The next frontier
Been training for El Cap in October. JT and I are attempting to climb Lurking Fear , a “beginner” ElCap route… emphasis on it being specifically one of El Cap’s entry level lines. It’s all relative.
It’ll be my first big wall and as such will be my first ascent of El Cap - an itch that I’ve been hoping to scratch since I first started climbing.
Climbing is defined by Yosemite Valley and Yosemite is defined by El Cap - it’s the biggest rock there, shooting up 3000 feet from the flat meadow below. “Massive” is the perfect word for it. Thousands of climbers from all over the world come to try their hand at giving it a go, usually on The Nose; the striking line up the middle of the formation and the most famous rock climb in the world. Lurking Fear is a step below but still involves around 3 days of climbing from bottom to top and is by no means a cake walk.
So, I’m trying to get in shape with 3x per week gym sessions and weekly aid climbing trial and error sessions with either JT, another aspiring Gumby or myself at local crags.
Big walling is a totally different ball game - the climbing is pretty easy all things considered but logistically it’s a mind fuck. So we’re trying to iron out the kinks on the ground before setting off into the vertical granite sea in October.
Some pics from El Cajon Mountains’s Quarry Wall today where JT and I did our first 2 pitch aid and hauling route. Shenanigans galore.


how's this been going
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