After watching people like Dean Potter "freeBASE-ing," I started to realize how ridiculous you have to be to get noticed in the climbing world these days. With that said, it seems like people are out there continuing to push the limits of their disciplines, be it in sport climbing, trad climbing, aid climbing, or whatever "head pointing" is. I guess you start to get numb when the next wonder climber shows up and creates their own niche which the media and climbing culture can praise them for. Here is one that I found that doesn't seem like it will get a ton of repeats.
The same guy in the video above was noticed for something much more impressive in my opinion. Will Gadd accomplished something during the Ouray Ice Festival that in it's individual pieces, doesn't seem like a big deal. He climbed a 40m WI4. On a top rope. In an ice park. So far not so impressive huh? Well, here is the thing, he climbed that route, "Pic O' The Vic," 194 times in 24 hrs. A minimum height of 25,414 feet, climbed in 24 hours! To me, that is way more impressive than someone sending their 5.15+ project. This goes beyond skill and determination, into a realm that I don't believe a word exists for yet. Even better, he did it for the dZi Foundation and raised a ton of money. I guess I won't feel that cool when I manage 5 laps in a row at the indoor gym here...
