Ohmygodno.
posted by Mogur at 9:42 AM on February 17, 2021 [3 favorites]

Serious question, why do they wear helmets ? I guess falling debris ?
posted by Pendragon at 10:31 AM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

Helmets are for falling debris, things your climbing partner was carrying just a second ago, and getting twisted around and falling against the wall.

Like other sports, a surprising number of climbers don't wear them.
posted by SunSnork at 10:34 AM on February 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

As a climber, there was one striking detail in this video. Janja is arguably the best female competitive climber right now. She was undefeated for the entirety of the 2019 bouldering season. And yet, she's reached that level of skill without ever having done a single multi-pitch route. The fact that she had to learn how to belay and do basic rope management for this climb is jaw dropping. For a typical climber in the US, these are basic skills.
I have a certain, shall we say, skepticism about Red Bull sports projects, as they are usually heavy on the adrenaline and low on sanity. However, this was a captivating project. I was particularly impressed with the sophistication (and innovation) of the route setting, as well as that mind blowing location. The narrative was excellent as well.
I think there are probably a large number of elite climbers that are going to be sad that this climb was erased after the project was completed. If it was in your skill range, who wouldn't want to go give it a try?
posted by Carmody'sPrize at 10:57 AM on February 17, 2021 [4 favorites]

If it was in your skill range

This is a group of maybe a couple hundred climbers? Or is it merely terrifically hard (and so within th erange of thousands)?

Also - hahahahahah no. Good for them for doing it, but no.
posted by From Bklyn at 11:02 AM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

This is a group of maybe a couple hundred climbers? Or is it merely terrifically hard (and so within the range of thousands)?

The best description I can find of the route is this: Not one of the 13 pitches are easier than 7b (5.12b), and the crux pitch is 8b+ (5.14a). The crux comes at pitch 10, high on the column after the climbers have been battered by difficult moves for the nine preceding pitches.

5.12b is on the recreational side of hard, if that makes sense. Every gym will have routes set and regularly climbed at that level. 5.14a is...notably hard but not elite? I'm a bit out of my depth on this one but I'd probably summarize it at as "If that's your best grade, you're an amazing climber but not good enough to be a professional (assuming you're not under 16 or over 50)".

So from a straight skill level I'd go with thousands. I have no idea how many of those thousands of people have the skill/endurance combination to actually complete it as a multi-pitch route, but they'd certainly want to try.
posted by true at 12:50 PM on February 17, 2021 [3 favorites]

5.12b is on the recreational side of hard, if that makes sense. Every gym will have routes set and regularly climbed at that level. 5.14a is...notably hard but not elite?

I used to love climbing, started before the invention of sticky rubber. I am ready for my ice flow now.
posted by Pembquist at 1:06 PM on February 17, 2021

this is a very side note to actual video but the cookies preference popup for that site is the worst. there are side to side choice levers and they change color but don't tell you what their state is. ugh. now i forget about cookies and privacy and just be tracked as i watch thrilling video paid for by the diabetes industry.
posted by danjo at 1:29 PM on February 17, 2021

Yeah, even as a non-climber it's a bit soul crushing when you're working on a boulder problem and an 11 year old gives you the same kind of "you can do it!" encouragement that is instantly familiar to all parents of ambitious toddlers.
posted by true at 1:31 PM on February 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

Why was the first attempt deemed a failure?
posted by carmicha at 3:24 PM on February 17, 2021

carmicha, I think it¡¯s because when they missed a move and fell they didn¡¯t go back to the beginning of the pitch to do it without falling. On the first attempt Janja falls several times on the pink pitch and Domen falls and rests on pitch 10. To send a route you have to do it without falling or taking a rest on the rope during each pitch.
posted by Cuke at 8:09 PM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

From this article it appears that the first time they did it they didn't both complete each pitch (what Cuke says above).

"For their first attempt, the duo reached the summit in 12 hours. ... They each fell several times, though between them they sent every pitch. After four days¡¯ rest, the team tried again. On the second attempt, the two Slovenians climbed all 13 pitches in 7 hours and 32 minutes, nearly four hours faster than their previous go. This time, they each redpointed every pitch." (redpointed here just means 'completed, after getting information about the route by trying it and falling at least once instead of finishing it the first time they ever tried')
posted by true at 8:18 PM on February 17, 2021 [1 favorite]

I took my climbing outdoors this summer (thanks, COVID!) and learned how to multi-pitch. It takes.... lots of resilience, even if you're just following. The first one was two short little pitches of 5.8 or something. In a few weeks it turned into 7 or 8 pitches, and hiking down the descent trail with headlamps.

I would have liked to see more from the route setters in this film. I've watched a lot of hard climbing, but not a lot of what goes into setting something like that.

This is a group of maybe a couple hundred climbers? Or is it merely terrifically hard (and so within the range of thousands)?

A thread on Mountain Project speculates that thousands climb 5.14a, and that it's now a "grade of mortals".
posted by invokeuse at 9:07 PM on February 17, 2021 [2 favorites]

thousands climb 5.14a, and that it's now a "grade of mortals".

That's true to an extent, but not all 5.14as are created equal. A 5.14a trad route* is much harder than a 5.14a sport route**, all else equal. Far fewer people can climb 5.14a trad than 5.14a sport.

Similarly, multi-pitch routes are generally classified based on the difficulty of the hardest single pitch***. So a 2 pitch route with a 5.7 and a 5.14a will still be called a 5.14a, as will a 10 pitch monstrosity with 10 5.14a pitches in a row.

The power plant is a massive 13 pitches, ranging from 5.12b - 5.14a. Redpointing**** that in 7 hours and 32 minutes is an incredible feat of skill and endurance that very, very few climbers could match. Definitely an elite performance.

* A route in which the climber must bring and place all of their own protective equipment rather than using hardware already placed on the wall.

** A route with permanently installed protective hardware (basically).

*** A discrete section of a longer climb. Long climbs must be divided into multiple pitches because the rope can only be so long.

**** Climbing each pitch without a fall or rest before continuing to the next.
posted by jedicus at 9:02 AM on February 18, 2021 [1 favorite]