This took place last May. The original plan was to do the Muir Wall. We ended up spending 4 days climbing the lower part of the Muir Wall and then swung over to the Nose under the Great Roof. “The Triple Indirect”. We had some excellent weather and didn’t have to deal with any other climbers basically the whole time. A grand occasion.
The East Ledges descent is the quickest way to get down off the top of El Cap.
We were sitting under the rainfly on the summit trying to wait out the rain, and decided we were just going to get colder if we didn’t start moving.
Climbing from Camp 6 to the top. Once again narrowly avoiding getting rained on while we were climbing.
The pictures are from our third and final night up there.
Currently it is the 3rd week in October and I have been living in the area since May 19th. There haven’t been more than 6 days that saw considerable rain during that time frame. Somehow we managed to be on El Cap for 3 of them.
The climbing on day 3.
Started out at Camp 4 and ended up at Camp 6.
4 days and 3 nights at the end of September.
These pictures are from the first 2 days.
The photos of us on the wall are courtesy of Tom Evans at www.elcapreport.com.
Big thanks to Richard for being such a cool dude and great climbing partner.
Last week Richard and I climbed The Prow on Washington Column. This was the first time I had ever slept in a portaledge and the first time I have ever done a route where you have to haul all your gear up with you.
The route is steep and exposed, tall compared to the rest of the planet but a short wall by Yosemite Valley standards.
Props to Richard for swinging leads with me, all his help with rope management and hauling, and his easy-going attitude.
The plan was to do it in a day.
We left the apartment at 4:30am on Tuesday and got back at 3:00pm on Wednesday.
From the route description on Mountain Project:
The Steck-Salathe truly deserves its status as one of the “Fifty Classic Climbs of North America”. Everything from the climbing itself to the many stories of adventure had on the north face of the Sentinel makes this climb a must-do for any aspiring Valley climber — if not a route to be repeated again and again, it certainly should at least be seen as a rite of passage. The climb’s reputation for being long, wide, and physical is well deserved, but the quality of that climbing, the position one achieves, and the overall sense of adventure the route offers should not be understated.
Big ups to my roommate and friend Stewart Williams for being such a baller.
The first day of my life climbing on El Capitan. Perfect weather. Thrutched my way up the first two pitches of Zodiac by myself.
Featuring maneuvers such as cam hooking, a horizontal roof section, many many offset cam placements, and even a bit of free climbing!
Cole and I climbed Moonlight Buttress. This involved a day to climb the first several pitches, a rest day, and then we did the route in a day. I don’t have pictures from the ascent day because my camera broke on this trip (again).
A chap by the name of Alex Honnold got famous by climbing this route without a rope in a little over two hours on April 1, 2008.
How I spent my birthday. Took the alternate route completely bypassing the 2nd and most of the 3rd pitch. Some of my proudest climbing ever.
You wake up in the morning hundreds of feet above the valley floor. Your day will consist of climbing. Your decision making energy is entirely directed towards climbing. For a brief period of time it is a simpler existence that reminds me of a main reason why I enjoy bike touring so much. Your objectives are clear.
Finally the weather cleared and we headed out with our German friends Simon and Lawrence, to climb Washington Column.
I got to lead a pitch of 5.10 to skip a bit of a line that had formed at the second pitch. Definitely felt adventurous. I also did my first ever pitch of aid climbing in a pretty epic setting.
It was awesome to be climbing with Cole, who has quite a bit more big wall experience and the patience to teach the rest of us goobers.
