Jon, I don't mean to get down on you, I'm just real down on heads. I'd say that 85% of all the heads you see on El Cap are un-needed. Usually, after someone places a head, they don't have the tools to take it out, ruining the pitch for climbers who come later to test their own mettle. Check out my Zenyatta Mondatta TR on SuperTopo to see what I mean.
Porter didn't use heads on any of his routes, he didn't believe it was a legitimate way to aid. When i did the route in 1977, we didn't have cams, cam hooks or beaks, we nailed the whole thing!
These days, I'll be cam hooks and hand placed beaks are the ticket.
@mthudon Wow! I can only imagine trying to do that route without cams! I used cam hooks many times on that pitch, but for those 3 moves there wasn't really any crack at all, just a shallow corner with enough irregularities to smear some aluminum into. Looking back,maybe hooking with a beak would have worked for one of the placements,but it certainly looked like heads had been placed there previously-including a couple broken cables with the heads still fixed
@mthudon Thanks for the note. I didn't realize the first ascent didn't require heads. I know it frequently goes clean but that's with plenty of fixed pieces. I would have liked to use something else on that pitch, but didn't really see any other option. How did you make it through that section?
Great Show!
MrRastaManDan 2 months ago
Jon, I don't mean to get down on you, I'm just real down on heads. I'd say that 85% of all the heads you see on El Cap are un-needed. Usually, after someone places a head, they don't have the tools to take it out, ruining the pitch for climbers who come later to test their own mettle. Check out my Zenyatta Mondatta TR on SuperTopo to see what I mean.
mthudon 4 months ago
Porter didn't use heads on any of his routes, he didn't believe it was a legitimate way to aid. When i did the route in 1977, we didn't have cams, cam hooks or beaks, we nailed the whole thing!
These days, I'll be cam hooks and hand placed beaks are the ticket.
mthudon 4 months ago
@mthudon Wow! I can only imagine trying to do that route without cams! I used cam hooks many times on that pitch, but for those 3 moves there wasn't really any crack at all, just a shallow corner with enough irregularities to smear some aluminum into. Looking back,maybe hooking with a beak would have worked for one of the placements,but it certainly looked like heads had been placed there previously-including a couple broken cables with the heads still fixed
Anyway,I appreciate your perspective!
natureboyjon 4 months ago
Porter didn't use any heads on the first ascent, I don't know why you would need any now.
mthudon 4 months ago
@mthudon Thanks for the note. I didn't realize the first ascent didn't require heads. I know it frequently goes clean but that's with plenty of fixed pieces. I would have liked to use something else on that pitch, but didn't really see any other option. How did you make it through that section?
natureboyjon 4 months ago
Great video. Makes me remember how slow aid is (2 pitches a day! miserable).
rasperas 7 months ago
Great videos..Thanks for sharing
jasenjordan 1 year ago