Rope-solo climbing or rope-soloing is a form of
solo climbing
Solo climbing, or soloing, is a style of climbing in which the climber climbs alone, without the assistance of a belayer.
It is not to be confused with bouldering, a short ascent which by definition is done without the assistance of ropes, harn ...
(i.e. performed alone without a climbing partner), but unlike with
free solo climbing
Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of technical ice or rock climbing where the climbers (or ''free soloists'') climb alone without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment, forcing them to rely entirely on their own individual ...
, which is also performed alone and with no
climbing protection
Climbing protection is any of a variety of devices employed to reduce risk and protect others while climbing rock and ice. It includes such items as nylon webbing and metal nuts, cams, bolts, and pitons.
Different forms of climbing draw on var ...
whatsoever, the rope-solo climber uses a complex
self-belay device and rope system to protect themselves in the event of a fall.
Rope-soling can be performed as
free climbing
Free climbing is a form of rock climbing in which the climber may use climbing equipment such as ropes and other means of climbing protection, but only to protect against injury during falls and not to assist vertical or horizontal progress. Th ...
in a
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 ...
or a
sport climbing
Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to ...
format. It can also be performed as
aid climbing
Aid climbing is a style of climbing in which standing on or pulling oneself up via devices attached to fixed or placed protection is used to make upward progress.
The term contrasts with free climbing in which progress is made without using artifi ...
, and a modified version can be performed as
top rope
Top rope climbing (or top roping) is a style in climbing in which the climber is securely attached to a rope which then passes up, through an anchor system at the top of the climb, and down to a belayer at the foot of the climb. The belayer takes ...
-soloing. Due to the complexity of the self-belay system, and the significantly increased workloads, it is still considered a hazardous technique.
Versions of rope-solo climbing have been used by solo alpine climbers, including by French alpinist
Catherine Destivelle
Catherine Destivelle (born 24 July 1960) is a French rock climber and mountaineer who is considered one of the greatest and most important female climbers in the history of the sport. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s for sport climbing by ...
, and Italian alpinist
Walter Bonatti
Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountain climber, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru i ...
. Rope-solo climbing techniques have also been used on
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 ...
routes by climbers such as Austrian
Alexander Huber
Alexander Huber (born 30 December 1968), is a German rock climber and mountaineer. He became a professional climber in 1997, and was widely regarded as the world's strongest climber in the late-1990s, and is an important figure in rock climbin ...
, and British climber
Pete Whittaker.
Description
In rope-soloing, the climber acts as if they are
lead climbing
Lead climbing is a climbing style, predominantly used in rock climbing. In a roped party one climber has to take the lead while the other climbers follow. The ''lead climber'' wears a harness attached to a climbing rope, which in turn is connecte ...
, however, instead of having a partner (or
belayer
Belaying is a variety of techniques climbers use to create friction within a climbing system, particularly on a climbing rope, so that a falling climber does not fall very far. A climbing partner typically applies tension at the other end of t ...
) who can arrest the rope in the event of a fall, the climber instead uses a self-belay device and rope system that automatically stops the rope in the event of a fall. In a normal lead climbing system, the lead climber ties into one end of the rope while their second clips-into the rope via their
belay device
A belay device is a mechanical piece of climbing equipment used to control a rope during belaying. It is designed to improve belay safety for the climber by allowing the belayer to manage their duties with minimal physical effort. With the right ...
. In rope-solo climbing, this is reversed. Instead, the rope-solo climber ties one end of the rope into a secure
anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
at the base of the climb (that can withstand upward forces), and they clip-into the rope via their self-belay device.
[
As the rope-solo climber ascends, the rope pays through the self-belay device. The rope-solo climber will then clip-into either traditional, sport, or aid climbing protection as they ascend — like a normal lead climber. When the rope-solo climber reaches the top of the route, they then have to fix another anchor, ]abseil
Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...
back down to the base of the climb and release the original anchor, and then re-ascend the fixed abseil rope — using ascenders — unclipping/taking our whatever climbing protection equipment they inserted on their earlier ascent. Thus the rope-solo climber has to do significantly more work than a normal lead climber with a climbing partner.
Equipment
Self-belay device
The most important piece of equipment is the self-belay device, which the climber wears near their chest/harness, which will allow the rope to pass through it as the climber is ascending, but will grip the rope tightly if it suddenly changes direction in the event of a fall.[ Rope-solo climbers have used various types of self-belay devices, some modified from their original purpose, including ]Grigri
A Grigri (styled as GriGri or GRIGRI) is an assisted braking belay device manufactured by Petzl designed to help secure rock-climbing, rappelling, and rope-acrobatic activities. Its main characteristic is a clutch that assists in braking u ...
s, Revos, and Silent Partner
A silent partner is one who shares in the profits and losses of a business, but is not involved in its management.
Silent partner or Silent Partners may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Silent Partner'', a 2005 film starring Tara Reid ...
s.[
]
Rope-solo system
The self-belay device is only one part of a complex system designed to ensure that the rope feeds through the self-belay device properly (in both directions) and that the base anchor can handle a wide range of forces.[ Some of the self-belay devices also require that the climber does not invert while falling, requiring additional systems.][ Rope-solo climbers use a range of backup systems in case the self-belay device fails to grip and arrest the fall, which can range from making knots in the rope to employing other braking devices.][
]
Variations
* Backlooping system. This is a technique where the rope-solo climber dispenses with the need to abseil down each completed pitch and then re-ascend the abseil rope, by conducting the rope-solo from fixed-point to fixed-point.[ While faster, backlooping systems are vulnerable to the individual fixed-points,][ and thus a failure of a fixed-point — or the application of the backloop system — on a fall, can be fatal.
* Tope rope soloing system. This is a technique where the rope-solo climber sets up a fixed rope, anchored at the top of the climb, and using a modified self-belay device, ascends the fixed rope, allowing the rope to pass through the device.][
]
Notable ascents and practitioners
Many notable solo ascents by alpinists involved modified/customized versions of rope-solo climbing, including Walter Bonatti
Walter Bonatti (; 22 June 1930 – 13 September 2011) was an Italian mountain climber, explorer and journalist. He was noted for many climbing achievements, including a solo climb of a new route on the south-west pillar of the Aiguille du Dru i ...
's "Z system" self-belay that he employed in making his first solo ascent of the south-east pillar of the Aiguille du Dru
The Aiguille du Dru (also the Dru or the Drus; French, Les Drus) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French.
The m ...
, known as the ''Bonatti Route''.
Other notable rope-solo ascents by rope-solo practitioners include:
* '' Freerider'' on El Capitan
El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...
(1000-metres, 37 pitches) In May 2007, Canadian Stephane Perron rope-soloed ''Freesider'' in a week. In October 2013, rope-soloed the route in four days. In November 2016, Pete Whittaker rope-soloed the route in just over 20 hours.
* '' The Nose'' on El Capitan
El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...
(870-metres, 31 pitches) In November 2018, Japanese climber Keita Kurakami became the fifth person to free climb
Free climbing is a form of rock climbing in which the climber may use climbing equipment such as ropes and other means of climbing protection, but only to protect against injury during falls and not to assist vertical or horizontal progress. Th ...
''The Nose'', and the first person to do it as a rope-solo.
* German climber Alexander Huber
Alexander Huber (born 30 December 1968), is a German rock climber and mountaineer. He became a professional climber in 1997, and was widely regarded as the world's strongest climber in the late-1990s, and is an important figure in rock climbin ...
, one of the strongest rock climbers in history, made several first free ascent
In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...
s of extreme 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 ...
routes using the rope-solo technique, including ''Nirwana'' in 2012, ''Mauerläufer'' in 2018, and ''Ramayana'' in 2022.
*In 1992, French climber Catherine Destivelle
Catherine Destivelle (born 24 July 1960) is a French rock climber and mountaineer who is considered one of the greatest and most important female climbers in the history of the sport. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s for sport climbing by ...
rope-soloed the first part of the 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 ...
route ''El Matador'' , on the Devils Tower
Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle F ...
in Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
(she free soloed the second part), which was captured in the climbing film, ''Ballade à Devil's Tower''. In 1992, Destivelle used rope soloing to create ''Voie Destivelle'' (VI 5.11b A5) on the west face of the Petit Dru
The Aiguille du Dru (also the Dru or the Drus; French, Les Drus) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps. It is situated to the east of the village of Les Praz in the Chamonix valley. "Aiguille" means "needle" in French.
The ...
, and was captured in the climbing film, ''11 Days on the Dru''.
References
External links
Watch Pete Whittaker’s One-Day El Cap Free Rope-Solo
''Gripped Magazine'' (April 2018)
Guide to Rope Soloing (Parts 1 to 4)
by Andy Kirkpatrick
Andrew Kirkpatrick is a British mountaineer, author, motivational speaker and monologist. He is best known as a big wall climber, having scaled Yosemite's El Capitan over 30 times, including five solo ascents, and two one-day ascents, as well ...
(February 2011)
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