[Tishabet]

Originally Posted by Burnin' oil

Those two are married. I am impressed that they can control their fear but holds do break and fingers pop and feet slip. The climbs they are doing would be comparable to some of us climbing a 90 degree ladder a thousand feet up. It's not that difficult but the exposure adds a huge element and there is always the fear of falling. I've free soloed a few times when I couldn't find a climbing partner and did not enjoy that feeling of not being sure of the next hold with legs pistoning and arms shaking. Yuch. Like Dean did when he had to downclimb.

5.11 is nothing to blush at... the best climbers in the world can still occasionally get into trouble at that rating. Back when I was still guiding I used to get a book every year called "Accidents in North American Mountaineering." That book was chock full of expert, experienced climbers experiencing mishaps including death on what should have been a cake walk. Quite an eye opener, sort of like finding out that most drownings occur in less than X inches of water.

If you're thinking about climbing without a partner again, there are passive cam belay devices you can use. I've never used (or even handled) one myself and have heard they are sort of clunky and cause drag on the rope, but I still prefer that to falling to my death