vision | see what i see
yosemite - el capitan | 2025-05 10th-16th
triple direct VI 5.9 C2, 30 pitches, ~3000ft
highlights:
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stoked summit boys
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wrecked ground boys
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tyler taking the lead
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stormy rest day
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pre-storm fog
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racing the incoming weather
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creative and athletic!
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preparing for hibernation
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post-storm family dinner
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post-storm sunrise / moonset
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camping next to the "great roof"
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looking down from atop the "great roof"
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relaxing before the final summit push
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working before the final summit push
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we only climb to eat in cool places (summit)
all photos:
the journey (abridged):
over seven days, from saturday, may 10th, through friday, may 16th - tyler, julian, kyle and i climbed el capitan in yosemite valley via “triple direct,” a ~3000ft, 30-pitch route, graded VI 5.9 C2. tyler and i were a team, and kyle and julian were another team for the majority of the route.
this linkup connects three popular lines, starting up the start of the “salathé wall,” (“freeblast”) continuing through the middle section of “muir wall,” and finishing through the top of “the nose.”
day 1 - climbed “freeblast,” survived a ‘poop-dicament’ (!!!), and rappelled to the ground
day 2 - hauled to “mammoth terraces”
day 3 - climbed to the start of the “muir wall”/”crossroads” traverses
day 4 - had a rest day through a hail and snow storm
day 5 - reached “the nose” at the “great roof”
day 6 - climbed to the “changing corners,” had our big whip (!!!) of the route, and combined into a party of four
day 7 - finally reached the summit and descended back to the valley floor
during our climb, we met and briefly chatted with a handful of parties on various routes, including some legendary climbers:
olly tippett about a week after his rope-solo niad, and a couple weeks before his team’s in-a-day speed record on the seldom-repeated, hard aid route, “reticent wall” VI 5.7 A4 (previously A5 [!!!] )
sasha digiulian and elliot faber working the moves on a 5.13+ route developed by elliot and rob miller, “the direct line,” or “platinum wall”
jordan cannon and mark hudon on jordan’s free send of the burly, 5.13b “salathé wall”
will moss and stuart grossman on a niad a few days before will’s sport-redefining, in-a-day flash of “freerider,” a 5.13a headwall variation of the salathé
a french team on a three-day ascent of “the nose”
a few other niad parties
and one valley double party (both “the nose” on el capitan and the “regular northwest face” of half dome, in a day)
writing (from last year):
Birthday musings on my love for Yosemite
On our way to Yosemite, we have found our way home.