![]() On the third day we reached Sickle Ledge, 550 feet up, and established Camp I. There was no thought of reaching the summit on this attempt-our tentative goal was El Cap Towers, the prominent pinnacles on the east side of the buttress about half way up the face. On July 4, 1957, we began hammering our way up the smooth, glacier- polished wall. Our technique was to be similar to that used in ascending high mountains, with prusiking and rappelling gear replacing ice axe and crampons as aids for traveling, and winch and hauling lines instead of Sherpas. Throughout the climb, such people as John Whitmer, Cookie Calder- wood, Ellen Searby, and Beverley Woolsey contributed much to the success of the climb as they patiently plodded up the talus with loads of food and water. This would require a support party to assemble and tie loads to our hauling lines. Supplies would be hauled up from the ground as needed. We agreed unanimously that the only feasible plan of attack would be to establish a succession of camps up the face, linking them with fixed ropes. Unfortunately there appeared to be very few ledges. We would spend many days on the rock, so reasonably comfortable campsites were a necessity. Because of the extreme difficulty of the climbing we anticipated slow progress-perhaps no more than 100 to 200 feet a day. It was obvious that existing methods of conducting a sustained rock- climb would be inadequate. #ENABLE DARK BOOT EL CAPITAN CRACK#Later this crack proved to be only a water streak and we were forced to negotiate the "Roof." I felt it would be best to bypass this obstacle, using a crack somewhat to the east. It is interesting to note that, on the climb, the route went exactly as we planned, with the possible exception of the "Roof Pitch,” a formidable-looking overhang about 2000 feet up. The fact that, previously, there had been no serious attempts to scale the sheer 2900-foot face was simply due to the common belief among rock climbers that techniques were not sufficiently advanced to cope with such a problem.Īfter we decided to attempt the climb, we spent an entire day studying the face in search of a continuous route to the summit. I’m sure no climber ever considered El Cap impossible-the term "impossible climb" having long since become obsolete. In our disappointment, we became a bit rash and decided to "have a go" at El Cap. We discovered that an excellent team of climbers from southern California was already at work on it and had the situation well in hand. Mark Powell, Bill "Dolt" Feuerer and I met in Yosemite Valley intending to make an attempt on the North Face of Half Dome. The above mentioned last bolt marked the conclusion of a venture that began in July, 1957. I suppose this article could be titled "The Conquest of El Capitan." However, as I hammered in the last bolt and staggered over the rim, it was not at all clear to me who was conqueror and who was conquered: I do recall that El Cap seemed to be in much better condition than I was. ![]()
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