Asylum on a sea of rock: - The Mountaineers

On with the fleece gloves and out with the
sponge. i had to sweep out all the snow, and
when that was finished i worked on improvising
little fixes to prevent or catch leaks. in re-
“in really bad weather,
wind tosses the portaledge
around, lifting it like a
sail, with you and all your
goods inside.”
ally bad weather, wind tosses the portaledge
around, lifting it like a sail, with you and all
your goods inside. On this climb, for the first
time ever, i was forced to create a tie-down
anchor for the bottom of the ledge after being
picked up and slammed against the wall repeatedly.
in between the small battles against
the snow, i slept.
About the author
The storm is dying now, and there is peace.
A little warmth comes through the fly. i begin
to dry my things. i want to get out and go
climbing sometime today. But for now i am
safe, dry and ready for some hot drinks. i
think about the high-quality construction of
my ledge and fly, and how these items have
literally preserved my life for the last eight
hours. Better send a thank-you note to the
elves at Black Diamond. i am still alive, in my
portaledge, drinking hot soup, listening to
Pink Floyd, and hoping for some sunshine.
Postscript: On this climb, after five
nights of sleeping under the fly, i finally got
to enjoy one glorious night without the fly
and all the stars i could ever dream of seeing.
i had experienced probably the worst
ledge time of my El Cap climbing career, and
yet that last night without the fly reminded
me that both the good nights and the bad
nights in the portaledge are some of the most
memorable and adventurous parts of each big
wall journey.55
A portaledge belay
on Zodiac
Holly Beck, a Mountaineer since 1997, has climbed
Yosemite’s El Cap by more routes than any other
woman in recorded history—33 ascents by 24 different
routes. she says she is most proud of her climb of the
Nose in a Day (a feat known as NiAD) during 2010 with
her boyfriend, Jeff. This after being seriously injured in
2009 by a 40-foot fall with multiple skull fractures, foot
fracture, rope burns and broken ribs that persisted for
more than a year. she has soloed El Capitan twice—her
latest being a climb of the Virginia route and a sevenpitch
start to Tangerine Trip while winter burst open in
the middle of May. The longest she has ever spent on
a single route was 11 days (on two occasions) and the
fastest is 19 hours on the Nose. she holds the record for
total all-female ascents on El Cap with 12, accompanied
by climbing partner Lorna illingworth. she labels On the
Waterfront as her most difficult route. “if i could pick
one place to spend the night
on El Capitan, i would pick the
Bismark ledge on the route
Mescalito.”
Holly Beck photo
www.mountaineers.org
23