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Get Psyched Reading and Movie List
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 Credit: Chris McNamara |
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Big walls are a big undertaking. If you are not genuinely psyched to wall climb then you will suffer. If you just want to say you have climbed El Capitan but are not thrilled about the idea of being on the wall for days on a time, don’t bother. Wall climbing involves a ton of work. If you are just half-hearted about the endeavor, then all that work feels like suffering. If you are truly psyched, then all the work just feels like part of the adventure.
In addition, if you are not really amped to be on the wall, you will get scared. Probably really scared. You’re more likely to bail when the first challenge arises. On my first El Cap ascent I was scared. But I was so pumped on the adventure that the fear just added a little spice to the experience. Compare that to an ascent seven years later when my heart was not into climbing El Cap at that moment. Despite having 60-plus El Cap ascents, I was actually more scared than my first time on the wall because I didn’t really want to be up there. A year later, I had my psyche back and suddenly El Cap was a quarter as scary and four times as fun. It's all in the head.
So before you get too much into this book or spend too much money on wall climbing gear, go to Yosemite or Zion or your closest big wall area. Spend a day walking the entire base of El Cap or your local big wall. Bring a book or watch a movie from the list below. Go to the back of El Cap Meadow with a pair of binocs and watch climbers up on the wall. If you can’t get to a big wall area, read even more from the list below.
If you are genuinely psyched, keep charging on path of learning to climb a wall. If you are not yet truly psyched, move forward, but maybe put off the purchase of that portaledge.
Here is a recommend list of books and movies to help get you psyched.
Books
Camp 4: Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber —Steve Roper's definitive book on Yosemite climbing history from the beginning to 1970. If you can only read one Yosemite history book, read this one.
The Vertical World of Yosemite —A MUST read. A collection compiled by Galen Rowell of the many of the most significant first ascent accounts. Great photos that will make you really appreciate modern big wall gear. If you can only read two books, read this and Camp 4.
Ordeal by Piton: Writings from the Golden Age of Yosemite Climbing —Another great collection of Yosemite first ascent accounts and essays edited by Steve Roper. The most complete collection of Yosemite Golden Age essays.
Yosemite Big Walls – SuperTopos —I can’t resist plugging my own book. In addition to the topos you will need to climb El Cap or Half Dome, this book has a lot of history not found in any other book as well as some sweet photos.
Defying Gravity: High Adventure on Yosemite's Walls —This book is less personal and authoritative than Camp 4 but covers a broader period of time and has more photos.
El Capitan: Historic Feats and Radical Routes —Dan Duane picks a handful of Yosemite personalities and explores what made them tick.
Yosemite Climber —This is must read classic±—if you can find it. Awesome photos of Yosemite back in the day (70s).
Glen Denny: Yosemite in the Sixties —Just published in 2007, this book has 144 pages of beautiful black and white photos and some essays.
Downward Bound: A Mad Guide to Rock Climbing —Warren Harding’s great book of adventure and farce. First ascent accounts of The Nose, Dawn Wall, and a hilarious listing and scoring of all the major Golden Age players.
Rock Jocks, Wall Rats, and Hang Dogs: Rock Climbing on the Edge of Reality —John Long’s entertaining and absorbing collection of climbing stories that include big wall tales.
And of course, The El Cap Report by Tom ”Ansel" Evans” —A daily photo report of who is climbing what on The Big Stone with hilarious commentary and great telephoto shots from El Cap Meadow. I can’t believe this service is free. Buy Tom a beer next time you see him.
Movies
Vertical Frontier DVD by Kristi Denton Cohen —Great video overview of Yosemite. Interviews with most of the major players and great historical footage.
Free Climbing the Nose —Lynn Hill’s video of making the first free ascent and first one-day free ascent of The Nose. She makes it look pretty easy to free the great roof on camera… It's not!
Dosage Volume IV - DVD by Big UP Productions —This movie has a 15-minute segment where Tommy Caldwell make the first free ascent of two El Cap routes in a day. I get to belay him for his second lap of the day.
El Capitan —The ultra classic documentary of a 1975 ascent of The Captain. Amazing King Swing airplane footage. Really hard to find.
Star Trek V - The Final Frontier —Captain Kirk makes the first free solo attempt of the The Nose… and falls! Just a five-minute clip in the opening sequence but worth putting on your Netflix Queue.
Masters of Stone V —Features Dean Potter making a mostly free solo speed ascent of The Nose.
To The Limit (DVD) - The Huber Brothers documentary on trying the break The Nose speed record on El Capitan.
This is part of my How To Big Wall Climb project. View the table of contents here
