The plan was simple we would pack our bags full of snacks and simply stay on the wall until we got it done. Deciding to gamble on the whole notion that it doesn’t rain in California, we forged onwards, the only change of plans was to now bring a tent instead of an open bivy. Of course when we checked the weather forecast it was showing a 30% chance of rain and high winds. I immediately texted Billy that all systems were go and that we should start racking. One morning I woke up and checked out YOSAR’s high tech scheduling device, aka a chalkboard, and saw an open block of days I could X myself out on. As a result, I ended up hanging around the Valley floor, stewing in the heat, waiting for my pager to go off while Billy quietly slipped off to the Eastside and made a quick solo car-to-car lap on the Evolution Traverse.Īs the weeks rolled by and September faded into October, I found myself getting restless and unsure if I would get a chance to head up on Freerider before the season ended. The month of September ended up being incredibly hot and not the most conducive to big wall free climbing. I think the only time he rests is when he can’t find a warm body to belay him. Billy is almost certainly one of the most dedicated climbers I know. My good friend and climbing partner, Billy Brown, turned up in the Valley sometime around early September and right off the bat wanted to know when we were getting on El Cap. However this past October I somehow found myself standing on top of El Cap having just made a ground up free ascent of Freerider (5.12d VI). Needless to say it was a dream I was not expecting to achieve anytime in the foreseeable future. A goal that on cold mornings or overwhelmingly hot afternoons makes you get out of the tent and try hard. It was one of those abstract, far off goals that you make mostly to convince yourself that a life dedicated to climbing has some sort of purpose. Free climbing on El Capitan has for the longest time been one of my ultimate goals.
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