Aid climbing

At the same time, the Dolomites became the birthplace of modern "big wall aid climbing", where pioneers like Emilio Comici developed the early tools and techniques.

The grading of aid-climbing routes is complex as successive repeats can substantially change the nature of the challenge through hammering and also the build-up of large amounts of in-situ fixed placements.

Aid is also used to develop "next generation" big wall routes (e.g. Riders on the Storm on Cordillera Paine, or the Grand Voyage on Trango Towers).

[2][3] Traditional aid climbing relied on fixed placements, which were mainly metal pitons that the lead climber hammered into the rock as they ascended.

This method therefore avoids the damage that repeated hammering of metal does to aid routes,[2][3][4] and has been advocated as useful training and building up of experience in the placing of traditional climbing protection.

[8][4] By the start of the 20th century, the widespread use of aid (e.g. ladders and pitons) was challenged by the free climbing movement led by Paul Preuss.

[8][4] The legacy of the Dolomites as the birthplace of big-wall and modern aid climbing was cemented by pioneer Emilio Comici who developed the multi-step aider (or ladder).

[8][4] In 1946, John Salathé developed a piton made from high-carbon chrome-vanadium (salvaged from the axles of Ford cars), which enabled him to overcome the hard granite cracks of Yosemite and climb the iconic Lost Arrow Spire in 1947 with Ax Nelson.

[8][10] 1970 saw one of the most infamous events in big wall aid climbing with the creation of Cesare Maestri's Compressor Route on Cerro Torre.

[4][8] In 1971, Reinhold Messner wrote a now-famous essay titled The Murder of the Impossible on the trend of excessive aid saying: "Today's climber ... carries his courage in his rucksack".

Another famous essay in 1972, by big wall pioneers Yvon Chouinard and Tom Frost, appealed for clean aid climbing techniques to avoid the damage incurred by pitons and hammers.

[4] The 1970s saw new big wall aid climbing pioneers such as Jim Bridwell pushing standards in Yosemite using less intrusive aid (e.g. Chouinard's RURPs) to put up groundbreaking routes such as Pacific Ocean Wall (1975) and Sea of Dreams (1978), with its famous A5-graded "Hook or Book" pitch, the first "if you fall, you die" rope length on El Capitan.

The Nose on El Capitan) and in creating "next generation" big wall and alpine routes that are not capable of being fully freed (e.g. the Grand Voyage on Trango Towers).

[8] In a 1999 essay in Ascent titled The Mechanical Advantage, big wall aid climber and author, John Middendorf, said of that Hill's achievement on The Nose: "But without the old piton scars, without fixed protection, without her big-wall aid climbing experience, without the extraordinary free-climbing ability she gained from bolted sport climbs and indoor gyms and competitions, would there have ever been a such a free ascent?

[2] The equipment used to ascend via the hammered in placements are dual sets of aiders, which are like ladders made of webbing material, and come in various styles including adjustable strap-aiders, and stirrup-style "etriers".

[18] In Yosemite, the "R" and "X" suffixes of the American YDS free climbing system are added for routes with dangers of falls onto ledges or ramps or the risk of cutting the rope on an edge, such as pitch 13 on Reticent Wall at A4R.

Aid climber using aiders (or ladders) on an overhang
Climber standing in aiders while ascending aid climbing route, The Shield ( VI 5.7 A3 ), on El Capitan
Royal Robbins resting on his aiders during the 3rd pitch of the FA of the Salathé Wall (VI 5.9 C2)
Layton Kor on the first ascent of Exhibit A Eldarado Canyon ; the route was then graded 5.9 A4 (original A-grade), but is now graded 5.8 C2+ R (post "new-wave" C-grade). [ 17 ]
Climbers aiding on Zodiac ( VI 5.8 A2+ ), on El Capitan
Great Trango Tower in Pakistan has the world's longest 'vertical' rock climbing route, [ a ] which is the aid climb called The Grand Voyage (1,340 metres, VII 5.10 A4+ WI3) [ 23 ]