NIAD aka Nose in a Day!!
Two days ago, I woke up at 0130 in the morning and got ready to attempt the longest push of my climbing life:
The Nose of El Capitan, 31 pitches, 5.10 C1+. The goal? Do it in a day (under 24 hours), lead all the pitches and go go go!
Up at 0130 after a precious 3 hours of sleep, I attempt to choke down a spot of breakfast. Ever tried eating breakfast at 0130? I don't know if it was the hour, the nerves or the cheese laden pasta from the night before but what little cereal I did manage to ingest came right back up. I've never puked before a climb! And it's definitely not a good way to start an extremely physically demanding day. The thought of calling it all off and going the next day quickly passed through and then out of my head. I just wanted to get on with it! "We can easily bail from pitch 4 if I'm not feeling better by then." was my rational. "Plus, I've got Jake as my jugger. The ultimate ropegun if need be!" So off we went with me still queasy and sans breakfast.
Climbing in the dark is both a little harder and a little easier. Harder because you can't see anything unless you are looking right at it with your headlamp shining bright. Easier because you can't see down, can't see how run out* you are or how high up you are.
The Climb itself:
My time to Sickle Ledge was a tad slower than the time before (60 minutes versus 53) but I was still psyched since I was feeling hotter, slower and climbing in the dark! Half way through the Stoveleg pitches the darkness begins to fade. Suddenly we hear the telltale sound of a body flying though the air. We look up and out and see the form tracking expertly towards the meadow below. Lost in the darkness of the Valley floor we hear the pop of the parachute and both giggle at the awesomeness that is human flight (BASE jumping). I make it to Dolt tower (pitch 11) in just under 3 hours, shaving off nearly 30 minutes from the last run to Dolt. Awesome! From here the climb is all new terrain for me and I am nervous about several spots; The king swing, the 5.10 A0 traverse, The Great Roof and Changing Corners.
The king swing entails that I climb to the top of a massive flake aptly named the Boot.
From here I must untie, put my rope through the fixed chains and lower down to my partner. Then I had to run towards climber right to gain momentum, then start running to climber left, jump over my rope/partner and pendulum ~45 feet to my left. I stick it second try! And so does my partner! So fun!
The next crux is the 5.10 A0 traverse. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but I've already been climbing for 6 hours and about 1700 feet of elevation gain. I'm tired! I manage to grunt my way through it, pulling on some extra gear and eventually collapse on the pitch below Camp IV. I'm worked! And even though I am almost 2/3's of the way through the number of pitches I'm only half way done in terms of time. Progress slows above as the route gets harder and I get slower and more tired. It's time for caffeine! I slam a packet of mocha flavored electrolyte gel that is also packed with 50mg of caffeine! This is one of the only times during the whole climb that I stopped moving. Out of rope, I have to wait for my partner to bring up the rope so I can get moving again. And lucky for me, its a nice sized ledge. I lay down and slowly start to feel the caffeine coursing through my veins.
The next crux is the Great Roof. More than anything it was just a little daunting.
Fortunately it passed with out incident and I continued moving "up up up!" By this point I had been climbing for about 10 hours. I was totally caffeine dependent. Every couple of pitches, I would take a second at the end of my rope and suck down a mocha gu and power on. Back in the sun, I approach the final pitch that had me worried. The reachy, technically challenging "Changing Corners". While my partner lounged on the plush ledge below known as Camp VI, I slowly made my way up the pitch. I botched the sequence a bit and cost myself a little extra time, but other than that...not too bad!
With 4 pitches left, I was starting to feel like I would beat my secret goal time of 15 hours! I couldn't believe it! But I had never felt so exhausted! I was short of breathe, my heart was pounding in my ears and I could stomach any more food. It took all my strength just to holler down to my partner that he could come up. A suprise tricky section and into the final steep bolt ladder. I slowly and painfully make my way up the last 100 feet of the climb. I clip the final anchor at 17:55, just 14 hours and 26 minutes after leaving the ground! I was so excited but I couldn't even give the customary summit shout. I was too worked. Instead I just laid there panting, hurting and dizzy. I've never felt better in my life!
All that was left was the painful 2 hour hike down the East Ledges decent. What a day! What a view!
** SIDE NOTE ** The female speed record for this climb is 12:15 minutes. That is only just over two hours faster than what I did by myself. I can't wait to give it a go with a partner to share the work! 10:30 minutes is the goal!!!
The Nose of El Capitan, 31 pitches, 5.10 C1+. The goal? Do it in a day (under 24 hours), lead all the pitches and go go go!
Up at 0130 after a precious 3 hours of sleep, I attempt to choke down a spot of breakfast. Ever tried eating breakfast at 0130? I don't know if it was the hour, the nerves or the cheese laden pasta from the night before but what little cereal I did manage to ingest came right back up. I've never puked before a climb! And it's definitely not a good way to start an extremely physically demanding day. The thought of calling it all off and going the next day quickly passed through and then out of my head. I just wanted to get on with it! "We can easily bail from pitch 4 if I'm not feeling better by then." was my rational. "Plus, I've got Jake as my jugger. The ultimate ropegun if need be!" So off we went with me still queasy and sans breakfast.
Climbing in the dark is both a little harder and a little easier. Harder because you can't see anything unless you are looking right at it with your headlamp shining bright. Easier because you can't see down, can't see how run out* you are or how high up you are.
The Climb itself:
My time to Sickle Ledge was a tad slower than the time before (60 minutes versus 53) but I was still psyched since I was feeling hotter, slower and climbing in the dark! Half way through the Stoveleg pitches the darkness begins to fade. Suddenly we hear the telltale sound of a body flying though the air. We look up and out and see the form tracking expertly towards the meadow below. Lost in the darkness of the Valley floor we hear the pop of the parachute and both giggle at the awesomeness that is human flight (BASE jumping). I make it to Dolt tower (pitch 11) in just under 3 hours, shaving off nearly 30 minutes from the last run to Dolt. Awesome! From here the climb is all new terrain for me and I am nervous about several spots; The king swing, the 5.10 A0 traverse, The Great Roof and Changing Corners.
The king swing entails that I climb to the top of a massive flake aptly named the Boot.
From here I must untie, put my rope through the fixed chains and lower down to my partner. Then I had to run towards climber right to gain momentum, then start running to climber left, jump over my rope/partner and pendulum ~45 feet to my left. I stick it second try! And so does my partner! So fun!
The next crux is the 5.10 A0 traverse. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but I've already been climbing for 6 hours and about 1700 feet of elevation gain. I'm tired! I manage to grunt my way through it, pulling on some extra gear and eventually collapse on the pitch below Camp IV. I'm worked! And even though I am almost 2/3's of the way through the number of pitches I'm only half way done in terms of time. Progress slows above as the route gets harder and I get slower and more tired. It's time for caffeine! I slam a packet of mocha flavored electrolyte gel that is also packed with 50mg of caffeine! This is one of the only times during the whole climb that I stopped moving. Out of rope, I have to wait for my partner to bring up the rope so I can get moving again. And lucky for me, its a nice sized ledge. I lay down and slowly start to feel the caffeine coursing through my veins.
The next crux is the Great Roof. More than anything it was just a little daunting.
Fortunately it passed with out incident and I continued moving "up up up!" By this point I had been climbing for about 10 hours. I was totally caffeine dependent. Every couple of pitches, I would take a second at the end of my rope and suck down a mocha gu and power on. Back in the sun, I approach the final pitch that had me worried. The reachy, technically challenging "Changing Corners". While my partner lounged on the plush ledge below known as Camp VI, I slowly made my way up the pitch. I botched the sequence a bit and cost myself a little extra time, but other than that...not too bad!
With 4 pitches left, I was starting to feel like I would beat my secret goal time of 15 hours! I couldn't believe it! But I had never felt so exhausted! I was short of breathe, my heart was pounding in my ears and I could stomach any more food. It took all my strength just to holler down to my partner that he could come up. A suprise tricky section and into the final steep bolt ladder. I slowly and painfully make my way up the last 100 feet of the climb. I clip the final anchor at 17:55, just 14 hours and 26 minutes after leaving the ground! I was so excited but I couldn't even give the customary summit shout. I was too worked. Instead I just laid there panting, hurting and dizzy. I've never felt better in my life!
All that was left was the painful 2 hour hike down the East Ledges decent. What a day! What a view!
** SIDE NOTE ** The female speed record for this climb is 12:15 minutes. That is only just over two hours faster than what I did by myself. I can't wait to give it a go with a partner to share the work! 10:30 minutes is the goal!!!