BURSTPete Whittaker, while famous for his 5.14 crack climbing, is also one of the world’s most accomplished solo climbers. From free-soloing a big wall in Norway to rope-soloing all-free El Capitan, he has repeatedly put himself in situations where a single mistake could have serious consequences. Whittaker recently broke his solos down into tiers, with S tier being the most dangerous, followed by A, B, C, and D – the least risky.
His S-tier includes his solos (using free solo, rope solo, and daisy solo) of El Capitan via The Nose (VI 5.14a / 5.8 C2) and Half Dome via the Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.12 / 5.9 C2). His A tier contains his Mount Watkins rope solo; and the first solo of Kjerag in Norway in 24 hours.
B tier includes the first free solo of the 1,000-metre Norway wall known as Kjerag; the Squamish Triple, where he rope-soloed University Wall (via The Shadow) 5.13, the Grand Wall 5.11 A0 and Freeway 5.11+ in 18 hours and 21 minutes; first rope solo and first free ascent of Wild Stories, an 800-metre line on Kjerag in Norway; and free soloing 611 routes in the Peak District in a push.
Whittaker’s C tier includes the first all-free ropo solo of Freerider on El Capitan; and free soloing buildings in Berlin. While the D tier has the first all-free rope solo of Store Blåmann in Norway via Atlantic (5.12, 8 pitches). Watch Whittaker break down his climbs below.
Whittaker Talks Soloing
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