Pamela Shanti Pack: "The Kill Artist"

La Sportiva climbing athlete Pamela Shanti Pack faces off the Mental Block, the second pitch and crux sequence of her latest offwidth first ascent "The Kill Artist" in Moab, Utah's Long Canyon. Video: Vansion Roadshow Productions, LLC.

[@rschreck876]

5:49 Tom Randall & Pete Whitaker has entered the chat 💬

[@artyparty_av]

The comments at 5:45 did not age well

[@MikeCllns]

Gotta love that switching of the hand at 9:37.

[@mkallin75]

The boldness and grit of Pamela is just amazing.

[@MrNickjberry]

Magnus Kallin V2. 5.11-

[@benschuster9792]

Well now someone's climbed it without the bolts

[@mcfjk3]

im waiting for the comments to start coming in about this.... gonna go grab some pop corn

[@MrNickjberry]

Maybe she didn’t learn how to layback while at Yale.

[@ritnerritner1]

Id love to know the story of who/why chopped the bolt

[@ritnerritner1]

@@benschuster9792 I dont think anyone should have to risk their life to climb a route that could be easily bolted. If you want to do a climb the way it was originally done just dont use the bolts. Bolts that inherently make a climb more dangerous (bad bolts, bad rock to bolt to, or bolting a climb that is for some other reason dangerous and now attracts novice climbers that may hurt themselves) is different. I though climbing was about inclusion not gatekeeping people who dont want to risk their lives to climb. As a second note, she was the first ascentionist, is it not standard practice that she gets to decide how the climb gets done? I can yield that not sticking to an area's "style" may damage that "style" but she put like 3 bolts in to make sure people didnt load a block that may come out, which (if it did so) would do more damage than 3 bolts. (I dont mean this to be a commentary on you or your opinions but a broader commentary on an outdated view of practices)

[@ritnerritner1]

@@benschuster9792 I am most specifically talking about US climbing as this is where her bolts were chopped. I have been climbing trad for about 5 years and only up to 5.10b so I am not an expert on hard trad by any means. I understand the desire by some to protect the style of an area but for routes established as a mixed route (as shanti pack did with "kill Artist") they should stay a mixed route. If someone disagrees, they should have climbed it first.

[@JustAPuzzlePiece]

Awesome climbing! What are the names of the songs/artists used in this video?

[@olwethumkhwanazi6245]

I want to do this now!!! Is the mental block still in the wall

[@luvitube]

Amazing!

[@epock7]

This is badass. Way to get after it Pamela!

[@MrNickjberry]

Not very bad assed at all.

[@Alex-zx3pv]

TheSlim let’s see it then, get out there and do it.

[@1stPadawan]

So funny i use the petzl quickdraws exavtly the same way when a bolt is to much out of my reach :D

[@GraysonCobbkayaks]

"Really glad I didn't die on that." Lolol so badass.

[@rileypatterson1208]

shout out to vedauwoo!

[@duoji7696]

Any idea why she's using locking carabiners to clip into?

[@danneufeldphoto]

I think because she's coming out of a roof, and a fall wouldn't necessarily be straight down. If the rope flails about too much, it could unclip itself from a non-locking biner.

[@bman6065]

It's probably keeping her from a detrimental fall. You're not placing pieces every body length on stuff like this. And a locker isn't much more in contrast with a big cam rack.

[@MrNickjberry]

Wait. So she bolted this route that didn't need bolts... And accidentally placed a bolt out of her own reach? That is HILARIOUS.

[@Lehmann108]

9:38 gave me a heart attack!

[@alohamatthewshields]

What brand is that carabiner?

[@danballarin]

mad rock

[@duoji7696]

Looks like BD or DMM.

[@rushthezeppelin]

It's a Mad Rock Trigger Wire.

[@frankklante5014]

Pamela OMG youre F amazin !!!!

[@MrTrey0228]

HOLY SH*T

[@chrisallen477]

Fucking. Jesus! ...Hell ya!

[@basilaldwin]

9:03 is what all the imagine dragon songs are about

[@bonefishboards]

Impressive and scary. Makes my office cube seem so much more pleasant.

[@timstich1052]

So Ryan, why did you later go back and chop all of the bolts on the route? What drama propelled you to do that?

[@MrNickjberry]

Well, It doesn't need them. They are placed in protectable areas.

[@tallasianguy42]

There was more to it than that from what I heard.

[@CrGorder]

Nice work, looks like a great route. It is a little dramatic for my taste however. I haven't seen the route, so there are certainly aspects I don't understand. That said, a #4 isn't psychological pro, with blocks that big, you never really know the solidity until you unfortunately do (with this logic, shouldn't the boot flake and the split pillar be X rated or even DFU rated?), and what is a directional only bolt? It wouldn't hold a fall? Because that would be some hardcore, Jim Beyer shit. It scares me how the need to make sponsors happy incentivizes exaggeration of risk. It dilutes the history of climbing that I love so much. When everything is hardcore, nothing is hardcore because we can't differentiate. And more importantly, it makes climbing more dangerous. It's hard to differentiate between what is truly dangerous and what was for the drama. If everyone does "bold" stuff, I must be able to do bold stuff too! I can't tell you how many x-rated routes I've climbed on mountain project because it's too hard to tell what is truly a death route and what some city slicker called x-rated because they had to climb above a small cam. I truly say this with as much respect as one can (gosh, I hope I'm not an internet troll), but I think it needs to be acknowledged. If you're going to put out climbing media, it either has to be the hardest, the fastest, the remotest, or the boldest. It's content inflation. Where we go from here? V18? DFU+? Like, climbing is fun and I'm a weenie and that's okay with me. I want to see some content of people having fun. I just have a really hard time believing this measures up against Bridwell's DFU routes.

[@brianpharder]

Everything in climbing rating is subjective, obviously. But fuck, Pamela is the rare, odd bird taking on this kind of heinous, physical and dangerous climbing and I, for one, celebrate her antics. There are simply too few men or women out there doing it to give an accurate consensus on the difficulty and risk. Commentary by a legend like Leavitt confirms the rare air she breathes. Maybe Tom and Pete can have a go and help confirm. But if you venture a comment like the above you ought to go have a look and a try and then you can level an opinion about what it is or isn't.

[@CrGorder]

I completely agree. Pamela is doing rad stuff. And yes, I haven't done the route. However, in all my years climbing, I can't seem to understand what the heck a "protection only" bolt is or how splitter crack is "psychological pro." I've climbed supercrack with one cam (and naked) but I wouldn't ever make the claim that it's a 70 foot run out. Or that the weight of underwear might cause the gear to rip. I guess my point is respect and accountability aren't mutually exclusive. We all have egos, we all fall in to traps. I'm not making a statement on anyone's character. I guess it's just some kind of check and balance. I hope if I ever start playing up the drama, someone tells me to knock it off.

[@brianpharder]

Good points. Unfortunately, the landscape of media surrounding climbing creates new and somewhat unfortunate tectonics that drive our narcissistic tendencies. I think it's the new reality and is completely unavoidable unless you shun social media completely. Add the fact that Pam is, well, a woman, doing what has long been a man's sport and the potential increases. If a little hyperbole drives up sponsor interest or simply amplifies your fan base then why not? But doing so will always risk inflaming those who disagree. And if you're gonna put yourself out there then you better be willing to suffer the slings and arrows that may come your way.

[@CrGorder]

I think you're right. The universal temptation of ego is only exacerbated by a climbing world (and the world in general) that is male dominated. There is understandably something extra to prove. And I have no way of knowing how I would react in that situation, so it's a bit troublesome for me to criticize. I guess at the end of the day, the people I look up to most are the humble ones. And while I do find this video theatrical and misleading to climbers who don't know better, it's more of a misguided outcry of frustration I feel with the way climbing is heading -- spray about everything you do to everyone you can. Like it's loosing it's soul. But then again, saying that classifies me as a crusty climber, who isn't even really old enough to be crusty. I

[@CrGorder]

Wait. Did we just have a civil disagreement in a youtube comment?

[@johnblack7862]

A couple of years later, two guys from Britain repeated this route, said the "death block" is fine, the inversion is unnecessary (you just lieback) and the crux isn't 5.13, more like 5.11. Hmm....

[@David-go4ot]

Such a bad ass

[@johny79action]

Holy smokes, this lady is lit.

[@hawktime]

Leading alpha female of crag climbing💪

[@MrNickjberry]

Definitely Definitely NOT hahaha

[@purplemonkeyelephant]

Alex Honnold climbed Freerider without the bolts. Good luck 😁

[@andrewmitchell5807]

Found the nonclimber

[@purplemonkeyelephant]

@@andrewmitchell5807 Found the guy that doesn't get a joke

[@purplemonkeyelephant]

She has to be Sasha Digulians mother!

[@bman6065]

Far from it

[@michalgoatfeet]

Hahaha down graded from .13R to .11-!! You soft Pamela

[@johnousley5475]

If you fall on this cam it could shift the block... (transition shot to power drilling new bolts in the exact same location)

[@matthewhuffine8286]

The bolt is on the wall off of the bloc. A cam could theoretically put force between the bloc and the continuous wall.

[@alecfinkski]

The bolt was on the wall, not the block!

[@matthewhuffine8286]

that's what I said.

[@69adrummer]

She is so stinking pretty!

[@giantrobot5804]

She made that ten times harder for herself by making it incredibly dramatic. I wonder if it was even necessary to pull off that move with the bolt she should have just moved down. Good route though

[@rknewell9547]

Giant Robot lots of experience sending high end off widths do ya? Armchair climbers ...... brave from a distance

[@EvanWisheropp]

Moved down? What do you mean?

[@scottmassey6948]

Nice try. Your post is totally unintelligible. And as a film critic you hopefully realize that the director’s vision is what creates the film? Not the actor’s... in this case it was the subject’s vision that made the route a reality, but the film was the creation of the film crew. Just in case you’re not sure how this stuff works...

[@abs-bu9uz]

@@rknewell9547 Well, given that someone's just climbed it without bolts or awkward inverted moves, I would say that he was right, no?

[@MrNickjberry]

@@rknewell9547 This route just got downgraded to 5.11- and her bolts chopped off because they were unecessary. So who is the ACTUAL armchair climber? YOU.

[@frspp]

No helmet :/

[@danneufeldphoto]

She took it off for a reason. If she had fallen while in the crack, her helmet could have got stuck just like the cams she's using. Safer without a helmet than with one in this case.

[@rushthezeppelin]

You really can't use a helmet in some offwidths. It just gets you stuck. Trust me I've been there and it sucks to realize it after the fact.

[@hadenhenha]

you lame dudes and your helmets... just shut up!!!

[@matthewstubbs6890]

Great send. Well done. The bolting for safety is not an issue for me but this is one more great video that I will not share with my wife and children. it is such a shame that for some reason we feel the need to to use profane language.

[@rushthezeppelin]

It's just words that express strong emotion. You only give it undue power by making it so taboo.

[@brianharder7714]

Ear muffs

[@bobrickleson2087]

lol "such a shame" bro shes climbing gnarly shit out in the desert. Get a GRIP!

[@McShag420]

no it's not, swearing is just extreme expression and honestly, if you can't deal with a few cuss words these days, the internet probably isn't the place for you, at all

[@wesNeill]

I think your wife is mature enough to handle it... Hopefully she is comfortable and strong in her morality. If so, she will be able to appreciate the video for what it is without approving of the foul language. Definitely wouldn't show it to my kids either, though (if I had any).