I. Every Second Counts

It鈥檚 10:15 P.M. when the white van rolls into El Capitan Meadow in Yosemite National Park. A nearly full moon illuminates the 3,000-foot monolith against the ink-blue sky. Twenty people cluster by the fences, the June night too warm for jackets. As the van鈥檚 headlights dim, two colors inside become visible鈥攑ink leggings for climbers Kate Kelleghan, red for Laura Pineau. The crowd begins to shriek in a charged-up wave.

Former Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) member Jack Keane steps out, all business: 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to rack up first. Then we can cheer them on.鈥�

The crowd falls silent. Kelleghan and Pineau jump from the van and start clipping cams to their gear loops with the frantic velocity of two people trying to win a carnival race. Pineau looks exhausted, but has time for one joke.

鈥淛ust one more wall!鈥� she says, then corrects herself: 鈥淭wo more walls!鈥� She shakes her head as if the thought is too heavy, and switches her focus back to the gear.

The duo has just returned from climbing the South Face of Mount Watkins. For most climbers, Watkins is a multi-day adventure in its own right, but for Kelleghan and Pineau, it鈥檚 the first of three routes in the Yosemite Triple Crown: a legendary, one-day linkup of Yosemite鈥檚 three largest formations.

Pineau, a crack climber, has never done more than one of those formations in a day, but Kelleghan, a former YOSAR member and speed veteran, has linked the other two: the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome and the Nose on El Cap. Only ten pairs of men鈥攑lus Alex Honnold alone鈥攈ave completed the Triple Crown in the 24 years since Dean Potter and Timmy O鈥橬eill first established it.

Tonight, even though they鈥檝e shaved 40 minutes from their personal best on Watkins, Kelleghan and Pineau have zero minutes to spare in their pursuit of becoming the first women to achieve a Triple Crown. When Kelleghan鈥檚 head snaps up from arranging her harness, her former YOSAR teammate Katy Stockton wordlessly steps forward and opens her empty backpack. Both Pineau and Kelleghan stuff their harnesses into it and pull it closed.

Finally, Kelleghan flexes her fists toward the ground, takes a breath, and releases a single power scream. Twenty voices multiply it, adding yodels and monkey noises, the sheer volume making up for the pep talks the crowd doesn鈥檛 have time to give. By the time the cheer subsides, the two women and their volunteer porters are power-walking into the redwoods, barely holding themselves back from running.

Fifteen minutes later, two bright pinpricks appear on the bottom of El Capitan. For the past two weeks, Pineau has rehearsed the four-pitch sequence of the Nose in her head, move by move, every night before she went to sleep. But she鈥檚 never tried the sequence after another wall, let alone one as big as Mount Watkins. From the Meadow, the first little light can be seen beginning to wobble upward.

II. The Yosemite Triple Crown: 2001 to Present

The Yosemite Triple Crown is nearly as famous as its roster of victors. Before 2021, the list included Dean Potter and Timmy O鈥橬eill, and Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell鈥攚ho, incredibly, freed all 71 pitches. Just weeks after his free ascent with Caldwell, Honnold upped the ante by rope-soloing the Triple, which no climber has done since. The pre-2021 list also includes Dave Allfrey and Cheyne Lempe, as well as Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds, who set the Triple speed record in 2018 of 18 hours 45 minutes.

As a 7,000-foot vertical test involving 18 miles of hiking in between formations, the Triple represents more than just an ultra-style event. It鈥檚 also a mental challenge that requires accepting the risk of massive falls under sleep-deprived conditions. Pitches in Yosemite average about 100 feet each; the average trad climber places 12-18 pieces of protection per pitch. Pineau estimates that, to save time, she leaves just two, which would leave regular trad climbers wide-eyed with shock.

From 2021 to 2023, the climbing community bagged a Triple a year, largely by the YOSAR team: Jordan Cannon and Scott Bennett in 2021; Danford Jooste and Nick Ehman in 2022; and Tyler Karow and Miles Fullman in 2023. In an Instagram post after his final topout, Fullman called it the 鈥渇inal exam for a Yosemite speed climber and a lifetime achievement,鈥� adding that five of the eight Triple triumphs (including Honnold鈥檚 solo) had included a YOSAR member.

But in the last two years, the speed game has increased in popularity. For some, it鈥檚 become almost casual. Two noteworthy partnerships rocked the Valley in 2024. In late June, Ima Amundarain and Cedar Christensen biked between the three formations for a 鈥渉uman-powered Triple,鈥� bringing along canteens of red wine for extra fun. Then, last October, Tanner Wanish and Michael Vaill at 17 hours 55 minutes, returning one week later to add a fourth wall, the South Face of the Washington Column. They .

This spring, a record three teams converged on the Valley with hopes of completing the Triple. Jacob Cook, who became the seventh person to send the route Golden Gate in a day last fall, teamed up with Brant Hysell, who holds the rope solo and team speed records on a route named Lurking Fear. Hans Beuttler and Noah Fox, who last year completed the Double鈥擡l Cap, plus Half Dome鈥攊n 22 hours and 49 minutes, also joined Kelleghan and Pineau in their single-minded quest. The 2025 Triple hopefuls formed a group chat called 鈥淭riple Triple Threat.鈥�

鈥淗onestly, the group chat was my favorite part of the season,鈥� Beuttler told me earlier this week. 鈥淎ll three teams were just all so supportive of each other.鈥� Throughout April and May, every time one of the teams did a training lap on a formation, they would text in their times, or 鈥渟plits,鈥� to the group chat, building off each other鈥檚 momentum.

According to Kelleghan, most prior Triple teams have made their attempt within three days of the summer solstice in late June, enduring oppressive heat in exchange for maximizing daylight. However, this year鈥檚 teams decided that late May and early June was hot enough. Last week, Beuttler and Fox鈥檚 attempt ended halfway through their second formation, the Nose, when Beuttler accidentally pulled out a #4 cam and took a 20-foot fall, spraining his ankle. Two days before, Cook and Hysell pulled off a 22-hour ascent that Cook noted was harder than he expected.

But with stormy weather on the horizon, Kelleghan and Pineau kept pushing off their ascent, hoping to avoid getting caught in a thunderstorm on Half Dome and Mount Watkins. Even a speed climber鈥檚 frugal rack contains enough metal to attract lightning. Finally, they set a start date and time when the weather looked clear: 4 P.M. on Saturday, June 7, 2025.

III. The Elusive Search for a Female Partner

Kelleghan has been meticulously plotting for this one 24-hour window for the past three years. In fact, ever since June 16, 2022, when she topped out Half Dome on the Double, Kelleghan鈥攏ow 32 years old鈥攈as been scouting for a female partner that could match her speed, stoke, and risk tolerance.

But in June 2022, that partner didn鈥檛 yet exist. Laura Pineau, then 22, was sleeping at Miguel鈥檚 Pizza in the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, and didn鈥檛 consider herself a trad climber. She鈥檇 gotten spooked on Yosemite鈥檚 Munginella (5.6) two years prior and sworn off trad. Then, in September, Pineau met Brittany Goris at a climbing festival and spent the next two months learning crack technique from her in Indian Creek. By the end of the season, Goris recommended that Pineau aim for Freerider on El Cap.

In 2023, both Kelleghan and Pineau spent extensive time in Yosemite, but they never crossed paths. Keeping her eyes out for a solid Triple partner, Kelleghan dialed her Nose beta in the spring by climbing the route multiple times, hitting her personal best at eight hours and 38 minutes with Danford Jooste.

At the same time, on El Cap, Pineau backed off Freerider, taught herself how to big wall, and attempted the Nose, bailing at the Great Roof due to weather. That summer, Pineau went to Squamish and launched an intensive training program to get in better free climbing shape. In August, Kelleghan got the call to fill an empty YOSAR roster spot. The two didn鈥檛 cross paths in the fall, either, but Pineau sent Freerider and started looking for a new goal.

Finally, in April 2024, Pineau fell into Kelleghan鈥檚 speed climbing world. Pineau was chilling in a van in Camp 4 with her then-boyfriend Michael Vaill and his speed partner Tanner Wanish鈥攖he same duo that would (and ) six months later. Wanish mentioned offhand that a female YOSAR member was looking for a female speed climbing partner. Pineau got curious and asked for her name.

鈥淲hen Laura messaged me, she was super nice,鈥� says Kelleghan. 鈥淚 told her, yes, I鈥檇 like to climb, but I鈥檓 only climbing three routes.鈥� She knew Pineau had climbed Freerider, but had never speed climbed鈥攏ot even the Nose in a day (NIAD).

But Kelleghan was running out of options. 鈥淚f I can鈥檛 find a woman next year who wants to train for the Triple, I鈥檓 just going to do it with a guy,鈥� she said at the time. 鈥淚鈥檇 rather do that than not do the Triple at all.鈥�

A few days later, Pineau went for her first Nose in a day with Vaill, completing it in 12 hours, 42 minutes. Kelleghan still wasn鈥檛 entirely convinced. 鈥淲hen Laura said she hadn鈥檛 led the first four pitches and had given up the lead at the wide crack, part of my brain was like, she鈥檚 not risky enough,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut at least she was a personality fit.鈥� By this, Kelleghan meant that Pineau could at least be goofy鈥攁 must-have attribute in a partner for a 24-hour suffer fest.

In October 2024, Pineau finished up her hardest trad project, Greenspit, in Switzerland, then flew to Yosemite to meet Kelleghan. They warmed up on the North Face of the Rostrum, where Pineau sent the Alien Finish, then switched into speed climbing on the first eight pitches of the Nose to Dolt Tower, also known as a 鈥淒olt run.鈥� Kelleghan carefully evaluated Pineau鈥檚 ability. 鈥淚 was kind of metering her against my times to Dolt,鈥� said Kelleghan, who estimates someone鈥檚 鈥淒olt time鈥� to be one-fourth of their expected NIAD time. 鈥淲e were both at Dolt in two hours and 30 minutes. That鈥檚 decently fast, and it was only her third time leading it.鈥�

Kelleghan realized that Pineau, as the stronger free climber, could lead the first block of the Nose. 鈥淪he鈥檚 fast enough, and it鈥檚 November,鈥� she remembers thinking. Spring, the ideal time to send the Triple, was just a few short months away. She finally had a partner who could dedicate all her time to this goal. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to do it, the commitment time is now.鈥�

IV. 鈥淕et That 24鈥�

At 7:15 A.M. on June 8, Kelleghan and Pineau sprinted into the El Cap picnic area and dropped their harnesses outside the parked van. The gray light was slowly sharpening, but this time, there were only a handful of friends, rather than crowds. Both Pineau鈥檚 red leggings and Kelleghan鈥檚 pink ones were smeared with black dirt. With tousled braids and solemn faces, they knelt on the ground and tossed gear back and forth into piles. It was the start of their second and final transition.

They鈥檇 spent the entire night climbing the Nose. 鈥淭he spiders in the Great Roof were horrendous,鈥� Kelleghan said later. 鈥淵ou shine your headlamp up to see where to place your piece, and you see their eyes.鈥� Pineau raged through the first four pitches, but still, each climber had added 10 minutes to her block. The extra 40 minutes they鈥檇 earned from Watkins was now just 20. They were on track to finish before 24 hours, but only if they didn鈥檛 bonk.

Kelleghan looked openly worried. Pineau had stopped smiling, but hadn鈥檛 changed her tone. 鈥淵eah, girl, we鈥檙e going to get that 24 [hours],鈥� she said, throwing her newly racked harness back into the van. There was zero doubt in her voice, but the time pressure was palpable. Pineau passed Kelleghan, who was carefully putting in contacts, and shot her a reminder: 鈥淔ive minutes. We鈥檝e got to get going.鈥�

V. Like an Ultramarathon

The week before her Triple attempt, Kelleghan sits on a checkered kitchen table in her friend鈥檚 house near Yosemite Village. She hands me a spiral notebook full of topo drawings in ballpoint pen. Her notes could rival a private detective鈥檚. One page, which summarizes her and Pineau鈥檚 second training lap on Mount Watkins, lists seven data points about the weather, four remarks on clothing, and 12 additional conclusions, including: Only black totem on pitch three: fix rope over bush, Put oval carabiner on higher 11b bolt with tat, and Extend pitons on pitch five.

Compared to other Triple teams, Kelleghan says that she and Pineau are much more data-obsessed. From tracking their sleep quality with COROS watches to measuring out their electrolyte calories, they wanted to use any small optimization they could to be faster.

When the team arrived in the Valley around April 12, they had exactly two months to prepare for the Triple.听 鈥淲e鈥檙e training for it like an ultramarathon,鈥� Kelleghan said, explaining that ultramarathon runners, apparently, don鈥檛 practice for ultras by running regular marathons, but instead prepare with shorter laps. Their favorite ultrarunner is Courtney Dauwalter, whose film they watched at the No Man鈥檚 Land Festival. 鈥淐ourtney says, every minute you spend in the pain cave, you鈥檙e making it more comfortable,鈥� Kelleghan observed. 鈥淲e鈥檙e joking that we鈥檙e adding couches to the pain cave.鈥�

The plan was to practice each formation until they could get their Watkins time to five hours, Nose time down to seven hours, and Half Dome time to six hours. Then, they鈥檇 take a full week of rest and go for all three at once. They鈥檇 skip the Double, opting to save energy and rely on the support of friends and family to keep energy levels high.

But it wasn鈥檛 only the encroaching summer weather constricting their timeline. Kelleghan had recently developed turf toe: a sprain of the main joint in the big toe, in her right foot. 鈥淚t鈥檚 getting worse every day because we鈥檙e not taking breaks,鈥� she said. 鈥淐limbing chimneys on Half Dome and hiking down are antagonizing it.鈥� If they couldn鈥檛 get ready for the Triple quickly, each extra week of training would hurt Kelleghan more.

The first few weeks were brutal. They started with the Nose, which Kelleghan had the most dialed from years of NIADs. 鈥淚 think I burned 1,000 calories just telling Laura Nose beta,鈥� says Kelleghan. Their first April 19 attempt took 12 hours 53 minutes and was freezing cold. Five days later, they got their time down to under nine hours, but Pineau got emotional trying to work a slippery groove on pitch three. Then, on April 30, Pineau got food poisoning for a full week.

By April 30, they鈥檇 only done two Nose runs together in one month, and were nowhere near ready for the Triple. 鈥淐ompared to the boys, they鈥檝e been hitting their goal times on the first and second attempt, and we haven鈥檛,鈥� said Pineau. On May 5, with heavy winds and a not-quite-recovered Pineau, the duo hit seven hours 39 minutes on the Nose鈥攃loser, but still not goal time.

They switched over to , heading up on May 8, Pineau鈥檚 birthday. After a nine-hour, three-minute scouting sesh, Kelleghan surprised Pineau by sneaking up a candle, which she stuck in a mini Scratch bar on the summit. After the second Watkins lap鈥攆ive hours 57 minutes鈥擪elleghan and Pineau celebrated being three hours faster, but realized they needed to try it again to get more dialed. A third attempt on May 15 resulted in Pineau鈥檚 first whipper: a 10-foot fall onto a black Totem cam that protected another 60 feet of airtime.

鈥淚 screamed a lot,鈥� said Pineau. 鈥淚t made this day really shaky to me. My mindset is to never fall.鈥� Kelleghan explains that Watkins is particularly slippery and glassy. Pineau fell at one of the safest places possible, but still whipped 10 feet with rope stretch. 鈥淚 knew it was bad because she took the whip and then the next pitch, a 5.10, she usually frees,鈥� says Kelleghan. 鈥淏ut this pitch, she was yelling curse words in French and not freeing it.鈥� But their time was still faster: five hours, 15 minutes, nearly within range.

Finally, the team tried Half Dome. The first lap on May 19 was 鈥渏ust sussing鈥� the moves, according to Kelleghan. They came in at nine hours, four minutes, but weren鈥檛 worried; it was a practice run. The second lap presented the real speed test. Pineau took a 鈥渄aisy whip,鈥� where she fell onto her own adjustable tethers before the rope caught her, after a .1/.2 offset cam popped out. Even so, the day was a success: the women climbed Half Dome in six hours, five minutes, just five minutes past their goal time. It was the closest they鈥檇 gotten to their target number on any formation yet.

To reduce their times on the Nose and Watkins, Kelleghan and Pineau took one more practice lap on each, eventually landing at seven hours, five minutes for the Nose (acceptable), and four hours, 47 minutes for Watkins (better than acceptable). Though they still hoped to shave off a bit more time on Watkins to get a buffer early in the 24-hour push. After the final Watkins practice lap, their COROS watches showed both women at 4 percent recovery. Kelleghan based her recovery schedule around those numbers. By the time they started their Triple attempt, she wanted the watch to show 100%.

Some Triple teams take 30-minute breaks between formations; others head up knowing they鈥檒l have plenty of time to spare. But if Kelleghan and Pineau could repeat their best performances on each formation in a single push, it would still barely be enough. 鈥淲e鈥檙e right at 24 hours if we have our current times and the transitions go perfectly with no rests,鈥� said Kelleghan. Both clarified that their main goal was to do the Triple in a single push, and getting sub-24 would be a secondary goal. But the idea of barely missing the 24-hour standard set by the speed climbers before them was too uncomfortable to dwell on.

VI. A Little Rain Won鈥檛 Stop Us

Thunder rolled through Yosemite as Kelleghan and Pineau had made their way up Mount Watkins. They had started at 3:58 p.m. on June 7, which meant that their 24-hour cut-off time would be 3:58 p.m. on June 8. The 28 members of the Triple Queens Support Team group chat wondered if thunder meant they鈥檇 bail, but a selfie from Pineau resolved all questions. 鈥淎 little rain won鈥檛 stop us,鈥� she messaged, then shut off her phone. By the summit, they鈥檇 beaten their personal best by 40 minutes, winning a critical buffer for the next two walls.

The thunder disappeared for the nighttime Nose ascent, but returned for Half Dome. By the time the team had made it up Half Dome鈥檚 Death Slabs approach, which took just one hour, 30 minutes, they鈥檇 each hiked nearly 18 miles and climbed 5,200 vertical feet.

Kelleghan was feeling beat鈥攁nd panicked. 鈥淚t was my worst nightmare,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be really close to 24.鈥� Technically, it was only 9:40 a.m., and they still had six hours to summit Half Dome. They鈥檇 previously done it in six hours, five minutes, but that was when they were fresh, not after two consecutive walls and no sleep.

Kelleghan still felt nervous as they simul-climbed through the first block, but when she got through her section of aid pitches, Pineau told her, 鈥淭hat was the fastest you鈥檝e ever done them.鈥�

鈥淪weet! Cool!鈥� shouted Kelleghan, revitalized.

Later, Pineau admitted that she lied. 鈥淚 was definitely pumping [her] up a little bit,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 actually tracking [her] time.鈥�

At the base of the next Half Dome checkpoint鈥攖he chimneys鈥擯ineau told Kelleghan, 鈥淚f you do your block in one and a half hours, and I do mine in one and a half hours, we鈥檒l make it.鈥� Kelleghan gave herself a stern pep talk: 鈥淚 was like, 鈥楢ny energy I have left now goes to the chimneys.鈥欌�� She channeled her focus, ignored her burning feet, and blazed up the rock.

When Pineau began to lead her final block to the summit, she asked Kelleghan to give her regular time checks at each pitch. By the last pitch, they had 30 minutes left, and Kelleghan realized something she hadn鈥檛 considered before: They were actually going to do it.

The giddiness set in. Lightning was flashing around her, but there was nothing she could do鈥攎entally or physically鈥攅xcept jug the final fixed line to her three-year dream.

When Kelleghan caught Pineau at the final anchor, Pineau pressed her stopwatch, and the timer froze at 23 hours and 36 minutes. The two collapsed into a hug, still tied in. Kelleghan found tears streaming down her face. They had made history together.

鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 feel real yet,鈥� said Kelleghan that night, back in Yosemite Village. She was lying cross-legged on a carpeted floor, while Pineau smiled at her from across the room. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been so many years in the making.鈥�

And the pain cave? She laughed. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like a mansion now.鈥�

The post Kate Kelleghan and Laura Pineau Became the First Women to Complete the Yosemite Triple Crown appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

For Canadian professional climber Allison Vest, objects of obsession aren鈥檛 exclusively found within the realm of rock. She finds them in quiet moments at home between climbing trips, sitting at her sewing machine and losing track of time making her own clothes. Vest climbs in many of her handmade creations: , , a gingham button- up shirt , and that she inked for 100 hours.

Vest learned to sew from her grandmother, who taught her how to work a sewing machine when she was a teenager. Now, mornings pass into nights as Vest emerges bleary-eyed from sewing sessions that often last longer than her bouldering sessions. It鈥檚 become a bit of an occupational hazard, as well. Vest recently noticed that after she鈥檇 hunch over her sewing desk with her head down for hours, a thumb tendon injury she got last year would flare up. Her physical therapist connected her neck position all the way to her worsening tendon injury鈥攊t was a full nervous system issue. To alleviate it, Vest had to start setting alarms to take breaks and raise her tools.

But to her, the craft of sewing is worth a little risk. Vest loves the hobby鈥檚 flow state, creativity, goal-setting, and embrace of imperfection. Sewing taps into some of the same states of mind that have led to her success in climbing. Vest is the first Canadian woman to boulder V13, she sent (V14) in 2022, and she鈥檚 won multiple national titles in bouldering and lead climbing.

Vest sat down with Climbing to share her tips on getting started in sewing, exploring upcycling, and making climbing pants. Here鈥檚 Vest鈥檚 story, in her own words.

A Common Thread Between Climbing and Sewing: Projects

I tend to have a little bit of an obsessive personality about projects. I鈥檓 always trying to think about the next day or the next session. It鈥檚 nice to have something else to obsess over when I sew, so I can stop thinking about climbing. It鈥檚 a similar vibe: there鈥檚 a process, you have to go through the process, and you have to find enjoyment in the little bits and pieces of the process, because it鈥檚 a lot of trial and error.

For example, with a pair of pants I made, I worked on them for seven or eight months. I had to make all these different iterations of them and they weren鈥檛 working. I had to try something new, switch this and that, take some measurements out of the waist, add space in the hips. I think that鈥檚 similar to climbing, too. When you鈥檙e trying to figure out the beta for a boulder, it鈥檚 just trial and error. You try one thing, it doesn鈥檛 work. You try something else. And then you slowly figure out what the best way is.

All the little bits and pieces eventually add up to sending the boulder, or the end result. In a similar way, it鈥檚 important to be focused on the process.

Getting Started Without Getting 鈥淪ewverwhelmed鈥�

I鈥檓 potentially skewed, because I did have some very basic sewing skills from when I was a kid. But to start, it鈥檚 always helpful to have a small goal or something to work on. You could try to practice sewing skills and learn super simple stitches or seams, but I usually decide I want to make something, and then I go backwards and figure out how it鈥檚 done.

I look up YouTube videos and figure out what the process is to make that thing. If you do that, you end up being a lot more inspired and driven to finish it. Back when I was starting, I relied heavily on YouTube tutorials that would show you exactly how to sew a pattern [a clothing template, with pieces to guide fabric cutting], exactly how to do a hem鈥攅xactly how to do every single step. A lot of the high-level pattern makers will make detailed, helpful YouTube videos to sew along to.

There鈥檚 a climber in California named , for example, who was really helpful for me. She鈥檚 helped create a couple of climbing pant patterns. Social media has so many problems in terms of toxicity, but one thing it鈥檚 really great for is getting fast, easy information. So I鈥檝e found a couple people on Instagram that鈥檒l give you sewing tips or tricks, and then people like Jess, who release really cool, high-quality patterns that come with full, detailed YouTube tutorials.

Starting out, you have to let go of trying to make everything perfect. I鈥檓 a perfectionist, so I鈥檓 always trying to make things exactly perfect. But at the end of the day, things that are handmade are handmade. As a tailor or seamstress, you get to a point where it鈥檚 high level and everything is exactly perfect, but when you鈥檙e first starting out or trying to get better, that is not the case.

Climbing Pants: a Sewist鈥檚 Dilemma

I鈥檝e always been inspired by the outfits that people wear more in dance than in climbing. It feels a lot more feminine, but also interesting in the way that movement looks on the wall, which obviously in dance is important. That鈥檚 the point: that the movement looks a certain way. Whereas in climbing, you don鈥檛 necessarily get points for aesthetics. When you鈥檙e climbing, it鈥檚 just about getting to the top. But I do think it鈥檚 interesting, the way that dancers dress to enhance the way movement looks, but also to make sure they have the full range of motion.

A lot of the trendy climbing pants don鈥檛 give you that full range of motion. The heavy-duty, canvas vibe of pant that is super common, I find a little restrictive sometimes. I think climbing has moved into a very interesting fashion niche. It feels a little bit like skate culture right now. I鈥檓 not a skateboarder鈥攕o skateboarders don鈥檛 come at me鈥攂ut there鈥檚 a higher mobility requirement for climbing, just in terms of the positions you put your body in. That is an interesting dilemma in terms of creating clothing.

People always say: you look good, you climb good. People want to look good when they鈥檙e climbing, but at the same time, you don鈥檛 want to be restricted by your clothes in the pursuit of looking good. The goal with the was to have something that looks super fashionable and cute, but can also allow a full range of motion. I鈥檝e liked playing with different fabrics.

How I Like My Bouldering Pants

As far as athletic pants go, there are a lot of brands out there that I really like, but things circulate pretty quickly. There are all these North Face pants from a year or so ago that I like, so I鈥檝e liked being able to measure those pants, make my own pattern, and try to recreate them.

I definitely like the baggier, oversized look, but I also want them to fit well on my waist, hips, and butt. I don鈥檛 want it to be so baggy that there鈥檚 no shape to it. So I guess baggy with some shape is what I鈥檓 going for right now. I try to keep the pocket styles simple. Climbing鈥攁nd bouldering in particular鈥攚ith things in your pockets is sort of dangerous. When I鈥檓 bouldering, I don鈥檛 have anything in my pocket, so I usually undercook the pockets. I used to really like a cinched ankle, and I鈥檝e done that a little bit, but now I like an open, loose ankle. They sit a little bit higher above the ankle bone, so you鈥檙e not stepping on them.

One of the biggest superpowers of sewing is: No sizing is ever going to be perfect. You can only make so many sizes as a brand. So what鈥檚 been nice is having the power to make things that fit my body specifically. People are going to always have different opinions or preferences about the way that apparel fits. I also like buying slightly bigger sizes and then taking things in at the waist. I鈥檓 not 100% sure of the science behind why that鈥檚 exactly what I like, but that鈥檚 been my best go-to鈥攇etting things that fit a little big and taking them in at the waist.

The Added Appeal of Upcycling

It鈥檚 really cool to see brands moving toward circular, sustainable practices. The North Face is really pushing for that. They have a few circular clothing projects. They also have a renewed and remade site on their website, where they take things from people with holes in them, fix them, and resell them. That鈥檚 one of the reasons I got into sewing, just because I think upcycling is really cool. I watched a documentary on HBO about clothing waste, where even when you donate clothing to a thrift store, most of it ends up getting shipped to Africa and into these massive piles of fast fashion clothing dumps.

To find and use fabric from other things rather than buying fabric new, I peruse thrift stores. I really like using stuff with an interesting pattern. I鈥檝e made two bolero sets with old North Face hoodies. I got The North Face part on eBay, because that鈥檚 the of the outfit鈥攕omething that has a cool pattern or a cool color. But one sweatshirt is usually not enough to make a full set with pants. I鈥檓 always shocked at how much material pants take to make.

Then I鈥檒l go to the thrift store and try to color match with that one piece, using maybe one or two other sweatshirts to make the full outfit. I like intentionally sourcing one thing from somewhere that is eye-catching for one reason or another. All of the extra material I need, I usually get from our local Savers.

A Final Thought for Sewing-Curious Climbers

It鈥檚 just really fun. I hope more people will do it. It鈥檚 a super good side gig to climbing.

The post Pro Climber Allison Vest Thinks Climbing Pants Can Be Better. So She Makes Her Own. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

On January 4, 2025, President Biden signed the bipartisan into U.S. law, ending a year-long panic over a in national parks. The new legislation evoked a 鈥� celebration by the American climbing community.

One of the lesser-known changes to the law, however, was , the Federal Interior Land Media (鈥淔ILM鈥�) Act, which the North American Nature Photography Association and several other photography organizations lobbied for two years to include. This section wipes out the existing film and photography permit requirements in national parks and replaces them with significantly more lenient rules.

鈥淭his is going to make a huge difference for creatives, filmmakers, independent contractors, photographers, and athletes,鈥� says , a professional climber who has starred in two films in Canyonlands National Park. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to open up a lot of different opportunities for people to share their stories and do creative projects.鈥�

Prior to January 4, required permit applications for any footage or photos that advertised a product and any film taken 鈥渨ith the intent of generating income.鈥� These guidelines were initially created to prevent film sets from taking over national parks. But until this year, it also applied to professional athletes. This included climbers, who might, for example, tag their sponsor in climbing footage that features the sponsor鈥檚 product. It also applied to casual climbers, who might post a route recap vlog on their monetized YouTube channel. Under the old rules, both actions required permits. A violation could result in fines or even jail time.

In my experience as a Yosemite Climber Steward, most climbers didn鈥檛 know about the rules. Last year, I saw many inexperienced photographers ignore the permit requirements鈥攕ometimes because they couldn鈥檛 afford to pay $200-$300 in non-refundable application fees. More often, however, they simply didn鈥檛 know they were supposed to acquire a permit. But more established filmmakers and athletes were careful to observe the rules, even if it meant shooting less climbing content.

Now that the EXPLORE Act has passed, the new requirements for photography and filmmaking in national parks are much simpler. For now, climbers who want to film their own adventures can breathe a sigh of relief.

The New National Park Rules for Photography and Filmmaking

Starting in January 2025, permits are no longer required if the filming or photography:

• Involves a maximum of five people,
• Takes place in a location where the public is allowed,
• Doesn鈥檛 require exclusive use of the area,
• Doesn鈥檛 take place in federally-designated wilderness,
• Doesn鈥檛 use any staging equipment beyond a tripod or handheld lighting equipment, and
• Doesn鈥檛 take place in an area typically crowded with visitors.

This covers the vast majority of climbing photography and film, which often involves just one or two people behind the camera and one or two climbers. If you鈥檙e directing a larger movie, for example, and absolutely need that sixth crew member, you may need to apply for a free 鈥渄e minimis use authorization鈥� (similar to a permit) for crews of six to eight people鈥攂ut some national parks, such as Yosemite, have chosen to waive permits for these groups up to eight people.

Any film or photography project that doesn鈥檛 fulfill the above requirements will have to apply for a regular permit and will be assessed the same fees that existed pre-EXPLORE Act.

Small Changes, Big Impacts for Climbing Filmmakers

Previously, dealing with national park permits could be a time-intensive and costly affair for filmmakers. Jon Glassberg, owner of adventure production company Louder Than Eleven and director of dozens of climbing documentaries, says that he鈥檚 paid thousands of dollars in NPS film permit fees for past projects. He usually reserves four to five weeks of lead time to get permits and estimates that he鈥檚 cancelled shoots up to 5% of the time because of permit issues. Now that the EXPLORE Act has revamped the permit system, Glassberg says he would likely 鈥渂e okay鈥� with not having a permit for small, non-commercial shoots in national parks鈥攂ut will still err on the side of caution.

鈥淓ven if it was five people or less, I think I would still get a permit or go through the channels to at least try,鈥� Glassberg says. According to the new law, filmmakers and photographers who don鈥檛 need a permit can still request one at no charge. 鈥淣obody鈥檚 tested the EXPLORE Act. If, for some reason, whoever is currently running the back of house [at the NPS] litigating these permits decides their interpretation of the EXPLORE Act is different than mine, they might want to take me to court over it.鈥�

He adds that he鈥檚 eager to see a filmmaker test the new system鈥攂ut he doesn鈥檛 want to be that person. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to keep shooting in national parks, keep making movies, and keep working in this industry forever,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚f I have a strike against me in a national park, it鈥檚 just not worth it.鈥�

More Opportunities for Professional Climbers

Smaller independent filmmakers and climbers who frequent national parks will likely benefit most from the EXPLORE Act鈥檚 new permit rules.

In 2022 and 2023, professional climber Mary Eden made back-to-back first female ascents of Necronomicon (5.13d/5.14a) and (5.14b), which are both .

鈥淚nitially, when I reached out about filming Necronomicon, the Park Service told me no, and to not hold my breath,鈥� says Eden. But she kept asking questions, and eventually the Park Service was willing to work with her.

To get film permits, Eden spent up to eight months for each film negotiating with the Park Service. 鈥淚 had the advantage of being local and having volunteered with the NPS for a year in 2015, so the process was easier for me to navigate,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t would be a lot harder for other people coming from out of town or who had not interacted with the Park Service before.鈥� Ultimately, Eden paid $300 for film permits for Necronomicon and $500 for Black Mamba.

Just before the EXPLORE Act became law, Eden once again asked the Park Service for a film permit to record her attempts on another Canyonlands roof crack: (5.14b). This time, the Park Service told her that she鈥檇 have to pay several thousand dollars for a Nature Impact study before her permit application would be considered. 鈥淓ven if I managed to raise the money, I was told straight-up that it was not likely I鈥檇 get the permit,鈥� she says. Faced with this scenario, Eden decided against posting any photos or videos about her project.

Once the EXPLORE Act passed, however, Eden was thrilled. Now, she can take photos on the route and post about it on social media without needing a permit. 鈥淚t gives me a lot more peace of mind that I鈥檓 allowed to share my experience without doing anything illegal,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be better in the long run for small filmmakers.鈥�

Eden still plans to let the Park Service know about her Century Crack project to seek their input on best practices and communicate them to other climbers. 鈥淲e can work together to share the love of a place and preserve the wilderness while also being reasonable,鈥� she says. 鈥淪omebody with a camera is a lot different than a 20-person film crew.鈥�

The post Filming in National Parks Just Got Easier鈥擡xpect More Climbing Content appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Update: On May 27, 2025, the Supreme Court denied Apache Stronghold鈥檚 appeal, allowing the land transfer to proceed as scheduled.听This is a developing story and will be updated as more details are announced.

When Jack Colavita, a high school English teacher in Scottsdale, Arizona, gets out of school at 3 p.m., he typically heads straight for the boulders.

Specifically, he drives 65 miles east to Queen Creek Canyon, drags his crashpads out to classic Oak Flat problems such as听Scatterbrain听(V6-7) or听贰惫辞濒耻迟颈辞苍听(V7-), and works powerful moves on the volcanic, pocketed rock that Tommy Caldwell听听to 鈥渢he mouths of tiny piranhas.鈥�

Oak Flat, a sub-area of Queen Creek Canyon, is a world-class climbing area with more than 2,500 routes and boulders within easy access of the fifth-largest American city. From 1989 to 2004, it hosted the听听(PBC, eventually renamed the Phoenix Boulder Blast), which attracted up to 600 competitors each year, including teenage prodigies Caldwell, Beth Rodden, Katie Brown, and Chris Sharma.

Erik Murdock, PhD, who now works as the deputy director of policy and government affairs for Access Fund, remembers one particularly exciting PBC in 1996: 鈥淚 spotted Chris Sharma on a warm up. Then, he spent the entire comp trying the open project because if he sent it, he won.鈥� That afternoon, Sharma, who was 14 years old at the time, sent the problem and took first place.

Today, Oak Flat is still a go-to spot for Phoenix locals looking to squeeze in a few hours of climbing after school or work. 鈥淔or a local area less than two hours away, Oak Flat is the only place where you can really spend a day and not break a hold,鈥� says Colavita, who leads climbing trips through his school鈥檚 outdoors program. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the place where kids are able to go for a day with parents鈥� permission.鈥�

However, after a two-decade-long legal battle, Arizona climbers are steeling themselves for the potential destruction of most of the boulders and hundreds of routes in Oak Flat area.

On April 17, the U.S. Forest Service released a 60-day advance听听of its publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Oak Flat鈥攁 document that will trigger the transfer of 2,422 acres of the Oak Flat area to Resolution Copper,听听by the British-Australian company Rio Tinto and Australian company BHP. While Resolution Copper currently operates around many Oak Flat crags, if this land transfer occurs, it intends to expand its mining operation to include 鈥減anel caving鈥� which would eventually result in a ground crater up to 1.8 miles wide and 1,115 feet deep, according to the听. This mining technique is considered a cost-effective way to access targeted copper reserves, but it will cause,听, the 鈥渓argest-ever loss of climbing on America鈥檚 public lands.鈥� One 2017听听concluded that 1,114 boulders鈥攎ore than 97% of the boulders in the greater Queen Creek area鈥攁s well as 149 sport routes and 38 trad routes will be affected by permanent closures in three crags: Euro Dog Valley, The Mine, and Oak Flat itself.

Climbers have long been engaged in the听听over Oak Flat, but the growing immediacy of the Forest Service鈥檚 land transfer has hit hard.

鈥淭he litigation has looked pretty pessimistic since about two years ago,鈥� says Colavita. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird vibe. People are pulling out their investments with their time and their energy in the area. We can always see the mine looming above us like the Eye of Sauron or something.鈥�

A Two-Decade Battle Comes to a Head

This 60-day warning from the federal government represents the culmination of a long, well-documented legal and public relations battle for control of Oak Flat.

For nearly 20 years, Resolution Copper has sought permission to mine an estimated 40 billion pounds of copper beneath Queen Creek Canyon, which sits squarely within Arizona鈥檚 鈥淐opper Triangle鈥� east of Phoenix.

Starting in 2005, U.S. Senators for Arizona John McCain and Jeff Flake, who supported the copper mine鈥檚 expansion, attempted to pass a land swap that would give 2,422 acres of Tonto National Forest land, including the entire Oak Flat area, to Resolution Copper. In exchange, the U.S. Forest Service would receive 5,459 acres of the mining company鈥檚 private land in Arizona. McCain predicted that the mining project would create as many as 4,000 jobs and contribute 鈥渢ens of billions of dollars鈥� in economic activity over the life of the mine.

For centuries, the San Carlos Apache tribe, which calls the area Chi鈥檆hil Bi艂dagoteel, has used it as a sacred site for conducting religious rituals, such as coming-of-age ceremonies, as well as gathering water and medicinal plants. A former historic preservation officer for the neighboring White Mountain Apache Tribe,听 John Welch, has called the area 鈥渢he best set of Apache archaeological sites ever documented, full stop,鈥� and in 2016 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 鈥淚鈥檝e been out there [to climb] and driven around the corner and seen an Indigenous ceremony happening,鈥� says Colavita. 鈥淓ven without any of the copper mine stuff going on, there would still be a deference: This is sacred Indigenous land before this is climbing land.鈥�

After trying and failing for years to pass the land swap as its own bill, in December 2014, McCain and Flake performed a legislative sleight of hand that, while common in Congress, was widely criticized as undemocratic. In a last-minute 鈥渕idnight rider,鈥� the pair slipped the听听into a 1,600-page, must-pass听听that President Obama signed that month. The new federal law required the U.S. Forest Service to perform a three-step process: (1) publishing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the land transfer, (2) collecting public comments to incorporate the final version, and (3) officially handing the land titles to Resolution Copper within 60 days of publishing the Final EIS, whatever it may contain.

The first step occurred in August 2019, when the Forest Service released a 1,400-page听. The following 90-day public comment period鈥攕tep two鈥攗ltimately received more than 29,000 comments by hand, mail, email, web form, or verbally at public meetings. On January 15, 2021, five days before an administration turnover, the Forest Service triggered the third step by releasing the听. But on March 1, the Biden administration ordered the Forest Service to withdraw its statement on the grounds that more time was needed to understand the concerns raised by the Apache tribe and other stakeholders.

In an explicit change of policy, on March 20, 2025, the Trump administration released an听听titled 鈥淚mmediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production鈥� that directed all heads of agencies involved in mineral production to expedite approvals for projects awaiting permits. Shortly afterward, on April 17, the Forest Service announced their intention to re-publish the Final Resolution Copper EIS鈥攖he new step three鈥攁s early as June 16. When that happens, unless an organization such as Access Fund听听the Final EIS for inadequately addressing concerns with the Draft EIS, Oak Flat would officially belong to Resolution Copper within two months. After the land transfer, everyday Arizonans would only have access to the area until the mining company deems it unsafe for the public.

On May 9, a federal district judge in Phoenix halted the land transfer until the Supreme Court made a decision on whether to take on听Apache Stronghold v. United States, which challenged the Forest Service鈥檚 right to destroy sacred land in Oak Flat.听听is a nonprofit advocacy organization that represents the San Carlos Apache. However, on May 27, the Supreme Court听听Apache Stronghold鈥檚 appeal, with Justices Gorsuch and Thomas听.

Without further legal challenges, the Final EIS will be released as early as June 16. The land swap will occur within two months after its release.

Oak Flat: Turning Comp Climbers Into Outdoor Crushers

If the land swap proceeds, Phoenix鈥檚 growing climbing community will have hundreds fewer routes and boulders to help indoor climbers transition to the outdoors.

Before Sierra Blair was a Team USA climber, a World Cup competitor, or a Pan American Bouldering Champion, she was a nine-year-old kid who followed her climbing coach and teammates to Oak Flat. It was there, in the desert riparian hills just an hour-and-a-half drive from her gym, that Blair learned how to lead climb. 鈥淚 remember walking by听The Hulk听as a kid,鈥� she says, referencing the V11 boulder. 鈥淭hat thing looked crazy. The holds were so small, but it was somehow in my head on a list of boulders I wanted to do at some point.鈥�

After focusing on indoor competition climbing for 14 years, Blair decided in 2023 to switch up her focus to the outdoors. At Oak Flat, she stumbled into another classic,听Pyramid听(V10), and nearly flashed it. 鈥淎t the time, I was recovering from an injury and didn鈥檛 know how hard I could climb, so it was this cool confidence boost for me,鈥� she said. Next on her list:听The Hulk, from her childhood tick list, which she put down in two quick weekends.

Over the next two years, Blair鈥檚 interest in climbing the volcanic rock formations would connect her directly to the legacy of the Phoenix Bouldering Contest. During the 2002 or 2003 competition, Chris Sharma first sent a 14-foot overhang called听Captain Hook听(V12), but since then, a crucial hold had broken off. In spite of the broken hold, Blair made the second ascent in March 2024, opting to keep the original grade. 鈥淚 thought it was impossible, especially with the break, and I was excited to get the boulder done in a few sessions,鈥� she told听. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a very proud line at Oak Flat.鈥�

Watch Blair send Double D Low, another V12 at Oak Flat:

Sharp pockets and comp-style moves make Oak Flat 鈥渁 moonboarder鈥檚 dream,鈥� says Blair. 鈥淭he grades are a little sandbagged, but you get used to the sandbag and then your skin just becomes indestructible anywhere else,鈥� she says. 鈥淎fter I鈥檝e been climbing all season [at Oak Flat], you could stab me in the skin and nothing would happen. My skin could take it.鈥� She says that she鈥檚 done the majority of her outdoor climbing there and emphasizes that Oak Flat has something for all ability levels.

Colavita thinks that Oak Flat has the potential to turn even more indoor competition climbers into outdoor crushers. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen firsthand how these kids can go out there and crush, especially in a place like Oak Flat, which has savage but straightforward movement,鈥� says the schoolteacher.

He adds that he鈥檚 seen many kids in Phoenix getting into climbing through indoor competition, and doesn鈥檛 want them to lose out on the beauty of the outdoors. 鈥淚f Oak Flat doesn鈥檛 exist and it keeps getting hotter in this city, it鈥檚 going to go from being a great outdoor climbing location to one where it鈥檚 nearly impossible.鈥�

Protecting the popular gym-to-crag area from the mine, he argues, is 鈥渉ow you keep the tradition of [Phoenix] climbing about being outside鈥攁bout respect and reverence for the planet.鈥�

The post Will Oak Flat Soon Become a 1,000-Foot-Deep Crater? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Every few minutes the helicopters whirred overhead, back and forth, bringing loads of water to quench the wildfire that burned in Colorado鈥檚 Clear Creek Canyon. I was cat-sitting for my friend whose apartment sat right at the mouth of the canyon, separated from the Goltra Fire only by a highway and a river. By all reports, the wildfire was smoldering, not raging, along the south-facing hillsides that flanked the canyon鈥檚 mouth, but I knew wildfires could flare up in an instant. Topher, the cat, seemed unphased despite my constant nervous glances out the window. I knew the crags Skinny Legs, Bumbling Stock, and Stumbling Block were in the burn zone, and as the buzz of the helicopters went on incessantly, I couldn鈥檛 help but wonder: Once we stop the flames, then what? What happens to crags after a wildfire?

Ultimately, the Clear Creek crags would only flirt with the wildfire. No lives lost, no evacuations or threats to human structures, and these crags only remained closed for a few months. As I dug into the scattered history of wildfires impacting crags鈥攕omething that is becoming ever more common in the U.S. and around the world鈥擨 found that the Goltra Fire hardly registered as significant. But as I talked to land managers and developers, one thing remained true regardless of a fire鈥檚 size鈥攖he climbing community and public land managers often don鈥檛 really know what to do in their aftermath. But ask the right people, and dig through decades of Mountain Project forums, and the scattered community knowledge starts to piece together.

***

In the last 25 years, fires have left their mark on both iconic crags and beloved neighborhood zones. Some fire-affected crags quickly became climbable after cleaning spalling rock with a pry bar, including at the Ghost Town Crag and Sinks Canyon, both near Lander, Wyoming, and the local sandstone crags near Santa Barbara, California. Other crags have suffered from extensive closures after their natural landscapes were laid to waste, including Ten Sleep, Granite Mountain, Washington Pass, the South Platte, Queen Creek Canyon, Lover鈥檚 Leap, Poudre Canyon, and Echo Cliffs. Other crags鈥攍ike Elephant Knob in the Sierras, and parts of Cochiti Mesa, New Mexico鈥攁re permanently unclimbable, even decades after the fires ravaged the area. But this isn鈥檛 just happening in the West. Rumbling Bald burned in 2016 and the north gorge of the Red River Gorge closed in 2020 due to fires. And, of course, one particular fire shook the international climbing world when in 2022. That fire wasn鈥檛 just flirting when it brushed up against the crag that housed La Dura Dura (5.15c), one of climbing鈥檚 hardest testpieces.

After the 2024 Goltra Fire in Clear Creek, I talked to a land manager at Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) about how they evaluate and rehabilitate crags after a fire. Like most land management agencies, JCOS does not take on liability related to climbing鈥攊t鈥檚 up to the individual to survey our hardware, and any risk is our own. But as climbing areas get busier and busier, land managers have begun partnering with climbers to share expertise and coordinate resources. JCOS in particular has proven to be one of the most progressive organizations in this space, yet even they do not have a formal framework for addressing wildfire impacts on crags. However, Eric Krause, visitor education and relations interim manager at JCOS, says that no matter how wide the burn area, or how hot the fire, there are three areas of concern for crags: natural hazards, rock integrity, and hardware integrity.

Natural Hazards

The most common impact of wildfires is the natural hazards they leave behind. One stand-out example is the Caldor Fire that ravaged Lover鈥檚 Leap in 2021. The fire burned for 69 days before it was fully contained, covering 221,835 acres and destroying 1,003 structures. The rock in Lover鈥檚 Leap was largely unaffected due to the absence of large trees beneath the walls. However, the rock quality isn鈥檛 the only thing that impacts any given climbing day. First you have to get there鈥攁nd in Lover鈥檚 Leap, the approaches were now a mess.

Petch Pietrolungo, owner of Lover鈥檚 Leap Guides and local living in Strawberry, California, since 1993, was one of the main community members leading the post-fire recovery. Bushes had been razed from the earth, and fallen trees blocked paths in all directions. The Forest Service had begun to clean up official trails鈥攂ut climbing approaches weren鈥檛 considered part of that domain and they were stretched for funding anyway. Pietrolungo and other locals took it upon themselves to rebuild the approaches, removing debris and lining them with rocks to discourage social trails.

But the fire鈥檚 effects still linger. Pietrolungo says that, now, the major hazard at Lover鈥檚 Leap is falling old growth trees. During strong winds, these massive tree trunks are snapping 20 feet up. Pietrolungo estimates these trees could be a hazard for the next five to 10 years.

Wildfires can also cause significant rock fall, erosion, and even landslides. While land management agencies have the expertise and experience to address natural hazards鈥攁nd indeed are required to on official trails鈥攄ue to staffing and funding limitations, natural hazard mitigation can result in extended closure periods.

And then there is the intangible. Wildfires can result in what New Mexico climber Josh Smith calls a barren 鈥渕oonscape.鈥� Not only is the plant life gone, but so too are the animals who depended on it. More than safety concerns of falling rock or crisped corpses of trees, the barrenness can lend itself to a certain existential horror.

Rock Integrity

In 2022, the world-famous climbing in Oliana, Spain, suffered one of the worst fires our community has ever seen: the wall of sculpted, featured warm-ups were reduced to flaky choss, and classic testpieces like Crimptonite (8b+), T1 Full Equip (8b+), and Mishi (8b) were all so damaged developers didn鈥檛 know if they could ever return to their original brilliance. Oliana鈥檚 destruction was due to thermal spalling鈥攖he limestone had gotten so hot that weak features of rock (which are generally the protrusions that make for the best handholds and feet) had flaked off.

A study published in 2023 by Pablo Yeste-Liz谩n and fellow researchers compared the fire impacts in Oliana to another 2019 fire in Spain that damaged a granite crag near Madrid called Cadalso de los Vidrios. The extreme level of spalling that happened in Oliana, and indeed how high up on the routes this mechanical change to the rock was found, was very unique. According to the study, 鈥淭he climbing walls [in Oliana] are located on the top of a steep slope with upward winds. This generated a 鈥渃himney鈥� effect during the fire, which projected a hot stream toward the upper parts of the wall, so the effects of thermal spalling appear higher in the wall, up to 30 to 40 meters high.鈥�

Despite how dire it seemed at first, climbers can be extremely resourceful. After I heard of Michaela Kiersch鈥檚 impressive onsight of Crimptonite in 2024, I had to check back in with Chris Frick, one of the climbers leading the recovery effort at Oliana. Was Crimptonite climbable again?

Frick reported that the original line isn鈥檛 possible anymore, at least not at 8b+/14a. Jorg Verhoeven bolted a variation by using the bouldery start of T1 Full Equip (miraculously unaffected) and traversing into Crimptonite. Kiersch onsighted this variation. The original start has had its hardware replaced, but due to missing holds it is considered 鈥渁n ugly project at a very high level.鈥� No one has cleaned or re-bolted the warm-ups, and they remain unclimbable.

The extensive level of rock damage is also related to the very nature of the rock. Yeste-Liz谩n鈥檚 study notes that 鈥渓imestone may be more impacted by fire due to the conversion of aragonite to calcite, the thermal degradation of organics, and the expulsion of water.鈥� In other words, limestone quickly heats up, loses water, and flakes off.

But other rock types can be affected by high temperatures caused by wildfires as well. According to the same study, while granite can be more resistant to fire, it too can lose strength, change in color, and peel or crack. And during the Las Conchas Fire that swept through Cochiti Mesa, New Mexico, in 2011, various desert face climbs, composed of a soft stone called Bandelier Tuff, were made utterly unclimbable. Local climber Mike Tritt went on a scouting mission after the fire, and reported on Mountain Project: 鈥淭he fire was hot enough to separate the layers of patina from the rock. Without the patina I doubt there is anything solid enough to climb.鈥�

Hardware Integrity

How wildfires can and do impact hardware integrity is the trickiest and most specialized consideration after a wildfire鈥攁nd the knowledge out there is sparse at best.

For Bobby Hutton at , a gear retailer known for its extensive break-testing videos, his main concern with bolts, of any kind, that have been through a wildfire is not how high heats might impact the bolt鈥檚 strength, but rather how such heats could obliterate corrosion resistance properties鈥攎aking fire impacts a long term problem for hardware, rather than an immediate risk. Hutton has experienced the dire impacts of wildfires himself: 鈥淭he Caldor fire in 2021 burned my home and many of the crags I love. Of the 15 or so crags [where] I鈥檝e done development or rebolting, 12 have been affected by wildfire.鈥�

After his home burned, he recovered several brand new hangers that had been exposed to heats estimated at above 1763 degrees Fahrenheit. When he tested these rusted hangers, they performed well under pull tests, breaking at forces well above what they were originally rated to fail at. But he still had concerns about the long term corrosion resistance of the bolts. What good was the strength of the hanger now, if it would rapidly corrode in a few years?

In the real-life example of Oliana, when Yeste-Liz谩n and fellow researchers anchor-tested bolts on various parts of the affected wall, the results showed the bolts鈥� strength to be in good condition, despite oxidation. Of greater concern was how rock spalling and weakness interacted with hardware integrity. In several instances, rock immediately around or behind the bolt had chipped and spalled off, leaving some of the bolt itself exposed, and the hanger no longer flush with the rock.

Watch route developers in Oliana assess the flaky, burnt stone with wall hammers. Video courtesy of Chris Frick.

Frick certainly noticed these concerns, and his rebolting effort was comprehensive. Though he prioritized oxidized hangers and any bolts with spalling nearby, he also took no chances: 鈥淚f you start to rebolt, you do the whole line.鈥�

The question of whether glue-in bolts can melt at high temperatures is also not fully settled. Hutton reports that some types of adhesive used by climbers are rated to deal with fire. Others don鈥檛 have that rating. Until fully tested, and when the type of glue used is unknown when inspecting a wildfire-affected glue-in, it is better to be safe rather than sorry. As Hutton says, 鈥淚n bolt replacement there has been a long term theory that you could use a torch to soften the adhesive and remove the bolt. We have tested it and it is possible with certain types of glue, but far from practical鈥攚e saw lots of damage to the rocks before the heat penetrated deep enough to weaken the glue. So wildfire damage to glue-ins is possible but I would expect to see rock damage first.鈥�

With the 2011 Las Conchas fire at Cochiti Mesa and surrounding areas, another consideration was the fire damage to traditional anchors, like trees and existing webbing. After the Lover鈥檚 Leap fire, Pietrolungo found a handful of gear that had been dropped from climbs into the now nonexistent bushes, all burnt to a crisp, and evidence that fixed or stuck gear would also dramatically change in character after a fire.

In the relatively minor case of the Clear Creek crags in the burn zone of the Goltra Fire, the JCOS team asked an anonymous local route developer to do an unofficial evaluation of the hardware at the affected crags. While the generous volunteer did not see any damage obvious to the naked eye鈥攍ikely meaning that the fire did not get hot enough to oxidize any of the hangers or cause spalling of rock鈥攚ith no standardized process, the evaluation was inherently limited and informal. Perhaps it鈥檚 time for more than that.

***

Wildfires are an increasing risk to gateway communities and the crags we love. One 2016 study found that fire burn area in the US has doubled in the last half century, in large part due to climate change and legacies of fire suppression. While fire mitigation strategies have been extensively discussed elsewhere, fire recovery processes in the specific context of climbing and safety have not. Because climbing causes so many tricky liability questions for land managers and climbing communities, there is also frequently a division or confusion about who is responsible for evaluating crags after a wildfire. While most climbers I talked to about this topic had positive relationships with rangers and land managers, they weren鈥檛 interested in giving already underfunded land agencies any further burdens in exchange for a more regulated fire recovery process. But then these other elements of crag safety are left to the climbing community to address on a volunteer basis. As with Oliana, the recovery of specific climbs might be left to the whims of volunteers. And what if no volunteer rises from the ashes?

It left me wondering: with scraps of knowledge buried in the brains of our generous developers, gear testers, and the local crag rat, what would it take to formalize a framework, conduct more comprehensive testing, collect scattered knowledge, and better equip our communities?

The post What Happens to Crags After a Wildfire? appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

The International Olympic Committee Board announced this week that it plans to split up the lead and boulder climbing disciplines in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Compared to Paris 2024, the 2028 Olympics will admit nearly 12% more climbing athletes鈥�76, instead of 68鈥攁nd offer three additional climbing medals.

Sport climbing鈥檚 Olympic presence has come a long way since its 2021 debut. In the Tokyo Olympics, the three disciplines of lead, boulder, and speed were awkwardly combined into one super discipline that required athletes to compete across all disciplines. The combined format proved a massive challenge for some specialized climbers. For example, in Tokyo, Adam Ondra took second in lead, but placed fourth in speed and sixth in boulder. For a moment, it looked like Ondra would win gold, but was such that Alberto Gin茅s L贸pez took the gold by placing first in speed, seventh in boulder, and fourth in lead. (Scores were determined by multiplying the scoring results of each discipline.)

In 2024, things improved: the IOC separated the hyper-specialized discipline of speed climbing, but kept lead and boulder lumped together. The climbing community鈥斺�攕till felt that none of these disciplines ought to be grouped together.

According to the , the International Olympic Committee (IOC) explained that specific athlete quotas for the 2028 Games across the three events will 鈥渂e finalized in the Olympic Qualification System.鈥� This will also clarify whether climbers can compete in multiple events.

鈥淚鈥檓 really excited about the news that all three disciplines will be separate at the 2028 Summer Olympics,鈥� says Natalia Grossman, who competed in the lead/boulder event in 2024. 鈥淔rom the very beginning, the community has been pushing for three sets of medals鈥攁nd now we鈥檝e finally got them!鈥�

Jesse Grupper, who also competed in lead/boulder in the 2024 Games, felt similarly. 鈥淪ince climbing first became a discipline in the Olympics, this event has always pushed athletes to conform to the disciplines decided on by the Olympics,鈥� says Grupper. 鈥淭his marks a new era where the core disciplines of climbing are determining what happens at the Olympics and not the other way round. As an athlete with a focus in lead, I鈥檓 over the moon to have an opportunity to vie for a spot to do what I love on the biggest stage in the world.鈥�

Another exciting development in Olympic climbing is the at the 2028 Games. Significant groundwork has already been laid in establishing classifications for the rollout of paralympic climbing in Los Angeles.

In addition to its announcement regarding the new climbing format on Wednesday, the IOC revealed a number of other changes for the LA 2028 Games. of these changes is to achieve better gender parity. For example, the number of women鈥檚 football (soccer) teams increased to 16, while the quota for men鈥檚 soccer teams decreased to 12, swinging the gender imbalance in the other direction. The IOC also announced a new weight class for women boxers, and added five new sports, including cricket, flag football, and lacrosse.

The post Finally! Climbing Will Have 3 Medal Categories at 2028 Olympics appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

On April 8, just a day before her 24th birthday, American rock climber Brooke Raboutou made history by climbing one of the hardest routes in the world.

颁补濒濒别诲听贰虫肠补濒颈产耻谤,听the 40-foot route in Northern Italy is steep and notorious for its difficulty. Over the years this pitch has defied some of rock climbing’s strongest athletes. But Raboutou鈥檚 climb wasn鈥檛 just a big deal because the route was hard. Within the world of rock climbing, Excalibur is graded 9b+/5.15c. Raboutou has now become the first woman, ever, to ascend a climb at that grade.

鈥淔rom the start, I was drawn to you,鈥� Raboutou . 鈥淪ome days felt like effortless harmony; on others, we fought, our voices raised 鈥� You forced me to confront my fears, detach from expectation, and feed every flicker of belief I could find. You taught me to argue with doubt until it began to doubt itself. You asked for everything, but gave me even more in return.鈥�

Here’s what to know about her historic feat:

Who Is Brooke Raboutou?

Raboutou hails from climbing royalty. Her parents, French climber Didier Raboutou and American Robyn Erbesfield, were both world champion competitive climbers. Her older brother, Shawn, is one of the world鈥檚 strongest boulderers鈥攁 subset of climbing focused on short, powerful moves close to the ground.

With her听superhuman family, Brooke Raboutou has been making waves in the world of hard climbing since she was a child. She climbed a boulder graded V10 when she was just nine years old, and at age ten and then 11, became the youngest women to climb routes graded 5.13d and 5.14b, respectively. Long story short: Even before she hit high school, Raboutou was stronger than 99 percent of climbers on the planet.

Raboutou has also had an illustrious competitive career. She attended both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics. In Paris, she earned a silver medal, becoming the first American woman to medal in Olympic sport climbing. I interviewed Brooke right before her Olympic success.

What Does the Grade 5.15c Mean?

In the United States, roped rock climbs are graded on a scale called the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS), which used to run from 5.0 to 5.10, with the latter rating reserved for the toughest routes. In recent decades, as climbs have become harder, new levels (5.11, 5.12, etc.) have been introduced, with letters (a, b, c, d) tacked onto the end of the number to denote different arrays of difficulty within each number grade.

Today, 5.15c is the second-highest grade thus far.听The first-ever 5.15c was ascended by Czech climber Adam Ondra 2012鈥攖he route, called Change, is in a cave in Flatanger,听Norway. In the 13 years since then, only ten people (Raboutou included) have climbed routes at that grade. Less than a dozen routes graded 5.15c exist in the world.

But not all 5.15 routes are alike鈥攖he rating does not specify a rock’s angle or hold-size. Some 5.15c routes, like Excalibur, are short and steep, and require a climber to pinch microscopic holds up an essentially blank wall. Others 5.15c routes, like La Dura Dura in Spain, are four times as long, but require a climber to perform dynamic movements and diverse techniques to get to the top鈥攁 climbing style that favorites endurance over raw power.

One higher level (5.15d) technically exists, but there are only three routes in the world that have been proposed听to be that grade, and none has been repeated. This is noteworthy because climbing routes receive their grades by consensus. For example: if I am the first person to climb a route, I will tell everyone how hard I think it is, but then other climbers who climb the same route will听chime in with their respective opinions, and so-on. As time goes on, a general opinion within the climbing community emerges about the route鈥檚 grade. Perhaps my initial grading wasn’t entirely accurate鈥攖he climbers who repeat my route will set the story straight.

Of course, this means that assigning grades to the hardest routes is difficult, since only the very best climbers can complete them and then offer their respective opinions. The fewer climbers who are actually able to climb a route, the more weight each individual opinion carries.听For routes like Excalibur, which are among hardest in the world, this number is slim. Only two other climbers鈥擲tefano Ghisolf听and Will Bosi鈥攈ave been able to complete the route.

So, while 5.15c is technically the second-hardest grade in the world, it’s the hardest grade that multiple climbers have been able to complete and then verify.

What Do We Know About听Excalibur?

I鈥檝e reported on Excalibur by Ghisolfi, who hails from the town Arco where the route is located, in 2023. The route鈥攚hich is named for a sculpture of a sword-in-an-anvil placed near its base鈥攊s shorter than most other 5.15c climbs. However, it is steeper, and as a result, each move is individually harder.

The wall Excalibur ascends is overhanging at an angle of 40 degrees. Imagine climbing up a pyramid, but from the inside. The route is only 40 feet long and entails approximately 18 individual movements. To the layperson, this wall would appear essentially blank and completely devoid of hand or footholds. In truth, there are holds, but they are scarcely bigger than the cracks in the surface of听a brick wall.听Climbers have ascended听Excalibur using tiny pinches and 鈥渃rimps鈥濃�攃redit card-like edges in the rock that are sometimes only a few millimeters deep鈥攁nd shallow pockets, which can be grabbed using only a couple of fingers.

To get an idea of what Excalibur entails, I suggest of Ghisolfi making the first ascent.

In outdoor climbing, Raboutou has specialized in bouldering, like her brother Shawn, which also makes her ascent of Excalibur noteworthy. She has never climbed a route in the 5.15 zone, so her jump to a 5.15c is extremely impressive.听Excalibur, although it is a roped climb, is right up Raboutou鈥檚 alley.

What Did Brooke Raboutou Have to Say?

Raboutou said her ascent of听Excalibur听was different from those of the men who have previous ascended it. Raboutou is just 5 foot 3 inches tall.

“I knew a lot of the general beta used by Stefano and others when I first started trying听Excalibur, but I had to find my own methods and strategies that fit me,” she said. “My dimensions and climbing style are very different from theirs.”

Raboutout also said the climb required patience. Early in her attempts on the rock she made quick progress and she felt strong. But the variables that come with outdoor climbing鈥攁nd not in a rock gym鈥攎ade the going slow. “When I first started trying this climmb I felt really good on it really fast and kind of surprised myself. With that came an expectation that I could come it and fast,” she said. “That wasn’t the case. I had to detach from that expectation and be patient for things to line up: good weather, my skin to heal, my muscles to recover, and work toward a mental state that allowed me to execute physically.”

All of that focus didn’t prevent Raboutou from having some fun with the sword sculpture at听Excalibur’s base.

Where听Excalibur Places Brooke Raboutou in Climbing History

In 1993, American climber Lynn Hill made the first free ascent of The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite. This 3,300-foot route, graded 5.14a, is the world鈥檚 most famous rock climb. Prior to Hill, it had never been climbed by anyone, male or female, without using artificial aids to get around some of the more difficult, blank sections.

Throughout much of rock climbing’s early decades, the sport was male-dominated. In recent years, that has changed. In 2024, Austrian climber Barbara 鈥淏absi鈥� Zangerl to 鈥渇lash鈥� a route on El Capitan鈥攖his means she climbed the route on her first try, without a single fall.

The first woman to ascend a route rated 5.15 was , who scaled a 5.15a route in Spain called La Rambla in 2017. The same year, Austrian climber Angela 鈥淎ngy鈥� Eiter became the first woman to climb 5.15b by ascending a route in Spain called La Planta de Shiva.

In the eight years since then, other women have climbed routes graded 5.15a and 5.15b, but none have completed a 5.15c. With her Olympic medal last year, Raboutou proved herself one of the world鈥檚 leading indoor climbers. With Excalibur, she now stands at the pinnacle of outdoor climbing as well.

The post American Climber Brooke Raboutou Just Made History. Here鈥檚 What to Know. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Sometimes, we go to Mountain Project for the beta. But sometimes, we go for the chat. And sometimes, the chat is funny. We鈥檝e seen brawls break out over bolts and grades. Stoke-spangled reviews鈥攁nd ho-hum appraisals of testpieces. Crusty cameos. Sketchy ethics. And non-sequiturs that add to the lore of the classics.

Here are 19 of the funniest Mountain Project comments on classic routes in Yosemite.

Note: All comments are only very lightly edited for grammar to retain the casual forum feel and the voice of each commenting climber.

鈥淗ow many days does this take most people. I can preaty [sic] much do a 5.10 blind-folded.鈥�
鈥擲cott Morrison

鈥淕reat route. Few people know that the name comes from the Gogol short story. A man loses his nose, only to find out it had been baked into a loaf bread and subsequently masquerading around town as a local official.鈥�
鈥擲endasaurus Rex

鈥淭his is it folks. The grand-daddy of all shit shows. Score Instagram content as you stand in ladders on perfect hand cracks. Witness behavior that can only be comparable to that seen at the airport on Thanksgiving day. Lastly, make sure to stroke the ego of NIAD鈥檈rs as they go by.鈥�
鈥擲un Dawg

鈥淒reams Transcending!! The Force is strong with this one!鈥�
鈥擬ike Holley

鈥淭his seems like an absurd route. I watched the movie and it looked awful and not fun at all.鈥�
鈥擥iancarlo Rhodes

鈥淚 thought this climb sucked. I hope the rest of is better. We did Beggars Buttress and the Rostrum on the same trip. Both were way better. Maybe my expectations were too high for Freeblast, but considering the location and history you can understand why. Most of the climbing was forgettable awkward or just plain blah.鈥�
鈥擧别辫辫苍别谤诲

鈥淩oute is much easier if you hire a mule to carry your stuff up to the rock. Some may call it cheating. I call it smart.鈥�
鈥擲ean Cobourn

鈥淎fter years of having wet dreams about this route, I was finally offered a chance to make a push for the summit on my 26th birthday. May 2nd, 2015. The spring is running strong and is the best and coldest water you will ever taste. I promise.鈥�
鈥擬isterCattell Cattell

鈥淚 climbed this 27 years ago. I brought my bagpipe up with me and I think I played Bonnie Charlie from the top. They say it was heard in the valley. Note I am not Celtic. Anyway the climb was fun if a lot of extra hiking up and down. I think with all the traffic, someone soloing might get knock off by the crowd.鈥�
鈥攄驳别濒尘补苍

鈥淲ow, there are a lot of redundant comments. Here鈥檚 a new one: **Don鈥檛 piss in the hole you heathens! Traversing over a few feet and peeing on blank rock that no one touches would be better than filling the hole at the belay.鈥�
鈥擪ristoffer Schmarr

鈥淚 got a severe off-the-couch ass-whipping on this one in the early `80s despite being pretty solid on Yosemite 5.9 of the time on hexes and stoppers and yarded and rested on any and everything I could. Was jello by the end of the second day (originally was rated Grade VI, 5.9 A4/5 (?) one of the first in Yosemite). Still a testpiece no matter how you get up it by all recent reports.鈥�
鈥擪ing Tut

鈥淚 took Stefan Glowacz here early `90s and he couldn鈥檛 touch it. He rapped off by threading the rope through a bolt hanger (!). I belayed on the FA and he was doing shit with his feet I didn鈥檛 understand.鈥�
鈥擩oe Hedge

鈥淩ap rings on the summit? C鈥檓on, John Muir soloed up and down it with clogs made of granite. Okay it was leather boots, but still, if an old Scot can do it without sticky rubber, I think you can do it with sticky rubber.鈥�
鈥擩iggs Casey

鈥淥hhh my Buddha! Just did this route, late March 2016, and it was truly an epic and educational experience to say the least. Long approach, which is made much more grueling with haul bags. Essentially, every single pitch was seeping with water (some even mistakable for waterfalls) and the slippery wet exposed third-class top-out was most terrifying (with haul bags on back)! The 11c pitches were pretty stout, had to pull through gear on most cruxes 鈥� To make life much simpler I would totally recommend doing this route in a day if possible. Climbing is climbing though and overall it was still fun as biscuits!鈥�
鈥擬ike Holley

鈥淭his spike of adrenaline due to wasp nest makes the climb significantly easier and may consider as use of doping. I propose to change rating of Waverly back to original 10c, while wasp is active.鈥�
鈥擜lexey Zelditch

鈥淵ou are so right about the ants. :< I almost got eaten alive 鈥� my partner had to basically use me as a punching bag for over 10 minutes just to get all the ants off me 鈥� I think the ants got out some rage on me 鈥� It鈥檚 funny that some actually made it up to Dinner Ledge with me in my draws and they seem to know when you鈥檙e making a hard move.鈥�
鈥擠wook Nicholson

鈥淧artied on Dinner Ledge for my birthday a couple weekends back (weekend of 4/15). 12 fucking people up there! We drank tequila and beers, smoked some herb, watched Ryan lead the Kor Roof at night. It was fucking awesome!鈥�
鈥擬ax McKee

鈥淲ow 鈥� just super major woooooooow 鈥� if I could rename this route I would call it 鈥渨hat even is this life?鈥� I was just that impressed with this climb. It really is so crazy how accurate it is that everyone I talk to about this route says it鈥檚 probably their favorite route ever. Every Yosemite climber needs to climb this route.鈥�
鈥擜ndrew Upchurch

鈥淧itches like this almost make me believe in a higher power.鈥�
鈥擲keletor 69

The post The 19 Funniest Mountain Project Comments on Yosemite Routes appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Nevada is full of new and unexpected experiences at every turn. To fully embrace the adventures and quirks of southwest Nevada, photographer Paulina Dao hit the road with her cousin, Jessica Phung. Together, they traveled the Extraterrestrial Highway, in search of the state’s most out-of-this-world attractions.

Read more in 10 Ways to Get (Way) Out There in Nevada.

We鈥檙e听鈥攜our official resource for exploring the Silver State鈥檚 sometimes surprising, always exciting towns, cities, and public lands. With travel tips and inspiration straight from the heart of Nevada, we鈥檝e got you covered. All you need to do is get a little out there.

The post Get a Little Out There in Nevada appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

This story was updated with an additional section below entitled 鈥淎n Update From YOSAR鈥� on February 25 at 8:30am MT.听

Nate Vince, the suddenly famous Yosemite locksmith who lost his job as a result of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)鈥檚 recent slew of layoffs, texted me while hanging off the side of El Capitan on Saturday afternoon: 鈥淵eah, Buddy, we鈥檙e up here! The teamwork to get this done was unreal.鈥�

I reached out to Vince as a friend of a friend from my own days working for the Yosemite Bear Team and as a white carded EMT during the 2011-2012 seasons. With many other seasons working for the Mountaineering School and High Sierra Camps鈥攁s well as dirtbagging and climbing with members of the SAR Site鈥擨 felt hit hard by the news of the cuts to听听and other park staff. To get to the bottom of how DOGE鈥檚 actions were impacting my favorite community, I reached out to Vince and others to find out how they were reacting.

The Upside-Down Flag on Yosemite’s Horsetail Fall

On Saturday, February 22, Vince and a crew of six friends and ex-coworkers鈥攁ll current or past National Park Service (NPS) employees鈥攈auled a 30脳50-foot American flag up El Capitan鈥檚 East Ledges and unfurled it down the headwall between the climbing route Zodiac听and Horsetail Fall (also known, this time of year, as the ).

The flag was donated by a current NPS employee (and veteran), and the crew took care to respect it.听Hauling and rigging the flag wasn鈥檛 easy. The wind was whipping up the face and causing the flag to behave like a giant sail. 鈥淣one of us had ever climbed El Cap with a 50-foot flag before, so it was all new,鈥� Vince told me once he was down. 鈥淚n the interest of safety, we pulled it back up and spent a couple of hours on top, waiting for the wind to die down before trying again. It wouldn鈥檛 have been worth it if anyone got hurt.鈥�

The flag-hauling climbers released the following statement to various news outlets on Saturday afternoon:

鈥淭he American flag is a symbol of unity, pride, and honor. The flag represents the ideals, values, history, and people of our nation, and we recognize and understand the importance of treating the flag with respect and dignity. The upside-down flag is used as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.听

The purpose of this exercise of free speech is to disrupt without violence and draw attention to the fact that public lands in the United States are under attack. The Department of the Interior issued a series of secretarial orders that position drilling and mining interests as the favored uses of America鈥檚 public lands and threaten to scrap existing land protections and conservation measures. Firing 1,000s of staff regardless of position or performance across the nation is the first step in destabilizing the protections in place for these great places.鈥�

After a couple hours, Vince and his crew carefully raised the flag, folded it correctly, and packed it into their haul bags for the hike down. They could鈥檝e left it up. It would鈥檝e been tough for anyone else to retrieve it. But they鈥檝e worked for the National Park Service, and visitor experience was on their minds. 鈥淲e wanted to give people a chance to get their firefall pictures without the flag. It was a beautiful evening for it,鈥� Vince explains.

How the DOGE Layoffs Hit Yosemite

If you haven鈥檛 heard the full story, Vince, aka Yosemite鈥檚 only locksmith, got fired on Valentine鈥檚 Day鈥攅xactly three weeks shy of completing his one-year probationary period. He was great at what he did, receiving numerous awards and glowing evaluations. 鈥淭hen on Valentine鈥檚 Day, I got this generic email with my name pasted into it,鈥� Vince says. 鈥淚t said I didn鈥檛 fulfill the knowledge, skills, or abilities for my job. Now Yosemite has no locksmith.鈥�

 

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You might not know it, but Yosemite has over 1,000 structures that use a lock-and-key system, including many historic buildings, archives, and housing. So by stating that they no longer need his position, the government is essentially saying they don鈥檛 need locked doors in the park.

While working as a seasonal mechanic during the last government shutdown, Vince witnessed what happened to Park structures when they were understaffed: 鈥淗istoric structures got broken and damaged鈥攁nd these are important places. They鈥檙e part of what makes America cool. And when they aren鈥檛 protected, people go to Joshua Tree and cut Joshua trees down, or they go to the Ahwahnee and steal hotel signs. And what鈥檚 worse? What happens if there鈥檚 a rescue situation and YOSAR can鈥檛 get into the SAR Cache? You can鈥檛 break that door down. The rescue ain鈥檛 happening, and lives are in peril.鈥�

Of course, the layoffs aren鈥檛 only happening in Yosemite. Alex Wild鈥攁 former Yosemite wilderness ranger who climbed The Nose with Vince last fall鈥攚as dismissed from his job as an interpretive ranger and the only EMT at Devils Postpile National Monument. He got the email on February 15. 鈥淢y immediate boss advocated for me, telling people, 鈥楬ey, don鈥檛 fire this guy; he鈥檚 our only EMT,鈥欌�� Wild says. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 how sloppy it all is. Maybe they didn鈥檛 mean to fire their only EMT, but they did.鈥�

Devils Postpile averaged one or two rescues per week the previous season. 鈥淛ust about every Saturday,鈥� Wild says of their typical rescue cadence. 鈥淧eople get hurt here, but it鈥檚 nothing like Yosemite.鈥�

In Yosemite, YOSAR handles 911 calls for high-angle injuries, water rescues, and just about any other issue that occurs off pavement. Highly trained permanent and seasonal rangers staff YOSAR. But a specialized group known as 鈥淪AR Siters鈥� have been part of YOSAR since the sixties, when the Park Service realized that the surging popularity of rock climbing called for expert climbers to assist with high-angle recoveries.

SAR Siters get paid as 鈥淎D hires,鈥� which basically means听as needed. They get called out for emergencies and are paid by the hour. On February 14, YOSAR sent out an email to all returning SAR Siters announcing a hiring freeze. 鈥淲e will not be able to hire emergency SAR personnel for the summer season,鈥� the email stated.

In 2024, YOSAR responded to roughly 250 rescues鈥攁 typical incident volume that steadily rises year after year. SAR Siters take the lead in nearly every rescue. Not only is confidence on the sharp end of Yosemite鈥檚 most difficult routes a prerequisite for being a SAR Siter, but so is being an EMT, Swiftwater certified, highly skilled at rigging, and proficient in short hauling. SAR Siters must also know how to work with Yosemite rescue chopper 551. These are not activities that a recently hired seasonal ranger would just be able to pick up.

If DOGE believes that leaving our national parks unlocked, unprotected, and unsafe is the smartest way to balance our nation鈥檚 books, then perhaps the interns crunching the numbers need to go back to school.

Or maybe there鈥檚听. As of last year, national parks constituted less than .05% of the federal budget. And for seasonal rangers, only a tiny sliver of that is congressionally allocated. Climbing rangers, for instance, are funded by grants alone.

鈥淧eople are making huge sacrifices to live this life,鈥� former Yosemite climbing ranger Eric Lynch says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like seasonal or AD hires have any ability to cheat the system. Rangers were repeatedly and consistently abused by the system as it was.鈥�

What do the YOSAR cuts mean for climbers?

Without a full SAR team in Yosemite this year, the climbing community is already contemplating the impacts on the upcoming climbing season.

鈥淚n Yosemite, I think the biggest thing is to be prepared to help your fellow climbers,鈥� Lynch says. 鈥淭he likelihood of being out climbing and running into an issue that you then have to step in and assist with is going to increase substantially.鈥�

鈥淓xpect to self-rescue,鈥� Wild adds. 鈥淭here is so much uncertainty about the SAR teams and personnel that climbers need to go into this assuming that an EMS response either won鈥檛 be there or will be severely delayed.鈥�

There will still be rangers in Yosemite working for YOSAR. But the search and rescue team and its resources will be more limited. Two rangers can鈥檛 carry a tourist with a broken ankle down the Upper Falls trail, for instance. Let alone rig a short-haul mission off of Half Dome.

Will There Really Not Be Any SAR Siters this Season?

鈥淣o,鈥� an anonymous source in Yosemite EMS tells me. 鈥淭his community is too strong. People are committed to the team and providing that role to the Park. But it will be barebones.鈥�

Right now, the Yosemite community is figuring out how to take care of people.听It makes sense that the climbing community is figuring out how to keep climbers and tourists safe, even without government support, because that鈥檚 what a community does.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the community that exists in Yosemite that makes people want to work here,鈥� Lynch says. He knows that visitors value the community of Yosemite, too鈥攊t鈥檚 part of the experience in the Valley. But he cautions that they will be impacted by the cuts to YOSAR and park staff: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a trickle-down effect, and they鈥檙e going to feel it.鈥�

As for Wild, he may pivot to guiding for the season. While he鈥檚 less concerned about his own professional prospects, he is quite worried about the absence of rangers in the park. 鈥淪omeone needs to have that job,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t needs to exist 鈥� How do you get rid of so many of us without any real plan?鈥�

I contacted the Trump administration via email to pose Wild鈥檚 very question and didn鈥檛 receive a response by the time of publication. I also phoned the public information office for Yosemite National Park. As I poked my way through the phone tree, the assistant to the superintendent happened to be one of the options. The phone rang until an automated voice picked up and said, 鈥淲e鈥檙e sorry, this position is currently vacant. This voicemail box will not be monitored. So please do not leave a message.鈥�

An Update from YOSAR

After publishing this article, I heard back from a longtime, respected Yosemite law enforcement ranger, who I had originally reached out to as a source. He works closely with YOSAR and Yosemite EMS鈥擨 knew him during my time in Yosemite鈥攁nd he spoke with me anonymously.

This anonymous source wants the public to know that YOSAR is currently well-equipped with experienced permanent and seasonal law enforcement rangers, paramedics, climbing rangers, EMTs, and wilderness rangers. He strongly believes that Yosemite is still prepared to respond to search and rescue emergencies, even with the recent layoffs and AD hiring freeze. He also wanted to emphasize that the experience of YOSAR鈥檚 permanent law enforcement, wilderness, and EMS staff in rigging, high-angle rescues, helicopter rescues, and leadership is unmatched.

The SAR Siters are instrumental in rounding out the YOSAR team, but YOSAR is confident that they will step up to the challenge until they can welcome all SAR Siters back鈥攈opefully, in time for the summer season.

What Can Climbers of Yosemite and Beyond Do Next?

If you鈥檇 like to weigh in with your insights or experiences at Yosemite, you can contact representative , who presides over California鈥檚 5th Congressional District where Yosemite is located. You can also reach out to to advocate for public lands in your home state. Yosemite is far from the only park affected.

When visiting public lands this season鈥攁nd until appropriate staffing levels at our public lands are restored鈥攑lease tread even more lightly than usual. Pack out what you can and practice preventative search and rescue measures. And whether you鈥檙e climbing in Yosemite, Joshua Tree, the Black Canyon, Zion, or any other national park, be prepared to help others out, too.

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