Triple Direct In a Day Solo 8 1 5365

I became the first person to climb the route over my shoulder in a single day by myself. It is called the Triple Direct. It goes up the dead middle of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The name comes from it combining three routes. You start on The Salathe, go to The Muir, and end on The Nose.

I reached the end of the Salathe portion which they call The Free Blast in 3 hours and 18 minutes. At this point the route starts getting a little steeper and more difficult.

I am told it was 106 degrees in Yosemite Valley on Sunday; not ideal for climbing El Capitan. I choose The TD because I could climb for the first part of the day in the shade. Then the route goes slightly right around the corner into upper dihedrals so you get late in the day shade too. If I timed it right, I’d only be in the sun for a few hours. Predominately this worked out for me. It’s tough for me to get time to do something big and also climb the days before to get “tuned in,” so I really wanted to use this day, hot or not. Thursday and Friday I climbed with my friend Derrick Lindsey on Tuolumne granite, so that was a great time to get re-familiarized with the rock.

I started at 5:48 am in the morning and topped out at 11:17 pm. I made it back to my family van at 2:09 am. And back to my bed at 3 am. I woke up at 4:15 am to start on Sunday so I did my “BTB” (Bed-to-Bed) time in under 23 hours! I hope your Sunday was equally adventuresome, or maybe you took a rest day since your Saturday was full of fun.



I will be sharing stories next Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014 in Concord at Brenden Theaters. I will be sharing stories next Tuesday, July 22nd, 2014 in Concord at Brenden Theaters. http://bit.ly/1nEsaxh