Plus, Cochamó, portaledges and more in “Routefinding” no. 3. ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌ ‌‌

THE OBJECTIVE
IS YOSEMITE STILL THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE?

Maybe I’m biased, but even after 25 years of climbing in Yosemite I still think of it as the center of the climbing universe. The recent attacks on our national parks by the Trump administration have galvanized the climbing community to take action in support of rangers and staff (I have plenty to say about this in the next newsletter—stay tuned), and reflecting on the past climbing season in the Valley has been a great reminder of how important these places are. The energy in Yosemite Valley was palpable this year and more people are climbing on harder routes in general. Nowadays, most parties on the left side of El Cap are free climbing parties; a route like Wet Lycra Nightmare gets climbed once a season, while previously it only saw two free ascents in like eight years; and there are more and more new, hard free routes established each year. Here’s what went down this season and why (I think) Yosemite is as relevant as ever. ⚡ Babsi’s Free Rider Flash If you’re reading this, you probably already know about Babsi Zangerl’s historic flash of Free Rider. So cool to see this happen! Many have attempted a flash of El Cap over the years, but all of them have been men. It’s pretty rad that Babsi seems to have been the first woman to try and the first person to succeed. The legacy of women pushing free climbing on El Cap continues! I’ve always been impressed by Yuji Hirayama’s legendary flash attempt of the Salathé Wall in 1997, which ended when he fell on the headwall (same for Adam Ondra’s attempt in 2018). Since then, there have been a number of flash attempts of El Cap via different routes, but every ascent missed the mark or came with some level of vaguery and confusion. In 2004, Mike and Mark Anderson tried to flash Free Rider, but the team returned to the ground twice and had already been on most of the route on an earlier aid ascent of the Salathé. Pete Whittaker attempted to flash but had to go back to the ground at Heart due to overcrowding and later fell on the Boulder Problem. Arguably, the most impressive and closest flash until Babsi’s was Ueli Steck’s 2009 attempt on Golden Gate, where he fell once on the 5.11 pitch out of the Alcove and climbed the rest of the route with no falls. But there’s no debating a flash. You either do it or you don’t. And if you’re confused, do the free solo litmus test: If you didn’t have a rope, would you have fallen to your death? ⚡ Three Ascents (and Several Near-Sends) of Magic Line Magic Line. It took almost 20 years for this climb to see its first repeat. A few years ago, I thought I’d be able to finish this climb in a handful of days, but it's a stubborn climb to send. I ruptured my Achilles on it a few years ago. (Which is what inspired me to go on my bikepacking trip with Alex Honnold to Alaska.) This season I went back for redemption, and after another five days of trying I still didn’t send. Now, even with broken footholds and stricter ethics that demand gear is placed on lead, the route is getting climbed on a semi-regular basis. Last fall, Connor Herson, Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher all nabbed ascents of the route, while a few others came narrowly close—a true testament to the rising levels of technical-granite climbers. ⚡ Connor Herson’s One to Watch Connor Herson also had a productive autumn in the Valley as he finished his semester off from school. Along with Magic Line, he completed a new first ascent on The Rostrum called Resurrection (5.13d) and finished off with an ascent of the Heart Route (5.13+) with me, which I mentioned in my last newsletter. Now that he’s back in school, he’ll be confined to one-day ascents only … guess we’ll see what he can do in his free time. ⚡ Hannes Puman and a Brief History of The Schnoz Hannes Puman climbed so much!! The 26-year-old Swedish climber’s first trip to Yosemite was insane; he climbed what felt like every hard route in the Valley in just a few months and did the first ascent of The Schnoz variation to The Nose. Here’s a little backstory on The Schnoz: When Lynn Hill first free climbed The Nose, she and Brooke Sandahl started bolting this variation but broke a key hold. Lynn ended up bailing on it and going up the Corners, unofficially establishing the Changing Corners as the default way to go. This pitch is extremely technical, cryptic and hard to repeat, and The Schnoz variation has been a tempting, more straightforward alternative for many who have attempted to free The Nose since. When the Hubers tried to free climb The Nose in the early 2000s, they put in another anchor up and left of the Corners on the partially bolted variation above Camp 6, but ended up not finishing their attempt. A few years later Leo Houlding unsuccessfully tried this variation, intending to use different beta to get back over into the Corners. Years later, Honnold added another bolt way out left, making an alternative pitch that detours around the Changing Corners entirely. But he ended up abandoning this option after Connor Herson gave him sh*t for skipping the Corners. This year, I belayed Honnold when he came back to try The Nose and went for The Schnoz variation again. He made it all the way up to this pitch in three hours before destroying his skin on the heinously sharp crux. Honnold then told Hannes about The Schnoz, who went to check it out. A few days later Hannes climbed it from the ground, making the first ascent of this variation. So, is this variation cool? Or is it skipping one of the most iconic and technical pitches in Yosemite? Up for debate. ⚡ Dark Horses Ride Again There’s always interesting stuff happening behind the scenes in Yosemite. Nik Berry and Will Sharp’s new route Daddy Issues (5.13) on Middle Cathedral got repeated a few times. Some new-to-the-Valley folks set a new speed record for the Triple (and added Washington Column, for good measure). In the spring, Brandon Adams, Lance Colley, Sam Stuckey and Miles Fullman also put up a new route on Middle Cathedral, Gaia (5.11, A3+). And Michelle Pellette and Kate Kelleghan became the second all-female team to climb two El Cap routes in a day. It’s amazing to see claims that were cutting edge just a few years ago go almost unnoticed.

YOUR LEAD
KEEP AN EYE ON COCHAMÓ

I recently got back from a monthlong trip to the Cochamó Valley in Chilean Patagonia, where I connected with locals, climbers and conservationists who are currently collaborating to protect this wild place. Last year, a collection of conservation groups joined together to purchase a large, privately owned swath of land that includes the Cochamó Valley. Now, these groups are in the process of raising the rest of the money required to complete the purchase and create one of Latin America’s largest biological corridors. It’s hard not to draw comparisons between Cochamó and Yosemite. The white granite, the waterfalls, the rock quality and the climbing style are nearly identical. In fact, I might be bold enough to say that Cochamó has an even higher ratio of five-star pitches. It also contains some of the oldest trees in the world—alerce trees, which are related to the giant sequoia but are even older. When we weren’t climbing we hung out with the local climbers, watching mist swirl around the cliffs above, baking bread over open fires, and sharing maté. I also got a chance to team up and climb with Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll … which was insanely fun. Sean wanted to free climb a route he developed 13 years ago on a 1,000-meter wall called Capicua. The wall has a handful of established routes, all with tons of bolts because of the bottoming nature of the cracks. Sean’s route, Utopia, has no bolts (although it probably should!), and we spent three very spicy and adrenaline-filled days trying to free it, desperately scraping dirt from tiny seams and whittling in micro cams, dynoing to trees and skittering up mossy corners. When we got to the top I kissed the ground and thanked the gods that we survived. Utopia probably isn’t destined to become a classic or even to see any repeats at all (somebody, please prove me wrong), and my hat would go off to any bold climber who manages to pull it off. With some cleaning, my guess is that it would be in the 5.13+X range. Most routes in Cochamó are being developed in what I call “pleasure” style—as in very safe. This route is the antithesis of that. The 8-mile hike into the valley, the absence of buildings and noise, the crystal-clear rivers, the soaring condors—it all brings a tranquility that Yosemite may never again possess as long as humans exist. If we want to give our planet a fighting chance, we need to preserve places as close to their natural state as possible, but we also need to allow people to experience them in some way. Comparing my time in Cochamó to my experiences in Yosemite made me realize just how much human activity has already diminished our most cherished landscapes. The fundraising campaign to purchase Cochamó from a private landowner is a truly ground-up, locally led effort that I think is totally unique and important to support. Follow Conserva Puchegüín on Instagram to stay updated on the work being done to protect this special place.

THE TICK LIST > >
• | Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs.
• | Alex Megos is feeling strong.
• | Honnold’s Red Rocks link-up is impressive, especially considering how dark and cold it is in those canyons in winter!
• | Squ(h)amish. Half the fun of this one is the title.
• | While Trump is trying to revoke the Indigenous names of peaks, this New Zealand mountain is now legally recognized as a living being.
• | Massive fires in Patagonia. Help out here!
• | New Routes in the Red?! RRGCC just bought 14 miles of cliffline.
• | Olympians are firing: Brooke Raboutou styled Spectre and Janja Garnbret onsighted 14b at Mišja Peč.
• | How do we interact with public lands as climbers?
• | More newsletters! This one is pure Yosemite content. Sign up here.

OFF ROUTE
PORTALEDGES

Gear innovations rarely change the game for any climbing discipline. But about a decade ago, big-wall free climbing completely changed for me when I realized that I could set up a portaledge at the base of the crux pitches. Instead of hanging in my harness all day, feeling exhausted and exposed, I could instead sit or stand on flat ground as if I was cragging in the middle of El Cap. It made the whole experience so much more enjoyable. At the time, portaledges were pretty heavy and cumbersome, so it really only made sense to use them on walls like El Cap. But in recent years, portaledge design has changed even more. They’ve gotten lighter and easier to set up. The G7 inflatable ledges were the first step and are incredible for some situations, but they’re not very practical for belay stances. Full disclosure, I’m an Edelrid athlete, but I’ve been really impressed by the new Edelrid Literider Ledge lately. It really is the next phase of this evolution. It’s super light, sleeps two people, and sets up so easily that you can clip it to a day bag and use it on single-day walls that don’t have ledges. I’ve heard of people using it on routes as short as three pitches. It’s exciting to see gear get lighter and more portable, opening doors to new possibilities in the realm of big-wall free climbing.

THE LATEST FROM PATAGONIA CLIMB

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Photos: (Top) Tommy Caldwell working the crux pitch of the Dawn Wall, a 5.14d traverse 15 pitches off the deck. JEFF JOHNSON (Middle) There’s The Captain, and then there’s El Capitan. JEFF JOHNSON (Middle) Tommy Caldwell and Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll topping out a route in Cochamó, Chile. TOMMY CALDWELL (Middle) Rain or shine, the wall won’t climb itself. Tommy breaks out the umbrella during a storm that blew in while bolting the Diamond Face. The “aloha” chair was a savior we found at a local hardware store. Niitsitapi, Stoney, Métis, and Tsuut’ina ancestral lands, Alberta. SONNIE TROTTER (Bottom) Chip Powell and Luke Potter climb their new High Sierra testpiece on University Peak. BENJAMIN DITTO

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