Bigwall-Training
Bigwall-, rescue- and speed-techniques for advanced climbers.
Trip Dates
Difficulty:
Accomodation:
filthy: Bivy (-hut)
Even experienced climbers are left with astonishment, seeing what's possible on rock these days: 8b is daily business, speed records pulverize former multi-day-outings, aid climbers hook their way up blank walls and in multi-week bigwalls in remote places tons of gear are being hauled.
Concerning your first 8b, we are unfortunately not able to help. But speaking about the more technical refinements of climbing, we can say: they all put their pants on one leg at a time.
The concepts and techniques that are used in speed- and aid-climbing or for hauling on bigwalls, are not only of theoretical interest for the common climber. They can serve you well even on moderate routes. Maybe time is running out with a thunderstorm approaching. The wet crux just doesn't go free. Or your injured partner needs to be pulled up to the belay.
Our bigwall training is aimed at well-versed rockclimbers who can self-sufficiently carry out multipitch routes at about french 5c+ (UK HVS, US 5.10-) and above. Rope handling, belay techniques and the odd self-placed protection should not be something new.
The first three days we will look into techniques and skills, that go beyond normal 'pitch-to-pitch' belayed climbing: simul-climbing, short-fixing and ascending with jumars. Just as important are the little tricks that make rope-handling, belay-changeovers and climbing more efficient and faster.
We will cover the basics of aid climbing as well: movement, how to haul a bag, protect traverses and, above all, learn how to get down safely when the going gets rough: rappelling diagonally, overhanging and with an injured partner on your back.
The plan is also to spend a night in a portaledge.
On the last day we want to climb a route where we can reasonably apply the newly learnt techniques — or do a proper aid pitch depending on your focus.
With all the non-standard practices the most important question is about the specific risks involved and how large a safety margin remains. We need to sensibly decide on the situations and the terrain we can afford to apply these techniques in.
After our bigwall training you will be able to climb multipitch routes with an extended repertoire of techniques and the knowledge that you can get yourself out of the challenging situations and emergencies that a climb might throw at you.
Bitte beachte unsere Infos zu den Anforderungen im Infocenter!
Itinerary
We will do whatever suits your climbing best. Therefore, we'll choose the trip destination according to your preferences. In terms of aid and clean climbing practice, granit often makes more sense than limestone. Central Switzerland, the Ticino, Valle del Orco, Cadarese or Chamonix are good options.
Prerequisites
You need a good overview of belaying techniques and rope handling for multipitch climbing. You should know the basic knots, friction hitches and common belay devices and have a good understanding of how to build a belay. The difficulty you climb is not all too relevant, but to make good use of the more advanced techniques, you should be able to lead at french 5c/6a (UK HVS, US 5.10-).
Gear
Bring your gear for bolted multipitch. The specialty toys from jumars to copperheads will be provided by us. If you have one, bring a Grigri.
Included
- Organization and training by a IFMGA licensed mountain guide
- Rental Gear
- All guide's expenses
Excluded
- Food and Accommodation as per your preferences. We prefer to stay flexible and not pre-book hotels long in advance.
Specials
for this trip
Personal communication rather than follower and likes.
Lets face it: social media is a mere marketing tool for many businesses. To us this way of connecting with the audience is somewhat superficial. That's not our style. We prefer the direct contact to our clients - even beyond 'business'.
What does that mean for you? If you are planning a trip to the mountains on your own, get in touch, we are happy to recommend on a summit, region or provide information on the conditions. You need advice on gear? Need a second opinion on the avalanche situation? We are fostering a long term exchange, often on a very personal level, with many of our clients. We are taking the time, because its fun to chat or talk shop with like-minded people!
Top - mountain kit included.
Quite frankly our cooperating partners want to sell the gear they are providing us with. It is therefore clearly in our interest if you test gear on our trips. So why should we charge you for this?
Lend out gear is generally free of charge on all our trips. If you have your own equipment, but want to save weight on a challenging ski traverse, we will bring lightweight crampons for you. You are keen to test a wide freeride ski or the latest ice tools? No problem! Of course, we do not have multiple sizes or models in stock, but we are trying to help you with gear as much as we can.
Van life, camping and road trips: it doesn't always have to be **** comfort.
Sure, we do enjoy fine food and decent accommodation. But we are happy with less comfort as well, if that's what you want. Not having to book hotels makes things a lot more flexible. Cooking together is social and can be a lot of fun. No doubt, hiring a guide is expensive. By keeping our expenses as low as possible we help you save money and focus on the really important things - to climb and to ski! If you like the simple life, tell us so! There is a surprisingly high number of climbs that can be achieved without using expensive huts.
Why we do not show available places online.
Because you still wouldn't know if a trip is confirmed. Bookings can be cancelled after all. Besides, well, the displayed number of available places can be fake — we all know that from the flight search engines.
Don't panic if the minimum number of participants is not yet reached! We often try to directly address long term clients, bring together bookings for different dates or find alternatives. Maybe we are really keen on doing the trip ourselves and offer you a special deal. Anyway we are keeping you updated. You might tell us your deadline by which you have to know if the trip takes place or not.
Additional Info
and links
Our bigwall-training is perfect for well-established climbing teams. Depending on what your focus is on, a group size of four is ideal: to split costs and still be able to practice with a high intensity.
If you want to do it as a team of two, we'll make you an offer. Three participants per guide does however, for practical reasons, not work well.
What's possible, but maybe not worth imitating for everybody, is shown by the Nose speed-records. We'll not push it that far, but look more closely into some elements of the speed techniques involved.
Here's the Reynolds/Gobright October 2017 Record
When we did our practise route (The Via del Veterano with 25 pitches after all) in a similar timespan, we were quite "stoked" as well.
