Wino Tower. I climbed slowly, took my time & hoped I would not pump out. It turned out to be a good tactic & at 6 p.m. I was at the Wino Tower!"

From the Black Diamond Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BNCa_XIgde-/

In reply to stp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds9NoUvbq0k&feature=youtu.be

In reply to stp:

Excellent; you've answered my next question before I asked it! I was wondering whether he originally intended to link to the notional belay at the no-hands stance, or continue to the next belay visible under the overlap at the end of the pitch here: https://www.instagram.com/p/BNBO-W4A4WC/?hl=en; he clearly meant the latter. His account also suggests that the topos that show the loop pitch finishing at a belay next to its start at the end of the second Dike Traverse pitch are actually wrong; it continues up past the starting belay, past his position in the above photo, to the no-hands stance just above the point at which the alternative dyno arrives from the right. That makes much more sense!

In reply to John2:

Yes; very good. As a point of [vague] interest and a bit more context, Reticent Wall comes up that thin right-facing groove just beyond him, traverses the flake that his toe is against, carries on across at that level, then climbs up to cross the Dike Traverse in the vicinity of that third piece of gear that doesn't quite look like a bolt. I think that Caldwell and Jorgeson used a long sling on a higher bolt [on Reticent] at that point, presumably to avoid adding a bolt in the middle of an existing pitch; it looks as if Ondra [pre]placed a piece of gear on the actual line - a pecker, possibly.

As I suspect will have been generally spotted, the accompanying topo isn't quite right; it shows the loop pitch rejoining the line before the dyno rather than after it - which would somewhat defeat the point of doing it!

In reply to stp:

Which forecast are you looking at?

Not the same forecast as me.

In reply to edinburgh_man:

I was looking at weather.com for Yosemite Natl Park. But tbh it changes far more frequently than I would have thought - so it depends a lot on what time you look at it.

In reply to stp:

national weather service for today for yosemite says
A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 37. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
tonight
Mostly clear, with a low around 32. East wind 5 to 10 mph

Fingers crossed he gets it done

In reply to Kipper-Phil Smith:
Think he's finishing in the showers:


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

In reply to UKC News:

4 pitches to go from what I've read. Great result. I'd have been a bit gutted if he didn't do it.

In reply to UKC News:

Incredible, jaw-dropping effort.

In reply to UKC News:
Amazing. The second ascent is completed:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNF3AQzh3rD/



Dear @Adam.Ondra,⠀
⠀
Thank you for showing us what’s possible once again. Through your hard work and determination, we’ve been able to witness another groundbreaking milestone in the world of climbing. We want to congratulate you for challenging yourself with climbing the world’s hardest big-wall, roping up in the face of doubt and succeeding. And we want to thank you, of course, for providing not just us, but climbers worldwide with inspiration.⠀
⠀
Nice job sending the Dawn Wall!!!!⠀
⠀
Sincerely,⠀
Your friends at Black Diamond Equipment

https://www.instagram.com/blackdiamond/⠀
⠀

In reply to stp:

Amazing effort and style. The idea of opening your Yosemite account with Free Dawn Wall is rather impressive.

In reply to UKC News:

What's he done on grit?

Masters edge onsight.

Oh OK.

That's not funny anymore.

Yes it is.

No it isn't.




Now with the formalities out of the way well done Adam! Seriously impressive to take on a climb that's so public and so far outside what you're known for.