Author Topic: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.  (Read 11153 times)

Cruisinby

  • Malibu Status
  • **
  • Posts: 89
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #30 on: December 22, 2018, 06:49:36 AM »
 In my mid 50's, we were servicing some a/c equipment on top of Gas Company Bldg in downtown L A, 55 stories.
There is 5' parapet wall around the top you can look over and window cleaning davids the window cleaners use to repel their scafolds from.   I watch these guys with no hesitation lower them selves off to work, wow.   I took a look over the edge and the view buckled my knees staring down on a mild windy day, yes these bldg do sway some.   All things being equal or not,  riding 50 ft waves, climbing cliffs all is speculation for most of us because we have never done nor will we.   I surf with a friend on sup in some ( to me giant waves 20ft faces ) the sets are making my knees shake and he telling jokes.   I've seen him in bigger stuff alone, then I found out in his younger days he was Half Dome climber among other things.   

These guys and gals are wired different than we average thrill seekers.   They have a different view of the skills needed, the consequences of failure and the dedication required to attain the goals they strive for.    Most are very calculating individuals.   All in all a different breed !   The most impressive are the ones who do it with out the pressence of the cameras, sponsors and glitch.   In my book the Jeff Clarks of the world are king of pioneering !

kayadogg

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1404
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #31 on: December 22, 2018, 07:15:59 AM »
I always think about Alex Honnold’s view on free soloing. He says that a lot of people call him a risk taker but he says that free soloing isn’t risky. He’s calculated and there are things in life that are low-risk but high consequence. His confidence and mental approach assures that the physical act of what he is doing is low risk (to him). You could probably say the same about the big wave folks? Chances of them being in a very bad, inescapable situation are probably low but will usually be high consequence. I’m sure PWC and inflation vests have affectsd this quite a bit in the past 10 years.

RideTheGlide

  • Peahi Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 620
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #32 on: December 22, 2018, 07:24:58 AM »
In my mid 50's, we were servicing some a/c equipment on top of Gas Company Bldg in downtown L A, 55 stories.
There is 5' parapet wall around the top you can look over and window cleaning davids the window cleaners use to repel their scafolds from.   I watch these guys with no hesitation lower them selves off to work, wow.   I took a look over the edge and the view buckled my knees staring down on a mild windy day, yes these bldg do sway some.   All things being equal or not,  riding 50 ft waves, climbing cliffs all is speculation for most of us because we have never done nor will we.   I surf with a friend on sup in some ( to me giant waves 20ft faces ) the sets are making my knees shake and he telling jokes.   I've seen him in bigger stuff alone, then I found out in his younger days he was Half Dome climber among other things.   

These guys and gals are wired different than we average thrill seekers.   They have a different view of the skills needed, the consequences of failure and the dedication required to attain the goals they strive for.    Most are very calculating individuals.   All in all a different breed !   The most impressive are the ones who do it with out the pressence of the cameras, sponsors and glitch.   In my book the Jeff Clarks of the world are king of pioneering !

When I was a whitewater kayaker in my youth, I portaged some rapids that some of the better kayakers didn't even scout. Some of these guys would catch an eddy to surf a wave in the middle of a class V rapid. Sometimes I thought I did get intimidated too easily. When I did the Grand Canyon, I got lost in the haystacks in Hance (rapid) and couldn't spot any of the landmarks that were so easy to see while scouting from above the river. I finally figured out where I was when I came over the top of a wave and found myself on the tongue leading into the "avoid at all costs" hole. I lashed my kayak to a raft for a couple of the bigger rapids after that, though I did convince myself to do a clean run through Crystal. Anyway, the biggest waves I have ever been on the face of were not in the ocean. There is some pucker factor coming over the top of a wave and looking at the next trough about 2 stories below you. Some guys just shrug their shoulders talking about it. I am not sure it is something you can learn to do. There were other kayakers who were just as skilled but showed a lot more concern.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2018, 07:31:51 AM by RideTheGlide »
2017 GoPlus 9'9"
2018 Hydro-Force fastblast 12'6"
2019 BKC 12'

SaMoSUP

  • Peahi Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 685
    • View Profile
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #33 on: December 22, 2018, 07:41:52 AM »
So how did Alex take a water or potty break during the free solo? He was climbing for hours. I didn't notice a hydration pack on him. Do they plant water bottles or do the camera people carry?


addapost

  • Peahi Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 606
    • View Profile
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #34 on: December 22, 2018, 08:02:39 AM »
So how did Alex take a water or potty break during the free solo? He was climbing for hours. I didn't notice a hydration pack on him. Do they plant water bottles or do the camera people carry?
While the overall level of difficulty of that climb is a very hard 5.13a, there are spots that are ledgy scrambles where you can just stand there and pee, or even lie down and nap if you wanted. Those sections don't make the editing cut for obvious reasons, the real climbing, the overhanging hard stuff is the goods. I'm sure he had plenty of water and probably food stashed along the way. He had climbed the thing roped up probably a hundred times before the solo.
Bunch of old shit

Admin

  • Administrator
  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 6443
    • View Profile
    • StandUpZone
    • Email
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #35 on: December 22, 2018, 08:05:48 AM »
I always think about Alex Honnold’s view on free soloing. He says that a lot of people call him a risk taker but he says that free soloing isn’t risky. He’s calculated and there are things in life that are low-risk but high consequence. His confidence and mental approach assures that the physical act of what he is doing is low risk (to him). You could probably say the same about the big wave folks? Chances of them being in a very bad, inescapable situation are probably low but will usually be high consequence. I’m sure PWC and inflation vests have affectsd this quite a bit in the past 10 years.

We filmed windsurfing at Jaws for many years.  In 1998 we were shooting video there and on the biggest day of the season (massive west sets)  an unskilled sailor sailed up from Hookipa without ski support.  He positioned himself about as poorly as you could and got dumped on an absurd # of times without his gear breaking.  He finally trashed his gear and went up on the rocks.  He was fine.  Could you get hurt, sure, but it exceptionally rare (especially with support and a vest) and dead is almost non-existent.  If you fall from height free soloing the outcome is 100%.  That is a huge difference.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2018, 10:13:02 AM by Admin »

PonoBill

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 25864
    • View Profile
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #36 on: December 22, 2018, 08:32:59 AM »
These guys thought 18 seconds from 3/4 of the way up El Cap.  They actually used Hannold as their example (which is funny because my search was just "calculate fall time" :)).  They wrote, "Calculate how long Alex Honnold would be in free fall if he fell off 3/4 the way up El Cap. 18 Seconds is a long time to think about your mistakes".  https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1231475371

That's a dandy resource. I just used the venerable s=1/2at*2 solving for t for the first thousand feet and then assumed a thumb rule for terminal velocity for the last 2000. And had him inexplicably dive from the top. By my method, 2000 feet would be 14 seconds.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

eastbound

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2995
    • View Profile
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #37 on: December 26, 2018, 12:42:06 PM »
adding to addapost: the extent to which he studied the climb, memorizing details about every single hold, was incredible---the preparation was beyond comprehensive--appropriately so, given the urgency that the feat be accomplished without error

i am anything but an advocate of free-soloing---as an observer, and an ex climber, i am in awe---but i am also concerned that it may be some slow version of suicide--including all the implications for friends and family, and the "complicity" of anyone invested in any way in the process, right down to simply the person who watches the media honnold was paid to be a part of

big mountasin climbers die alot---even those who dont free solo---effing avy took out one of the best, and smartest---one swoop and alex lowe was gone.......

one can flirt with death, yeah, but even well-prepared and very careful, in the mountains death is a random moment away at all times--avy, rock fall, storm, icefall, lightening....................
Portal Barra 8'4"
Sunova Creek 8'7"
Starboard Pro Blue Carbon  8'10"
KeNalu Mana 82, xTuf, ergoT

addapost

  • Peahi Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 606
    • View Profile
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #38 on: December 26, 2018, 03:42:14 PM »
adding to addapost: the extent to which he studied the climb, memorizing details about every single hold, was incredible---the preparation was beyond comprehensive--appropriately so, given the urgency that the feat be accomplished without error

i am anything but an advocate of free-soloing---as an observer, and an ex climber, i am in awe---but i am also concerned that it may be some slow version of suicide--including all the implications for friends and family, and the "complicity" of anyone invested in any way in the process, right down to simply the person who watches the media honnold was paid to be a part of

big mountasin climbers die alot---even those who dont free solo---effing avy took out one of the best, and smartest---one swoop and alex lowe was gone.......

one can flirt with death, yeah, but even well-prepared and very careful, in the mountains death is a random moment away at all times--avy, rock fall, storm, icefall, lightening....................

That's why I enjoyed "The Dawn Wall" so much better than "Free Solo". I get that those guys are all professionals and get paid (probably) big bucks to produce something occasionally but Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgenson's Dawn Wall climb was way more like watching two guys work really hard to just climb (oh just the hardest rock climb on earth) while watching Honnold was like a voyeuristic peek at a failed suicide attempt. If you haven't seen "Dawn Wall" it is definitely worth the $5. In my opinion, the best climbing movie yet.
Bunch of old shit

eastbound

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2995
    • View Profile
Re: Kai's aeirial at Mavericks.
« Reply #39 on: December 27, 2018, 03:25:18 AM »
saw it last night---nice film---very happy kevin finished pitch 15

ive been away from climbing for many years---incredible the extent to which the sport and athletes have evolved:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2344706/dawn-wall-documentary-tommy-caldwell-review

you seen meru?
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 03:27:27 AM by eastbound »
Portal Barra 8'4"
Sunova Creek 8'7"
Starboard Pro Blue Carbon  8'10"
KeNalu Mana 82, xTuf, ergoT

 


SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal