Attempting Golden Gate isn't just a climbing challenge; it's a lesson in how to live, eat, and breathe while suspended in a void where the only constant is the friction of granite and the strength of a shared rope.

Summary

• Objective: A six-day attempt to free climb Golden Gate on El Capitan

• Logistics: Hauling around 40 litres of water, food, and gear, pitch by pitch; portaledge living throughout

• Conditions: Intense heat led to a nocturnal climbing rhythm; later, a major storm forced a change in plans

• Outcome: After bailing, we returned and abseiled in from above to complete the remaining sections

• Highlights: The exposure and commitment of the A5 traverse; the Valley’s lesson that adaptation and engagement can matter as much as a single continuous ascent

Yosemite

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, has long been one of the most iconic climbing destinations in the world. Rising from the valley floor, its vast granite walls, clean, steep, and uncompromising, have shaped the history of modern rock climbing.

From The Nose to Now

In 1958, when El Capitan was first climbed via The Nose, Warren Harding and his team spent around 45 days on the wall, spread over months of effort, hauling gear, fixing ropes, and slowly pushing higher on what was then considered impossible. From those early big wall pioneers to today's free climbers, climbing in Yosemite remains a proving ground where style matters as much as success. For many, climbing in Yosemite becomes a rite of passage.

Traditional Climbing at Scale

Unlike bolted sport crags, climbing here is traditional: protection is placed by hand, piece by piece, as you move upward. The scale is also different. Routes stretch for hundreds of metres, sometimes over a kilometre, demanding not just physical ability but logistics, patience, and commitment.

The Plan: Golden Gate on El Capitan

This trip, together with Freja, was focused on attempting Golden Gate on El Capitan, one of the Valley's most famous big walls and a benchmark free climb. The plan was to spend up to eight days on the wall, hauling everything we needed in haul bags: around 40 litres of water, food, and equipment, all dragged pitch by pitch. On routes of this scale, hauling can be as demanding as the climbing itself.

Portaledge Life: Quiet, Suspended Rituals

Life on the wall quickly settles into its own rhythm, the quiet rituals of portaledge living. Mornings start suspended in space, coffee in hand, legs hanging over the edge of the portaledge, with nearly 800 metres of air beneath your feet. Nights are spent drifting between sleep and wakefulness, staring out into a sky full of stars, completely exposed, yet somehow at home.

Style and Intention: A Free Ascent

Our aim was to free climb the route, moving upward without pulling on gear, staying true to the style that defines Yosemite. The reality of the wall, however, is always shaped by the environment.

Heat and the Nocturnal Shift

The first days brought intense heat, forcing us into a nocturnal rhythm: resting through the day under makeshift sun shelters on the portaledge, then climbing through the night by headtorch, high above the valley floor.

Storm and Bail

After four days on the wall, the weather shifted. A major storm rolled in, bringing an abrupt end to the push. We were forced to bail, leaving the climb unfinished in a single continuous ascent. Although we managed to free climb the majority of the route, the conditions ultimately dictated the outcome.

Returning to Finish

Returning after the storm, we abseiled in from above to complete the remaining sections, finishing the line, but in a different style than originally intended.

The A5 Traverse: Exposure and Commitment

Higher on the route, the climbing culminates in one of Yosemite's most memorable pitches: the A5 traverse. Steep, exposed, and relentlessly physical, it's a line that demands total commitment, powerful movement on overhanging granite, with just enough protection to keep you honest. With so much space below, falling is more psychological than dangerous, adding to the unique character of the pitch.

Lessons from the Valley

Yosemite has a way of reminding you that success isn't always defined by a clean ascent. It's a place where scale, conditions, and history combine, and where simply engaging with the wall, living on it and adapting to it, is part of the experience.