A collapsible sleeping platform for climbers. Alpinists doing multi-day, big-wall climbs used to sleep in hammocks, which they hated, because they鈥檇 wake up every few hours with their shoulders scrunched. In 1969, brothers designed the first portaledge out of aluminum tubing and Dacron nonstretch fabric. Greg used the 鈥淟URP tent鈥 on his first winter ascent of the northwest face of Yosemite鈥檚 Half Dome in 1972, but portaledges didn鈥檛 become ubiquitous until 1977, when climber started selling his nylon and aluminum 鈥渃liff dwellings鈥 out of a van. Today, portaledges are 鈥減retty much the same,鈥 says Ken Yager, founder of the , 鈥渨ith improved designs and stiffer corners.鈥
Stuck
When the weather gets bad and you鈥檙e high on a wall, there鈥檚 only one thing to do: wait it out in your portaledge. Some stays are worse than others.听
1998:聽Mike Libecki and two others are trapped for six days during their first ascent of the Walker Citadel on Canada鈥檚 Baffin Island.
2000:聽Roxanna Brock and Brian McCray are stranded by weather for 40 hours during a 25-day mountaineering competition in Russia. They take home the bronze.
2007:聽Dave Turner spends 34 days alone on Cerro Escudo in Patagonia, trying to ascend 25 pitches with 250 pounds of gear. He celebrates his 26th birthday on the wall.听
2015:聽Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson take 11 and 8 portaledge-bound rest days, respectively, while completing the first free ascent of Yosemite鈥檚 Dawn Wall.听