After 10 days on the rock, Wayne Merry and Warren Harding were down to a couple of candy bars and just under a litre of water.
They had endured a two-day snowstorm, tucked out of reach from the full fury of winds behind a jut in the face of El Capitan. The climbers knew it was now or never. If they were going to make the countless weekends they'd travelled up to Yosemite National Park to set a route on the 2,307-metre rock face worthwhile, they had to make their move that day.
We were running out of everything, Merry said. That last day we knew we were very close to the top.
On Nov. 12, 1958, as the sun threaten to crest the valley ridge, Harding drilled the final bolt ladder. By the time golden rays spilt onto El Capitan's face, Merry was sipping champagne out of an aluminum cup he'd hauled up the wall. It took 47 days worth of work on the route, hours of hauling 22-kg supply bags up the face and numberous scraps and cuts from rocks and equipment, before Harding, Merry and George Whitmore became the first people to ascend the now-famous climb.
The rest of the gang met us up there, Merry recalled. There was a sheriff to keep reporters from falling over the edge.
Climbing plays on a mixture of emotions, from blind optimism to stark terror, Merry said. Hanging on the side of El Capitan, it begun to feel like being on a great, big vertical granite ocean, he said. The exposure was mind blowing, Merry added: if you dropped something, it fell away quickly without making a sound.
Becoming one of the first people to tap out of El Capitan changed Merry's life. While relaxing on a ledge of its face, he decided he'd ask his girlfriend to marry him. They've been together 53 years. Merry was hired on by the park service, who quickly realized climbers where there to stay. The service had no way of rescuing anyone stranded on the rock and Merry was their man to come up with a plan.
Next Friday (July 19), Merry will share his tale as a part of the eighth annual Squamish Mountain Festival. The event, which is packed with five days of action from July 17 to 21 has activities for beginner to advanced climbers, festival director Ivan Hughes said. It covers all aspects of climbing from bouldering to trad climbing.
Every year there are more people entering climbing and more people that are coming out from the gyms and trying to get some experience on the real rock, Hughes said. The great thing about the festival is no matter what level your at there is something that will appeal to you.
Hughes has climbed for more than 25 years. He first roped up overseas, before moving the Vancouver and visiting Squamish. What separates Squamish from other climbing locations is its easy access and quality rock, he said. Known for its rainfall, Squamish's granite is polished from thousands of years of the wet stuff, Hughes said.
Hughes is constantly amazed at the types of climbs people are accomplishing. Squamish has produced a number of world-class one man climbers and top female athletes. Tami Knight is one such person. Knight, who is set to do a presentation at the festival, has been climbing in Squamish since the '70s. She's tapped out of many of North America's most famous crags, including Camp 4 at Yosemite National Park.
The festival is full of presentations, climbing films and workshops. To learn more visit www.squamishmountainfestival.com.
