Sonnie Trotter

ST+R&I

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

It’s very difficult to talk about the climbs we have done (anyone) without sounding arrogant, but screw it, I’ll let it fly….

As far as the pure aesthetics of a line,  I’d say the Cobra Crack and The Shining are two of the most beautiful First Ascents I’ve ever done.  This fall, I had the pleasure of working with the Rock and Ice crew again.  They’re amazing.  So dedicated to telling great stories and pumping out quality imagery and it’s an honor to be able to tell ours through their pages this month.  January 2012, Issue # 199.

A bit of background:  This summer, I recruited Tommy Caldwell to join me on a 7 year dream.  To free climb the Diamond Face on Mount Louis, (pronounced Louie).  Our new climb is called the Shining and turned out to be a little harder than we expected.  It had been in my mind ever since my friend Eric Dumerac had told me about the rock quality, and it’s probable 5.13 cruxes, AND it had been taunting me every single year since.  Each summer I would stare up at it from the highway and promise “ONE DAY”.  But life happens and I put it off again and again.  Until this July when I basically stole TC and we dedicated 3 long climbing days to equipping it’s upper face, and then 2 more to freeing it.  To this day it’s one of the raddest things I have ever done.  For Tommy, it may just be another day of climbing.  ha ha.

To read the full story, please check out the current issue of Rock and Ice, you’ll know it because Lonnie Kauk (yup, Ron’s sickly strong son) is on the cover climbing Separate Reality.  It’s a great issue.  Good stories by Alex Honnold and Dean Potter.  Also check out the Mickey Schaefer interview, great guy, very talented climber, turned mega talented photographer.  Click below.

Below are a few point and click teaser pics from our fun adventure in the high and wild.  15 pitches in all, from 5.6 to 5.13+.  We kept most of it a secret until the issue came out, because we wanted to tell the story properly.  Now that it’s out, pick it up and enjoy.    Oh and CLICK on images to enlarge them!

A peek through the tree’s.  This image only shows the upper 3rd of Mt. Louis.

After a 3 hour hike, Tommy gets stoker near the base of the limestone mountain.

A little snow traverse brings us to a VERY foreshortened perspective of the Diamond Face.

A lawn chair?  Why not.  For comfort, in an uncomfortable place.  Check the issue for more details on this….ha ha ha….

An ocean of limestone.  Where to go next?  Tommy blazes straight up the middle.

A beautiful place to hang, if it were not for the crowds.

Rappelling off on our first day of inspection, the wall looms above and taunts our inevitable return.

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New York Times, Ad of the century!

Saturday, November 26th, 2011

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A CHAPTER ENDS!

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

Wow.  What a roller coaster.  As life is I suppose.  The Highest of highs, and Lowest of lows.  It’s a beautiful thing really.  I’m now in Bishop, California, with my incredible wife Lydia, I don’t mean to brag, but she gets more beautiful with each day:)  I am soo lucky.  I missed her dearly, I didn’t even realize how much until I saw her at the San Fransisco airport 2 days ago.  But there’s a sad truth that when you’re so focused on a project such as the Prophet, time literally just flies by. Days turn into weeks and you don’t even think twice about it.  Looking back now, most of it’s a blur.

5 weeks in the Valley, 5 failed ground up attempts, 4 days in Lake Tahoe, 2 days in Santa Cruz, and over 25 days climbing, hiking, rappelling, hauling and slogging.  El Cap is a glorious son of a bitch – that’s a fact.  And the Prophet, is one of the richest, most deeply rooted climbing experiences I have ever had, with a partner who’s got both a boyish charm, a man’s ambition, and a spirit that’s tougher than leather.  It was more like an expedition than a climbing trip.

I’m a little sad, but a little happy to report that this seasons El Cap Chapter has ended.  It’s time to shift again.  Bishop is a mellow place with lots of sun, a great crew of amazing people, and all I want to climb are tiny little rocks, in fact, the smaller the better, ha ha ha!

In the end, after two snow storms, two flight changes, and after Tommy spent 16 days on the Dawn Wall, Will Stanhope and I got our lucky break.  Heading up the day before my birthday, on Nov 14th, and 2 days before Will’s birthday (Novemeber 16th), we embarked on a final attempt and we were the only climbers on all of El Cap.  That was an odd but invigorating feeling.  Our dream was to breakthrough the “Screamer” pitch on day one, and continue up the wall hauling and grinding on the pitches we had rappelled into and send the entire climb, all free, in one continuous push over 3 days.

The stars were aligning.

To make a long story short.  On the very last day, I desperately managed to redpoint the A1 Beauty pitch on my second try in evening light.  I was overwhelmed with euphoria.  Putting Will on belay, he climbed brilliantly, as he hit his personal high point I thought it was in the bag, he looked calm and strong, he then climbed beyond it, past the crux.  It was all happening in slow motion in my eyes.  But it WAS happening.  Stanhope on the other hand told me later that THAT was when he knew he had nothing left.  He hit the end of the rope and swung into the abyss.  Weighting the cord for a flash he got back on and continued to the anchor.

We had both given it nearly everything we had.  Only saving enough mojo for the next 5.12 pitch and the Final Defence, 5.13-, which we completed by headlamp and adrenalin.  The next morning, Will heroically tried the A1 Beauty pitch again.  After 3 days of hard, scary climbing, he mustered the energy and psyche for 4 honest attempts at dawn.  But ultimately, his skin was too thin, our knuckles swollen, and our muscles aching.  We had climbed 6 out of 8 days.  He calmly surrendered and vowed to return as soon as possible.  There isn’t enough time or words to explain it all, but in a nut shell, I have so much respect for Will’s determination and motivation.  He’s one of the best and strongest climbing partners I have ever had and I could not imagine doing the route with anyone else.  It was a truly unforgettable experience.  I know he’ll be back because that’s the type of person he is, and because he told me before I dropped him off at the airport for a trip to China with Matt Segal and company.  We talked about the remarkable failures in climbing, and how in many ways they trump the summits.  We grow the most in those moments.

But more than any of that, what I’ll remember forever are the really little things.  The chocolate cup cakes Kyle Berkompas rappelled down to us on our birthday, the cold beers we drank on the port-a-ledge on the night of our birthdays, the 50 0r so shooting stars I saw, the cold mornings and hot coffee wrapped up in warm sleeping bags.  Watching the horsetail waterfall pour over the top.  Getting text messages from Tommy Caldwell and friends in the Meadow.  Laughing with Paul Bride over Simpson’s episodes.  Calling Lydia every night to report on our progress.  Hearing the cheers from the valley floor when we ticked off another pitch on our quest.  Seeing Ben Moon rappel down above us to capture some pictures.  The sunsets that engulfed us in orange and purple light.  The magnitude of the wall, the exposure and belaying Will on the Devils Dyno pitch, absolutely one of the wildest and most memorable belays of my belying career.

It wasn’t just the A1 beauty pitch, it was everything, all wrapped up into one massive and ideal chapter.  The beginning and end of everything.  I think it was the most savage and satisfying rock climb of my life.  One of the hardest routes I have ever done.  My first El Cap route ever.  And I’m glad it’s over.

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RAD

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

Even though most of us have seen this, I’m doing it anyway.  It’s just SO, SO RAD.

Wide Boys climb Century Crack from chris Alstrin on Vimeo.

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What would tommy do?

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

My fingers are swollen today, the back’s of my knuckles cracked and a little bit bloody, they just hurt all over.  I have cuts underneath my fingernails too and my back muscles are aching from jugging rope fatigue syndrome and a bit of dehydration.   This rock just requires so much work.  It’s like boot camp. Yesterday Will and I hiked up and rappelled into Leo’s highpoint pitch.  What an AMAZING position, exposed traversing on underclings and smearing feet.  Absolutely terrific climbing.  Truly unique.  Got a late start yesterday because we spent much of the morning re-booking flights and coordinating with friends.  So we had to hike fast.  By the time we got up there, a massive set of fog had swept in and literally engulfed us.  Visibility was less than 30 feet at times.  What an eerie feeling to look down and watch your rope disappear dangling out of sight.  We climbed out in the dark and I could hardly make out Will’s headtorch until the summit.  It was a cold mission.  And just before hiking down, I looked across and saw the headlamps of Tommy Caldwell’s camp.

It made me realize that even though we are getting worked, our efforts are still nothing in comparison to our friend Tommy’s.  That man is a true living legend as far as we’re concerned.  4 years on the Dawn Wall and still going very strong.  He’s been up on the wall now for 15 days.  He’s like a tank.  A psychological rhinoceros.  I sometimes think back to the heroic efforts of American Icons like Warren Harding, Yvon Chouinard and Royal Robbins just to name a few.  Who bravely forged virgin ground in a bold attempt to overcome the unknown and to seek the limits of their endurance.  Because taking nine months to scale the Nose for the first time is no easy feet, it must require machine like determination.  50 years after “Batso’s” push, people are doing it in an astonishing sub 3 hours.  But that’s the progression of the sport.  It’s inevitable.  But in this way, Tommy is a modern day American Hard Man.

An icon.

The golden years continue.  They are occuring right here, right now.  For those of us that just love rock climbing this is the playoffs.  Tommy has set his sights on a futuristic objective of previously unclimbed territory, carving his own way up, and has worked unbelievably hard to meet it.  Its an electrifying feeling to be able to witness history in the making and it’s this sort of vision that pushes us all to try a little harder, dig a little deeper and give it one more shot.  “What would Tommy do?”  is becoming a common phrase for Will and I when we feel tired or cold.  What would Tomy do keeps us getting up and getting after it everyday.   It’s been a long push in the valley for us,  nearly 6 weeks now.  And we have to dig in again for one more gentlemans effort.  Because we all know El Cap isn’t going to climb itself.

What would Tommy do?   Check out his facebook page, he’s getting thousands of hits per day, and unlike in the past, today’s technology has made it possible for all of us to join in the journey with him.  Go Tommy Go!

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High Pointing!

Friday, November 11th, 2011

First of all, thank you so much for all the support, the great emails, the hello’s in the parking lots, and the comments on the blog.

I know today’s picture is a bit late for this year, but you must forgive me, I live in a van and I’m spending most of my days up on the sharp end on the most terrifying rock climb I’ve ever attempted.  I mean, honestly, I can’t remember the last time I backed off a 5.13b.  Sure, I’ve fallen off plenty of them, but never actually backed off, like crying for my mommy backed off.  But that’s what has happened now, 3 times.  I backed off the 4th 5.13a (E7) pitch once, and the 5th Screamer (E8) pitch twice.  Below is a great Tom Evans photo from last year, Leo using double ropes on the best rock of the route so far, but still not perfect.  Note: the climb is much steeper than this picture portrays.

I can justify this when people say, it takes courage to walk away.  But then, at night wrapped up in my sleeping bag in the safety of my van, the route creeps inside my head,  I think to myself, what was I so scared of really?   Sure Jason fell and hit a ledge that broke his pelvis, sure the rock is fractured and there’s very little protection, sure Leo core shot his rope and sprained his ankles.  but really, it’s not like anyone died or anything:)  So, each morning I convince Willy to have one more try, which he’s always up for in the spirit of the Brits, and each time we do, we push our highpoint just a little further. We are only 40 feet and one bolt shy from the Screamer anchor now.   Yesterday Willy accidentally pulled out the highest of 3 knifeblades on p4 with only his body weight.  YIKES!  That’s a 5.13a with a no fall situation if I’ve ever seen one.  But, still, that’s behind us now, we have to focus on what’s ahead.  I think I can work up enough nerve for one more solid attempt.  After that, if we make no progress at all, then maybe we’ll find courage in coming down for the season.  Until then, we’re still finding inspiration in going up.

I feel that Leo and Jason set a precedent here and I personally think that we have a responsibility to try and match their highpoint.  If we rappelled in and pre-inspected the entire route from the very beginning, I think we could have done it by now.  But, who cares.  This ground up business is where we are having the most fun, the greatest education, the deeper connection.  It’s been an enlightening challenge and one of the best months of climbing in my life.

After this weekend, the weather may hold until we absolutely have to leave, which is also Willy’s birthday, Nov 17th.  We’ll go back up, and face our demons, please wish us luck.  Until then, I hope you all had a great holloween.  I know I did.

Picture by Paul Bride.

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WISH YOU WERE HERE!

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

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A diverse state

Sunday, November 6th, 2011

Much like B.C is in Canada, I find California to be in the USA, diverse.  High mountains, low deserts, big sky, big ocean.

After the second rest day in a cold wet Yosemite Valley, we made an impulsive decision to pack up and leave.  We are now in Santa Cruz, California, and I’m not exactly sure why.  I suppose we had nowhere else to go really.  I’ve always wanted to see it here, not to mention my friend Mr.Sharma was born here (which explains a lot::))  We rented cruiser bikes yesterday and rode around the Piers like the locals do, we watched a foggy surf competition, we ate cheap but decent Mexican food, and like a tourist, I bought Lydia an adorable little dress on Pacific Ave.  Then we hit the bars.  Hard.  This morning Will and I awoke with the bitter taste of regret on our tongues – but, lucky for us, today is a new day, a new beginning and it’s time to make it right again.

In just a few minutes after Will is finished his coffee, we’ll take a drive up to the sandstone boulders of Castle Rock, but it’ is supposed to rain all day, I guess we’ll see if we can’t get any climbing in.  Wish us luck.  Tomorrow, if the forecast splits like it’s supposed to, then we’ll drive back in the morning to the big ditch, and wait for things to dry, if they do, miraculously, we we’ll begin a hopeful attempt on the Prophet.  That’s the rough plan anyway.  The crux, is that this climb lives right in between two waterfalls.  With so much snow on the summit, this might be a wash for us.  Oh well,  we can always belay Tommy if he needs it, and come back next year.  I have a feeling El Cap isn’t going anywhere too quickly.  Just like in Surfing, climbing is condition dependent, you take what you get and you LOVE IT.  Even if that means a trip to the coast.

These aren’t my photo’s, but you get an idea of what both places are about right now.

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Happy Birthday Maia!

Friday, November 4th, 2011

It’s my sister’s birthday today.  Yahoooooooo!  We love you Maia.  Here’s to a wonderful day to be born.  A picture from Yosemite Valley for you.  I hope you have an amazing Weekend too.  Big Hugs from a chilly California:)

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Exciting Times!

Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

I feel a little high tonight, light on my feet.  There’s a hot fire burning in the Curry Village family room, I’m wrapped up in a down sweater, swilling Cobra’s with big Willy.  I just got a text from my friend Tommy Caldwell who came desperately close to sending pitch 12 of the Dawn Wall.  We got a great word of encouragement from the man Leo who says “be safe, not scared”, (respect to that) and just had dinner with Mr.Honnold, his lovely lady Stacey and our buddy Ben Ditto from the East Side.  It’s an exciting time here in Yosemite Valley.

Will and I got up this morning expecting an overcast sky, snow swirling around like confetti, but all’s we got was a big blue roof.  We packed up, hiked up and climbed up the wall.  We walked under Tommy and his base camp in the sky.  It’s otherwordly up there.  We decided to haul up the port-a-ledge and get it ready for our own hopeful push and brought along our friend Paul Bride for fun pics and morale.

This was our third time ground up, and each time we do we pull our ropes and re-lead to our highpoint, this may be pointless for some, but means something to us.  Paul jugged up behind us, to capture our mini breakthroughs,  with a bit of guidance from Leo I discovered his way out left of the ‘marginal’ belay.  No chalk, no boot rubber, no sign of any gear above.  With some crumbly rock under my shoes, I embarked on a personal journey of insecure movement, nervously waiting for the “committing move to a good edge and a small bomber cam with big relief”.  I went up, then down, up, then down, up, then down, and finally after a million times in and out of my chalk bag, I went up, and up again.  Breathing well, I pulled into the corner and got some gear.  After some easier moves on surprisingly hollow rock, I gained a sloping shelf that took me to the belay.  A feeling of pride fell over me.  Although not physically very hard, (the pitch is 5.13aR) it was psychologically rewarding.  Even more so than most climbs I have ever done, especially the harder pre-rehearsed ones.  That’s the feeling I think Leo was trying to preserve with his attempt, the same thing John Bachar fought for all those years. The unknown.  The unpredictable.  Even though Houlding and Pickles pointed the way up, I was still on my own, and thus, proud of myself.  And that sensation is exciting.  I’m not often proud of myself.  I’m content with myself, but not always proud.  Much of the time, I take the easy way when given the chance, sometimes I regret it, other times I don’t.  But I’m glad we haven’t robbed ourselves of this experience by rappelling down all the way, at least not yet – ha ha ha ha.  I’m glad we are trying.  It’s a meaningless invisible line, and yet, to us, right now, it’s as real and dense as the stone we’re climbing on.

Shortly after this, Willy climbed up to meet me with a bright light in his eye and a grin on his face.  We were making steady progress, but the storm blew overhead before we could celebrate and thus retreated, but better prepared for the next time around.  It’s now raining on the roof, and that will turn to snow tonight.  How much, time will tell.

Tommy is still up on the wall, he’s the toughest man alive.  PERIOD.  Brett and Josh from Big Up are there as well to capture the magic, and Becca his wife is playing the role of worlds greatest belayer, and playing it better than anyone.  He’ll be climbing again on Saturday, we wish him luck, but then again, he doesn’t need it, he’s got strength, optimism and determination.  Alex is going for another speed record on the Nose with Hans next week, they were 45 seconds shy of the record this week, and that only adds to the excitement of their smashing upcoming bid.

I think that’s it for now.  Just wanted to get that off my chest.  Hope you’re all just crushing it.

Sonnie.

Below, my hero at 7:30am,  a well rested Stanhope, with a pillow case that reads, “follow your dreams”

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