EDITION 34 - NOVEMBER 20, 2025
Your window into the stories, history, and ongoing work to preserve Yosemite’s climbing legacy.
A Note from the Editor
Lots of weather in Yosemite this week and last: snow, rain, and sustained cool temps. I’ve been in touch with Sasha DiGiulian and Elliot Faber as they’ve hunkered down on El Cap—and have now been on the wall for more than two weeks—working the Direct Line (aka the Platinum Line), a 39-pitch 5.13d/14a that parallels the Nose.
Abigail Wise at Outside wrote on November 17:
Outside: Can you explain to me the project you’re working on, and why you’re up on El Cap right now?
Sasha DiGiulian: Over the last couple of years, I’ve been trying this route called the Direct Line (also known as Platinum). It’s a really hard climb on El Cap, and I’m actually here with Elliot Faber, who developed the climb with Rob Miller from 2012 to 2016. Over the last couple of years, I’ve just been trying it and checking it out. I was drawn to how beautiful the climb is, and the more I climbed on it, the more I was interested in one day going for it. This season, the plan was to come out here, work on it, and then go for a ground-up free-climbing push attempt, which is going from the ground and trying to free every pitch from there to the top.
Right now, they’re on pitch 32, known as Gold Ledge, at 2,600 feet.
Here’s an Instagram video of her leading a 5.13c pitch high on the route.
Clayton Koob and Ryan Sheridan recently resupplied the team. This week we’re featuring Ryan Sheridan, a longtime Yosemite local with around 30 big walls under his belt. He recently climbed El Cap’s Lost in America with Koob.
On Nov. 18, Alex Sosnowski at AccuWeather posted the following story:
California to get yet another storm with rain, mountain snow this week
A final storm in a wet stretch will deliver rain and mountain snow to California this week before a welcome break in the weather arrives for the week of Thanksgiving.
This will be the final storm in a series that has delivered months’ worth of rain to parts of the state.
"The heaviest rainfall from this storm will focus on Southern California, where most areas can expect 0.50 to 1 inch of rain, with locally higher amounts in the mountains,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
Rain and mountain snow will fall across much of the state. While it won’t match the weekend’s blockbuster storm that dumped several inches of rain, the new storm could still cause travel disruptions on highways and at airports.
On Nov. 18, Anthony Edwards at the San Francisco Chronicle reported:
Yosemite Valley’s main river hits November flow record after rain
The Merced River at Happy Isles Bridge in Yosemite National Park hit its highest November streamflow since 1973 on Friday but remained well shy of flood stage.
In other El Cap news, on Nov. 4, Leo Houlding posted:
‘Big Walls & Bedtime Stories’ in association with @yeti
As part of a year of education through adventure—professional climber @leo_houlding shares his favourite place with his favourite people.
From homeschooling at 2000ft to portaledge snowball fights—Jackson (8) and Freya (11) scale the Muir Wall on El Capitan, with Mum, @jessica.corrie and dad, Leo—supported by Xander ‘Chess Champion’ Bianchi and Wilson ‘Willybob’ Cutbirth.
The film will show in the Brit Rock Film Tour. Learn more here.
To learn more about their ascent, check out my story in Gripped.
In YCA news
The Yosemite Climbing Association (YCA) announced on Nov. 14, 2025 that Jerry Gallwas has retired from his position as Chair of the Board of Directors, effective November 15, 2025. The YCA Executive Committee (Ken Yager, President; Alison Waliszewski, Secretary; and Jim Thomsen, Treasurer and Executive Director) will oversee the Chair’s responsibilities until the Board appoints a successor.
I’ve penned a number of stories on Gallwas for Gripped. Here are a few:
Jerry Gallwas: Preserving History with the Yosemite Climbing Association
Jerry Gallwas Remembers Yosemite’s Steck-Salathé Route on Sentinel
Lost Arrow Chimney, Yosemite, 1955: Jerry Gallwas Recalls Climbing This Wide Test Piece
Read Ken Yager’s Founder’s Log about getting his driver’s license and meeting Warren Harding, and check out the feature on Ryan Sheridan below.
Chris Van Leuven
Editor, YCA News Brief
Image from Lost in America. Ryan is in purple. Photo: Ryan Sheridan collection
Ryan Sheridan: Eleven Years in Yosemite, Big Walls, Highlines, and Helping Friends Go Big
The Valley local reflects on recent El Cap routes, a summer in Alaska, and why he keeps returning to Yosemite’s walls
“He said he could step in if needed,” Sasha DiGiulian texted this morning from El Cap, referring to a possible partner swap if Elliot Faber times out. “Ryan would be amazing; he’s such a cool guy.”
I’ve worked with Ryan a ton over the years — stories for Climbing, Men’s Journal, Adventure Sports Journal — and running into him recently in the Yosemite Village parking lot, with Clayton Koob by his side, reminded me why I keep writing about him. They were there supporting Sasha and Elliot on their current El Cap free project.
A few stories I’ve written with or about Ryan come to mind:
The Day El Cap Rained 27 Tons of Hell in Yosemite (Climbing / Outside)
Yosemite’s Limit-Pushing Highline Across El Capitan’s Most Exposed Section (Men’s Journal)
Inside Kevin Jorgeson’s Historic First Free Ascent on Higher Cathedral Spire (Men’s Journal; featuring Ryan’s images)
Ryan Sheridan & Priscilla Mewborne: Living the Highlife in Yosemite (Adventure Sports Journal)
He’s also on the cover of the current issue of Adventure Sports Journal, highlining thousands of feet above Yosemite Valley.
Nine Routes up El Cap — and Counting
Before climbing Lost in America this season, Ryan told me, “The last time I was on El Cap was probably around a year ago. The last route was Grape Race."
Ryan estimates he’s done around 30 big walls, including nine on El Capitan. Here’s his list:
Lurking Fear — his first El Cap route, done in a day with Eric Sloan
Waterfall Route — the same one from the 27-ton rockfall story
Zodiac
Tangerine Trip — in a push
Lost in America
Mescalito — 9 days
New Dawn → Tribal Rite — 14 days
Grape Race → The Nose
Triple Direct
Lost in America with Koob and Milo
A few weeks ago, Ryan climbed Lost in America with Clayton Koob and Milo Corbus — Milo’s first El Cap route.
“He’d never climbed a route in Yosemite before, but he’s done a bunch of desert towers,” Ryan says. Despite Milo’s limited Valley experience, Ryan describes the trio as evenly matched. “Any of us could have taken any pitch. It made the whole thing pretty chill.”
Why He Loves Climbing with Koob
Ryan and Koob have become frequent wall partners, and Ryan talks about him, it’s all praise:
“He’s always thinking ahead about what he can be doing for the rest of the team. He’s not sitting around waiting for you to tell him what to do. He’s a full-on partner who sees the big picture and works toward completing it.”
A Summer in Alaska: Seismic Work in the Backcountry
Off the wall, the two also work well together. This past summer, they headed to Alaska for seismic subsurface imaging — mapping underground geology: rock layers, fault lines, the hidden structure below your feet.
Most seismic surveys depend on road networks and heavy trucks. Their job was the opposite: on foot, in the backcountry, a low-impact method that fits the skillset of people who spend half their lives hauling gear into remote places anyway.
From Yosemite Concessionaire to Full-Time Rigger
For 11 years Ryan worked for the Yosemite concessionaire: stocking linens, shoveling snow, running bike and raft rentals, hauling trash — whatever kept him living legally in the park.
His free time went into rigging highlines, climbing big walls, or launching himself off cliffs on controlled rope jumps. Rigging these systems takes days of hiking, hauling, and problem-solving.
Here’s a video of him launching off the Rostrum:
And one of his photos:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMAcgP8DWp7/
As I once wrote in Men’s Journal: “Up here on the walls,” he says, “you take something beyond your imagination and make it a real thing.”
The School Bus, E-Bikes, and the Pull of the Valley
For years Ryan kept a converted school bus parked near Yosemite Lodge. Last winter, he finally drove it to Mariposa, where it still sits. He’s tired of keeping it running and is ready to downsize to something simpler. He’s ready to let it go.
After moving the bus, he stayed at my place for a bit. We spent winter nights riding e-bikes lit up with LED strings — part safety, part fun. Then he headed east to see family in Buffalo. After that, I didn’t hear from him for a while. Just stories through the grapevine, including the Alaska job.
A Master Rigger with a Conservation Mindset
Rigging highlines has sharpened his sensitivity to Yosemite’s granite. “The more I climb and rig in Yosemite, the better I can tell how delicate the flakes are.” And when it comes to aid climbing: “I forego certain moves if they’re more destructive to the rock.”
What’s Next for Ryan?
Right now, he’s part of the rotating support crew for Sasha’s free attempt on El Cap. After that?
“Depends on the weather,” he says.
Image from Lost in America. Photo: Ryan Sheridan
Image from Lost in America. Photo: Ryan Sheridan
Image from Lost in America. Photo: Ryan Sheridan
Image from Lost in America. Photo: Ryan Sheridan
Photo: Ken Yager collection
Getting My Driver’s License and Picking Up My First Hitchhiker
By Ken Yager
On my 16th birthday, all I wanted was to take my driving test so I could get my license. I had already passed the written part. The problem was my father had taken the only vehicle our family owned — a 1965 Ford F-100 Stepside — to work. I managed to convince my close friend’s mom to lend me her car so I could take the driving part of the test. Surprisingly, she agreed.
Her vehicle was a long white station wagon with an automatic transmission. She pulled it up to the curb in front of the DMV. I had only driven pickup trucks with manual transmissions before. I got into the driver’s seat and stared at the unfamiliar controls. No clutch. Shifter on the steering column.
A few minutes later, a man with a clipboard jumped into the passenger seat. He asked a few questions and marked something down. I was nervous. He said he was ready for me to start driving, so I put on my seatbelt, and he did the same. I started the car, found the left turn signal, checked the mirror and over my shoulder, and cautiously pulled out into the street—more marks on the clipboard. I got even more nervous.
He had me turn right, then left across traffic. For about twenty minutes, he gave me instructions. I tried a three-point turn, but since the station wagon was so long, it ended up being a four- or five-point turn. I backed up along a line for about a hundred feet and made it through the pylon course without knocking any over. Everything felt challenging, and I was pretty sure I was going to fail.
We ended back at the DMV, and he asked me to parallel park. I was horrified — I thought I had made it through without the dreaded parallel parking. I did the best I could and surprised myself by doing a decent job. He marked his clipboard for a long time, then told me to turn the car off. It was quiet for a moment, then he started asking questions: Where are the lights? The emergency brake? The hazard lights? I struggled with all of them. I felt dejected because I knew I was blowing it.
Finally, he looked over and said, “You’ve never driven this car before, have you?”
“No sir,” I said. “Not until you got in.”
He nodded and said, “For that reason alone, I’m going to pass you.”
He gave me a score of 92. A 90 or above was passing. I was ecstatic. I suddenly had freedom — and a lot more opportunity to climb.
My father let me use the truck that weekend, so I drove up to Lover’s Leap to go climbing, and it was my first time driving alone. I met Gene Drake and Victor Marcus and set up camp for the weekend. Gene wrote the first climbing guide to the Leap, and Victor ran a sewing gear company called Strawberry Mountain Works. Both were excellent climbers—way above the level of my other partners—and they had taken me under their wing when I was 14. They were great mentors. I loved climbing with them. They pushed me, we got a lot done, and I enjoyed hearing their stories.
On Sunday afternoon, I packed up camp and threw everything in the back of my dad’s truck. Gene and Victor loaded up Gene’s VW Bug. We were all heading back to Davis.
At the end of the dirt road where it met the highway stood a scruffy-looking character hitchhiking. Gene said they didn’t have room in his car and that it was up to me. As we started driving, I wasn’t sure what to do. My father had always instructed me not to pick up hitchhikers. But there wasn’t much traffic, and I felt sorry for the guy. So I pulled over.
He opened the door and climbed in. He had wild eyes, a scruffy face, and messy hair. I instantly regretted stopping, but it was too late. He was already in the truck. He shook my hand and said, “My name is Warren Harding.”
My jaw dropped.
“I’m Ken,” I replied.
He handed me a $20 bill for gas. Still shocked, I drove across the highway and used it to fill the tank. He asked if I could take him to his mother’s house in West Sacramento. That was on my way home. Honestly, I would have driven him to San Diego if he’d asked.
I’d wanted to climb El Capitan since I was 13, when I first saw the monolith. Now Warren Harding — the guy who put up the first ascent — was sitting in my truck. I asked him questions nonstop all the way to his mom’s house.
Two beached Corvettes were sitting in the grass out front, clearly untouched for years. He invited me inside to meet his mother. Around her, he acted a little like a momma’s boy. She was friendly, energetic, and outgoing. She hobbled around with a cane, laughing that her gout was acting up. She was in pain, but still the perfect hostess — cheerful, talkative, and laughing constantly. I could see where Warren got his toughness.
She showed me framed newspaper clippings hanging on the walls, with Warren standing proudly beside her. She invited me to stay for dinner. I wanted to, but it meant calling my father and admitting I had picked up a hitchhiker.
I got up the nerve and called him. He didn’t say a word about the hitchhiker. He knew exactly who Harding was and how much it meant to me. He told me to enjoy the dinner and be home early enough to get ready for school in the morning.
Dinner was wonderful. Before I left, Warren and I made plans to climb together the following weekend at a place called Phantom Spires. I was so excited. I couldn’t believe my luck.
PHOTO OF
THE WEEK
Sean Jones on Otherworld, Parkline Slab. Photo: Chris Van Leuven
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The YCA News Brief is made possible by a generous grant, provided by Sundari Krishnamurthy and her husband, Jerry Gallwas