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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.
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