Training for Freerider - Tips?

I've been climbing for a year and a half, and my ultimate goal is to climb the Freerider. My timetable is to climb it before I turn 30, which will be April 2024. I've looked at as much beta as I can to figure out what I need to focus on to get there. Right now my experience is limited almost entirely to single pitch sport routes (5.11ish)

What are some good climbs to do to work up to it? I was thinking West Face of El Cap and the Freeblast.
I know I need to focus on offwidth and crack climbing, which I have next to no experience with.

What else is there? Is 4.5 years too lofty a goal to accomplish given where I am now?
Thanks!

Seems a little ambitious. To get up the route and to actually free climb the entire route are 2 different things. Being proficient on Yosemite granite and having  big wall skills can be as important as being able to climb 5.12+, and has shut down many strong free climbers on their free attempts on El Cap. Gain some big wall skills, climbing a smaller route trying to free as much  as you can, then climb the Salathe wall, or Free Rider in wall style trying to free as much as you can. If you can climb 5.12 cracks of any size day after day while hauling all your crap up the wall, I would say you have a chance.

Jarom, you are light years away. If you're really serious, set a closer goal that is obtainable enough that you may actually suffer and learn, rather than give up your casual pipe dream. Start with the East Buttress of El Cap, a proud line in its own right, and you can wire the Free Rider descent. If that goes well, you'll find many "next-step" climbs to do. Eventually, set your sights on Astroman. If you are of average or slightly above ability, and above average in commitment, you might be able to swing leads on Astroman in 4.5 years from now. If you succeed, you will have achieved a worthy lifetime goal. Most expert climbers call it good at about that level. But if you liked the process, feel like you're just getting started, and want to step up your game about 5 notches, then contemplate Free Rider.

Start trad climbing and spend lots of time on granite and in the valley to start with.

I'd ignore the advice to start spending all your time trad climbing. You will probably get there way faster if you focus on bouldering and sport climbing. Get to where you can Boulder v8 reliably, send 5.13 sport without too much trouble, while mixing in some trad climbing to learn to place gear and climb big walls. I think if you're talented and dedicated, and train super hard, you can definitely do it. 

Damnit Alex

I’ll chime in as someone who has attempted to free the Freerider, and have been climbing 5.5 years now (similar time-table to your goal).

I started climbing in a gym, then mostly sport climbed and built up good sport climbing strength for probably the first 3 years of my climbing. I first learned multipitch sport and got that dialed, then predominantly trad climbed on trips I took to learn all the crack techniques I could over the last 3 years. I spent the last two summers in the Sierra and learned the style of Sierra granite (unique in its own right), and the last two falls seasons in Yosemite, around a month each learning to climb walls efficiently and fast. I now live in Yosemite half the year and attempted Freerider this spring, and I expect it will take 1-2 more seasons of work before it goes. 
Freerider is unique, as it has hard climbing of every style: slab (freeblast), steep cracks of all sizes, offwidths, and the boulder problem and/or stemming crux. I’d suggest the following general skills outline:
-Gain base bouldering and sport climbing strength up to 12+/V6
-Get super dialed on multipitch trad
-Spend a lot of time climbing Sierra granite and in Yosemite until you’re working on 12+ routes and bouldering V6+ in the valley 
-Get really good at cracks of all sizes. If you have poor technique you will not be successful.
-Learn how to climb bigwalls and the related skills. Then try to free climb on some, it’s very different but very rewarding. 

I think it’s a great goal, and I remember it being a pipe dream for me as well 4 years ago, but with the right effort and time put in, you’ll at least be able to give it a solid shot at some point. Like I said, I still expect it to take me ~2 more seasons, but it’s a fun and rewarding process along the way!

Best of luck!

trailridge wrote: Check out the movie free solo. A guy climbed it without a rope and they made it a Hollywood film. Forgot the guys name but worth checking out.  

I think Ive heard of that.  Is it any good? Was Tom Cruise the star where he had to cut the rop so his two kids could live?

MorganH wrote: I'd ignore the advice to start spending all your time trad climbing. You will probably get there way faster if you focus on bouldering and sport climbing. Get to where you can Boulder v8 reliably, send 5.13 sport without too much trouble, while mixing in some trad climbing to learn to place gear and climb big walls. I think if you're talented and dedicated, and train super hard, you can definitely do it. 

My thought was to train to climb up to 5.13b sport, and V9 bouldering. I'm at about V5 right now, and I've sent a single 5.12a, though I wouldn't consider myself a 5.12 climber.

Christian Black wrote: I’ll chime in as someone who has attempted to free the Freerider, and have been climbing 5.5 years now (similar time-table to your goal).

I started climbing in a gym, then mostly sport climbed and built up good sport climbing strength for probably the first 3 years of my climbing. I first learned multipitch sport and got that dialed, then predominantly trad climbed on trips I took to learn all the crack techniques I could over the last 3 years. I spent the last two summers in the Sierra and learned the style of Sierra granite (unique in its own right), and the last two falls seasons in Yosemite, around a month each learning to climb walls efficiently and fast. I now live in Yosemite half the year and attempted Freerider this spring, and I expect it will take 1-2 more seasons of work before it goes. 
Freerider is unique, as it has hard climbing of every style: slab (freeblast), steep cracks of all sizes, offwidths, and the boulder problem and/or stemming crux. I’d suggest the following general skills outline:
-Gain base bouldering and sport climbing strength up to 12+/V6
-Get super dialed on multipitch trad
-Spend a lot of time climbing Sierra granite and in Yosemite until you’re working on 12+ routes and bouldering V6+ in the valley 
-Get really good at cracks of all sizes. If you have poor technique you will not be successful.
-Learn how to climb bigwalls and the related skills. Then try to free climb on some, it’s very different but very rewarding. 

I think it’s a great goal, and I remember it being a pipe dream for me as well 4 years ago, but with the right effort and time put in, you’ll at least be able to give it a solid shot at some point. Like I said, I still expect it to take me ~2 more seasons, but it’s a fun and rewarding process along the way!

Best of luck!

Thanks for taking the time. I don't know how much I'll be able to be in the valley over the next four years, but I do have Little Cottonwood Canyon in Salt Lake to train at, which is almost entirely granite and I've heard is similar to Yosemite. I've really fallen in love with climbing and I want the capstone to be the Freerider (not because it's the route Honnold did, but because it's the easiest free route up El Cap.) Whether I get that in 4 years doesn't really matter. I just thought that might be a good timetable. From what I am reading, people seem to think I'm a dumbass for thinking that's possible. Maybe that's true. If I have to adjust my goalposts I will. Maybe I replace Freerider with Astroman and do Freerider a couple years after. 

You're not a dumbass. Just don't slight yourself by discounting goals you could achieve in a year or two. You'll stay more psyched and progress faster if climbs like Serenity/Sons, Nabisco Wall, Rostrum, Astroman, Crucifix, and El Cap West Face join your "goals" list. Little Cottonwood is a great place to train your basic skills, but everything is short. As many have posted above, don't forget to learn how to get comfortable for multiple days on big walls. Pro tip: El Cap has the most convenient camping in the Valley.

Free solo should be on reel rock... not of been in theaters :/

Gumby King wrote: Damnit Alex

+1000

I think it's awesome that you've set an ambitious goal for yourself. For me, having a tangible goal to work towards has been an essential part of my climbing experience. Like others, I would encourage you to focus more immediately on short term attainable goals, and just generally progressing as a climber. I would also throw out the idea of a timetable. If you find yourself in the position to go for it in four or so years, then you'll know, but asking others for advice on such a subjective thing as the time involved for climbing growth and progress seems like a fruitless enterprise. Ultimately, just try hard and have fun and you'll end up exactly where you should be with your climbing!

Also, ignore the "Damnit Alex" type comments. They are reflective of an incredibly myopic understanding of the growth and popularity of climbing, and a general lack of critical thinking skills. 

J Achey wrote: You're not a dumbass. Just don't slight yourself by discounting goals you could achieve in a year or two. You'll stay more psyched and progress faster if climbs like Serenity/Sons, Nabisco Wall, Rostrum, Astroman, Crucifix, and El Cap West Face join your "goals" list. Little Cottonwood is a great place to train your basic skills, but everything is short. As many have posted above, don't forget to learn how to get comfortable for multiple days on big walls. Pro tip: El Cap has the most convenient camping in the Valley.

I'd agree that these routes would definitely be on your way to a free attempt of Freerider. 

Everybody saying that you can't never will come close to doing themselves.

Set the goal, tick off the steps to get there and don't listen to anybody that says you can't or shouldn't.

Guys like them bail most every time.

Maybe try and climb a 5.10+/5.11 off-width sometime and then after decide whether you want Freerider as your goal knowing that the Monster offwidth is slicker than whatever you climbed and halfway through.  It's good to have ambition but 5 years is longer than you've been climbing, for what it's worth sport climbing and hard bigwall trad climbing are very, very different (hauling anything is work, offwidths are work, rappelling after a beatdown on a wall is work and you can't just walk back to the car).  Caveat being I have not climbed Freerider so if you're set on that get to the valley as much as possible, LCC is good for working on granite slab technique but doesn't have the steepness as others have said.  Although Indian Creek does for cracks.  

Freerider (most of salathe) sucks as a free route!!! It's a legitimately bad climb which logically follows a major diagonal weakness but it's full of annoying things like downclimbing, chipped slab bolt ladders, junky traverses, and generic filler rambling. Many other classic iconic free routes have far more individual high quality pitches.

Of the first ~20 pitches (up to el cap spire) it has almost all forgettable or memorably weird/bad climbing. The first pitch of the whole thing Is a generic 5.10 crack but it seems to be probably the best pitch of the first 2/3rds of the wall except the splitter fingers on the hollow flake downclimb. The Monster has its appeal but is monotonously awkward and scary though very splitter.

Above el cap spire you get a few good pitches, but really how many of them would be 4 star or 5 star at a crag? Basically just the enduro corner and maybe 2 others? Unless it's fall the sewer will be a muddy creek gully and if the sewer is dry it means it's fall and the wall reeks of urine. Even the boulder problem "pitch" is just a diagonal v7 in a non-exposed alcove, really a 3 bolt pitch with 2 no hands rests above the first 2 bolts.

I'm being slightly contrarian  but just slightly. Finishing up the salathe headwall would add an all time amazing section of 2-3 pitches after the enduro corner, but also makes it far harder and the good climbing there Is still in the top 25% of the wall.

Fish heads and cheese steaks

Its not impossible but it is an ambitious goal. In addition free climbing 12d just isn't a reality for everyone.  To make this happen you would need to eat breathe and sleep trad climbing for years.  In addition I would spend a ton of time in Yosemite, Indian creek and Zion to perfect your crack climbing.  You will also need to spend a bunch of time big walling in order to get the systems down.  I know plenty of solid 5.12 trad climbers who have not been able to climb free rider clean and most people drastically underestimate the effort it takes to get a route that big done.  Even climbing single pitch 5.12 in the creek or valley don't give you a realistic feel of what its like climbing that grade 20 pitches up with a big rack.  But like I said, its not impossible but it is very ambitious.  best of luck and work hard!

This list probably won't be helpful until later in your goal, but here are some ideas in LCC that would mimic the hardest parts of Freerider. Maybe list them in order of grade and start your tick list. If you could send all of these, you are ready.

LCC Trainer for Freerider 

Freeblast: Tick Fever 11a, Punany 11b, Green A 5.10a, Black and White John and Mary 10c
The Move off Heart: Lend Me a Dime 12a
Hollow Flake Downclimb: Pudgy Gumbies 11d
General Burl from Heart to the Monster: Desperado 5.8, Last pitch OW of Green A 5.7, Goodro's Nightmare 5.8, Certain Death 5.8
Monster OW: Burner 5.10d (Repeats, Left Side in, no knee jams)
The Boulder Problem: Prowser 5.12, Savvy 5.12d, Bradlands 5.12d
Enduro Corner: Badlands 12a, Bongeater (repeats while laybacking only, no jamming)
Round Table Traverse: Motorskills 12a, Strewn Masters of Gore 5.12b
Thin Cracks above the Round Table: Spring and Fall 11c, Coyne Crack 11d, Wing Nut 5.11c
Scotty Burke OW: This is Almost the Place 11d

Just go have fun climbing for the next 5 years. Climb a lot, climb all the disciplines, climb in Yosemite a lot, learn how to climb walls (walls are not simply long routes). You should be able to climb the Salathe Wall (at the 5.10+ level) from Heart Ledge spending only 2 nights on the wall.
Be able to (honestly) ramble 5.11. 5.11a,b,c should barely register on your level of concern. Astroman should not be a big deal, nor The Crucifix, The Rostrum or the NIAD.