{{short description|Traditional climbing route in the USA}} {{italic title}} {{Infobox climbing route | name = Separate Reality | photo = | photo_caption = | location = [[California]], United States | map = California | map_width = 220 | map_caption = Map showing the approximate location of ''Separate Reality'' | coords = {{coord|37|43|21|N|119|34|53|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title, inline}} | climbing_area = [[Yosemite Valley]] | rock_type=[[Granite]] | route_type = {{plainlist| *[[Traditional climbing]] *[[Crack climbing]]}} | vertical_gain = {{Convert|20|m|ft|adj=off}} | pitches = 1 | rating= {{climbing grade|5.12a}} | ffa = [[Ron Kauk]] (1978) | fffa = {{ill|Louise Shepherd|de}} (1981) | ffsa = [[Wolfgang Güllich]] (1986) | first_onsight_flash_ascent = {{ill|Louise Shepherd|de}} (1981) }} '''''Separate Reality''''' is a {{Convert|66|ft|m|adj=on}} [[traditional climbing]] route in [[Yosemite National Park]] in [[California]]. The route is known for its exposed and dramatic [[Crux (climbing)|crux]] that consists of a {{Convert|20|ft|m|adj=on}} long crack in its [[Overhang (climbing)|horizontal roof]]. When it was first free-climbed by [[Ron Kauk]] in 1978, it was one of the [[List of first ascents (sport climbing)#Redpointed by men|first climbs in the world]] to have a grade of {{climbing grade|7a+}} (it was temporarily downgraded one notch when a hold broke in the mid-1980s). In 1986, German climber [[Wolfgang Güllich]] [[free solo]]ed the route, and the photographs by Austrian {{ill|Heinz Zak|de}} became iconic in rock climbing history.<ref name=PM10>{{cite web | title=Wolfgang Güllich, Separate Reality, Yosemite | first=N. |last=N. | date=9 June 2005 | accessdate=23 July 2025| website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/heinz-zak-solos-yosemites-separate-reality/44309}}</ref><ref name=CL4/>
==History==
The route was first [[redpoint (climbing)|redpointed]] by [[Ron Kauk]] in 1978 and given a [[Grade (climbing)|difficulty grade]] of {{climbing grade|5.12a|}}; it was temporarily downgraded to {{climbing grade|5.11d|}} when a block fell off near the lip, sometime in the mid-1980s,<ref name=A1/> exposing a new handhold (but is today graded at 5.12a).<ref name=A1/><ref name=CL3/>
At the time of Kauk's ascent, it was one of the [[List of first ascents (sport climbing)#Redpointed by men|first climbs in the world]] to have a grade of {{climbing grade|5.12a|}}.<ref name=CL3/> Kauk named the route after the 1971 novel ''[[A Separate Reality]]'' by [[Carlos Castaneda]].<ref name=GR1/> Kauk's partner, Lucy Parker, told ''[[Alpinist (magazine)|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".<ref>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Alpinist (magazine)|Alpinist]] | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web19s/wfeature-a66-magic-line-lonnie-kauk | title=Magic Line | first1=Lonnie |last1=Kauk | first2=Paula |last2=Wright | date=May 2019 | issue=66}}</ref>
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''.<ref name=PMJ/><ref name=A1/> In 1981, visiting Australian climber {{ill|Louise Shepherd|de}}, made the [[first female free ascent]] of the route, climbing it [[onsight]] with no falls.<ref name=UKC10/><ref name=HZ/>
In 1986, inspired by the photo of Jardine,<ref name=PMHZ2/> [[Wolfgang Güllich]] traveled to Yosemite, with Austrian photographer and climber {{ill|Heinz Zak|de}}, and made the first [[Free solo climbing|free solo]] of ''Separate Reality''.<ref name=PMHZ/><ref name=GR1/> Güllich's 1986 free solo has since become an iconic feat in climbing history,<ref name=PM10/><ref name=CFS/> and was listed on Red Bull's "10 Most Epic Free Solo Climbs".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.redbull.com/us-en/10-most-epic-free-solo-climbs |title=These 10 unreal free solo climbs will wow you |last=Grey |first=Will |date=23 October 2017 |website=Red Bull | accessdate=5 February 2023}}</ref> 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."<ref name=TH>{{cite book | title=Wolfgang Gullich: A Life in the Vertical | first=Tilmann | last=Hepp | date=1994 | publisher=Boulder | isbn=9781871890686}}</ref>
In 2005, 19 years later, Heinz Zak made the second free solo of the route.<ref name=PMHZ2/> 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.<ref name=PMHZ/> To prepare for the free solo, Zak had built a wooden model in his garage.<ref name=PMHZ/> His 2005 free solo was made into a 2017 short climbing film, ''Träume sterben nie'' (translated as ''Dreams never die'').<ref name=PMHZ/>
In 2006, [[Dean Potter]] completed the first of five free solos he would make of ''Separate Reality''.<ref name=CL4/><ref name=CL7/>
==Notable ascents==
===Redpoint=== * 1978. [[Ron Kauk]], [[first free ascent]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Wright |first=Paula |title=Magic Line |magazine=[[Alpinist (magazine)|Alpinist]] |location=Carbondale, Colorado |publisher=Height of Land Publications |date=2019 |issue=66 |pages=52–61}}</ref>
* 1979. [[Ray Jardine]], second free ascent.<ref name=PMJ>{{cite web |url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/ray-jardine-friends-a-teacup-and-a-blue-bag.html |title=Ray Jardine's Friends, a teacup and a blue bag |last=Oviglia |first=Maurizio |date=11 July 2016 |website=PlanetMountain | accessdate=5 February 2023}}</ref><ref name=A1>{{cite magazine | magazine=[[Alpinist (magazine)|Alpinist]] | title=Yosemite Dreams | date=December 2021 | first=Derek | last=Franz | issue=76}}</ref>
* 1981. {{ill|Louise Shepherd|de}}, [[first female free ascent]] (and first [[onsight]]).<ref name=UKC10>{{cite web | magazine=UKClimbing | title=Andy Pollitt and Louise Shepherd Interview | date=10 May 2018 | first=Andy | last=Pollitt | author-link=Andy Pollitt | url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/andy_pollitt_and_louise_shepherd-10558 | accessdate=18 September 2023}}</ref><ref name=HZ>{{cite book | title=Rock Stars: World's Best Free Climbers | first=Heinz | last=Zak | date=1997 | page=45 | isbn=978-3763370443 | publisher=Cordee | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfCBAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Louise+Shepherd%22+%22Separate+Reality%22 | accessdate=18 September 2023}}</ref>
===Free solo===
* 1986. [[Wolfgang Güllich]], first [[free solo]]; photograph by {{ill|Heinz Zak|de}} became iconic.<ref name=GR1>{{cite web | magazine=Gripped Magazine | url=https://gripped.com/news/watch-free-solo-of-europes-separate-reality-legoland-5-12/ | date=18 September 2020 | accessdate=5 February 2023 | title=Watch Free-Solo of "Europe's Separate Reality" Legoland 5.12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/remembering-wolfgang-gullich-one-of-greatest-climbers-of-all-times.html |title=Remembering Wolfgang Güllich, one of greatest climbers of all times |last=Hobley |first=Nicholas |date=August 31, 2022 |website=Planet Mountain}}</ref><ref name=CFS>{{cite web | magazine=[[Climbing (magazine)|Climbing]] | url=https://www.climbing.com/people/free-solo-rock-climbing-alex-honnold-history/ | title=Free Solo Rock Climbing and the Climbers Who Have Defined the Sport | first=Alison | last=Osius | date=4 June 2022 | accessdate=26 November 2022}}</ref>
* 2005. {{ill|Heinz Zak|de}}, second [[free solo]].<ref name=PMHZ2>{{cite web|website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/heinz-zak-solos-yosemites-separate-reality.html|title=Heinz Zak solos Yosemite's Separate Reality | date=9 June 2005 | accessdate=5 February 2023}}</ref><ref name=PMHZ>{{cite web|website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/heinz-zak-separate-reality-the-film-of-his-yosemite-free-solo.html|title=Heinz Zak & Separate Reality - the film of his Yosemite free solo | date=22 March 2017 | accessdate=5 February 2023}}</ref><ref name=CFS/>
* 2006. [[Dean Potter]], third [[free solo]] (Potter would go on to free solo the route five times in total).<ref name=CL4>{{cite web | magazine=[[Climbing (magazine)|Climbing]] | url=https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/dean-potter-free-solos-separate-reality-and-a-dogs-roof/ | title=Dean Potter Free Solos Separate Reality and A Dog's Roof | first=Jeff | last=Jackson | date=17 August 2017 | accessdate=5 February 2023}}</ref><ref name=CL7>{{cite web | magazine=[[Climbing (magazine) | Climbing]] | url=https://www.climbing.com/people/dean-potter-soloist-wingsuit-flyer-base-jumper-out-of-the-box-thinker/ | title=Dean Potter, Soloist, Wingsuit Flyer, BASE Jumper, Out Of The Box Thinker | first=Owen | last=Clarke | date=3 May 2022 | accessdate=5 February 2023}}</ref>
* Others who have free soloed ''Separate Reality'' include American climber [[Alex Honnold]],<ref name=CL3>{{cite web |url=https://www.climbing.com/news/yosemites-wild-days/ |title=Yosemite's Wild Days (in Pictures) |magazine=[[Climbing (magazine) | Climbing Magazine]] |date=1 March 2022 | accessdate=5 February 2022}}</ref> and Canadian climber [[Will Stanhope]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gripped.com/profiles/watch-heinz-zak-solo-separate-reality-5-12-yosemite/ |title=Watch Heinz Zak Solo Separate Reality 5.12 in Yosemite |website=Gripped Magazine |date=March 23, 2017}}</ref>
==See also== *''[[The Nose (El Capitan)]]'', a {{climbing grade|5.14a}} route in Yosemite *''[[Salathé Wall]]'', a {{climbing grade|5.13}} route in Yosemite *''[[Silence (climb)|Silence]]'', first climb in the world with a potential grade of {{Climbing grade|9c}} *''[[Jumbo Love]]'', first climb in the world with a consensus grade of {{Climbing grade|9b}} *''[[Realization (climb)|Realization/Biographie]]'', first/second climb in the world with a consensus grade of {{Climbing grade|9a+}} *''[[Action Directe (climb)|Action Directe]]'', first climb in the world with a consensus grade of {{Climbing grade|9a}} *''[[Hubble (climb)|Hubble]]'', first climb in the world with a consensus grade of {{climbing grade|8c+}}
== References== <references />
== External links == * [https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/united-states/yosemite-national-park/route/20666677 Separate Reality], ''theCrag'' (2023) * [https://gripped.com/news/watch-free-solo-of-europes-separate-reality-legoland-5-12/ VIDEO:Heinz Zak's Film on Separate Reality], ''Gripped Magazine'' (September 2020) * [https://www.mntnfilm.com/en/p/map-search/climb:separate-reality Films featuring Separate Reality], Mountain Film Database (MNTNFILM, 2023) * [https://hardclimbs.info/climbs/separate-reality/ Separate Reality: The World's Most Iconic Roof Climb], ''HardClimbs'' (2024)
{{Yosemite National Park}} <!-- {{Coord|NS=|EW=|type=landmark|region=US-CA|elevation=|dim=50}} --> [[Category:Traditional climbing routes]] [[Category:Rock formations of California]] [[Category:Yosemite National Park]]