How long would it take to climb a rock wall?

[Jenny]

I am a complete newbie, so please forgive my ignorance. I am writing a book, and I want my heroine, who is injured, to climb up a mountain face. The rock wall would have crevices/hand holds, and she is using no equipment. How high would the wall be if it took her about an hour to climb it? She's a decent climb, but again, she's injured so climbing is difficult for her. Any thoughts??

[iclimb2improve]

It really depends on how she is injured, the difficulty of climb, and how fast she could climb. An experienced and climber like Alex Honnold, managed to free solo (climbing without the use of ropes) Half Dome (2000 feet of climbing) in about an hour and half whereas many climbers take days to ascend the route with gear. He also was not injured and had climbing shoes as well, which I have no idea if your protagonist will.

The severity of the injury also matters because it will affect how fast she can climb and how strong she is. If she wound up injuring her ankle or knee for example, it could hurt her climbing immensely if she heavily relied on her technique (since using your feet is extremely important in rock climbing). I wound up injuring my hamstring (grade 2 strain) earlier this year and it severely affected my own climbing. I had a hard time walking for a week or two not even considering climbing, and when I came back I was climbing at least a number grade lower in the gym with some pain in the hamstring.

Also the difficulty and the speed she can climb really effects if how long it could take her to climb the face. If the route is fairly difficult, she will probably need to spend a good amount of time resting on the route to push through the more difficult sections therefore making the ascent longer than if it was what they call a jug haul where all of the holds are really good so it wouldn't be as difficult.

Lastly, I suppose the best way to tell what your heroine would go through is by actually trying it yourself (or timing someone else that you consider to be a good climber). Have either yourself or that person jump on a route at a nearby crag or at the climbing gym, have them climb like the injured protagonist, and time them. For example, if their foot is injured, have them try climbing without using that foot or find another way to simulate their wound. I think this approach might be the best way for you to convey how the climber deals with the climb, since you would have first hand experience with some of the difficulties she could face.

[iclimb2improve]

Also, I forgot to mention, the quality of the rock matters as well since she is not using any a protective equipment. If the rock is "chossy", it could be extremely dirty and weak rock (could break) which also factors into how fast she could climb in that situation. I know when I've climbed outside on some sketchy rock, I've climbed much slower than I normally do since nothing is much scarier than pulling off a giant slab of rock and falling.

[Chris W]

Jenny, you could make it take as long as you wish, but if she is a total newbie, I would expect a long time + fear and trembling. I had a climb totally rehearsed and memorized for the fall, climbed with a purpose, and did 60-70 feet in about 5 minutes (I think)

[Jenny]

Thanks for your help. I had a height in mind, but just wanted to make sure I was in the ballpark! You don't realize how much random knowledge you need when you start writing fiction! Appreciate your input.

[MarkAnderson]

You guys are crazy fast! It took me just under 6 weeks to climb a 35-foot cliff in Clear Creek last winter.  But that's nothing.  It took me 2 years to climb Scarface, but at least that's a good 115 feet. 

[jessebruni]

It seems to me if you're going to make something unrealistic (injured climber free-soloing for an hour), you might as well make it REALLY unrealistic (injured climber free-soloing the Nose of El Cap in an hour).