Fitz Traverse Repeated - Solo!

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 galpinos 12 Feb 2021

Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll Has soloed the Fitz Traverse. Not sure what else to say apart from..... Wow!

https://www.climbing.com/.amp/news/sean-villanueva-odriscoll-completes-the-...

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLKvxLEB65T/?igshid=4iu0ngpfjz6m

In reply to galpinos:

He climbed with only a rope, a penny whistle, and some birthday cake......🤣.

My kind of guy...amazing feat.

 Kalna_kaza 12 Feb 2021
In reply to galpinos:

What length of rope would be needed for the abseils? Incredible achievement!

 James FR 12 Feb 2021
In reply to galpinos:

To celebrate, we can watch Sean playing the whistle here:

youtube.com/watch?v=3-SLsUr8f4o&

 alexm198 12 Feb 2021
In reply to galpinos:

Holy shit. That is astonishing. 

> O'Driscoll's trip report reads: "Really good whistle acoustics on those peaks."

Brilliant. What a guy.

In reply to galpinos:

Having seen "a line across the sky" an amazing and inspirational film of Tommy & Alex's ascent. To do this solo seems to be taking this to another level again. Look forward to hearing the full details.

 Offwidth 12 Feb 2021
In reply to galpinos:

Amazing indeed!

I was lucky enough to meet 'Captain Bob and his crew' at Kendal... they were just as full of enthusiasm in the flesh as on film.

 ripper 12 Feb 2021
In reply to mountain.martin:

> Having seen "a line across the sky" an amazing and inspirational film of Tommy & Alex's ascent. To do this solo seems to be taking this to another level again. Look forward to hearing the full details.

My thoughts exactly - the ambition to do what O'Driscoll has done is mind-boggling. The skill, resolve, and sheer balls to pull it off is, as you say, another level. I'm assuming it was done in an R1?

OP galpinos 12 Feb 2021
In reply to ripper:

> My thoughts exactly - the ambition to do what O'Driscoll has done is mind-boggling. The skill, resolve, and sheer balls to pull it off is, as you say, another level.

Yours and Martin’s thought sum up mine but I couldn’t think of how to say it! Just even to consider soloing it is a pretty big step.

> I'm assuming it was done in an R1?

Very good!

Post edited at 12:06
OP galpinos 12 Feb 2021
In reply to Offwidth:

As a cynical old engineer that kind of “schtick” normally annoys me but for some reason, those guys pull it off. I guess it’s the genuine enthusiasm they give off, a genuine joy in what they are doing.

 Robert Durran 12 Feb 2021
In reply to galpinos:

Doing it in reverse makes it effectively, in terms of the actual climbing, a completely different route. I wonder whether it is significantly easier in this direction - the section over Fitzroy itself certainly would be, going up the Franco-Argentine and then abseiling the Casarotto Pillar - but I don't know about the rest of it. Obviously still an astonishing thing to pull off anyway.

Post edited at 13:06
OP galpinos 12 Feb 2021
In reply to Robert Durran:

Agreed, I was just quoting the Climbing.com headline. Colin Haley et al.'s comments imply it is still a pretty impressive feat (which is seemed to be for me but nice to have the great and good agree).

 Offwidth 12 Feb 2021
In reply to galpinos:

As an older and probably even more cynical engineer I believe so

Removed User 13 Feb 2021
In reply to Robert Durran:

Out of interest if it is easier this way, why did Caldwell and Honnell take the reverse route? I am guessing it must have been anticipated to be a fair bit easier to make it worth trading off their beta, though I suppose mainly sections will be known in a piecewise fashion ascents/descents of the individual peaks.

 Tom Last 13 Feb 2021
In reply to Removed User:

The walk in to the way Honnald and Caldwell did the original Fitz Traverse is significantly easier and whilst it seems like it wouldn', t be an issue to climbers of their calibre, I can see how it might become a factor depending on their tactics around signal pushes and how long they had for their window/rest at camp etc.

The two possible approaches for the Reverse Traverse are either heavily glaciated or flat glacier with horrific moraine field - really really bad terrain - whereas the original Fitz Traverse approach takes what is essentially a pleasant though long and in its final part steep woodland and sub alpine walk. 

Who knows, but could have something to do with it. 

 Robert Durran 13 Feb 2021
In reply to Tom Last:

I remember in the Caldwell/Honnold video the abseils off Poincenot looked horrendous. I wonder what route the solo took onto Poincenot - maybe there is an amenable (relatively) line. Details will be interesting. Maybe just the aesthetics of climbing the Casarotto rather than abseiling it appealed to Caldwell and Honnold!

 Rick Graham 13 Feb 2021
In reply to Robert Durran:

As I recall the 2013 season was quite stormy with only the one longish  weather window that the first traverse took advantage of. The north pillar ,sunny side in south hemisphere, was still icy by the time C+H climbed it. I presume their choice of N -S was dictated by conditions and timing.

This season has been very warm , with dire warnings on pataclimb about rockfall .

In these conditions SVoD may have realised that climbing up the shady sides was feasible rather than being verglassed horrors.

Edit. Still an incredible achievement.

Post edited at 11:58
 Tom Last 13 Feb 2021
In reply to Robert Durran:

I think Honnald and Caldwell did the Potter Davis on Poincenot which is 7a - seems fairly nuts doing what is presumably some sort of massive E5 over half way though. Yeah that face they abseiled off is massive, presumably there's something easier than 7a up there anyway.

Maybe Honnald and Caldwell also reckoned on the Franco-Argentinian being very busy given it's one of the most popular routes in the range the converse of which is as you say the appealing aesthetic of the Gorretta Pillar rather than abbing that enormous drop. After all, whilst to me and presumably you and everybody else Gorretta Pillar looks like a lifetime goal/enormous and difficult undertaking; to two of the best crack climbers in the world, well it's probably just a bit of fun! 

 Mal Grey 13 Feb 2021

Outstanding achievement.

In reply to James FR:

> To celebrate, we can watch Sean playing the whistle here:

This may be the best music video I've ever seen!

 beardy mike 14 Feb 2021
In reply to Mal Grey:

You’ve obviously not watched “Done in R1”. Although slightly more commercial work, I prefer the overall aesthetic.

 Mal Grey 14 Feb 2021
In reply to beardy mike:

Fun, but not as good on the Dodo one for me, it was silliness in the middle of nowhere in a tiny boat I liked, I think. Both great though!

And I am wearing R1 as I type...

 beardy mike 14 Feb 2021
In reply to Mal Grey:

One things for sure. Marketing genius...

 Pete Graham 14 Feb 2021
In reply to galpinos:

Got to be one of the most impressive feats of solo alpinism every! It took Sean 6 days and he self belayed and hauled all but the easier pitches. Anyone who has ever self belayed and hauled a big route will know how the physical effort is more than doubled when compared to climbing with a partner. You have to effectively climb every pitch twice and carry/haul more weight per person. It took Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell 5 days to climb the Fitz Traverse moving together for most of the climb. The fact that Sean managed to do it solo, self belaying and hauling in 6 days completely blows my mind. It would have been cutting edge/ world class if it was done with a partner, but doing it solo is probably doubles the physical effort and phycological commitment required. The thought of being alone on top of Fitz Roy several days in with a disintegrating rope sends shivers down my spine.

OP galpinos 15 Feb 2021
In reply to Pete Graham:

Having read the full description on the Patagonia Vertical Insta I'm even more mind blown!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLQZZGHjqIc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In reply to galpinos:

A short excerpt from the instagram post"

"He self-belayed and hauled on all but the easier pitches, and climbed everything free (+4000m, 6c 50˚).
On the first day, rockfall resulted in three core-shots to his lead-line. A devastating hit so early in such a long traverse, but after taping the damage, he decided to continue"

I don't know what to say. Incredibly brave and commited.


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