Asylum on a sea of rock: - The Mountaineers

ecreation
Lorna illingworth photo
Week of 5-16-2011:
As I write these words I sit in my portaledge about
600 feet up on El Capitan. The sun radiates through my rain fly, and
i am warm for the first time in over 24 hours. i am a solo climber on
a route called Virginia. The weather forecast for today is 90 percent
chance of snow, with rain or snow forecast for most of the next week.
The portaledge is the modern wall climber’s home for multi-day
ascents. Tourists are quick to inquire, “How do you sleep up there?”
Most people are shocked to learn that home is essentially a folding
cot, with an approximately twin-sized canvas bed, suspended from the
wall by six nylon straps. Most suspect that sleeping in a portaledge is
terrifying.
in fact, ledge time is almost the reason for wall climbing. After a
day of climbing, often scary due to the actual difficulty, exposure and
reliance on gear (if a piece of aid gear blows, you fall)—not to men-
“Standing
and sitting
on the ledge
is pure luxury.”
refuge, kitchen, kite—life on a portaledge
by Holly beck
Holly Beck chills on New Dawn, El Capitan
tion the discomfort of hanging and hauling loads in your harness—
standing and sitting on the ledge is pure luxury. No more fear, no more
hanging and sometimes, if you are really brave, perhaps even no more
harness. Now is the time to dig into the big bag of food for something
other than bars and energy gel. Out come beers, chocolate, Babybel
cheese, V8, snackwell cookies and more.
The best way to fully appreciate the experience of
climbing on a big wall like El Capitan is to get in a full day of climbing,
reach your distance goal for the day and allow yourself enough time
to set up your ledge well before dark. Then you have time to enjoy the
view—looking all around at sights only a person in your exact hard-toreach
location can see. You can watch tourists in El Cap Meadow and
maybe even other climbers walking at the base or climbing on other
routes. right now my friend, Kate, is also ledged up about 1,000 feet
Continued on page 22
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