Photo by Matt Spohn, our featured photographer in this month's edition.
Welcome to the Common Climber
January 2020 Big Wall Edition!
And, Happy New Year!
Featured Photographer: Matt Spohn
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Big wall climber, photographer, poet, and manager of his family-owned climbing gym, Matt Spohn, shares his big wall climbing photos with us. Enjoy!
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EditorialBy Stefani Dawn, Editor-in-Chief
Big wall climbing, what exactly is it? Big wall climbing is generally associated with bivvies, portaledges, and multi-day climbs - walls so big you can't get up it in one push. In days past, big wall climbing was primarily slow, arduous aid climbing - first ascents that took enormous amounts of time, finding the path that would go. Then, free-climbing the aid routes emerged, again, with long days spent on the wall, working the moves over and over. As climbing has progressed both in skill and gear, things like "Nose in a Day" ascents and speed climbing have taken center stage. The "sleeping on the wall" aspect of climbing a big wall has become less of a defining factor and the definition is centering around a more measurable metric - the height of a climb. |
Editor, Stefani Dawn, climbing the technical East Face of Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48 (Grade III, 1100 ft, 5.7, summit 14,505 ft)
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Although there is no agreed-upon specific number of what differentiates a big wall from a long multi-pitch climb, what I've read seems to settle on a minimum of 1000-1500 feet (300-450m). Basically a long, committing climb that requires a certain set of skills, strength, and endurance. Although big walls were once perceived of as accessible to only a few, such a climb is fairly common place now - well in the realm of Common Climbers.
The process of making big walls accessible to the rest of us begins with those who dare to pave the way with first ascents, first free ascents, speed ascents, and specialized gear. These folks show us what is possible and challenge us not only to dream, but to do. This issue highlights both the pioneers and the Common Climbers who choose to give big wall climbing a go. Here's what we offer you in this Big Wall edition of Common Climber:
The process of making big walls accessible to the rest of us begins with those who dare to pave the way with first ascents, first free ascents, speed ascents, and specialized gear. These folks show us what is possible and challenge us not only to dream, but to do. This issue highlights both the pioneers and the Common Climbers who choose to give big wall climbing a go. Here's what we offer you in this Big Wall edition of Common Climber:
- A little bit of history - did you know there was a big wall free-soloist before Alex Honnold? Yep, 100 years before Honnold. Learn a bit more in this interesting book review about Paul Preuss.
- We also have a one-of-a-kind interview with portaledge creator John Middendorf. After getting trapped on the side of Yosemite's Half Dome in a terrible storm and having to be rescued, John decided to create the first storm-proof portaledge, then build a business from there.
- Fast forwarding to today, we have a unique spectrum of articles about big wall climbing:
- Big wall photos and poetry from Matt Spohn. Matt is a Common Climber who loves big walls and runs a climbing gym in the Portland, OR area.
- Sébastien Berthe Free Climbs the Nose From the Ground Up - Belgian climber Sébastien Berthe is the 7th person to free the Nose, and the 1st to accomplish this task from ground up.
- We have a couple of skills/knowledge oriented articles related to big climbs, as well as a Climber's New Year's Resolution
- Shit Happens – Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie on multipitch climbs.
- Grading Commitment
- Our Facebook Feature (at the bottom of this front page) highlights some big wall photos and stories Common Climbers around the world.
- Last and definitely not least, we have an interview of and tribute to the late big wall climber Brad Gobright. Assistant Editor Dave Barnes interviewed Brad in May 2019 after Brad free climbed the Muir Wall on The Nose and the Pineapple Express variation of El Nino on the other side of El Capitan. Brad is well known for his record-setting speed climbing and daring ascents, but, if you read any tributes to Brad from his friends, he is best remembered for his open heart, humility, and kindness. Brad's absence is a gap felt by many. Please take a moment to read this piece, which includes some heart-felt words from Brad's mom, Pam. And, I also invite you to study the accompanying artwork by Karmelo Onate, which shows Brad's final climb into the realm of those who came and left before him.
A Tribute to Big Wall Climber Brad Gobright
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It Was His Time: Brad Gobright (Interview May 2019, and a special message from Brad's Mom, Pam Gobright) (By David Barnes) Common Climber Assistant Editor Dave Barnes shares a tribute to and his May 2019 interview with the late Brad Gobright. Pam Gobright, Brad's mom, shares a special introduction and message for Common Climber readers. This touching and beautiful image was created by the talented Karmelo Onate. It depicts Brad joining some of his fellow bros at the top of the ultimate climb. |
Articles
John Middendorf : A Big Man for a Big Stone
(By David Barnes) Suffering from hypothermia on the side of Half Dome in Yosemite during one of the worst storms of the decade, John Middendorf became life-threateningly aware that there were no storm-proof portaledges available at the time. Middendorf, an engineer and big wall climber, resolved to change that. |
Sébastien Berthe Free Climbs the Nose From the Ground Up
(An interview for Common Climber by Dave Barnes) Sébastien Berthe taps into his internet account in Belgium. Seb, is no ordinary young key board tapper, this 23 year old climber who freed the Nose of El Capitan in the United States in the second week of November, 2019 after an eight day effort from the ground up. Seb climbed the route accompanied by his switched on partner, Loic Debry. Seb led every pitch. I caught up with Seb for Common Climber and he shares the stoke of his ascent in the following. |
Hanging with the Monkeys, and Getting the Monkey Off My Back
(By Peter Zabrok) Armed with commitment, beer/wine/margaritas, good climbing buddies, and a sense of humor, Peter Zabrok takes us on a “star-studded” tour of his I FINALLY GOT IT! Aid-climbing ascent of New Dawn on El Capitan. This is an engaging tale of a Yosemite fixture who gets photo-bombed by the likes of Alex Honnold and Kevin Jorgeson. |
Book Review
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Paul Preuss: Lord of the Abyss (Book By David Smart) Review By: Jeff Smoot If you aren’t a student of climbing history, you might be forgiven for believing that big wall free soloing was invented by Alex Honnold, unaware that more than one hundred years ago, soloing difficult rock walls thousands of feet high was not an uncommon practice, and that one climber, a young Austrian named Paul Preuss, had so perfected the art that one of his contemporaries, the great Tita Piaz, the Italian climber himself known as the “Devil of the Dolomites” for his own audacious climbs, called him “Lord of the Abyss.” Reviewer Jeff Smoot takes us on a tour of the book about this legend of big wall free soloing. |
Skills and Knowledge
Shit Happens - Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie (On Multipitch Climbs)
(By Stefani Dawn) If you’ve ever read forums about multipitch climbing you’ve probably seen threads (aka. arguments about 30-seconds away from a fist-fight) about best communication practices... Frankly, the simplest way to deal with communication on a multi-pitch climb is to get a freaking walkie talkie... Stef takes you on a mini-epic, illustrating the why of walkie talkies. |
Grading Commitment
(By Rick Momsen) Ahhh…route rating systems. Simple systems of irrefutable measurements of difficulty that all climbers agree upon. Or maybe not. Thankfully I’m not here to write about pro’s and con’s of the various difficulty rating systems. I’m here to write about commitment ratings! |
And for the new year we have a climber struggling with New Year's Resolutions.
Can you relate?
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Facebook Feature: Big Wall Climbs
Common Climber Readers Share Their Tales
Tim Marcartney-Snape is an Australian climber who shared several photos of his ascent of Ozymandais, one of the biggest climbs in Australia. Ozymandais is a 280m aid route at Mount Buffalo in Australia. Most parties take 2-3 days. The last photo is Tim in his "old school" portaledge.
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Photo of Mohamed Mesaudi in Taghia, Morocco.
BIG WALLS
By Dave Barnes Big chunks of rock in high places. Big features and pitches where dreams are united. Big living- Big dying. Big BASE jumps and Big high lines. Big fines. Big memories for those that grew old and Big experiences for those who are young. Ancient history Chouinard. Modern history Caldwell. Big names. Big aid and Big free it doesn’t matter. Big canvas paintings Big photos taken. Climbers as art hanging on cliffs hanging on frames eternal from bar to shady bar. Big stoke for Big folks. Big climbing for Big climbers with Big appetites for adventure. Big laughter and big tears. Nothing is smaller than a human emotion on a Big Wall. The Big Stone eclipses everything and that is it’s Big appeal. The Biggest of all are these two. Big respect for all who come to try their hand at Big Wall living and big Love for those same who have dared to dream Big high on a living wall. 
From Justine Pope: Over 1600 feet (500m) of via ferrata but still climbing! (Mt. Nimbus, British Columbia, Canada)
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Common Climber - Humorous, helpful, and inspired stories created for us and by us, the common climber!
Common Climber - Humorous, helpful, and inspired stories created for us and by us, the common climber!