My Freerider Story.
On November 8th 2018, I stood on the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite, California, after free climbing 'Freerider' over 5 days. With Jacob supporting me, I led all the crux pitches and weighted the rope only three times over the 3000ft of climbing, lowering down and sending each pitch after. It almost felt easy! But really it wasn’t easy, it was a battle. A 4-year epic battle.
I first climbed Freerider with Jacob Cook (my then boyfriend — now husband) and Chris Bevins in June 2015. I’d only been climbing for two and a half years. It was our second trip to The Valley — one year earlier Jacob and I had managed to scrape our way up The Nose, as total Big Wall newbies.
The wall was a blast! We hauled an inflatable shark the whole way and read aloud “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” every night from our portaledges. We reached the summit in six days, Jacob and Chris both managing to free the route. I was stoked just to be there and fell in love with vertical camping!
After a year and a half of climbing I found my thoughts returning to Freerider. I climbed The Salathe over 5 days with my friend Sam Nightingale, this time not as the tag-along girlfriend but as an equal partner. I scoped out the pitches as we aided past, could I free this? I wondered.
Don’t be silly.
Then I met Alix Morris. Alix is extremely ambitious and perma-psyched. Like me, she’d only been climbing for about 4 years, but she'd climbed El Cap numerous times, including a handful of in-a-day ascents. I was excited but nervous to join forces with Alix. No, actually I was terrified. Who was I to think I could free The Captain?
The next seven days were some of the most empowering, exhausting and memorable days of my life. After a full week of tears, laughter and battle wounds we reached the summit, Alix with a free ascent and mine thwarted only by a single move on the Huber Boulder. The infamous "Ninja Kick" became my nemesis.
“After climbing with Alix, I wrote down every little bit of beta that could be helpful for my next attempt — I was hooked! Then after my successful ascent in 2018, I expanded the document and turned it into a comprehensive guide on Big Wall Free Climbing.”
Over the next two years Jacob and I moved to Squamish, BC. I climbed on granite as much as I could and trained indoors whenever it rained.
In November 2018, Jacob supported me on my successful free ascent of Freerider over 5 days! I led all the crux pitches and only weighted the rope three times, lowering and sending each pitch after. This time it almost felt easy. But it wasn’t easy, it was the end of a four year epic journey to become the first Canadian female to free climb El Cap.
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After climbing Freerider with Alix, I wrote down every little bit of beta I could for my next attempt — I was hooked! After my fourth and successful ascent, I expanded the document and turned it into a comprehensive guide on “How to Free El Cap.” Everything from wall hacks for free climbers, to progression and preparation, to a full page dedicated to each of the “Infamous Pitches” and more, if you want to climb Freerider (or think you might someday!) then this is the book for you!
My Freerider Story.
“With Chris and Jacob I pulled past the Huber Boulder, I’d never be able to climb that grade! With Alix I spent two days throwing myself at that pitch until my fingertips were bleeding. I managed to work out the moves and link them together into a possible sequence, but I just could not do the ‘Ninja Kick’ at the end. I didn’t even feel close. I gave up and tried the Teflon Corner, the alternate crux pitch that Alix was trying. Impossible. And now my palms were raw too. The evening of day 5, Alix sent the Teflon Corner! That night after Alix went to bed, I put on a self-belay and threw myself at the Ninja Kick again and again. Swing. Kick. Miss. Fall. Repeat. It just wasn’t going to happen. I ascended the rope back up to our camp, defeated but ready to support Alix to the top.” …