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Tony Yaniro

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American rock climber

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)

Tony Yaniro (also spelled as Toni Yaniro, born 1961 or 1962), 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 and describes himself as the "father of sport climbing'. 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.

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.

He popularized the statement: “If you can't do the moves, then there is nothing to endure.”

Background and climbing style

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

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. 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. 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. 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. It also helped propel Yaniro into becoming a pioneer hold creator and manufacturer.

Beyond hangdogging, Yaniro distinguished himself from traditionalists through gym training and preparing extensively in advance of his climbs, challenging the traditional climbing styles of the 1970s. At the time, training and gym workouts were untraditional for climbers, making Yaniro's approach stand out. 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.

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. 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. Afterwards, the move, and its association with Yaniro particularly became well known in rock climbing circles in France. Elsewhere, the move is more commonly known as a figure-four.

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. 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. Another technique of Yaniro's involved wedging one's head and closed fist together in a crack, to gain leverage to pull upwards.

While initially perceived as a rebel in the climbing community, over time, as his approach to training and climbing fitness became more recognized, he became recognized as a pioneer in the sport, especially for rehearsing difficult movements on routes before climbing them. 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.

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.

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. 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. Partially due to Yaniro's actions, the Bureau of Land Management developed their policies to manage sport climbing on national land.

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

During this time, Yaniro supported himself by shaping climbing holds for various companies, and eventually moved to Las Vegas to open a climbing gym. He became known for his innovative hand holds and later moved into designing climbing facilities, opening a gym in Prescott, Arizona. 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.

Personal life

Yaniro attended Pacific Union College as a biochemistry major from 1978 to 1981. He later took courses in pathology and biochemistry at Loma Linda University and worked for 12 years in hospital clinical pathology. After leaving school to concentrate on climbing, he returned to complete a doctorate in naturopathic medicine.

His wife Kathy, and daughter Dana are also climbers.

Notable climbs

  • Yosemite National Park: 1977 El Capitan Dorn Direct (5.9) Alien Finish (5.12b)
  • The Needles Kern River Domelands, The Emperor (aka Pea Soup) free climbed(5.12a), Titanic (5.12c) and The Nautilus (5.12) with Ron Carson, Pyromania (5.13b), Roadkill Corner (5.11c)
  • Joshua Tree: circa 1970s Little Hunk East: Monkey Business (5.8), Roofing Company (5.10a); 1980 Equinox (7c)
  • Lake Tahoe Sugarloaf: 1979 Grand Illusion (5.13b/c)
  • Suicide Rock: 1979 Race with the Devil (5.11d)
  • City of Rocks Idaho: 1988 The Heretic (5.13b), 1989 Technicon (5.11d)

Filmography

  • On the Rocks, 1985, Katie Johnston
  • Upward Bound, 1987, Roger Seiler
  • To The Limit, 1989, IMAX documentary by Greg MacGillivray
  • Masters of Stone I, 1991 by Eric Perlman
  • Fingers of Steel, 1997, Steve Petro
  • Rock Climbing, 1998, Michael and Diana Graber

References

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  13. Flamant, Frederic (2017). La plus belle escalade du monde (in French). PAULSEN. p. 124. ISBN 978-2-35221-157-0. lui permettra de réaliser un chef-d'œuvre : Grande Illusion sur la falaise de Surgarloaf près de Lake Tahoe, la première 8ème degré.
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  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 develop training programs for specific routes - a practice that is commonplace today but drew criticism in the '70s.
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  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.
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