Rock star: Climber relives 'crazy' ascent of Yosemite cliff face

Sasha DiGiulian had spent the past three years preparing for a career-defining ascent of one of the most challenging routes up the 3,000ft granite cliff known as El Capitan in Yosemite national park. All she and her climbing partner needed was a two-week window of favourable weather. They appeared to get it on 3 November.

- By Roque Planas

When DiGiulian and Elliot Faber began at the base of the California peak, they expected mild rain toward the end of the ascent. But the night it came, their 10th on the climb, a light rain turned into a downpour. DiGiulian’s 4ft by 6ft portaledge – a suspended shelter that allows climbers to camp on the wall – flopped back and forth in 50mph winds, its poles bending with such force she feared they would break.

Now, she and her partner once again waited for a weather window – this time hoping to bail off the wall to safety. In the meantime, they dangled next to one another for days, waiting out the storm mostly in silence.

A competitive rock climber since childhood, DiGiulian, 33, set her sights three years ago on climbing Platinum, one of the routes up the face of El Capitan. It’s the longest, at 39 pitches (a length of climbing route). It’s also one of the most challenging. While most routes blend tough sections with easier ones, virtually all of Platinum is graded as difficult.