Freerider Ground Up

And now for something completely different.

All Monty Python references completely aside, a friend and I got to talking about personal websites and made me realize I had let mine go stagnant. I wanted to write about my experience climbing El Cap in the spring of 2022 and this seemed like the best way to both revive my website and record my experience for posterity. So, here we go:

In May of 2022, my wonderful friend Kate and I free climbed El Capitan via the Freerider (5.13a 33 pitches). It took six days, but I was able to come away with a fair means send of the route (more on that later). It was one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences I have ever had. I am also not looking forward to another big wall (yet at least). I could spend an entire post just talking about training and prep so I am going to skip to the good part where we actually got to rock climb.

Day 1 The Freeblast

I woke up five minutes before my alarm at 3:55 AM in Jessie’s driveway. In efforts to save time in the morning, I elected to sleep in my van at his place, an hour closer to the valley entrance. I made coffee, and scarfed down some instant oatmeal. Eating before 5am has never been a good experience and I always end up feeling nauseous after. This was no different.

I got dressed, and went inside. Kate was 5 minutes behind me, just finishing up her own similarly goopy breakfast. We didn’t talk much but the vibe was electric with excitement. We packed up the remainder of our items and hit the road.

Entering the Valley still makes me giddy. The walls are just too big to comprehend. It was unseasonably cold, just under 40 degrees fahrenheit. Kate has circulation issues but is also a chronic overstoker so I suggested we wait in the warm car until the sun hits the first pitch. We figured that there would only be a few others starting the same time as us based on the number of bags at Heart Ledge. Unfortunately, we neglected to account for inexperienced teams. We got to the base to a peculiar view of two folks trying to haul the Freeblast; a big no-no mostly from a logistics point of view.

As luck would have it, they bailed about 30 minutes afterwards and we had no parties ahead! One party would shortly follow us, but it was looking great. We had previously climbed the Freeblast a week earlier just to get our bearings. Even with the practice, there are some extremely delicate and scary pitches on it. With the exception of one foot slip, Kate and I climbed the Freeblast with no mishaps.

At this point, the lovely party that started behind us were on our tail. After some chatting about logistics, we decided to let them pass through. They were already having a fiasco, getting a late start and one of the folks in the party had already resigned to not sending. Our bags were stashed at Heart and they had their stashed a few pitches higher at Hollow Flake ledge. Plus we knew them and assumed they were competent. More on that soon. Our ideal stopping point was Hollow Flake Ledge, but given the heat and their intent to sleep there as well, we elected to stop on Heart.

Free time on the wall is a rare experience. It was only 3pm and we still had plenty of light left. We intended to fix the 11c pitch above us, known as the ‘Hardest Move on Rock’. Even though it is only 11c, it gets the grade due to a single move: A V5 slab dead-point with some of the smallest feet on the route. We waited for it to go back into the shade before attempting it. This is the pitch I fell on during my mulligan attempt 3 years ago with Nate. Thankfully, I came prepared with better shoes and maybe a bit more skill. I was able to knocked it out on the first go. Kate was able to top rope successfully after figuring out how to trick her brain into stepping on the less than dime edges.

We went to bed at a respectable 10pm, not knowing that would be the earliest night for the next 6 days.

Day 2 Heart to Alcove

Freerider difficulty is very top heavy. The vast majority of the hard pitches are past pitch 20. It can lull you into thinking you have gone half way when you have just barely started. We woke up feeling chipper, having only climbed slab and done zero hauling the previous day. The first hauls are some of the worst hauls of the route, and were daunting considering how much more we had to do. We spent an hour just jugging and hauling the next two pitches.

Our first big objective on Day 2 was the Hollow Flake. The Hollow Flake is the longest single pitch on the route as you down climb 100 feet to start the pitch, then climb back up 150 feet. It is comical in that way. It takes about an hour to lead and you end up only 50 feet above. To add to the oddity of this pitch. The beta involves taking only one or two cams.

After we both climbed the hollow flake successfully, to our surprise, the people we let pass were still at the Hollow Flake ledge, having barely gotten started. This did not bode well. We were planning to stay at the Alcove, another 5 long pitches above. Apparently they had a debaucherous evening and were all hung over. Great. Unfortunately, their shit show did not end there and we proceeded to get stuck behind them for the rest of the day. Flashforward 6 hours, we have just made it to the start of the Ear, an amazing 5.7 chimney. Unfortunately it is 9:30 and dark. Kate & I dawned our headlamps and prepped for a long night.

We considered setting up a bivy at the base of the Monster, but it is really sloping. We both agreed that we should push on to the Alcove, hoping that the wonderful party above us had kept their word and stayed on the Spire. Kate, as always, was a rock star, dawning the aid gear and crushed the C2 Salathe crux in the dark. I jugged the line, and then led a short pitch to the Alcove. Thankfully the party above us was at the spire. At 2am we finished dinner and crashed into our sleeping bags.

Day 3 Monster Day

I woke up the next morning to water falling on my face. “Shit, it’s raining” I thought. Then the smell came. We were getting peed on by the party at The Spire. Yeah, they were not painting a good picture in our books.

Since we skipped the Monster due to the shenanigans last night, we planned to rappel two pitches down and give it a redpoint attempt. I took a small asterisks by placing a quickdraw on the lone bolt and stashing a small water bottle at a stance a third of the way up. The Monster starts with a 30 foot 11d downclimb to get into the maw. No warm-up and feeling stiff from the previous night had me nervous. I started laybacking down the flake and deadpointed to the edge of the crack. Suddenly my feet were skating but miraculously I was still hanging on. I think I yelled back to Kate about recommending she not do it that way. “Uh yeah, good suggestion” she chided back.

After composing myself, I started the endless trudge. The Monster does break down into three stances, but it is still an absolute offwdith endurance test piece. There isn’t much of a trick to it, it’s really about conserving energy through good technique. You can’t really fallout out, you are more likely to give up out of complete exhaustion as a result of poor offwdith technique. I certainly don’t have amazing technique and nearly getting my #6 stuck added to my anxiety. But as grit would have it, I belly flopped onto the slopping ramp at the top of the monster. One of the biggest questions in my book was done!

“On Belay Kate!” I elated. Unfortunately, this was the end of Kate’s redpoint attempt. After a couple of tries from the stance, Kate surrendered to this becoming a trial run. We were both sad to see this but still psyched to be in an amazing place. After a short 5.9 we flopped back into the Alcove, exhausted.

“Fuck it’s 4pm already!”, we had intended on climbing to the Block today, another 4 pitches above us. That was not in the cards anymore. We fixed the next pitch, had a little photo shoot at the Spire and called it a night.

Day 4 Spire to Block (Crux!)

We woke up relatively early and made quick work of the approach pitches. With some minor tribulations on a 5.11c R pitch (which was crushed by Kate), we found ourselves at the Boulder Problem. Some friends who were doing an in-a-day ascent of the Salathe passed us at the crux, and we briefly chatted and cheered them on. We figured we had the time to relax since the pitch was already sunny.

The holds on the Boulder Problem are tiny. Fortunately it is only 5 moves, coming in around V7. This pitch has the iconic “Ninja Kick”. Funny enough, I was too inflexible to make the kick work. After feeling like I wouldn’t be able to do it, I gave the dyno beta a go. It was easy! I found that a slightly higher foot worked well for me and felt like I was just falling into the jugs above. After 4 goes, I managed to clip the chains. Psyched! As we whooped, we heard monkey calls from our friends on neighboring routes. El Cap is so cool!

Once again, It was dark once we finished hauling the crux. That did not bode well for the next pitch. The final pitch to the Block, is The Sewer, a 10c hand crack with some 5.8 chimneying. Unfortunately, it was spring and just after a major series of snowstorms, the Sewer was a waterfall. After some mild panicking and getting drenched, I eventually lost my cool and grabbed a draw. “This is so fucked” I thought. I ended up french freeing the rest of the pitch and fixed the line. I would top rope it the next morning.

We went to bed around midnight, psyched to have completed the crux, but still knowing we had a big day tomorrow.

Day 5 Block to Round Table

This was to be our last big day. Objectively this was going to be the hardest day in terms of stacked pitches. We had nothing easier than 5.11a Pg-13, with the Enduro Corners and Traverse above us.

But before that, we both had to TR the sewer 🙄 🙄. Fortunately, it went quickly and was actually enjoyable in the light! After we packed up, Kate graciously led yet another spicey 5.11. Quickly, we were at the base of the 12b Enduro, yet another hard pitch in the sun. I sussed it in the sun, lower and waited till it went into the shade to give myself the best chance of sending. After a few hours at a heinous hanging belay, and very numb legs, I pink pointed the enduro corner, running it out to the anchor. Crux three done!!! We got organized, and I led the traverse with little issue. Kate was losing steam at this point and elected to lower out the traverse. This prompted the start of more big wall shenanigans. I screamed “line’s fixed!” and began pulling up the haul line. No movement and no response from Kate. Shit!

You cannot hear your partner on the traverse, unless you lower 40+ feet, which I ended up doing. After some quick communication, we sorted out the haul line was jammed in a crack, and sorted out logistics for the lower out. Thankfully Kate is very competent and has her big wall systems dialed. This could have been much more challenging for other partners. Definitely make a plan that for zero sound communication! I don’t normally like Walkie-Talkies but I wish we had them for this.

Yet again, we got to the bivy in the dark. but we were getting off the next day!

Day 6 Top!

The last wake-up was exciting for two reasons. We were getting off and it was Kate’s birthday! After some quick celebrations, we wasted no time getting started on a “soft 11d” directly off Roundtable. Apparently the Huber’s weren’t great at blue collar crack climbing when they established the Freerider variations. Regardless of how soft it was, it still packed a punch on the last day. We hauled our thankfully light bags, getting psyched up for the final hard pitch of the route. The Scotty Burke Offwidth.

The SB is one of the biggest questions in many Freerider candidates minds. There is a hedinous amount of beta online for the other crux pitches, down to which piece of gear to place and move by move narration. Strangely, there is almost no beta for the Scotty Burke. It has rumors of being harder than the monster, James Lucas claimed to have almost cut his rope while laybacking, and it has ended redpoint attempts from very strong climbers.

Here is the skinny: You have an awesome golden 11a (graded 11d) hands and fingers crack to a roof. At this point, you do some shenanigans, wedging yourself in a #6 offwidth. Unlike the Monster, there is a lip to the Scotty Burke and you can cheat it by laybacking. If you off-width, it is valley 10d.

Kate graciously offering to lead it, which meant I laybacked to my hearts content on top rope.

I heaved my body on to the ledge, when it finally hit me. I was going to send the route!

Three more amazing pitches later, we celebrated on top. Exhausted, and overwhelmed with the experience, I had no words.

“Eric How do you feel sending El Cap??”, Kate is a miracle of psych, having supported and not sent, but still way more hyped up than myself.

“Really really happy. And really really really tired” I responded in an exhausted state.

We began the slog down the east ledges. Somehow our haulbags felt no lighter than they did on the first day. After 4 hours of technical descending, we collapsed in the Manure Pile parking lot at 11pm.

Nothing is ever easy on El Cap.

Post Script

I woke up the next day in my van, parked back at Kate’s place. I signed into Slack letting my team know that I was still alive, and sent them a few videos to their shock and amazement. We sat in the sun, and sprayed beta about the route to Kate’s roommate and some visiting friends.

6 months later as I write this, I still remember this experience as viscerally as when I was on the wall. I remember the nausea of climbing the Monster, the intense nerves of waiting for the Boulder Problem to get into the shade. I remember the smell of non-consensual golden shower, and the intense moments behind other climbers. I remember the feeling of joy after finishing the Scotty Burke, and Kate’s unending stoke.

When people ask (or I tell them about El Cap), I always have the same response. It was one of the coolest and hardest experiences of my life to date. I’m still deciding if I want to climb another big wall, or if I need more time to forget. It appears I don’t have an alpinists memory! We will see.

“No temple made with hands can compare with Yosemite.

Every rock in its walls seems to glow with life…as if into this one mountain mansion Nature had gathered her choicest treasures.”

— John Muir