''Separate Reality'' is a

traditional climbing Traditional climbing (or trad climbing) is a type of free climbing in rock climbing where the lead climber places removable protection while simultaneously ascending the route; when the lead climber has completed the route, the second climber ...

route in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The route is known for its exposed and dramatic

crux CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system ...

that consists of a long crack in its horizontal roof. When it was first free-climbed by

Ron Kauk Ron Kauk (born 23 September 1957) is an American rock climber. Kauk is associated with Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley, where he lived for decades, now a resident of El Portal, California. In 1975, he made the first free ascent of the east face of W ...

in 1978, it was one of the first climbs in the world to have a grade of (it was temporarily downgraded one notch when a hold broke in the mid-1980s). In 1986, German climber

Wolfgang Güllich Wolfgang Güllich (24 October 1960 – 31 August 1992) was a German rock climber, who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. Güllich dominated sport climbing after his 1984 ascent of ''Kan ...

free solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs Solo climbing, solo (or alone) without Climbing rope, ropes or other Rock climbing equipment#Protection devices, protective equipmen ...

ed the route, and the photographs by Austrian became iconic in rock climbing history.

History

The route was first redpointed by

in 1978 and given a difficulty grade of ; it was temporarily downgraded to when a block fell off near the lip, sometime in the mid-1980s, exposing a new handhold (but is today graded at 5.12a). At the time of Kauk's ascent, it was one of the first climbs in the world to have a grade of . Kauk named the route after the 1971 novel '' A Separate Reality'' by

Carlos Castaneda Carlos César Salvador Arana (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998), better known as Carlos Castaneda, was an American anthropologist and writer. Starting in 1968, Castaneda published a series of books that describe a training in shamanism t ...

. Kauk's partner, Lucy Parker, told ''

Alpinist Alpine climbing () is a type of mountaineering that uses any of a broad range of advanced climbing skills, including rock climbing, ice climbing, and/or mixed climbing, to summit typically large routes (e.g. multi-pitch or big wall) in an alpi ...

'' 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". 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 Reinhold Andreas Messner (; born 17 September 1944) is an Italian climber, explorer, and author from the German-speaking province of South Tyrol. He made the first solo ascent of Mount Everest and, along with Peter Habeler, the first ascent o ...

's 1974 book, ''The Seventh Grade''. In 1981, visiting Australian climber , made the

first female free ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers and climbers focused ...

of the route, climbing it onsight with no falls. In 1986, inspired by the photo of Jardine,

traveled to Yosemite, with Austrian photographer and climber , and made the first

of ''Separate Reality''. Güllich's 1986 free solo has since become an iconic feat in climbing history, and was listed on Red Bull's "10 Most Epic Free Solo Climbs". 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." In 2005, 19 years later, Heinz Zak made the second free solo of the route. 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. To prepare for the free solo, Zak had built a wooden model in his garage. His 2005 free solo was made into a 2017 short climbing film, ''Träume sterben nie'' (translated as ''Dreams never die''). In 2006,

Dean Potter Dean Spaulding Potter (April 14, 1972 – May 16, 2015) was an American free climber, alpinist, BASE jumper, and highliner. He completed many hard first ascents, free solo ascents, speed ascents, and enchainments in Yosemite National Park and ...

completed the first of five free solos he would make of ''Separate Reality''.

Notable ascents

Redpoint

* 1978.

first free ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers and climbers focused ...

. * 1979. Ray Jardine, second free ascent. * 1981. ,

(and first onsight).

Free solo

* 1986.

, first

; photograph by became iconic. * 2005. , second

. * 2006.

, third

(Potter would go on to free solo the route five times in total). * Others who have free soloed ''Separate Reality'' include American climber

Alex Honnold Alex Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his Free solo climbing, free solo ascents of Big wall climbing, big walls. Honnold rose to worldwide fame in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a f ...

, and Canadian climber Will Stanhope.

References

External links