Veteran rock climber Sandi Wilber had the audience in the palm of her hand. “Wow,” she said. “There’s a lot of drama to this,” while pointing to the steep drops at the base of El Capitan’s Half Dome.
“People die every year,” she continued. “This is part of the climbing history of this area.”
Wilber, 70, was in Yosemite National Park to climb the 2,000ft rock face, which is famous for both being dangerous and inspiring. At the same time, she was celebrating her 70th birthday. On Monday, Wilber ascended the half-step, having “laid a shiny new piece of nylon.”
Over a two-day tour with BBC Travel, Wilber climbed El Capitan’s rock face to celebrate her 70th birthday (or to “celebrate getting through it,” in her words). It’s not a traditional birthday hike. She and her husband also had to take the Buttercup trail, which has many of the same dangers as El Capitan.
When it comes to climbing, it’s important to find moments of serenity, Wilber said.
“You get really dark at times,” she said. “You have days where you would rather be in a pool, that’s how horrible the conditions are out there.”
