Posted 08.22.2007 at 4:19 pm
6 Comments
This video of legendary climber Dan Osman looks downright impossible. The camera has to be tilted. And the playback must be in fast-forward mode. There’s no way someone could scale a cliff that quickly, right? Actually, Osman’s Spidey-like ascent is the real thing. And in rushing up that rock, he demonstrates both the incredible capabilities of the human hand and the importance of not trying to test the laws of physics. First of all, friction is your friend in rock climbing, and during one close-up you can see that Osman is wearing very flexible, grip-enhancing shoes. The flexibility of the soles is critical because it puts more of the rubber sole in contact with the rock, increasing the friction, and the chances that his foot stays planted in place.
The rock itself, known as “Bear’s Reach,” would be considered an easy one for experts, offering numerous cracks and bumps and ledges large and small. In other words, Osman’s not climbing up a smooth wall. And when he’s jamming his fingers into one of those cracks, or grabbing a ledge, he’s basically proving that our evolutionary ancestors swung from branches. There’s no other good reason for our hands to be that strong, and capable of supporting so much weight. By pressing his fingers down on some exposed rock, Osman engages more of the muscles in his forearm, allowing him to bear more weight on that hand.
Obviously he’s also in ridiculously good shape. One Web site says the climb should take about three hours. In this video, Osman does it in 4 minutes and 25 seconds. Tragically, though, this daring approach to nature’s dangers led to Osman’s early death in 1998, at the age of 35.—Gregory Mone
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This is madness, even for professional climbers.
He actually climbs faster than SpiderMan himself. XD
this IS impossible - at least this video is obviously not a single take - if you know anything about film or video production, there are at least seven different cameras working to create this video, most of which are within ten or twenty feet of the climber at any given time, with some that are actually close enough to get a close up of his hands and feet - add that to the shot that starts on the climber and pulls all the way back to show the cliff surface... where we see no other climbers, no cameras, no setups, nothing on the face of the rock besides the climber - THAT is impossible. to make this video, there had to be several other climbers armed with cameras in order to take the close up shots - and we never see another person nor cameraman in any one of the shots - this video was obviously shot over many different climbs and pieced together to make it a single scale from top to bottom - sorta makes you question the time up.
Evidently XSportSeeker has never encountered telephoto lenses. Camera angles are readily conducive to using telephoto lenses from the ground and the top of "Bear's Reach". The video also shows the over confidence that led to the eventual death of the climber.
Gravity exists and all climbers eventually make errors. Smart climbers always climb with a partner and always use ropes. More people die an accidental death from over confidence than any other cause.
i saw dans speed ascent on dont try this at home! a tv programme hosted by davina mcall years ago. the ascent is not a fake, there were climbers on the rockface in the video i saw! dan simply climbed over them!
The video is no fake, but sure it's edited. Whether he did it that quickly I seriously doubt but that only means he climbed the wall 'free solo' (without rope or other safety equipment) several times this style, making it even more risky. Adrenaline junkies sometimes do grow old, but more often they don't. The shoes are high friction shoes, specially designed for rock climbing. The sole is probably Stealth rubber. Osmond didn't die climbing as I recall, I believe he tried a sort of bungee jump stunt but miscalculated the length or stretch factor of the ropes he used. Another well known 'spiderman' is Alain Robbert, a frenchman freeclimbing tall buildings all over the world.
The video is not fake you dolt! Dan Osman was a madman on the rock. He climbed a ice cold waterfall without ropes. He was a total adrenaline junkie. He did not died climbing without ropes (Free Soloing) He died due to equipment failure. Two ropes crossed on a 1,000 foot jump and melted.
His hands never failed him, it was the ropes. Most free soloists do not die climbing. They do die young but from other non climbing accidents. Ie. Rearden died from a rogue wave that swept him off a rock. Another died in a car accident.
I don't think I have seen another Pro climber go as fast as Dan did on this run.