Climbing Nose in a Day (almost) on El Cap Yosemite May 2018
My partner Leo and I started at 4am on May 11 and made the summit 27 hours later!
Going to Dolt tower went fast for us with short fixing and we got there at 8a. We met a party on dolt and they gave me some water. They bailed due to weather in the next few days.
We saw a party on King swing and decided to go through jardine traverse. The final move on the traverse felt harder than the supertopo 5.9 rating. Also though the 11c pitch before eagle ledge was harder than Enduro corner.
We previously heard there would be rain in the afternoon but checked the weather again and it was clear so we decided to climb on.
On the way to the great roof, the winds started picking up more and more. Cold was sweeping in and our thin wind breakers we're not sufficient to prevent us from shivering.
We got to great roof around 2pm. The first part of pancake flake was fun and fast, but the second half got thin protection. Having heard Hans florine broke his ankles here, I was extra cautious and slow here.
We decided to keep it safer and stop short fixing after camp 4 and started aid climbing every pitch. The upper pitches were a level harder than the first half. It took a bit out of us not to fall asleep at belays. We did climb through the cold night and topped out in the morning!
6l water, drank 4.5l between 2 people
8 bars, subway wrap, 2 bagels
Bd .1 to 4, doubles in .4 to 2
65m 8mm tagline (heavy, should have used 7mm)
Last fall, when we attempted the nose, we struggled with arm cramps. I'm happy to say both of us didn't have any arm cramps this time. I'm thinking it had to do with more nutrition and more training this time.
In the prior 6 months, each week i tried to do:
M: 30 min jog morning, 30 min weights
T: 1 hr bike morning, 1-2 hrs climbing gym evening
W: 30 min jog morning, 30 min weights
TH: 1 hr jog morning, 1-2 hrs climbing gym evening
Reality was that i missed sessions every few days. I tried to follow Rock Climber's Manual or the New Alpinism plans but found it difficult to follow it strictly.
I led up to the Great Roof, Leo, a better aid climber took the great roof. After, I only led the Pancake flake and changing corners. Leo led the rest of the pitches at the top.
I felt we were woefully unprepared for our gear selection. I either had too much gear or too little of a particular size. Knowing which set to carry on each pitch to have would have made climbing a lot easier.
The winds were suprisingly cold, we should have brought more clothing.
We could have brought a little more food but we made it fine with what we had.
Having a strong partner who complements you matters a lot. Leo was a much more effective aid climber than myself.
