Yosemite: Virginia, El Capitan
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| El Capitan, start to Virginia marked with red dot |
The weather was looking to cooperate, so a trip down to one of the grandest pieces of granite was in order. El Cap is something that when you drive closer, it makes you feel more like the size of an ant. I've found a similar feeling of grandeur in other amazing places, but because the Captain is so unrelentingly steep and directly next to the road it possesses a completely unique and powerful vibe. Approaching El Cap with the intention of climbing one of it's routes can cause a person's mind to think up all types of things. A feeling similar to what one experiences before a public speaking engagement is my best way of describing what goes on looking up from the base of a long climb.
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arranging gear for blast off in the morning
Merging with the well traveled Tangerine Trip route around halfway up the face, Virginia is found on the overhanging southeast wall. Scotty and I have climbed El Cap a few times together and we've gotten into doing the routes in a push (meaning climb until your on top without stopping to sleep). It can be trying at times to keep moving despite the exhaustion and caffeine is mandatory. The urges to sleep are very strong, but standing on top after quickly climbing such a large steep face is a very fulfilling experience.
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Luckily, Tom Evans of the famous El Cap Report was in the area and captured the ascent with his artistic eye. Much thanks goes out to Tom for not only shooting fantastic photos while climbers are up on El Cap, but he is also a sort of guardian angel in that he'll call 911 and initiate a rescue if he witnesses any accidents. Thank you Tom.
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| Scotty cleaning before he takes over the lead |
Since the route doesn't have any good ledges, we were psyched to have a Fish One Night Stand portaledge. The ledge was super light and gave us a nice spot to change leads and an even better spot for the belayer to get some much needed "horizontal time." I've used a full size ledge for these types of 2 man ascents before and while their more spacious, they really do add a little too much weight and bulk.
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| Scotty taking the lead as I'm lounging comfortably. photo by: Tom Evans |
Scotty led through the afternoon and into the night leaving me to some nice early morning climbing as we neared the top.
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| Nearing the top of Virginia, El Capitan. photo by: Tom Evans |
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The summit
After something like 26 hours we made it to the top. Time for a quick summit shot and we're off down the east slabs descent and on our way to pizza and beer. Another memorable El Cap route with a good friend. |
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