Live Updates "Aussies on El Cap"

news from a reporter on the ground....

yosemite is rad, just rad!!! its been a bit rainy for the last few days. lee and ben are the only ones on the capitan atm, with many more eagerly awaiting the fine weather forecast for weds. the rest of us are going braindead in the meanwhile! jake and simon are more than recoverd from the expediton up Freerider (35 pitches grade 27). with food for six days packed the duo set up, jake with the goal of freeclimbing and simon in support, just sniffing the roses. hot weather on the valley floor led to some quasi-alpine starts to climb the slabby pitches without the hinderance of the sun. all went to plan for the first few days, with all pitches going free. after reaching the alcove late one night an easy day was in order. taking it easy that day jake climbed the monster offwidth (40 meters of size 6 camolot goodness, which took 2 hours to climb) and fixed a few pitches above. the alcove provided a much welcomed respite from the baking sun. the next day, day 3 on the wall led to disaster...

the huber boulder pitch, the technical crux of the route. this features small holds and smaller feet with a sideways dyno to a jug. after a few tries jake was looking strong. try number three, desperate gaston, get those feet up, jugs... sooo.... close... double dyno!!! jake launched, all points off, i watched, stoked!! he had the jug!! but whys he falling now?? and whats that in his hands!?!?! as the watch the victory jug fly off into the abyss the rope comes tight. thirty seconds pass before i ask if jakes ok. we both just stare, dumbfounded by what just happened. jake tried to work out a new sequence without using the now-missing jug but to no avail. freerider is forever changed. we continued up to the block and set up our bivy. later that arvo we rapped back down to try the pitch on top-rope but with skin failing jake had to leave it till next time. He also tried the other variation, the teflon pitch which was done by todd skinner. and did all the moves but was tuckered from the days intense events.

the next few days saw us continuing to the top. jake tried to free as much as possible but the dissapointment of not doing the boulder combined with being baked in the sun led to just getting up the route!! after a night at the scenic long ledge, positioned above the salathe headwall we topped out, jake already making plans to return.

in the weeks before i(simon) was on freerider, all the people in the valley were driving me up the walls, el cap to be precise. after a succesful solo of the leaning tower and lost arrow spire with a friend, it was time to face a dream, to solo el capitan. i chose zodiac (16 pitches A3) due to its shorter length and classic status! after hiking my loads to the base i saw the route was a circus, with four parties already on it! nonetheless i started up it. on the second day i caught up to another soloist, rather than pull a passing move we decided that i should wait a day and let Aaron get ahead a few pitches. so after a day chilling in the portaledge, drinking tea and trying not to eat all my food i was off again, into the steep grey circle. after a few more exposed days i was again stuck behind aaron. this time however i was on a mission so we negotiated a pass. the next day led to the top! after 6 days the feeling was incredible, having not hammered made it even more special. every climber has seen el capitan and every climber dreams... i had lived mine, learning more in those 6 days than in the last 21 years!!

right now however those wild memories seem like an age ago as we sit, staring at the grey clouds, wishing them away while we make plans. with only a few more weeks left there's still time for more, and the siren-like allure of el cap cannot be ignored....