Two Old Friends, One Big Send
Canadians on EL CAPITAN
On the evening of May 26, Will Stanhope busted through the clouds to reach the summit of El Capitan and complete his goal of free-climbing El Corazon, a 32- pitch grade VI 5.13b. El Corazon starts up Freeblast then branches off up Flight of the Albatross, Son of Heart and The Heart Route before joining with the upper pitches of Golden Gate at the Tower to the People ledge.
It marked Stanhope’s fourth El Capitan free climb after Freerider, Golden Gate and The Prophet and was my first time trying a route big-wall style and sleeping on a ledge. It took Stanhope and I six days to complete El Corazon. While most of the climbing went smoothly, the ascent wasn’t completely devoid of drama.
The first few days went slow but steady with some mistiming of the sun and underestimating just how hot it would be on the wall. We started the third day having completed Freeblast and only the first four pitches off Mammoth Terraces. We had expected to be there a full day earlier so we were behind schedule but still doing OK.
Then we ran up against pitch 16, which was described as a 5.12d corner with fixed pins but the pins were missing and we stalled out, not sure if we were even at the correct anchor. We took turns swinging around looking for pins, up and down-climbing different features before facing the possibility of retreat.
Fortunately, thanks to technology, a friend mentioned that on the second ascent, Tommy Caldwell aided up an off-width to the right and then swung over, found marginal gear and head-pointed the pitch. So that’s what Stanhope did to start the fourth day. The next few pitches were completed quickly and we ended up below the Coffee Corner, 5.13a to start the fifth day. Stanhope f lashed it and then worked out the sequence for the crux pitch, the Roof Traverse 5.13b.
He then returned to the belay and in an impressive display of strength he managed to muscle his way through the roof for the redpoint on his second try. I followed, reduced to aiding in support, and then we were on the Tower to the People ledge with only seven pitches of Golden Gate remaining. Unfortunately, two of those seven are rated 5.13a; the Golden Desert and the A5 Traverse pitches.
Waking up early to avoid the sun it took Stanhope a few tries to figure out a sequence to avoid a wet hold on the Golden Desert pitch. Once again I followed on toprope, but I managed to hold the wet crimp and power through the crux. It set the scene for the final moment of drama on the route. I summoned 20 years of sport climbing and onsighted the A5 Traverse pitch. Then Stanhope just had to follow it without falling to have a clear shot at the summit with only easier climbing remaining.
Visibly drained after five hard days of climbing, Stanhope fell right before the anchor and had to reverse aid the pitch to get back to the start. After a few more failed attempts we retreated back to the ledge to have lunch and rest. While on the ledge some clouds started rolling in and with no weather forecast for the past six days we didn’t know what to expect.
“Should we wait it out or try to push for the summit?” we wondered. Stanhope gave the A5 Traverse one more attempt and managed to claw his way to the anchor. Another valiant effort on the subsequent 5.12a pitch and then, surrounded by clouds, Stanhope settled in for the victory dance up the 5.11 f lakes to the summit. After six days on the wall, Stanhope was happy to have completed another free climb on El Capitan. Me? I was relieved to finally be able to take my harness off.