The big news in the Valley this year was once again the freeing of big wall routes, specifically on El Capitan. While this activity has become more popular, the usual suspects are at the forefront. First, Yuji Hirayama continued his quest to be the first person to onsight one of the big free climbs. He’s onsighted 5.13 on Washington Column and Sentinel Rock, but never a complete route on El Cap. Hirayama tried to onsight the Salathé in 1998, but ended up taking three total falls. This year he attempted El Niño (30 pitches, 5.13c or 5.14a, 2 total falls, fifth ascent, five days) and Golden Gate (41 pitches, 5.13b, 3 total falls, third ascent, two days) and once again fell just short of the onsight, but did complete the free ascents of both routes. The one route that eluded Hirayama’s free attempts was Lurking Fear. The crux slab pitches have baffled all but Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden. Hirayama had to be satisfied with the speed record on Lurking Fear. Climbing with Nick Fowler, he led the entire route and they topped out in 3h04m. Hirayama used short-fixing techniques like most aid speed climbs, but he’d then free climb mid-5.12 cracks with sixty feet of slack. He didn’t self-belay at all, save for the short-fixed rope. Hirayama brought no piece larger than hand-sized and led the notorious 100-foot fist crack without a single piece of gear.
The Huber brothers were once again pushing the boundaries with their visionary effort to free the Zodiac – the first radically steep route on El Cap to go free. It didn’t fall easily, though, as the Hubers worked on it all spring without success. They had freed all the moves, knew it would go free, but the brutal Valley heat shut them down. Like Yuji, they consoled themselves with the speed record on the route, continuing the trend of cutting edge free climbing used annihilate previous marks using primarily aid techniques. They pushed the boundaries further than Hirayama and Fowler by constant use of short fixing techniques. As soon as the second arrived at the short-fixed anchor the leader would immediately short-fix the rope again, no matter where he was, frequently using a single piece of protection as the short anchor. So now 5.13 free climbing has been combined with radically dangerous aid techniques. Using these methods and their intimate knowledge of the route, they first climbed the route in 4h07m. Not satisfied with that, they went back and climbed it in 3h08m. Of course they couldn’t leave the three-hour mark unbroken after coming so tantalizingly close, so they tidied things up a bit to 2h31m20s, completing the fastest ascent of any grade VI route on El Cap.
The Hubers returned in October to complete the continuous free ascent over a 68-hour stretch – so long due to more temperature problems. The crux Gray Circle went at 5.13d. A number of variations were used including the start, which doesn’t really join the route until the sixth pitch. This leads one to wonder what it means to free a route and where the true free crux of the Zodiac lies (hint: it’s within the first six pitches.) Their route should be known as the Free Zodiac like the free variations to the Nose and the Salathé.
Tommy Caldwell, still very interested in freeing Yosemite big walls, had two impressive ticks in 2003. Climbing with his wife, Beth Rodden, he freed every pitch on the West Buttress of El Cap, though not in a single push. Matt Wilder had previously freed all but one pitch and had, according to Caldwell, already freed the hardest pitch at 5.13c. Rodden was stopped just short of the all-free ascent by one of those pesky offwidths, this one at 5.12c. Caldwell, climbing with Topher Donahue, also nabbed the second (or is it third, if we count Alex and Thomas separately?) free ascent of the Zodiac shortly after the Hubers.
Jim Herson finally consummated his multiple-year love affair, some would say obsession, with the Salathé Wall. After numerous attempts with various partners, Herson became only the fifth person to free the entire route. While he did have to break up the headwall into three pitches, ala Skinner/Piana, he became the first and only person to lead the crux 5.13c 19th pitch in a single go. All other free ascents either broke up this pitch or avoided it completely via the Bermuda Dunes’ offwidths.
Half Dome
saw more free attention this year and the original 5.11d rating for the ZigZags
is apparently a sandbag. First, Micah Dash and David Bloom made possibly the
first all free (entire team) one-day ascent. Dash rated the last ZigZag pitch
at 5.12b/c or “Boulder Canyon 13b.” Potter reportedly called the pitch
5.12d/5.13a. Dash and Bloom climbed the Higbee Hedral (5.12a) to bypass the
bolt ladder and pendulum comprising the Robbins Traverse.
Then in October two
young Slovenian climbers, Matjaz Jeran and Miha Valic, repeated the feat and
rated the route 5.12b. These two went on to free Freerider (5.12d/13a) as well.
Not a bad trip for the first-time crack climbers.
El Nino,
the Huber’s free variation to the North American Wall, saw some attention
besides Hirayama’s previously mentioned ascent, and a change in the rating. A
broken hold on one of the upper pitches turned it into the new crux and Iker
Pou first free climbed it at 5.14a, while sending the rest of the route free.
Steve Schneider and Brian Cork, with support from Schneider’s wife Heather
Baer, also freed the route, using a new 4-pitch 5.13a variation around the
upper troublesome pitch.
Nick
Martino continued his impressive speed climbing from last year. With Ranon Ousturk, he joined the elite
group of people to link the Nose and the Northwest Face of Half Dome in less
than 24 hours. Ammon McNeely and Ben Vander Klooster broke the speed record on
Wet Denim Daydream on the west face of the Leaning Tower. They did the A4 route
in 5h6m40s, onsight, and car to car in 8 hours.
New routes this year included Nick Fowler’s Hard Farm Labor (IV, 5.12?). This eight-pitch route left of the Rostrum hasn’t gone free via the original line, but James Adamson freed a variation to the sixth pitch and that line goes free at 5.11c. Adamson called the route “a real gift.”
Eric Kohl was once again solo, once again on the Falls Wall (in the autumn, when the Yosemite Falls is dry), and, once again, rated the route PDK (Pretty Damn Klaus). Does this guy need to learn a new tune? The most memorable pitch of the new route, called Witching Hour, involved 27 consecutive heads.
Higher Cathedral Rock saw lots of new route action in 2003. Rob Miller put up Gemini on the beautiful shield feature to the left of the Northeast Buttress. Jon Blair, Mark Garbarini, and Bryan “Coiler” Kay put up The Wild Apes' Route (V 5.9 A3+) on Higher Cathedral Rock. This route starts left of Mary’s Tears and angles up and right to climb the striking Banana Chute just left of the Crucifix. It finishes out the Gravity Ceiling, which was partially free climbed by Cedar Wright at 5.13a. The entire route has not gone free.
On the north face of Higher Cathedral Rock, Kay teamed with Josh Thompson and Jamie Mundo to create The High Life (V 5.9 A3), an 11-pitch route. Finally, on Washington Column between The Great Slab Route and The Bad Wall, Kay and Thompson put up Tora Bora (V, 5.9 A3+).
On August 19 Jesse McGahey and Philip Johnson completed a new route on the far eastern side of the Peak 11,357 massif in the Nelson Lake area. Three white towers are found in a row there. The Scythe (III, 5.10+) is located on the west face of the largest. The route begins in the prominent crescent shaped crack, swings back through the middle dihedral, and up the buttress.
Finally in the new route arena, Ammon McNeely, with brother Gabriel and son Austin, linked Shortest Straw to Surgeon General to the Zodiac, including two new pitches They named the route Jose Memorial Variation in honor of Jose Pereyra and Joe Crowe who both perished in climbing accidents. Austin, at only 13 years of age, becomes the youngest person to be involved in a first ascent on El Capitan.
Previously unreported was all the route activity in the Ribbon Falls area done by Sean Jones and friends in 2001. The two most outstanding routes are Gates of Delirium (V, 5.12c, 19 pitches) and Sky People / Persephone Butterfly (V, 5.11d, 21 pitches). Delirium is no harder than 5.11d after the crux entry pitch and only two pitches are harder than 11b. The route is reportedly high quality crack climbing and fixed anchors through the tenth pitch allow for rappelling the route or continuing to the summit.
Bill Wright
American Alpine Club
Satan’s Minions Scrambling Club
1954 Breen Lane
Superior, Colorado 80027
home: (303) 494-7232
work: (303) 443-7447 ext. 18