Separate Reality (climb)

Separate Reality is a 66-foot (20 m) traditional climbing route in Yosemite National Park in California. The route is known for its exposed and dramatic crux that consists of a 20-foot (6.1 m) long crack in its horizontal roof. When it was first free-climbed by Ron Kauk in 1978, it was one of the first climbs in the world to have a grade of 7a+ (5.12a) (it was temporarily downgraded one notch when a hold broke in the mid-1980s). In 1986, German climber Wolfgang Güllich free soloed the route, and the photographs by Austrian Heinz Zak become iconic in rock climbing history.[1][2]

Separate Reality
Heinz Zak free soloing Separate Reality in 2005; it was Zak who took the iconic photograph of Güllich on the route in 1986.[1]
Map showing the location of Separate Reality
Map showing the location of Separate Reality
Map showing the approximate location of Separate Reality
LocationCalifornia, United States
Coordinates37°43′21″N 119°34′53″W
Climbing AreaYosemite Valley
Route TypeTraditional climbing
Vertical Gain20 metres (66 ft)
Pitches1
Grade5.12a (7a+)
First free ascentRon Kauk (1978)

History

The route was first redpointed by Ron Kauk in 1978 and given a difficulty grade of 5.12a (7a+); it was temporarily downgraded to 5.11d (7a) when a block fell off near the lip, sometime in the mid-1980s,[3] exposing a new handhold (but is today graded at 5.12a).[3][4] At the time of Kauk's ascent, it was one of the first climbs in the world to have a grade of 5.12a (7a+).[4] Kauk named the route after the 1971 novel A Separate Reality by Carlos Castaneda.[5] Kauk's partner, Lucy Parker, told Alpinist magazine that the book was: "a kind of handbook to help guide some of us back to the magic and mystery of life.... In a time when we don't even stop to ask why, the most important thing is to climb, to search".[6]

In 1979, Ray Jardine made the first repeat of Separate Reality, and the photograph of his climb appeared on the covers of climbing books and magazines around the world, including the cover of Reinhold Messner's 1974 book, The Seventh Grade.[7][3] In 1981, visiting Australian climber Louise Shepherd, made the first female free ascent of the route, climbing it onsight with no falls.[8][9]

Inspired by the photo of Jardine,[10] in 1986, German climber Wolfgang Güllich traveled to Yosemite, with Austrian photographer and climber Heinz Zak, and made the first free solo of Separate Reality.[11][5] Güllich's 1986 free solo has since become an iconic feat in climbing history,[1][12] and was listed on Red Bull's "10 Most Epic Free Solo Climbs".[13] Güllich said after his feat: "An incredible feeling of joy melts all the tension and I suddenly have the impression that it was not a game of gambling with my life; it was not subjectively dangerous. I sit in the sun on the flat summit plateau - the 'other reality' is now part of the past. It is the thought of death that teaches us to value life."[14]

In 2005, 19 years later, Heinz Zak made the second free solo of the route.[10] Zak said that in 1986, a free solo of the route "was completely out of my reach, not physically, but mentally", but that filming Güllich has set off an inner desire that he needed to resolve.[11] To prepare for the free solo, Zak had built a wooden model in his garage.[11] His 2005 free solo was made into a 2017 short climbing film, Träume sterben nie (translated as Dreams never die).[11]

In 2006, Dean Potter completed the first of five free solos he would make of Separate Reality.[2][15]

Notable ascents

Redpoint

Free solo
  • Others who have free soloed Separate Reality include American climber Alex Honnold,[4] and Canadian climber Will Stanhope.[18]

See also

References
  1. Oviglia, Maurizio (28 November 2016). "The routes climbing photographers dream of". PlanetMountain. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  2. Jackson, Jeff (17 August 2017). "Dean Potter Free Solos Separate Reality and A Dog's Roof". Climbing. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  3. Franz, Derek (December 2021). "Yosemite Dreams". Alpinist (76).
  4. "Yosemite's Wild Days (in Pictures)". Climbing Magazine. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  5. "Watch Free-Solo of "Europe's Separate Reality" Legoland 5.12". Gripped Magazine. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. Kauk, Lonnie; Wright, Paula (May 2019). "Magic Line". Alpinist (66).
  7. Oviglia, Maurizio (11 July 2016). "Ray Jardine's Friends, a teacup and a blue bag". PlanetMountain. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  8. Pollitt, Andy (10 May 2018). "Andy Pollitt and Louise Shepherd Interview". UKClimbing. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  9. Zak, Heinz. Rock Stars: World's Best Free Climbers. Cordee. p. 45. ISBN 978-3763370443. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  10. "Heinz Zak solos Yosemite's Separate Reality". PlanetMountain. 9 June 2005. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  11. "Heinz Zak & Separate Reality - the film of his Yosemite free solo". PlanetMountain. 22 March 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  12. Osius, Alison (4 June 2022). "Free Solo Rock Climbing and the Climbers Who Have Defined the Sport". Climbing. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  13. Grey, Will (23 October 2017). "These 10 unreal free solo climbs will wow you". Red Bull. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  14. Hepp, Tilmann (1994). Wolfgang Gullich: A Life in the Vertical. Boulder. ISBN 9781871890686.
  15. Clarke, Owen (3 May 2022). "Dean Potter, Soloist, Wingsuit Flyer, BASE Jumper, Out Of The Box Thinker". Climbing. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  16. Wright, Paula (2019). "Magic Line". Alpinist Magazine. No. 66. Carbondale, Colorado: Height of Land Publications. pp. 52–61.
  17. Hobley, Nicholas (August 31, 2022). "Remembering Wolfgang Güllich, one of greatest climbers of all times". Planet Mountain.
  18. "Watch Heinz Zak Solo Separate Reality 5.12 in Yosemite". Gripped Magazine. March 23, 2017.
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