First Female-Team Free Ascent of El Cap's Free Rider

Over five days in late June, Kate Rutherford and Madaleine Sorkin made the first free ascent of Free Rider on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley by a team of women. Free Rider (VI 5.12d) is a 2,900-foot, 37-pitch route up the Salathe Wall, with a four-pitch variation that avoids the Salathe's two 5.13 pitches on The Headwall. Rutherford and Sorkin traded leads on Free Rider, with the second also climbing every pitch.

Previously, Lynn Hill made the first free ascent of El Cap's Nose in 1993 and then returned to climb it in a day. In 2004 Steph Davis became the second woman to free climb El Cap with her first female free ascent of Free Rider, leading every pitch, and later climbing it in a day.

The pair started up the first ten pitches, called Freeblast (5.11b), on Monday, June 21, and made great time, ending their climbing day 14 pitches up on Hollow Flake Ledge. The next morning, still stiff from the previous day's climbing, they tackled the infamous seven-inch-wide Monster Off-Width Crack. Higher they met up with photographer Mikey Schaefer, who shot pictures and hauled their packs to the flat ledge of El Cap Spire "for a beautiful bivi."

"Day three was exciting," writes Rutherford on her blog, "I fell off the Boulder Problem twice before a last minute change in my sequence to send it the third try in the hot sun. Madaleine followed and then I struggled my way up the muddy jungle of the sewer. All my clothes were wet and I shivered belaying Mad up the sloppy chimney." That night was spent on a sloping ledge called The Block atop pitch 27 in a comfy double-portaledge left by friends. Mikey broke out a bottle of whiskey and "a few sips put us straight to sleep."

Day four was cool with high clouds, perfect for sending three 5.12 pitches. The Enduro Corner, the route's 5.12d crux pitch, was seeping water when they reached it. Rutherford writes, "Madaleine tagged up my cotton shirt (the only one I had on) and shoved it in the key finger locks, eventually soaking up all the water. Now that my shirt was wet, and the holds were dry, she cruised up the knee-barring, laybacking Enduro Corner. Thrilled, I followed."

That pitch ends under the Salathe Wall's intimidating Headwall. Here Free Rider veers left, making a wildly exposed face climbing traverse (5.12a) with big handholds but no feet. At the end of this pitch, the pair fixed ropes and rappelled back to The Block bivouac where they "drank a touch more whiskey, smiled a lot, and watched the clouds light up pink." They went for it the next day, their fifth on the route, and cranked six more pitches to the top of El Capitan.

Kate Rutherford noted on her blog seven things that she learned climbing Free Rider, including leaving unfinished whiskey, bringing a photographer that will haul your packs, that you got to take it one pitch at a time, and the best ones--"try really hard...duh" and "have fun." Great job and congratulations on a well-earned El Cap summit.

Photographs above: (Top) Madeline Sorkin cranking one of the Free Rider crack pitches. (Middle) The women relax atop airy El Cap Spire. (Bottom) Kate and Madeline shake hands after topping out on Free Rider. Woo hoo! Photographs by Mikey Schaeffer.