Gripped Magazine
The Historic First Continuous Ascent of Salathé Wall in Yosemite Valley
The Salathé Wall on El Capitan is one of the most famous big wall routes in the world. The first ascent was in 1961 by Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, and Chuck Pratt, but the first continuous ascent didn’t occur until the fall of 1962, when Robbins and Frost climbed it in five days. This was their second continuous push on El Capitan, the first being the second ascent of The Nose, which they completed with Pratt and Joe Fitschen two years before.
The first attempt to climb Salathé Wall in a push was in the spring 62′ when Yvon Chouinard and Steve Roper went for it, however they bailed before reaching the top. And then in September 1962, Robbins, Frost and T. M. Herbert attempted a continuous ascent, but they also bailed.
Robbins later said that although he, Frost and Herbert were expecting cool conditions starting so late in September, the first two days brought July-like heat. “We suffered considerably,” Robbins said in his 1963 American Alpine Journal story. “Whenever a cloud came over which looked as if it might drop some moisture, we opened our mouths and stuck out our tongues, hoping to catch any drops that fell.”
The weather changed dramatically that night, with three inches of hail falling. As Robbins recalled, they “shoveled it into our parched mouths as fast as we could swallow.” The water they collected from the storm, which they had hoped to drink, was unfortunately full of sediment and undrinkable. Robbins described it as “an exciting, if sleepless night; a night fit for King Lear.” Ultimately, they chose to bail and rappelled back to the valley floor.
Robbins and Frost set out again on Oct. 10 with a plan to move light and fast, and they made good time as clouds thickened above. They climbed features like the Half Dollar, Mammoth Terraces, Heart Ledge and Lung Ledge. At one point, Robbins noted that “Tom made a thrilling pendulum and then struggled up a jam crack for 120 feet to Hollow Flake Ledge. This difficult pitch had been led by T. M. Herbert on the previous attempt. Darkness fell as I followed Tom’s lead; rain appeared imminent.”
Luckily, no rain fell that night and by morning they were back to climbing until they reached a pitch called the Ear, a large flake they hoped to bypass but ended up climbing directly. As Robbins said, “This involved using chimney technique to move 30 feet horizontally behind the flake, with the bottom of the flake yawning abruptly into space, an unnerving procedure. Tom led this anxiety-producing pitch with nearly perfect composure, only a few screams of terror and moans of horror.”
They then climbed to the top of El Cap Spire where they bivied under windy skies. Robbins welcomed the fall weather, noting, “The next day brought more of the same weather, which was excellent for climbing: cool, stimulating and though threatening, only threatening.”
By the third night, they reached the Sous Le Toit Ledge at 11:30 p.m., having climbed the last pitch of the day under moonlight. “With all these clouds moving in from the Pacific there must be something out there,” Robbins wondered. “How long would it hold off?”
The fourth morning saw them climbing a 20-foot overhang dubbed the Roof which involved some of the most “strenuous climbing on the route,” as Robbins said. Above the roof was 200 feet of steep rock which was fully aided. Precipitation threatened throughout the day, with Robbins noting: “the wind’s force made it difficult to stand high in our slings to place pitons.”
They spent the fourth night, which brought rain and snow, on the Thank God Ledge. Fortunately, the weather improved the next morning, and they resumed their climb as water streamed down the wall. At one point, ice fell from above, and, as Robbins recalled, “Tom was hit by a piece of ice.”
They finished under sunny skies and, as Robbins called it: “surely the finest and most exhilaratingly beautiful Sierra day we had ever seen.”
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