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Steck-Salathé Route
The Steck-Salathé Route is a big wall traditional climbing route up Sentinel Rock. History The route was first climbed, in extremely hot weather with minimal water, from June 30 - July 4, 1950, by Allen Steck and John Salathé, up the north face of Sentinel Rock in Yosemite Valley. They climbed mostly free using occasional direct aid pitons on some pitches, and a blank wall halfway up required a 30-foot bolt ladder. It was the longest and most difficult route in Yosemite in 1950. The route was repeated several times in the 50s using less and less aid. In 1959, Royal Robbins and Tom Frost did it all free except for the short bolt ladder, producing the most strenuous long free climb in America, with 6 pitches of 5.10a or 5.9, and many tiring 5.8 leads. In 1970, Steve Wunsch and Jim Erickson discovered a long finger/hand-size crack to the left of the bolt ladder, adding yet another 5.9+ pitch, which allowed the wall to be climbed totally free. In 1973, Henry Barber made the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, most populous U.S. state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated Administrative division, subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous Statistical area (United States), urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7million residents and the latter having over 9.6million. Sacramento, California, Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the List of largest California cities by population, most populous city in the state and the List of United States cities by population, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as Half Dome and El Capitan, and densely forested with pines. The valley is drained by the Merced River, and a multitude of streams and waterfalls flow into it, including Tenaya Creek, Tenaya, Illilouette, Yosemite Creek, Yosemite and Bridalveil Creeks. Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and is a big attraction especially in the spring, when the water flow is at its peak. The valley is renowned for its natural environment and is regarded as the centerpiece of Yosemite National Park. The valley is the main attraction in the park for the majority of visitors and a bustling hub of activity during tourist season in the summer months. Most visitors enter the valley from roads to the west an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Wall Climbing
Big wall climbing is a type of rock climbing where a climber ascends a long multi-pitch route, normally requiring more than a single day to complete the climb. Big wall routes require the climbing team to live on the route often using portaledges and hauling equipment. It is practiced on tall or more vertical faces with few ledges and small cracks. History In the early 20th century, climbers were scaling big rock faces in the Dolomites and the European Alps employing free- and aid-climbing tactics to create bold ascents. Yet, the sheer walls were waiting to be climbed by future generations with better tools and methods. In addition, many nations in the early 1900s had specialized army units that had developed wall climbing skills for gaining surprise entry into enemy fortifications by wall climbing. In the early 1900s the Filipino Scouts, a US Army unit composed of Filipino enlisted and American officers, demonstrated their specialized skills by climbing the steep walls of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Climbing
Traditional climbing (or Trad climbing) is a style of rock climbing in which the climber places all the necessary protection gear required to arrest any falls as they are climbing, and then removes it when the pitch is complete (often done by the second/follow-on climber). Traditional bolted aid climbing means the bolts were placed while on lead and/or with hand drills (the bolts tend to be much farther apart than for sport climbs). Traditional climbing carries a higher level of risk than bolted sport climbing, as the climber may not have placed the safety equipment correctly while trying to ascend the route; for some of the world's hardest climbs (e.g. '' Realization/Biographie''), there may not be sufficient cracks or features in the rock that can accept protection gear, and the climb can only be safely attempted by bolting as a sport climb. Overview Characterizing climbing as ''traditional'' distinguishes it from bolted climbing—either trad bolted or sport climbing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allen Steck
Allen Steck (born 1926) is an American mountaineer and rock climber. He is a native of Oakland, California. Mountaineering Steck started climbing with his brother George. In 1940 when Allen was 14, the two completed the first ascent of the northwest ridge of Mount Maclure (). He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Discharged in 1946, he joined the Rock Climbing Section of the Sierra Club, and began climbing on Berkeley crags such as Indian Rock and Cragmont. He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in German. His early climbing influences included Dick Leonard and David Brower. He began climbing in Yosemite Valley in 1947, initially learning the use of pitons by trial and error. He said that at that time, there "was no body of people who could help you learn these things." He has been a Life Member of the Sierra Club since 1947. In 1949, he climbed in the Alps, completing the first ascent by an American of the Comici route on the north fac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Salathé
John Salathé (June 14, 1899 – 31 August 1992) was a Swiss-born American pioneering rock climber, blacksmith, and the inventor of the modern piton. Early life John Salathé, also known as Jean Salathé, was born on June 14, 1899 in Switzerland in the village of Niederschöntal, near Basel. He was one of six children. In his hometown, he was an apprentice blacksmith before moving to Paris first, and then Le Havre where he enrolled as a merchant seaman for 4 years, traveling as far as Africa and Brazil. In 1925, Salathé left Bordeaux, in France and travelled to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada before travelling to Montreal where he met his wife, Ida Schenk. In March 1930, at the age of 30, Salathé, together with his wife and child, emigrated from Montreal, Canada to finally settle in San Mateo, United States. In 1932, he founded Peninsula Wrought Iron Works, a decorative ironwork shop. He was the only employee. ''Lost Arrow'' pitons When he began climbing in 1945, he found that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Wall Climbing
Big wall climbing is a type of rock climbing where a climber ascends a long multi-pitch route, normally requiring more than a single day to complete the climb. Big wall routes require the climbing team to live on the route often using portaledges and hauling equipment. It is practiced on tall or more vertical faces with few ledges and small cracks. History In the early 20th century, climbers were scaling big rock faces in the Dolomites and the European Alps employing free- and aid-climbing tactics to create bold ascents. Yet, the sheer walls were waiting to be climbed by future generations with better tools and methods. In addition, many nations in the early 1900s had specialized army units that had developed wall climbing skills for gaining surprise entry into enemy fortifications by wall climbing. In the early 1900s the Filipino Scouts, a US Army unit composed of Filipino enlisted and American officers, demonstrated their specialized skills by climbing the steep walls of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Climbing
Traditional climbing (or Trad climbing) is a style of rock climbing in which the climber places all the necessary protection gear required to arrest any falls as they are climbing, and then removes it when the pitch is complete (often done by the second/follow-on climber). Traditional bolted aid climbing means the bolts were placed while on lead and/or with hand drills (the bolts tend to be much farther apart than for sport climbs). Traditional climbing carries a higher level of risk than bolted sport climbing, as the climber may not have placed the safety equipment correctly while trying to ascend the route; for some of the world's hardest climbs (e.g. '' Realization/Biographie''), there may not be sufficient cracks or features in the rock that can accept protection gear, and the climb can only be safely attempted by bolting as a sport climb. Overview Characterizing climbing as ''traditional'' distinguishes it from bolted climbing—either trad bolted or sport climbing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sentinel Rock
Sentinel Rock is a granitic peak in Yosemite National Park, California, United States. It towers over Yosemite Valley, opposite Yosemite Falls. Sentinel Rock lies northwest of Sentinel Dome. How it was formed Sentinel Rock formed when masses of rock split off Yosemite Valley's south-side cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ..., along steep joints trending nearly east–west. This formed the near-vertical north face of Sentinel Rock.USGS Geology and GeophysicsUSGS Geology and Geophysics accessdate: March 20, 2017 Climbing The most famous climbing route is the '' Steck-Salathé route'', which is rated a A0. Climber Derek Hersey died while attempting to free solo climb Sentinel Rock in 1993. Gallery File:Yosemite National Park, Sentinel Rock.jpg, Northwe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifty Classic Climbs Of North America
''Fifty Classic Climbs of North America'' is a climbing guidebook and history written by Steve Roper and Allen Steck. It is considered a classic piece of climbing literature, known to many climbers as simply "The Book", and has served as an inspiration for more recent climbing books, such as Mark Kroese's ''Fifty Favorite Climbs''. Though much of the book's contents are now out of date, it is still recognized as a definitive text which goes beyond the traditional guidebook. History The first edition was published in 1979, by Sierra Club Books in the United States and in Great Britain by the now-defunct Diadem Books. This was followed by a paperback printing by Random House in 1981. Two subsequent editions (with the same content) were published by Sierra Club Books in 1982 and 1996. Between 1979 and 1999 it sold nearly thirty thousand copies, a considerable achievement for a climbing guide book. Reviewing the book in ''American Alpine Journal The ''American Alpine Journal' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derek Hersey
Derek Geoffrey Hersey (26 October 1956 – 28 May 1993) (Gives Hersey's date of death incorrectly as 20 May 1993.) was a British rock climber and for many years an active participant in the Boulder, Colorado climbing scene. Climbing specialization Hersey specialized in unroped " free solo" climbing, often in the 5.10–5.11 range; he died during such a free solo climb. Few climbers have tried to repeat his achievements, which include many of Colorado's hardest traditional routes. Background Originally from Stretford, Greater Manchester, England, Hersey referred to Eldorado Canyon as his 'office', where he could be seen on any day of the week, if not on a road trip to Yosemite National Park or elsewhere. He also referred to Boulder, Colorado's Liquor Mart as 'The Shrine', and described his climbing-chalk bag as 'my bag of courage'. Hersey was featured in ''Climbing Magazine''''Climbing'', April/May 1992, quoted in Ghiglieri and Farabee. and posthumously in the film ''Front R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
