Whenever I drive into Yosemite Valley and catch the first glimpse of El Capitan my pulse quickens, I perspire, and my mouth dries up. It’s so tall that I need to look through my sunroof to view all 3,000 feet. It’s as if the Captain is aware of my presence, and he silently, slyly, offers an intriguing, yet terrifying, challenge to scale his flanks. The first time I accepted the challenge my partner and I staggered to the top of The Nose after five exhausting days. I distinctly remember being amazed at our performance – not that we climbed the route, but that we managed to schlep our colossal haul bag up it.

A different approach to the challenge of El Cap is to eschew a haul bag altogether and climb it in a day. With the right gear and a few speed techniques it’s more doable than you might think. All sorts of radical speed climbing antics exist, but simul-climbing is a relatively common way to bring El Cap, or any big challenge, down to size.

Simul-climbing is far more dangerous than climbing with a normal belay; it’s an advanced technique that’s only appropriate when both climbers are certain they will not fall. The team must have excellent communication and complete mastery of the terrain they’ll encounter.

Simul-ing is often used when combining two or more pitches into one mega-lead that’s longer than a rope-length. When the leader runs out of rope the follower starts climbing – simultaneously with the leader – until the leader reaches the next belay. There, the leader anchors in and belays the second as usual.

Counterintuitively, the follower must be absolutely solid. If he falls, he will rip the leader off the wall, and both will simul-tumble into space until the last lead gear catches them. One way to prevent this catastrophe is for the leader to attach a Petzl Mini Traxion (a small wall-hauler and toprope self-belay device) to two bombproof, equalized pieces just above a crux, or anywhere the second may falter. If the second falls, the Mini Traxion will catch him without pulling the leader off. However, Mini Traxions are not designed to hold high-force falls. In order for the Mini’s spring-loaded cam to hold a fall there must be very little slack in the system. Any fall while simul-climbing is extremely dangerous.

The follower must also manage the constantly changing slack in the rope. Too little and the leader will be immobilized; too much will risk a more serious leader fall than necessary, plus the extra slack will snag. Auto-locking belay devices allow quick and safe slack management while simul-ing. Each climber should have one pre-rigged on their harness as if they’re belaying one another. This way the follower can reel in or pay out slack from stances while following, and either can start belaying the moment he clips into an anchor.

You’ll need a substantial rack because of the very long pitches you’ll be climbing. Additionally, three types of gear will lighten your load and keep you safer: ultralight biners (under 35 grams), lightweight shoulder-length slings for mitigating rope drag, and a ventilated foam helmet to protect your noggin.

In October, 2008, Alex Honnold raced up El Cap’s Golden Gate (VI 13a, 41 pitches) – all free – in just 12 hours. He and his partner, Sean “Stanley” Leary, compressed the first 25 pitches into four long blocks of simul-climbing that they completed in just over three hours! The price of speed, however, is risk.

On the second pitch Stanley yelled “Watch me!” as he began an insecure section of 5.11 climbing. Alex, attached to Stanley 230 feet above, clipped a fixed pin and continued climbing cautiously. He then heard a shout from below, “Put me on belay!” Alex stopped at an awkward stance and plugged in a tiny cam (a #0 Black Diamond C3) as his makeshift anchor. He “belayed” by pulling the rope through the biner on the cam and locking it off at a sharp angle, such that he could pinch both sides of the rope with one hand.

Suddenly, Stanley’s full weight jerked onto Alex’s single cam – it held. Holy shit – he fell off! thought Alex. Holding a death grip on the pinched rope with one hand, Alex immediately shoved two more cams below the first and clipped them to the rope as a backup. Fortunately, Stanley unweighted the rope quickly and was back on moderate terrain.

Simul-ing should never be that extreme. I’ve simul-ed miles of terrain from icy north faces in the Canadian Rockies to multi-pitch sport routes in Mexico. When used wisely, simul-climbing is a tool that will help you safely fly up routes faster than you ever have before.

Liked it? Share it!