"El Capitan" Photo by Xavier de Jauréguiberry on Flickr

By Patrick Gensel

For many, rock climbing is about going high. For some, a single-pitch trad or sport route is plenty of vertical gain to please their soul, but for those who crave more, there is multi-pitch and even big wall climbing. From the sheer vertical faces of Yosemite Valley to the Great Trango Tower in Pakistan, big walls exist far and wide to challenge those brave enough to venture into these far reaches of the vertical world.

But what exactly is big wall climbing and what does it take to climb a big wall? These were questions I had pondered myself until recently. Last week I had the opportunity to talk with SuperTopo’s Chris McNamara, whose first experience with big wall climbing was the west face of El Capitan at the young age of fifteen. In his SuperTopo article, “How to big wall climb”, Chris describes big wall climbing:

“A big wall is a steep, multi-pitch ascent that takes most people more than a day to climb. Big walls are all about vertical exposure—climbing and sleeping with thousands of feet of air below you and thousands of feet of rock above you. There is nothing else like it. Big wall climbing is not about summit glory or pulling a single hard move or savoring the rush of adrenaline, although all three of those things will happen. The experience is much more complex and rich. You don’t flirt with gravity like you might while BASE jumping or doing a hard single-pitch climb. You live with gravity and exposure 24 hours a day.”

One of the key parts of most big wall climbing is aid climbing. Aid climbing allows you to move through unclimbable or difficult sections of a route. In aid climbing, standard trad gear is placed and weighted in order to move up the pitch. Chris says that one does not specifically need a “big wall” to practice these skills, and that it is important to set up an aid climbing practice course at your local crag to dial in the basics. Fast and efficient aid climbing is an important part of a successful big wall climb. “Climbing the Nose isn’t technically hard, but you have to be able to climb it fast enough so you don’t have to bring five days worth of water,” Chris said about the infamous El Capitan line.

The gear for big wall climbing is surprisingly very similar to what is used for standard trad climbing. Save for some of the hardest routes out there, a typical trad rack with the addition of a haul bag and hauling device will get you up a good bit of the easier big wall routes. Of course, when you move into the harder climbs, adding gear such as hooks, offset cams, offset micro nuts and more are necessary.

A typical Portaledge

If you plan on your big wall adventure taking more than a day of climbing, then you will need to sleep while on the wall. But how do you sleep on a vertical face if there are no natural ledges present? The answer is quite simple: a Portaledge. A Portaledge allows you to create an artificial ledge anywhere on a wall that protection can be placed. The Portaledge consists of a collapsible aluminum frame with nylon stretched across it, creating a sleeping platform. There are attachment points at each of the four corners, as well as two in the middle of the long side. These provide several options for attaching the ledge to the wall.

With all this gear, hauling will be an important element to your big wall climb. Hauling is facilitated with a specialized piece of equipment called a haul bag. A haul bag is commonly a top-loading tube-shaped bag where you would pack all of the gear needed for multiple days on the wall. Keeping weight to a minimum is very important when hauling, because the more you carry up the wall, the slower you will move. Taking only what you need is essential because moving quickly will help you minimize life sustaining weight such as food and water.

For those who have not ventured into this part of the vertical world, big wall climbing may seem like a trip to outer space, but with all things, taking the first step is always the hardest part. Now that you have some of the basic concepts of the big wall lifestyle, get out there, learn and practice your aid climbing skills and get on a big wall. Don’t forget to move fast and efficiently, keep hydrated and most of all be safe out there.

SuperTopo.com and the various SuperTopo guides are a great resource for all things climbing. If you are interested beyond this article, be sure to check them out, they are great resources.