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Tony Yaniro

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Tony Yaniro (also spelled as Toni Yaniro, born 1961 or 1962),[citation needed] is an American professional rock climber known for his unique climbing style signature move, the "Yaniro" and for being the first-ever person to redpoint an 8a (5.13b) graded rock climbing route. He has been called one of the founders of modern climbing training[1] and describes himself as the "father of sport climbing'.[2] He has made a number of first ascents across difficult routes in the United States and is known for being a pioneer in hand grip development.

Tony Yaniro
Climbing career
Type of climbercrack, boulder and sport climber
Known forFirst ascent of Grand Illusion (1979), the "Yaniro" signature move, hand hold shaper and manufacturer
First ascentsThe Pirate (1978), Alien (1980)

His approach to cross training and circuit training to train muscle groups for climbers has had a wide resonance beyond developing sport climbers. His training regimes have been used to develop climbing fitness and endurance in all types of climbers, and have been used by some of the world's leading alpinists and high-altitude mountaineers.[3][4]

He popularized the statement: “If you can’t do the moves, then there is nothing to endure.”[5][6]

Background and climbing style

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Tony Yaniro grew up in California and began climbing at age 11 when he discovered the sport at summer camp.[7][8] In 1974, he made a free ascent up to the first pitch of Anti-Jello Crack (5.10a)[9] and soon would gain notoriety for outclimbing veteran climbers at Suicide Rock.[10] At 16 in 1978, Yaniro free climbed The Pirate (5.12d).[11]

 
Suicide Rock, where Yaniro first gained recognition for his climbing

In 1979, he was the first-ever climber to climb a route graded 8a (5.13b) with Grand Illusion, near South Lake Tahoe.[12][13] It was considered the most difficult climbing route in the world at the time. To summit Grand Illusion, Yaniro made several visits to the site, discretely climbing up and dangling on the top rope, feeling and memorizing the different hand holds that would be necessary to climb the rock. The practice, known as hangdogging, was considered scandalous, against climbing ethics.[14] He then made a replica of the crack at home and practiced, building the muscle groups needed to be able to achieve a successful climb. After successfully climbing Grand Illusion, Yaniro's use of hangdogging and practicing at home received criticism from the climbing community.[15] Over time, perception to the climb changed. It would take years before the climbing community saw the technique as groundbreaking, leading to a shift towards practicing on replica hand holds, improving access to new routes and leading to greater improvements in rock climbing.[10] It also helped propel Yaniro into becoming a pioneer hold creator and manufacturer.

Beyond hangdogging, Yaniro distinguished himself from traditionalists through gym training and and preparing extensively in advance of his climbs,[16][17] challenging the traditional climbing styles of the 1970s.[18] At the time, training and gym workouts were untraditional for climbers, making Yaniro's approach stand out.[19] His preparation training contributed to the development of his innovative climbing style, allowing him to hone moves that were used by few others at the time, such as the "Yaniro"/figure-four.[20][21]

 
An example of a "Figure-four" or "Yaniro" technique while dry-tooling.

The "Yaniro", is a climbing move that entails placing one leg above one's opposite elbow to reach a distant handhold.[22] It is a useful technique in situations when there is a lack of obvious foot holds, while wearing crampons or when ice climbing and you have only small holds available. It is claimed that the technique was originally performed by Patrick Berhault while traversing La Loubière in 1979. Yaniro popularized the move when he used it on the ascent of Chouca (8a+) in Buoux in the late 1980s at the suggestion of Darius Azin.[23] Afterwards, the move, and its association with Yaniro particularly became well known in rock climbing circles in France.[24] Elsewhere, the move is more commonly known as a figure-four.[24]

In the 1980s, Yaniro and fellow climber Randy Leavitt found an empty parking structure outside of Los Angeles which they used as a makeshift climbing lab to test out new moves and build up their skills prior to climbs.[25] It was in the parking structure gym that Yaniro and Leavitt developed the "Leavittation" a climbing move that involved using a lower limb to gain leverage to climb a horizontal off-width.[26][27] Another technique of Yaniro's involved wedging one's head and closed fist together in a crack, to gain leverage to pull upwards.[28]

While initially perceived as a rebel in the climbing community, over time, as his approach to training and climbing fitness became more recognized,[29] he became recognized as a pioneer in the sport, especially for rehearsing difficult movements on routes before climbing them.[30] In the late 1980s he followed his successful approach to climbing Grand Illusion to prepare for climbing Scarface (5.14a) by making hand hold molds out of tinfoil to model the grips he would need to master.[31]

 
Leslie Gulch, Oregon, where Yaniro would leave a big impression and create many new routes


In 1989, he was featured in "To the Limit" an IMAX documentary film by Greg MacGillivray. The film showcases the physiological effects on the human body by action sports athletes. Yaniro is shown climbing El Capitan in the film.[32]

In the early 1990s, Yaniro sold his home and purchased a Winnebago motorhome to travel the country and climb everywhere he could. He attached a foldable climbing wall to the back of the vehicle, allowing him to train on the go.[33] One of the locations he visited for climbing was Oregon's Leslie Gulch, where Yaniro and Tedd Thompson created routes, put up new lines and chipped out holds on the rock face of The Einstein, creating an outdoor climbing gym.[34] Partially due to Yaniro's actions, the Bureau of Land Management developed their policies to manage sport climbing on national land.[34]

He also participated in competitions, placing 52nd in the Climbing World Cup in Nuremberg in 1993.[35]

During this time, Yaniro supported himself by shaping climbing holds for various companies, and eventually moved to Las Vegas to open a climbing gym.[33] He became known for his innovative hand holds and later moved into designing climbing facilities, opening a gym in Prescott, Arizona.[19][2] His early hand hold designs, such as the "Yaniro System" have been in production for over thirty years and continues to be used to train sport climbers.[36]

His wife Kathy, and daughter Dana are also climbers.[37]

Notable climbs

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Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ sky1tech (September 30, 2013). "Power Training Through Campusing". Touchstone Climbing. Retrieved July 13, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b "Gripstone Climbing - Prescott Arizona Rock Climbing Gym". Gripstone Climbing. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  3. ^ Dressel, Mallane (May 8, 2014). "'New Alpinism' promotes cross training regimen for climbing success". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "Wall Warriors! A history of training for climbing". www.ukclimbing.com. January 26, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  5. ^ ""The Making of a 'Rockprodigy'"". The Rock Climber's Training Manual. December 11, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  6. ^ "Fundamentals of Endurance - Climb Strong". https://www.climbstrong.com/. Retrieved July 13, 2024. {{cite web}}: External link in |website= (help)
  7. ^ "Toni Yaniro – Club d'escalade Avranches, Sartilly, Ducey" (in French). Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  8. ^ Kroese, Mark (2001). Fifty Favorite Climbs. The Mountaineers Books. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-89886-728-2. Tony Yaniro started rock-climbing in the early '70s
  9. ^ "Rock Climb Anti-Jello Crack, Southern Sierra - The Needles, Kern River, Domelands, etc". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Sugarloaf's Grand Illusion, Revealed". Tahoe Quarterly. July 26, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  11. ^ "The Pirate : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  12. ^ Troussier, Marco (2012). Abécédaire de l'Escalade (in French). Abondance: Ibex Books. p. 177. ISBN 979-10-90013-17-9. Yaniro fut un grimpeur emblématique des années soixante-dix et quatre-vingts, on le crédite même du parcours du premiert 8a jamais gravi.
  13. ^ Flamant, Frederic (2017). La plus belle escalade du monde (in French). PAULSEN. p. 124. ISBN 978-2-35221-157-0. lui permettra [à Yaniro] de réaliser un chef-d'œuvre : Grande Illusion sur la falaise de Surgarloaf près de Lake Tahoe, la première 8ème degré.
  14. ^ "Hangdog Days : Articles : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  15. ^ "Toni Yaniro". grimpavranches.com (in French). Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  16. ^ Flamant, Frederic (2017). La plus belle escalade du monde (in French). PAULSEN. p. 124. ISBN 978-2-35221-157-0. Yaniro utilise une méthode qui provoque quelques froncements de sourcils chez ses contemporains : il parcourt d'abord à la descente en rappel l'itinéraire convoité, posant à l'avance tous les pitons dont il a besoin pour sa sécurité. Toujours pendu à la corde, et débarrassé de toute appréhension de la chute, il essaye à de nombreuses reprises les pas les plus difficiles de la voie. Une fois les difficultés surmontées, une à une, il grimpe enfin depuis le bas.
  17. ^ Gardien, Claude (2018). Les nouveaux alpinistes (in French). Glénat. p. 264. ISBN 978-2-8233-0120-5. Il s'assure sur coinceurs [...] dans sa voie Grand Illusion, à Suger Loaf, en 1979. Le premier 8a de l'histoire
  18. ^ Kroese, Mark (2001). Fifty Favorite Climbs. The Mountaineers Books. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-89886-728-2. The compact Californian was one of the first to develp training programs for specific routes - a practice that is commonplace today but drew criticism in the '70s.
  19. ^ a b "Thundercling Episode 15: Tony Yaniro — An American Pioneer". www.thundercling.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  20. ^ "E LEXIQUE DU GRIMPEUR !". ffcam.fr (in French). Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  21. ^ Romain Desgranges (2020). Solide ! (in French). Edition Paulsen. p. 247. ISBN 9782352213178. Yaniro : même s'il porte le nom du grimpeur américain Tonny Yaniro, la légende veut que ce soit Patrick Berhault qui en fut l'inventeur.
  22. ^ "The formative years of cutting edge rock climbing". Levatić Climbing. February 20, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  23. ^ "Marc Le Menestrel : Chouca, 8a+, Buoux, août 1985". Kairn (in French). October 9, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  24. ^ a b "Dry-Tooling, Figure 4, Yaniro". Gaëtan RAYMOND (in French). February 6, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2024. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[better source needed]
  25. ^ "Tony Yaniro — Podcast Episodes". Climbing Gold. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  26. ^ Cheng, Derek (January 10, 2018). "Leavittation – the origins of hand-stacking". Derek Cheng Media. Retrieved July 13, 2024.[self-published source]
  27. ^ "Randy Leavitt". www.maximropes.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  28. ^ Flamant, Frederic (2017). La plus belle escalade du monde (in French). PAULSEN. p. 124. ISBN 978-2-35221-157-0. Yaniro expérimente les mouvements les plus incongrus pour venir à bout de difficultés inédites. Son nom reste attaché à une manœuvre destinée à attraper une prise éloignée sans avoir recours à un "jeté" aléatoire : le corps est penché en arrière le pied monte très haut pour pouvoir passer par-dessus le bras qui tient la prise disponible. Le grimpeur enjambe ainsi son propre bras, y transfert l'intégralité de son poids. Assis sur la saignée du coude, il peut de sa main libre attraper une prise éloignée [...] Yaniro invente une autre manœuvre moins connue parce qu'elle n'a pas fait autant d'émules, et pour cause : il coince dans la fissure sa tête et son poing côte à côte.
  29. ^ Moffatt, Jerry (2011). Jerry Moffatt. Vertebrate Publishing. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-906148-40-9. The American, Tony Yaniro, was famous as training fiend and was ahead of his time in many ways.
  30. ^ Kroese, Mark (2001). Fifty Favorite Climbs. The Mountaineers Books. p. 217. ISBN 978-0-89886-728-2. In 1988, Yaniro's ways were vindicated when the French brought what we know as sport climbing to the United States. The country's first organized competition at Snowbird, Utah, was the turning point in the great debate.
  31. ^ Weidner, Heather (April 7, 2022). "Use This Training Program To Send Your Hardest Route Ever". Climbing. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  32. ^ a b To the limit at IMDb  
  33. ^ a b "Tony Yaniro's Legendary Homewall on Wheels | Homewaller". November 16, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  34. ^ a b Heller, Brad (September 27, 2016). "Leslie Gulch's Controversial Route-Building Laboratory". Climbing. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  35. ^ "Classement coupe 1993". digitalrock.de. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  36. ^ "Bolt-On Climbing Wall Holds | Yaniro System Climbing Holds". Atomik Climbing Holds. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  37. ^ "Toni Yaniro – Club d'escalade Avranches, Sartilly, Ducey" (in French). Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  38. ^ "El Capitan : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  39. ^ "Rock Climb Alien Finish, Yosemite National Park". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  40. ^ "The Needles : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  41. ^ "Rock Climb The Titanic, Southern Sierra - The Needles, Kern River, Domelands, etc". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  42. ^ "Rock Climb The Nautilus, Southern Sierra - The Needles, Kern River, Domelands, etc". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  43. ^ "Rock Climb Pyromania, Southern Sierra - The Needles, Kern River, Domelands, etc". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  44. ^ "Rock Climb Roadkill Corner, Southern Sierra - The Needles, Kern River, Domelands, etc". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  45. ^ "Little Hunk East, 5.7-5.10d : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost". www.summitpost.org. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  46. ^ a b "Performances de Toni Yaniro". climbingaway.fr. Retrieved 7 décembre 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  47. ^ "Rock Climb Grand Illusion, Lake Tahoe". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  48. ^ "Rock Climb Race With The Devil, Tahquitz & Suicide Rocks". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  49. ^ "Rock Climb The Heretic, City of Rocks". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  50. ^ "Rock Climb Technicon, City of Rocks". Mountain Project. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  51. ^ "On the rocks (1985) - MNTNFILM". www.mntnfilm.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  52. ^ "Upward Bound (1987) - MNTNFILM". www.mntnfilm.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  53. ^ "HE'S NOT JUST HANGING AROUND; HE'S TAKING IT TO THE LIMIT". scholar.lib.vt.edu. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  54. ^ Perlman, Eric (January 1, 1991), Masters of Stone I (Documentary, Sport), John Bachar, Peter Croft, Dave Hatchett, Eric Perlman Productions, retrieved July 13, 2024
  55. ^ "Fingers of steel (1997) - MNTNFILM". www.mntnfilm.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  56. ^ "Rock climbing (1998) - MNTNFILM". www.mntnfilm.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
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