More pixels:
Rope and anchor much easier to see here.
this post was submitted on 06 May 2025
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I'm so pleased to discover he's smart
"smart" being a relative term here...
Yeah. Rope and anchor mean that falling isn't guaranteed death. I still wish he'd have a helmet, though.
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I'm actually glad for that. I thought he was free climbing and it made me nervous.
He is free climbing. He’s not using things like a ladder to climb.
He’s not free soloing, which is done without a rope.
There’s also rope soloing where you use a rope but you don’t have a belayer and have to catch yourself on falls.
I think the only climber that did it free solo is Alex Honnold. He took a less deadly route I believe. The documentation is fear inducing though.
As a long time climber, watching that documentary is really gripping/terrifying. The bit at the end when he says what it was like walking over the top; no one noticing what he had done, because he didn't have ropes and a harness etc...wow.
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Thank Jebus he has a rope. Original picture made me feel bad and nervous.
Ah, thank you
When I first looked at the OP I thought someone had photoshopped out the rope and quick draw and was mad at them. Then I looked more closely and saw that it was just shitty quality and they blended in really well.
But still 😵💫
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How do you climb a MacBook?
Command + Climb. Be careful, AppleCare doesn't cover vertical ascents.
What about rapid unplanned vertical descent?
I though this was the "Mildly terrifying" forum for a sec.
Fyi Adam is free climbing here but not free soloing; there's a big difference. The rope in this photo has either been edited out or is hard to see. Free climbing means climbing without aid, like ladders or ascenders attached to the rope. If youve climed at your local gym, you have free climed.
Edit: it's just hard to see but it's there. It's yellow and coming down beneath him.
Yeah what we see here is called "trad climbing" and specifically it seems like he's lead climbing here (first one up and putting in the rope as he goes along).
Adam is a fucking beast btw for those that don't know him he's one of the best in the world.
Nah; it's actually sport climbing, not trad. You can see in the higher definition photo that he's got a quick draw attached to a bolt below him. Trad (traditional) climbing means climbing without prebolted routes where you place pro(tection) as you climb, like cams, nuts and hexes to name a few. If he were climbing trad, you would see a bunch of pro hanging off his belt because he'd need to place it as he climbs. Also pretty sure there's not even enough going on on the dawn wall to climb trad which is why it's generally looked down upon to bolt a wall if pro can be placed. Trad climbing the same wall would be much harder than sport climbing the same wall because placing pro is so more more involved than placing a quickdraw. Also you have to carry it up. Also if you place pro incorrectly and you fall you can die. Sport climbing in practice is much safer.
To clarify further, the quickdraws are already placed for him. This is likely because the dawn wall is just that hard that you really don't have a chance if you have to spend the energy placing quickdraws as you climb.
Also pretty sure there’s not even enough going on on the dawn wall to climb trad which is why it’s generally looked down upon to bolt a wall if pro can be placed. Trad climbing the same wall would be much harder than sport climbing the same wall
IIRC, Tommy tried to keep the route in as good of style as possible by only bolting where there was no possible pro, and there are several pitches on the route which are protected only by beaks and brassies.
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I will never ever ever be impressed by this shit. All I see is a very stupid person taking an unnecessary risk for clout.
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This is a lot less impressive when you rotate the image to the right.
"Why are we walking like this?"
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A what point does it change from unique hobby to death wish?
It's hard to see from the shrunken picture, but he has a rope to catch him if he falls. The likelihood of an injury is very low.
https://brainasap.com/adrenaline-addiction-rock-climbers-thrill-seeking-behavior/
I'm all for letting people have the hobbies they want, but adrenaline junkies are literally wired differently. Kind of weird that they get put on a pedestal for being the "right" kind of neurodivergent.
I don't think any of the climbers I know would call it an adrenaline sport. It's slow, considered, thoughtful. It certainly gets a high sometimes, pun intended, but it's much more akin to a runners high or the elation of finishing a difficult task well.
As a pretty serious rock climber, I would say it definitely is an adrenaline sport. But the adrenaline is just part of it. You also get the sort of runners high from sustained exercise, and another sort of high of "holy shit, I can't believe I just pulled it off" from dealing with challenges in real time and finding solutions.
In comparison, I tried sky diving once and found it, in a weird way, boring. Sure, you get an adrenaline rush - but there is no real physical or mental challenge. You just jump, deploy the chute, and land. When we landed, my heart was definitely pounding, but in a strangely unsatisfying way. I didn't feel like I had really pushed myself or accomplished anything - I was just up there, and now I'm down here. Big whoop.
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A what point does it change from unique hobby to death wish?
100% when you remove the safety gear.
The mountain, you see, is in nature; and Nature doesn't give a fuck about your inability to fly once you pop off that flake.
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Has no sweat glands on his hands
Rope or not this is terrifying! It's a no from me
Why?
Accomplishing difficult challenges & goals feels rewarding, pretty sure it's mostly dopamine and some adrenaline
I watched a video about a person with a rare condition that makes him not have a fear response and now, everytime I see people doing stupid shit like this, I think "bet it's not so fucking rare"
Don't be do quick to judge: He's secured by a rope that passes through a series of bolts that are drilled into solid granite. You could lift a car with the gear he's using to secure himself.
You're less in control of your fate when passing someone on the highway than he is here. The only way he dies in this situation is first slipping off (first layer of protection is your hands and feet), and then having several layers of ridiculously redundant protection fail.
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