Bear's Reach is only 5.7. Sure, the speed-solo is impressive, and DanO was a hell of an athlete, but it's really not that hard or dangerous of a climb - and the hold he threw to is a total jug, despite how the camera angle makes it look (though he did miss it and slip on one try).
Where I live, soloing stuff of this level of difficulty is routine - you cannot go into Eldorado Canyon on a summer afternoon without seeing someone soloing the Bastille Crack (5.7-5.8) and we have a number of soloists at the 5.11 level and harder. What people fail to realize is that your perception of risk changes - for DanO, the Bear's Reach solo was equivalent going for a run up a hill. |
