Yosemite

Taylor Martin is proving that Yosemite is far from climbed out with her new, 1600-foot first ascent, ‘Hummingbird’ (5.9+ A4).

From Colorado to the Czech Republic, here are the climbing areas across the globe with the most sandbagged grades and, in some cases, R-rated vibes.

Shannon “SJ” Joslin was fired from Yosemite for helping rig a trans pride flag on El Capitan. They're calling it a First Amendment violation.

The new six-episode series has some major discrepancies between TV and reality.

A 17-year-old free soloist ran away to Yosemite. One year later, his body was found at the base of Royal Arches.

A profile of the 20-year-old Canadian who sent Free Rider in 18 hours.

Jordan Cannon and Michael Vaill raced up 8,000 feet of Yosemite granite, with difficulties up to 5.13 and A2.

Yosemite’s Salathé Wall is stunning. It’s also hosted some confusing free ascents.

On June 8, Kate Kelleghan and Laura Pineau climbed El Capitan, Mount Watkins, and Half Dome in 23 hours and 36 minutes.

This new rule follows the display of several statement flags in the past year.

Filmed for climbers and gift-wrapped for the Free Solo mainstream audience, this new feature documentary about Emily Harrington is poised to shake up the all-male El Cap canon.

Let this climber’s failed attempt be a cautionary tale

A lead organizer takes us behind the scenes of the May 20 project.

The Italian climber’s repeat comes 25 years after Beth Rodden and Tommy Caldwell first freed the classic El Capitan aid route.

After sending 'Box Therapy' in 2023, which was then downgraded, Katie Lamb has climbed Yosemite's 'The Dark Side.'

“Route is much easier if you hire a mule”

El Cap’s upside-down flag, the park’s fired lone locksmith, and the safety of Yosemite climbing this season

The story of a fateful El Cap egg swap mission

Hannes Puman becomes first to send the alt pitch to Changing Corners

Babsi Zangerl just became the first person to free climb a route on El Capitan on her first try, without a fall. Her ascent closes a 30-year chapter of attempts.

We caught up with Harrington about her recent ascent of The Nexus, aka the Niels Tietze Memorial Route.

I spent 40 days working on Freerider before freeing it in a 16-hour push. Here's what I wish I knew at the start of that process.

“It goes, boys!” Zangerl, 36, blasted up the 3,300-foot Free Rider (VI 5.13a) on her first attempt, without a single fall.

Ethan Pringle has a close call on this serious and nails-hard pitch.

Cannon has freed El Cap in a day, made the second ascent of 'Cowboy Direct' (VII 5.13a) on Trango Tower, and repeated 'Wet Lycra Nightmare' (5.13d A0) on the Leaning Tower. But his story is much deeper than that.

'The Dark Side' is a deceivingly simple-looking line located on the Thriller Boulder, in the woods adjacent to Camp 4.

You've heard of Alex Honnold and all of his groundbreaking ropeless ascents. But here are a few things you may not have known about Honnold, many of which are also quite impressive.

A 5.15a slab was recently established on UK slate, and 5.14+ slabs exist in Spanish granite—but one of the hardest slabs in the U.S. is graded just 5.13c... which might be why it's been unrepeated for 23 years.

It was the 23-year-old’s third free route on El Cap, after 'Golden Gate' and 'Freerider' in a day.

 Waterhouse had just a little crack experience, Ridal even less. But as it turns out, comp boulders have a lot in common with El Cap granite

As good as Roper was at writing and editing, he was also one heck of a climber whose résumé during the Golden Age of Yosemite put him amongst the best of his generation.

Climbing is built on the honor system, which is super easy to take advantage of. Seriously. Here’s how to do it.

She called it hard for the grade.

A Korean climbing instructor has reportedly passed away after rapping off the end of his rope.

"We pushed on, as if floating in slow motion through a Hieronymus Bosch painting, found by tilting life on edge for 1,200 feet and emptying its pockets."

On big wall climbs, strategy is as important as strength and skill when it comes to determining success and failure.

Jerry Gallwas made history when he climbed the Northwest Face of Half Dome with Royal Robbins and Mike Sherrick in 1957. Then the army, raising a family, and a 150-foot fall changed his priorities.

The National Park Service is implementing a temporary area and trail closure while the crack is investigated further.

We grouped up in various vehicles and drove straight from Oklahoma to Yosemite, pulled there by the unseeable promise of a salvation only the rock can lay on you. 

A gang of Camp 4’s hungriest showed up for an orthodox affair fielded by the Arise and Shine Pentecostal Church out of Modesto, California. We’d never seen so much grub...

The line that cemented new tactics, new gear, and a new grade

"After those first few days, I noticed that he hadn’t used the bathroom—he’d been too afraid to remove his harness leg loops. On day four..."

A Valley first timer gets a rude awakening on the particular brand of greasy holdless granite that eats the unaccustomed for lunch.

How many have you climbed?

Affinity groups like Brown Girls Climbs, Queer Crush, and ParaCliffhangers worked closely with the AAC and the Yosemite Parks Service. From the start, the event was intended to be community-run.

A rare glimpse of the hardware carried by John Salathé, Royal Robbins, Warren Harding and William "Dolt "Feurer to pioneer Yosemite's granite crucibles.

THE WEEKLY ROUNDUP: Duo climbs 100 V6s in a day; Niky Ceria logs a highball stunner; One of the UK's hardest boulders is downgraded; Amity Warme ticks 'Father Time' (5.13b; 2,000ft); Meru South gets a new route.

"Cars, trucks, and vans have been the unsung silent partners in the progression of our sport. We love our cars. We name them, live in them, and for better or worse, are utterly dependent on them to explore crags and send the gnar." (From 2016)

An ascender failure, a gear-stripping fall, a rappelling accident—Two Yosemite veterans analyze five Yosemite accidents and how they could have been prevented. (From 2017)

Let the debate begin! Here are the best 25 boulder problems in America... or 25 of the best... across a wide swath of regions and grades. (From 2021)

No need to wait until you can lead 5.12 or poop on a portaledge. If you can lead 5.6 trad, you can climb here, especially if you follow these 10 tips.

TM Herbert made the first ascent of the Muir Wall with Yvon Chouinard in 1965. His son followed in his footsteps 55 years later, setting a blistering speed record.

"But what really defined Royal Robbins was style. His ethical code was always paramount, even back in the age when getting to the top by any means was enough for most."

Each January we post a farewell tribute to those members of our community lost in the year just past. Some of the people you may have heard of, some not. All are part of our community and contributed to climbing.

Three greenhorn wall climbers headed up the Big Stone in 1981. They vowed to reach the top or nearly die trying. They got their wish.

Each January we post a farewell tribute to those members of our community lost in the year just past. Some of the people you may have heard of, some not. All are part of our community and contributed to climbing.

Two lifelong friends face rockfall and the life-altering aspects of sudden Injury.

Unbelievable save on Astroman. A once-in-a-lifetime lucky moment of bad luck.

"What Beth did in 2008... was way ahead of the times"

John Long is one of climbing's most prolific authors. He's also one of its most beloved characters.

When an airplane smuggling a load of high-grade marijuana crashed in a Yosemite lake, a gold rush of climbers hauled out a fortune in brick weed right under the noses of the authorities.

The route features hard slab, 5.13+ seams, and a 5.13c finger crack of such high quality that the climbers named the ropelength "As Good as It Gets."

Big wall permits are here to stay in Yosemite. But what they look like is still evolving. Make yourself heard before November 16.

The summit of El Cap was a garbage dump of abandoned equipment with portaledges, static ropes, camping gear, 93 empty water bottles stashed under boulders, and cans of chili.

This curated selection of Glen Denny images captures the rawness and wild adventure of Yosemite in the 1960s.

Progress or persecution? Yosemite's now permanent big wall permit program has met a mixed reaction in the climbing world. Here's what we know so far.

From the first women recorded in mountaineering in the late eighteenth century, to the first 5.15 female ascent by Margo Hayes in 2017.

“Amity doesn’t seem to take rest days. ... That's probably the biggest influence on her impressive ticklist."

It was an artful deceit, a blurring of fact that eventually led to one of Yosemite's finest routes.

New Zealand student Anna Parsons has broken nearly every bone in her body following a trad fall on Snake Dike (5.7 R).

As a teenager he saw a terrible accident on El Capitan. A chance meeting 40 years later finally brought closure.

The 1970s were heady times in Yosemite, ruled by the high kings of rock, The Stonemasters. And then there were the HoseMasters, ordinary climbers who did something extraordinary.

For five decades Dean Fidelmen has been Yosemite’s artistic don. But he’s still evolving. Now, after a three-year hiatus, he’s bringing his Stone Nudes calendar back. With some twists.

He was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. Then he lost nearly everything to the Oak Fire. Climbing grounds him, as it always has.

Stonemaster John Long recounts his time with Jeff, a one-time climbing bum and the son of an affluent family. Jeff leaves climbing and dutifully follows his family's riches, while John stays true to the only rule that counts.

Alex Honnold's free solo of El Capitan did not occur in a bubble of solitude and inspiration. In this archive piece, originally published shortly after Honnold's ascent, James Lucas dives into the story (and backstory) of Honnold's path to Freerider.

"The Bird" was a leading and often controversial Yosemite climber who overlapped with the Valley's "Golden Era" that included Royal Robbins and Warren Harding, and the Stonemasters, for whom he was the defacto leader. Here, he muses over what was then the new concept of detailed climbing grades, and how ego affects ratings—thinking that still applies.

Hand-placed beaks, anyone?

This is pure climbing footage; there is no story, no interview, and no posing. And it's beautiful.

A month at sea, with its requisite sickness and insomnia, didn’t stop Berthe from having an incredible Yosemite season.