Plus, rockfall, Oak Flat and more in “Routefinding” no. 2. ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌

A few days before Halloween, I got to climb El Cap with Connor Herson. He’s 21 years old and is part of this next generation of climbers that will change our sport. Connor grew up as a competition climber and has spent much of his life training in modern climbing gyms. He’s also the youngest person to free climb El Cap, with his ascent of the Nose at age 15. Connor has been climbing big routes in Yosemite with his dad, Jim, since he was in elementary school (Jim is an impressive climber in his own right and made one of the early free ascents of the Salathé Wall). Connor and his family seem to be of a different breed. They live normal lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Connor has been a full-time student at Stanford for the last two years, quietly ticking off some of the hardest climbs in Yosemite and Tuolumne on his weekends and breaks from school. Despite his impressive Valley resume, which includes two free routes on El Cap, Connor had never slept in a portaledge and has never dealt with Yosemite’s notorious camping limitations (you can only stay in the Valley for two weeks, officially). Before we headed up the wall, he professed he was “a total wall Gumby,” although I didn’t see much to back that up. We spent three days free climbing the Heart Route, a wild, 30-pitch 5.13+. The climbing is sustained, with some of the most overhanging terrain on El Cap, a 10-foot down-dyno, and plenty of run-outs and dirty pitches. Just a few years ago there were only a handful of climbers in the world that would have been contenders to free climb this route.
Watching Connor climb is almost disorienting; he is so solid that you can never tell if he is climbing 5.10 or 5.13. I witnessed him casually onsight a mid-5.13 pitch with everything from off-width crack to technical stemming to crimpy face climbing and tricky gear … certainly one of the more impressive onsights I have seen. Our downtime on the wall was spent discussing how many semesters he should take off engineering school to pursue full-time climbing. It struck me that climbing has always been just one of Connor’s many interests. In the past handful of years, we have seen the levels of climbing ability skyrocket in the disciplines of bouldering, sport climbing and competitions. I always thought this would eventually make its way into trad climbing and big walls. Connor might be one, if not the first, to make this happen. I personally can’t wait to see where he takes it from here. And with the amount of talent I see in the younger generations, I imagine there will be more like him soon, hiking free routes on El Cap with what appears to be little effort. I was struck again by how much things have changed after I got down from the Heart Route to celebrate Halloween on the Valley floor. As the sun set beyond El Cap, a group of former climber-outlaws walked the streets collecting candy from the rangers in what we formerly called “Tool Town” or the “Lion’s Den” because it’s where the law enforcement rangers live. Kids and parents were dressed up as octopuses, mermaids, superheroes and rodents. It was very wholesome, although Leo Houlding said he still had the urge to run and hide when he saw a police car or someone in ranger greens.
This group of parents was likely among the first to spend large parts of their youth in climbing gyms. The strength and movement intelligence we developed as kids eventually translated to big walls, allowing us to be part of a generation that brought free climbing to El Cap. Climbing has exploded in popularity in the years since and now has a mass appeal. In the not-so-distant past, Yosemite climbers and park rangers used to be enemies. Climbing for months at a time in the Valley meant playing a constant game of cat and mouse that was a bummer on one hand and exciting on the other. When I was a teenager living in the Valley in the early 2000s, I enjoyed tapping into the rebellious spirit that lingered from the Stonemasters. Nowadays it seems, climbers are more often taking selfies with rangers instead of running from them.

● | Babsi Zangerl flashed Freerider. If you’re wondering if this counts as the first flash of El Capitan, do the “free-solo litmus test.”
● | Also, Babsi and her partner Jacopo Larcher both climbed Magic Line while they were in the neighborhood—badass!
● | Arapiles closures are a major bummer for climbing.
● | We can still clip bolts in Yosemite!
● | Mythos: more than just the shoe the Hubers wore on El Cap back in the day.
● | V14 flash. Sheesh.
● | Another round of golden ice axes was handed out.
● | More from Connor … did you know he onsighted 5.14 on gear this summer?
● | Retro-bolting in Yosemite?
● | The Buttermilks in winter is the North Shore of hard bouldering.
● | This may be clickbait, but we think Michaela Kiersch is inspiring in all ways.
● | Are pure sliders lockers or not?

If you’ve followed me at all these last couple of years you’ve heard about the fight to protect the Indigenous sacred site, Oak Flat, in Central Arizona. This land is critically important to the San Carlos Apache Tribe and is on a path to literally fall into the abyss of a planned copper mine. The region is also a major recreation area, with tons of climbing (there used to be an outdoor climbing competition held here). Climbers, along with groups like Apache Stronghold, have been part of the fight to protect it from development for a long time. Local tribes have continued to fight for permanent protection in recent years. This fall, I joined a group of kids from the Brophy Native American Club on Capitol Hill. These kids, along with Apache Stronghold, were there to ask the Supreme Court to argue that the mine would be in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Under this act, Oak Flat is protected as a sacred ceremonial site. I was honored to participate in a prayer protest on the steps of the Supreme Court as the religious freedom court case was filed. Spending time with a group of kids in D.C., working within a system that has a history of breaking treaties and stealing land from their people, was sobering and complex. The kids brought emotion and lightness to what is often a sterile process by riding around on scooters in between giving tearful speeches in the offices of their representatives. The monuments I had once revered took on an oppressive feel when viewed from their perspective. The injustice of the situation was blatant as they fought for scraps of their cultural and religious heritage in front of the Supreme Court. Despite it all, these kids continue the fight with laughter and passion. The strategies to save Oak Flat are constantly shifting, especially as we transition to a new administration. With the myriad changes we will undoubtedly see in the coming year, staying informed on this topic is important. Apache Stronghold's Instagram (@protectoakflat) is a fantastic resource for updates and learning how to help. If you live in Arizona, you can ask Senator-Elect Ruben Gallego to sponsor the Save Oak Flat Act. And while it's less likely that we'll see movement on legislation with the new Congress, Apache Stronghold can really use our help on the ground. Please consider donating to Apache Stronghold here.

Boulders are created by it. Cracks are formed by it. Sometimes, it causes death and destruction. Love it or hate it, rockfall is a part of climbing. I recently listened to a presentation by Yosemite National Park Geologist Greg Stock and learned a lot about rockfall in Yosemite. Stock and Brian Collins, another geologist who studies rockfall in the park, use a “crack meter” to measure the width of cracks in the Valley and how much that width varies over time. After almost four years of study, they’ve found that cracks in Yosemite “breathe” in and out one centimeter each day and are cumulatively expanding one millimeter each year. Crazy! The cracks expand the most on the hottest days of the year, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that most rockfalls happen in summer. Stock and others have compiled a database of rockfalls in Yosemite dating back to 1857, with 1,500 entries. There is no clear seasonality to rockfall events since there are so many factors that can cause them—from root growth to snowfall to heat. So if that finger crack splitter is too hard for you this year, just wait 100 years, and it might be perfect hands! And if you want to geek out more on this, spend some time with Greg Stock himself right here. –Jane

When was the last time you washed your shell? Did you even know that you’re supposed to wash it? This is especially true of waterproof/breathable membranes made without intentionally added PFAS, which are less effective at repelling water when the garment gets grimy.
If you’re getting out in conditions that require waterproof protection this season, give your layers some love! They’ll work better and last longer.
Keep Your Shell Well
And if your shell is well beyond wash and repairability, check out our new climbing gear at Patagonia and used climbing gear on Worn Wear.

Have something to add? Just want to tell us we’re doing a great job? ;) We’d love to hear from you! Send your feedback, ideas and anything else (within reason!) to routefinding@patagonia.com. And if you have a friend you think would enjoy this newsletter, forward this one to them and make sure they sign up here to receive future sends.

Prefer not to receive this newsletter?
Update My Preferences

Photos: (Top) Tommy Caldwell working the crux pitch of the Dawn Wall, a 5.14d traverse fifteen pitches off the deck. JEFF JOHNSON (Middle) Connor sussing pitch 15 of the Dawn Wall this past fall. VICTORIA KOHNER-FLANAGAN (Middle) Modern-day Stonemaster attire includes recycled puffy jackets and definitely no cigarettes. VICTORIA KOHNER-FLANAGAN (Bottom) Don’t let these boulders and spires fall into the abyss! SHAUN PRICE

Patagonia Customer Service 8550 White Fir St Reno, NV 89523 | Help Center
Email Preferences This email was sent to xxx@ureader.com Update My Preferences |
| © 2025 Patagonia, Inc.