Golden Gate Ground Up
Free climbing El Capitan has been a goal of mine ever since I started climbing but one that I assumed wouldn’t happen for years to come. Most people aren’t aware that 99% of the people who climb El Cap don’t even attempt to free climb it, since such an endeavor was historically only accomplished by the elite of the climbing world. Before this past week, I had climbed 9 routes on El Cap, none of them free, and thought that it would be cool to make number 10 a free attempt. With limited time left in my valley season, I shot out some texts and secured a last minute partner to attempt a route called Golden Gate ground up. Most people try Freerider for their first free route which was part of the reason I wanted to try something different, plus I didn’t think I could do the V7 boulder problem. I had met Amity Warme just a few weeks earlier but I knew she was a crusher and it quickly became apparent that her endless energy and stoke made her an amazing wall partner as well. Only 3 days after my text, we were up on the wall. Fast forward 6 more days, and we both topped out the 36 pitch route having completed every single pitch free; a “send”. I more than doubled the amount of 5.13 pitches I’ve climbed in my life while on route and even brushed my first hold. Climbing Golden Gate ground up is by far my biggest climbing accomplishment to date and I’m honestly pretty confused as I went up there with zero intention of actually sending.
Going “ground up” on a climb means that you start from the ground and then go to the top in one push. While this style may seem intuitive, it is not as common as one may imagine. A lot of people who free climb El Cap these days, rappel in from the top to rehearse hard sequences, and stash water/gear in order to ensure a higher chance of success. I don’t frown upon the idea in the slightest and I am likely will use similar tactics in the future, but I do believe that going ground up is a sure way to preserve adventure and keep things interesting, particularly for a first attempt on a route. The disadvantage of going ground up, is that you have to haul up a lot more shit and you don’t have any of the climbing or wall logistics dialed. I’ve climbed the first 11 pitches of Golden Gate (known as the Freeblast) 5 times so I had a good preview of the first part of the route, but I had never successfully sent any of the 5.11 pitches on it or even the 5.10b move getting into the Half Dollar. I was stressed out at the idea of getting shut down on the third pitch of Freeblast and biffing it on the slab pitches. Above the Freeblast, things get even harder, starting with a slab move so desperate that Honnold found a variation that goes around it on his free solo. Things then get wide with a pumpy down climb into an unprotected squeeze followed by the harrowing Monster Offwidth… a 200 foot pitch of full body pain that starts with a desperate 11d undercling traverse. As it turned out, I managed to pull the third pitch first go but I did biff it on the first slab. I got it second go and we romped up to the slab move above Heart Ledges just as it was going into the sun. Amity sprayed me down with the beta and I flashed it. So many sections felt desperate, and the Monster Offwidth felt miserable, but it all went! Only one fall up to the first 5.13a crux and zero for Amity! The climb was already a success in my book. We spent the second half of our second day hanging out in the Alcove with new friends waiting for the sun to go down before attempting the first crux.
The first crux is a 5.13a slab down climb. I tried it and laughed out loud as I deemed it impossible and went to bed content with the idea that I wouldn’t be able to do it. Amity’s mentality was the total opposite... I have never climbed with anyone else with such a willingness to try really, really hard. Amity is insanely motivated and it was this very motivation that not only contributed to her success but also to mine. We woke up that next morning, and she managed to unlock the sequence on her second go of the day. I felt genuinely inspired and somehow managed to pull it off on my second go as well. We continued up to the base of the next crux pitch and set up our baller and borrowed G7 portaledges courtesy of Thomas Burkowski at a less than ideal hanging bivy adjacent to a waterfall that showered us with a light spray throughout our stay. As the sun set below the horizon, and the rock cooled down, we slipped on our undersized climbing shoes and began projecting “the move” pitch. Again, Amity was in full try hard mode and managed to send the pitch second go. I went to bed this time with my attitude more aligned with hers... the pressure was on. The next morning, I woke up and sent “the move” second go. I knew the next two 5.13 pitches were more enduro than bouldery (my strength) and the thought of actually sending the route first entered my head. We cruised up to an epic ledge called Tower to the People and proceeded to blast music and dance as we bathed in the sun for hours… stoke levels were high. As the sun’s rays left the wall, Amity started up "The Golden Desert", casually onsighting it. The opening slab move took me a few tries to nail but I managed to flash everything above. I was totally riding her send train. The only 5.13 left was the A5 traverse, a wild 40 foot traverse on small sloppy holds with micro edges for feet, protected by bomber fixed pitons. We tried the A5 as the sun was setting but it felt impossible. I am not the type of person to stress out much but I went to bed with some feelings of concern.
Amity and I woke up the morning of day 5 feeling relatively fresh and jumared up to the base of the A5 Traverse after a quick breakfast. On my first burn, I intentionally rested at every single piton in order to suss out the moves and not waste energy. I figured out the beta and zipped back to the belay on a neat zip line system we rigged. On my second go l managed to find a knee-bar rest and felt confident I could send the thing next go. I started my third go climbing well and even though my feet skated all over the final 10 feet of the traverse, I managed to hold on till the end. I yelled down the walls of El Cap with a celebratory scream of joy and immediately came back to the belay in order to jump into support mode for Amity. For the first time all climb, Amity was struggling and eventually the pump caught up with her as the sun hit the wall. We were forced to retreat back to our bivy ledge and wait 7 hours for the sun to set before she could try again. A part of me was honestly kind of relieved that we wouldn’t have to continue up that afternoon. I was psyched to spend another day hanging on such an epic ledge and I was certain she would be able to send the pitch with freshly rested arms that evening. We spent another day blasting music, napping, and watching birds fly around us. Amity sent the pitch that evening as expected. We both went to bed that night with no stress and romped up the final amazing pitches of thin overhanging flakes the next morning, topping out before noon. We hiked down the east ledges and I immediately drove to curry village for a shower and to buy a large pizza for myself. I hadn’t been to the pizza deck in Yosemite for over a year but back in my days as a weekend warrior, it was the tradition after finishing a long route. I brought my pizza back to El Cap meadow and got completely wasted off 3 beers while surrounded by friends.
