I wanna hear your experience from start to summiting El Capitan

I've been climbing about 10 years and the urge to climb El Cap gets stronger every year. I just started climbing back at the gym a couple months ago about three/four times a week, and feel like I'm a fairly strong trad climber. But I really wanna hear how some of you guys/girls went for it. I've done some really amazing stuff but really want to take it to El Cap. Last summer for my birthday I did the 28 routes in 1 day challenge, and I felt like it was a small taste of the cap, and it got me super excited.

I'd like to hear about how you started, your workout routine, lifestyle changes, gear prepping, climbing prepping, how you met your partner etc.. Please let me know in the comments, I'm looking at going for it 2 summers from now. I'd love to hear some motivation.

I know there's going to be a handful of just go to El Cap and do it people out there. And although I would like to do this, it's just not realistic for me at the moment. 

I'll immediately go into a TL;DR version: Climbed shit loads of pitches the months before hand, worked out a ton, and stayed focused.

I climbed numerous walls in Zion with more aid focus (up to C3) to start. Went to Yosemite with plans to do the Nose, and bailed after my partner and I were seriously under gunned on Washingtons Column. After than I focused more on free climbing at a higher level and did more long routes around the intermountain west (more Zion, Notch Peak via both tiers, Tetons, etc). Went back to Yosemite and fired the RNWFHD in a day (but not without some bonking). Focused more on upping the free climbing game. Nailed down a partner for the NIAD a year later, trained like crazy (lifting, bouldering, ARC'ing, Zion trip). Got to the Valley only to have partner bail last minute, randomly had an acquaintance in the valley at the same time who was stoked. Sent the Nose the next day in 19.5 hours.

Practiced at the local crag in the months leading up to it, then spent 4 wks in the valley to learn wall systems and do Leaning Tower for practice before firing the Salathe. I found the crux is finding a partner who is psyched and dedicated enough to put in the time to learn and practice all the new skills that walls require you to do decently well. My experience is that free climbing ability barely mattered - efficient aiding, dialed systems, and willingness to suffer a bit is more important. 

Also keep in mind how you learn - I did tons of research, reading, videos, practice at home and was able to get away without any serious clusters or faffing on either wall. If you know you learn better by doing and making mistakes, build that into your plan.

Greg - interested to hear more about how hard you were climbing and the volume before half dome and el cap in a day

I climbed the Nose in a proud 71 hrs after about 2 years climbing. 68 hrs climbing, 3 hrs sleeping.  I was 23. Team of three, first trip up El Cap for all of us.  Did like 3 pitches of aid beforehand, our most experienced partner had done a 2 day wall beforehand.  Aided most of it. Read a bunch of stuff on how, definitely had alot of conceptual knowledge, but sort of mostly learned efficiency and systems along the way.  First haul off of sickle when two of us did a full body coordinated massive hernia inducing effort to move our bag up 10", I thought NFW we are climbing this rig.  But we kept at it, and it got done.  We saw someone else space haul and learned that, that was pretty key.

Most important advice: just don't stop, for any reason, and you will make the top.  Unless someone loses a leg, or a massive storm comes in, there exist no excuses for going down. Stubbornness is the most important team attribute. 

I will also add that those three days and that climb with those partners were likely the best three days of my climbing career, and I have climbed many thousands of pitches in many places over 22 yrs now. There ain't nothing like stepping up to the captain and firing.  You'll remember that on your last day on this planet.. Don't do a practice wall first, you don't want to dilute the experience. 

tallguy wrote:

I will also add that those three days and that climb with those partners were likely the best three days of my climbing career, and I have climbed many thousands of pitches in many places over 22 yrs now. There ain't nothing like stepping up to the captain and firing.  You'll remember that on your last day on this planet.. Don't do a practice wall first, you don't want to dilute the experience. 

You don’t think someone should do a “starter” big wall like leaning tower before hitting up the cap?

Yea I wouldn't agree with tallguy... a practice wall is a really good idea unless you have unlimited time to try/fail on the big stone, both skill-wise and psychologically. Also my experience on leaning tower was vastly different from el cap - the scale just isn't the same and the routes feel very different, so i don't think it dilutes the experience. Plus, topping out on leaning tower and looking across to El Cap and realizing how much bigger it is just gets the intimidation and stoke factor really high.

Matt Castelli wrote:

Greg - interested to hear more about how hard you were climbing and the volume before half dome and el cap in a day

Matt, 

For Half Dome I just climbed a bunch, and didn't have any focus. Half dome was pretty easy in my opinion (I did it pre-rockfall), but that said my arms cramped up pretty bad at the top of the zigzags just in time for me to lead thank god ledge (learned something about nutrition). I think we did the route in 12 hours? I'd been in the valley for about a week prior to us climbing it with roughly 50-60 pitches already under my belt for that trip. Max onsight for me at the time was 10+/11-. 

This is for El Cap: Difficulty up to 5.12 on gear and bolts. Generally mid 5.11 was my onsight, high 5.11 was my 1 or 2 go level, and low to mid 5.12 was my half a dozen to a dozen attempt redpoint range. I'd go and do volume bouldering days in Little Cottonwood trying to do all V4 and under problems from a single parking zone. So maybe 30-40 problems per session? For routes volume a partner and I would do up to 30 pitches per session (tr and repeats allowed) with the grades ranging from 5.7 to 11b in Little Cottonwood. I think I did maybe 4 of those 25-30 pitch sessions before the trip? One crucial thing we were doing was when the leader lowered off they would lead with the next pitch with the remaining rack to simulate short fixing conditions. It made climbing routes we'd done a million times brand new again since we'd have to figure out how to climb it with limited or an unfamiliar rack. When were still redpointing low 5.11 routes 20 pitches into a session I was confident we'd do the NIAD first try as long as weather allowed.

For Both: A skill that made both of these routes much easier is my basic aid technique I learned 10 years ago and continue to practice yearly in Zion and locally. One of my good partners is a master of the "FrAid" technique which although a bit tongue-in-check (cuz it can be scary), is that Free-Aid style where you're just freestyling your way up a pitch using anything and everything possible to make it as free as can be. I learned a lot from him, but also just from doing classic big walls in Zion like the Shield, Spaceshot, or Tricks of the Trade. Those walls are still trade routes, but they're not easy C1 and make you pull out a lot of stops to make it to the top. Simple C1 is great for learning the mechanics of aiding, but harder stuff forces you to use your brain more for problem solving by which you'll figure out ways to increase efficiency you wouldn't be forced to learn on something like moonlight. 

I aid soloed the trip over a week, with a day or two of sitting in my ledge while it stormed. I didn’t have to stress about other parties. Slow and steady. It was cool, practiced aid soloing and systems during warm winter days in Montana crags first, but largely just figured it out on the go. I think I ripped a camhook on day two or three and took a 50 footer. I stopped using cam hooks after that.

The nose is a constant clusterfuck these days, which takes away from its classic status. Just go pick a route, start at the bottom and go to the top. If you’re motivated enough you’ll make it. 

Alex Langfield wrote:

You don’t think someone should do a “starter” big wall like leaning tower before hitting up the cap?

You have been climbing for 10 years.. you have plenty of technical knowledge already, so you don't need to unless you want to. They will speed you up and give you some confidence, buts it's really not so different from what you get on practice aid pitches and practice hauling.   I think it's more interesting mentally if you dont and something you should consider.  Why not just do do it?  

Multiple people come here and say "start at the bottom, go to the top" advice.. all versions of "just don't come down and you will do it".  It's not a joke, it's actually the most critical advice in my opinion.  If you have complete mental clarity that the moment you step off the ground, that means you are going to top out, you will.   If you doubt that, you'll probably find some excuse to come down.  

tallguy wrote:

You have been climbing for 10 years.. you have plenty of technical knowledge already, so you don't need to unless you want to. They will speed you up and give you some confidence, buts it's really not so different from what you get on practice aid pitches and practice hauling.   I think it's more interesting mentally if you dont and something you should consider.  Why not just do do it?  

Multiple people come here and say "start at the bottom, go to the top" advice.. all versions of "just don't come down and you will do it".  It's not a joke, it's actually the most critical advice in my opinion.  If you have complete mental clarity that the moment you step off the ground, that means you are going to top out, you will.   If you doubt that, you'll probably find some excuse to come down.  

For some reason I accidentally locked the topic. But yeah I truly do get this, I think it applies to all climbing not just big wall. I kinda had the idea that leaning tower would be good to dial the systems but I think that’s good advice. Appreciate all the comments so far.

My friend wrote a really great article about his time climbing in Yosemite ultimately culminating with an ascent of the nose. It’s not the specifics you are looking for, but it’s definitely motivating.

https://www.commonclimber.com/growing-up.html

Ill skip the spray down but pass on the stoke.

Go do the leaning tower! Then go for el cap. Especially if you have the time. Its a super fun wall and great practice for el cap. Dial in the " big wall machine".  Learn how to lower out a bag and your self while jumaring and your set.

Edit: oh yeah dont bail dont die

Leaning Tower is awesome. I’ve done it three time and hope to do it again.

A big tip, I think, is to sit down with you partner and go over the topo in crazy detail. Try to solve any technical questions you might have and explain to each other IN GREAT DETAIL how you will solve them.

Mark Hudon wrote:

Try to solve any technical questions you might have and explain to each other IN GREAT DETAIL how you will solve them.

What kinds of things would a newer wall climber look for? I imagine bivvy location plan A and B, cleaning traverses, hauling chimneys, bail/rap plans...

How are you going to clean the King Swing? What happens if the wind is nuking and you can’t hear each other? How does the leader get back to the route if he falls and the pitch had diagonaled quite a bit? How are you going to free the haul  bag if it gets stuck somewhere? 

Clusters and people bailing off the nose sucks. The number of people “just going for it” ruins it for the people that should be going for it. My metric for a “pass” up the nose would be: if you can you do S. Face of Washington column in a day, or 10 pitches in a day somewhere else, you should be good. Leaning tower in a day is a good metric too!

Just go do it. Maybe start with an easier (logistics) route like lurking fear. Also make sure you have a partner that isn’t going to bail or doesn’t know how to ;). If you are looking to do niad go spend some time in the valley and run some el cap tower laps to dial in your system.

Edit:

To add to what Mark and other people have said experience does matter. However, I spent many years thinking about doing a big wall instead of just going for it. Obviously you should do your homework. Read about logistics and “how to big wall”. I probably read two books from the library along with other people’s posts on hauling and anchor setups. Practice the obvious things like jugging and hauling. If you have been climbing for 10 years you probably have ample trad experience and some aid experience. As I said before, if you are looking to sleep on the wall then do an easy route like lurking fear. If your looking to do NIAD that’s a different story. 

“Just go for it” is rather ridiculous advice. How about honestly analyzing your skills, and then looking at the topo to figure out if they are compatible?

Back in the day, it was common to advise someone that they were simply not ready for a route, that they should go do X, X and X beforehand.