On June 8th I rolled into the Valley with plans to do two things. One was an all disabled ascent of El Cap, and two, was a one-day ascent of the Nose. I picked up my partner Jarem in Fresno and we chatted about doing Lurking Fear on the Capitan.

The first day of free climbing broke one prototype foot, and a little of his confidence, but we pushed on. Two days later and 500 feet up the route, his leg fell off, yes, off…Luck was with us as it got stuck in a sling he had cleaned and swung under him like a big boat anchor. The foot had become so shredded that the carbon fiber on the front was bear and rubbing on the rock, which made it very hard for him to even jug the pitches after I lead them. After a hard heart to heart, he decided he wanted to go down, and we did.

Upon reaching the ground he informed me he also had to beat it home, some stuff had gone wrong at the home base and he needed to be there and fast, so it was back to Fresno.

I was bummed, and not sure what to do, but after speaking with my friend James Q Martin who was shooting the fun there, he told me to get my butt back to the Valley. I got back the next afternoon and met up with James and Sarah Watson along with Jessie Huey who had been with us on Lurking Fear. The following days were filled with climbs I had done with two legs and wanted to repeat, and I can’t explain how cool it was to be with this crew sending the routes we did. Serenity Crack, Wheat Thin, and a host of boulder problems made the week perfect. After a rest day, I met up with Hans Florine, he and I had climbed on El Cap before and been the first disabled ascent of the Capitan in a day. This time we wanted to be the first disabled ascent of the Nose in a Day. We took off the next day with Hans leading and me following or jugging depending on the pitch. Hans let me lead the fun stuff including the Pancake Flake and the last pitch to the summit; he is always like that, giving to the end. This was also his 75th trip up the Nose and we finished in 13 hours and change, psyched and still joking after a day where we passed 9 parties on the route. The trip was a great time and a success in the List of climbs I want to do as a disabled climber, I can’t wait to get back and work on the rest.

Photo 3 & 4 credit: Catherine Carlisle-McMullen