Finding the noses in Yosemite - USA

The nose of El Capitan stands tall; dominating Yosemite Valley. One day we were hiking around and a couple who had got to within 100 metres of the nose asked us if there was anything more to see? Should we go any further they asked? We've already walked 6 miles!

Well, what did they expect?! A circus? The granite rock to dance? the nose to start sniffing them up? Why wasn't admiring El Cap enough? Why was an extra hundred metres so tough? This is El Cap, I though?! EL CAP in all its majesty! Why didn't they want to stand right underneath it, to tilt their heads back and breath in its enormity, to wonder at its history revealed in its colourful layers, to hear the trees repecting it with each brush of their leaves, to touch the cool refreshing granite and to smell the "nose" right back.... or even just get a closer look at the sexy climbers ;)

Soaking up a place and being generous with your time I think is the only way to appreciate it. To sit in Yosemite Valley and watch a bluejay cock his proud head. To wait for a squirrel to cheekily jump on your table. To stare at the changing colours of half dome until your eyes glaze over. To discover each of the hidden noses in El Cap... So we spent an amazing time in Yosemite, and after two weeks had already decided we would come back for more.

We were having a rest day, and preparing for the big east buttress of El Cap by doing a few climbs along the base of the nose. Our climbing was in top form. We had done the Middle Cathedral the previous day, which had perfect views across the whole of El Cap. We were truly tempted by the nose, but spending nights on the wall would have to wait for another time, we had come to free climb.

But how quickly your future can change; how suddenly plans need to be rethought and remade! One small mistake; one tiny distraction can cause a lot of pain, a lot of frustration. After climbing Little John Left, as I was lowering Nic down after he removed the last piece of gear, the rope flew through my hands and belay, and I watched the love of my life start to fall, and keep falling (7 metres in all), folding over and onto his side, and lying in agony on the ground.

How strange that people come into our lives at points when we need them. Max and Mayan. Not only brilliant climbers, but also brilliant people. At the scene they straight away started putting things back together; Nic's broken back, my broken ego. So this is only Part I of Something Vertical. Now Nic can walk with a back brace, he'll be swimming soon and will climbg again, and one day we will climb big walls together, all the way to the top of El Cap.