Random notes wrote:To me, speed free climbing is.....
Just for the record, because all non-climbers get this wrong (so don't take offense) "Free Climbing" and "Free Soloing" are not the same:
"Free Solo: To climb with no protective devices whatsoever, relying solely on strength, agility, technique and an ability to accept or ignore the consequences of long falls from high places."
This is what you see in the video I posted.
"Free Climbing: To ascend steep rock without recourse to artificial aids, using only the hands and feet to propel oneself upward. (Although ropes and anchoring devices are employed for protection, they are not used to bear the weight of the climber or for upward progress.)"
Why the term "Free" then? Back in the day, much of the rock climbing was done using "Aid" techniques - the use of hardware and/or mechanical devices to assist in traversing sections of the rock that were, at the time, deemed "unclimbable" using just one's body parts alone. Over time, as climbers improved, physically, technique wise, mentally, and as new technologies, like the soft sticky rubber sole shoe/boot appeared (EB's!), rock climbers were able to "Free up" many of these difficult sections and start climbing them without the use of "aid". Around this time the term "Free Climb" was established to differentiate between sections, or entire climbs, that could be climbed without "aid" and those where some form of actual hardware/mechanical intervention was required for anything other than safety back-up.
The term "Free Soloing" seems to have been coined around the same time, and certainly became most well known when one John Bachar showed up and started climbing many (difficult) routes all over Yosemite alone, unroped, with nothing but his climbing shoes, shorts, chalk bag, and as Dub would say, 'Nads.
Many folks thought he was nuts, but John made a point of being honest with himeself, and staying within his limits - he climbed with zen like concentration and focus. To quote John: "The most important thing is to be honest with yourself as a climber. You can fool all sorts of people once you're off the route, but the important thing is not to fool yourself on the route. You can't let your desire get in the way." John is legendary in the world of climbing, one of the true giants.
Loren
