''Separate Reality'' is 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 ...

route in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

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 territori ...

. The route is known for its exposed and dramatic

crux Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

that consists of a long crack in its horizontal roof. When it was first freed by

Ron Kauk Ron Kauk (born 23 September 1957) is an American rock climber. Kauk is associated with Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley, where he lived for decades, now a resident of El Portal, California. In 1975, he made the first free ascent of the east face of Wa ...

in 1978, it was one of the first climbs in the world to have a grade of (it was later downgraded one notch when a hold broke in the mid-1980s). In 1986, German climber

Wolfgang Güllich Wolfgang Güllich (24 October 1960 – 31 August 1992) was a German rock climber, who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. Güllich dominated sport climbing for most of the decade after his ...

free solo 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 ...

ed the route, and the photographs by Austrian become iconic in rock climbing history.

History

The route was first climbed by

in 1978 and given a difficulty grade of ; it was later downgraded to when a block fell off near the lip, sometime in the mid-1980s, exposing a new handhold. At the time of Kauk's ascent, it was one of the first climbs in the world to have a grade of . Kauk named the route after the 1971 novel '' A Separate Reality'' by

Carlos Castaneda Carlos Castañeda (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an American writer. Starting with '' The Teachings of Don Juan'' in 1968, Castaneda wrote a series of books that purport to describe training in shamanism that he received under the ...

. Kauk's partner, Lucy Parker, told '' Alpinist'' magazine that the book was: "a kind of handbook to help guide some of us back to the magic and mystery of life.... In a time when we don't even stop to ask why, the most important thing is to climb, to search". In 1979,

Ray Jardine Ray Jardine (born in 1944) is an American rock climber who, along with Bill Price, in May 1979, was the first to free climb the ''West Face'' of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. Jardine is also a mountaineer, sea kayaker, sailor, hang glider pilot, s ...

made the first repeat of ''Separate Reality'', and the photograph of his climb appeared on the covers of climbing books and magazines around the world, including the cover of

Reinhold Messner Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian mountaineer, explorer, and author from South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent of Everest without supplemental ...

's 1974 book, ''The Seventh Grade''. Inspired by the photo of Jardine, in 1986, German climber

traveled to Yosemite, with Austrian photographer , and made the first

of ''Separate Reality''. Güllich's 1986 free solo has since become an iconic feat in climbing history, and was listed on Red Bull's "10 Most Epic Free Solo Climbs". Güllich said after his feat: "An incredible feeling of joy melts all the tension and I suddenly have the impression that it was not a game of gambling with my life; it was not subjectively dangerous. I sit in the sun on the flat summit plateau - the 'other reality' is now part of the past. It is the thought of death that teaches us to value life." In 2005, 19 years later, Heinz Zak made the second free solo of the route. Zak said that in 1986, a free solo of the route "was completely out of my reach, not physically, but mentally", but that filming Güllich has set off an inner desire that he needed to resolve. To prepare for the free solo, Zak had built a wooden model in his garage. His 2005 free solo was made into a 2017 short climbing film, ''Träume sterben nie'' (translated as ''Dreams never die''). In 2006,

Dean Potter Dean Spaulding Potter (April 14, 1972 – May 16, 2015) was an American free climber, alpinist, BASE jumper, and highliner. He completed many hard first ascents, free solo ascents, speed ascents, and enchainments in Yosemite National Park and ...

completed the third free solo of ''Separate Reality'', a feat that he would repeat the four more times.

Notable ascents

* 1978

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 ...

. * 1979

, second free ascent. * 1986

, first

; photograph by became inconic. * 2005 , second

. * 2006

, third

(Potter would go on to free solo the route five times in total). * Others who have free soloed ''Separate Reality'' include American climber

Alex Honnold Alexander Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his Free solo climbing, free solo ascents of Big wall climbing, big walls. Honnold rose to prominence in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo El ...

, and Canadian climber Will Stanhope.

References

External links

VIDEO:Heinz Zak's Film on Separate Reality
''Gripped Magazine'' (September 2020)
Films featuring Separate Reality
Mountain Film Database (MNTNFILM, 2023) Climbing routes Rock formations of California Yosemite National Park

History

Notable ascents

See also

References

External links