Progression
Hi Steph!,
My name is Jon, I’m 37 and live in Colorado Springs. I first read about you in the book 50 Favorite Climbs, and was truly inspired by the coverage in Alpinist 23 of your free solos on the Diamond. I didn’t get into climbing until about 6 years ago when I moved to CO, but I have worked hard to make up for lost time. While I like all forms of climbing (I trim trees to support myself through grad-school), I truly have fallen in love with free-soloing and solo alpinism. I remember reading that rock climbing is 1/3 technique, 1/3 physical, and 1/3 mental. What I found with sport climbing as I was pushing into the mid-5.12 range was that the mental aspect was not being pushed to the max like the physical and technical. Soloing, on the other hand pushes me mentally to the limit and really balances all three parts of climbing. I also crave a pure and authentic experience. My favorite place to do alpine solos, (and where I got started climbing) is in the Canadian Rockies, where my family used to vacation when I was growing up. I am at a point right now where I am beginning to focus all of my energies on improving my soloing abilities. I wanted to ask your advice on what you would recommend for pushing to the next level. Alpine-wise I’ve soloed the NE ridge of Bugaboo Spire (IV 5.7), The Kain route on Mt. Louis (5.7), the S face route on Mt. Robson, NE Ridge of Assiniboine, Eisenhower Tower, a mixed route on Mt Fay (~III 5.8) and a number of easier routes. As for rock, I have done about 550 pitches over the last year and a half of free soloing on single and multi-pitch sport and trad routes (mostly in the springs) between 5.7 and 5.10a, the longest being Cajun Capers (5.7 R) on Sundance Buttress at Lumpy. My goals for this year are to do The S face of the Petit Grepon (5.8) and hopefully the North Face Direct route on the Grand Teton (IV 5.8). I’m also hoping to get to the Canadian Rockies to Do the Japanese route on Mt. Alberta and the NE ridge on Oubliette Peak (the Ramparts). Long term, my ultimate goals are to free solo The Casual Route on the Diamond and the Schmid Route on the north face of the Matterhorn, (to name a few). So, as you can see, I’m trying to be able eventually to push into the 5.9/5.10 range for soloing long alpine routes. I don’t know if this is realistic or not, but most of what I have done so far has been onsight, as I haven’t always had the luxury of being able to do the route roped first, although to do 5.9 or 5.10a, I will definitely want to do multiple ascents roped up before I go for it solo (I need to know that I can do the moves, and not be surprised). For training, I hit Kindergarten rock at Garden of the Gods where there are three routes right next to each other that I can do solo laps on (I just set up a rappel line) New Era Crack, a 5.7+/5.8 3-pitch route that has everything; End of an Era, a 1-pitch super balancy and crimpy 5.9, and Bob’s buttress Crack, a 1-pitch 5.9 short but pumpy jamfest.
So, that’s where I’m at… I would be very thankful for any words of advice or recommendations you could give me.
Thanks for being such an inspiration!
Jon
Dear Jon,
It sounds like you are a thoughtful and thorough climber. My advice for you is to stay safe, follow your inspiration, and listen as much as you can. I hope that makes sense.
I hope you are having an amazing summer, with lots of altitude!
🙂 Steph
