Re:Free Solo and Economic Growth
by gameswithgo on Thursday May 16, 2019 @10:58AM
(#19929609)
Alex didn't use any rope going up El Cap so...
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True, but he did use a rope to rehearse the route a large number of times. He knew he was physically capable of free soloing the route because of the confidence he was able to gain as a direct result of using the technology available to him.
I don't think you read all of my post... i'm not talking about the direct affect of technology use on any single assent.
Only if Alex has never used a modern climbing rope in his life is my point invalid (I know he has). It's also important to understand that many of other pieces of climbing technology help in learning and developing the skill for everyone, not a single one, ropes are just an example.
The vast majority of Alex's climbing is trad. So he benefited from thousands of pitches with modern safety equipment: harnesses, lightweight cams, ropes, crash pads (when he was training in Bishop) and so on. Free Solo was his magnum opus, the result of all that training.
Re:Free Solo and Economic Growth
by X6S1x6Okd1st on Thursday May 16, 2019 @11:29AM
(#19929905)
That's like saying maps don't matter in warfare because they aren't useful in hand to hand combat