Climbs like the Dawn Wall don't come around every day.
El Capitan is the most chapping environment in the world: windy, cold, super dry. I wake up twice a night and reapply lotion to my hands. We sand our fingertips to keep them smooth.
I didn't want to hike to the top of El Capitan and rappel down the route, and start fixing lines. For me it was really important to try to climb it from the ground up at first.
The Dawn Wall is so obviously the hardest big-wall climb in the world, so that was the challenge.
One of the reasons the Dawn Wall climb went so viral is that you get great Internet access on El Cap. It's like the best Internet access in all of Yosemite, so we had our phones with us.
Every climb is different. The Dawn Wall was so dry and aggressive that my fingers would dry out to the point where they would crack. So I actually had to add as much moisture as possible.
I think it's possible to climb the Dawn Wall in a single day. No matter what, it would be really, really hard.
To anyone writing about #dawnwall, this is not an effort to 'conquer.' It's about realizing a dream.
It would be really easy to write off the Dawn Wall as impossible. In terms of climbing technique, I'm learning a new language on this granite.
Yosemite Park... None can escape its charms. Its natural beauty cleans and warms like a fire, and you will be willing to stay forever in one place like a tree.
