Jacopo Larcher and Babsi Zangerl enjoyed their Yosemite trip literally to the last minute. Despite many wet pitches and a maximum time window of three and a half days, they managed to free climb Golden Gate (41SL, 8a) just before their return home.
The most famous climbing couple in the world ends their Yosemite trip with a last minute redpoint ascent of Golden Gate. Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher decided to enter the Huber/Reichel classic despite suboptimal conditions and a tight time frame. Their willingness to take risks paid off.
We were lucky enough to be able to climb another El Cap classic by Alex Huber and Max Reichel just in time before our journey home.
Jacopo Larcher
Several times shortly before the demolition
The idea for this venture came about quite spontaneously. After the last storm, it didn't look like we would be able to do anything else on El Capitan, says Jacopo Larcher. "But then the weather suddenly improved and we had a maximum time window of 3,5 days until the return flight."
Their experiences from Freerider also gave them confidence: "After we finally got to know the Monster Offwidth a little better, we decided to climb it again and tackle Golden Gate, another Huber/Reichel classic on El Cap," says Babsi Zangerl.
The undertaking was on pretty shaky ground due to the prevailing conditions on the wall. Many of the rope lengths were still wet and time was extremely short. Not exactly the conditions you want for a big wall route - even for climbing pros like Jacopo and Babsi.
We were close to retreating a few times.
Jacopo Larcher
Jacopo experienced a rollercoaster of emotions on the Move pitch, which he had to climb in the sun. "That cost me a few more grey hairs." Babsi, on the other hand, had to struggle with the partially wet downclimb.
Jacopo Larcher explains why it worked out in the end: "We motivated each other and somehow made it to the top in time." Despite the difficult circumstances, the two of them managed to redpoint the route. For Babsi Zangerl, Golden Gate is already the eighth free-climbed route on El Capitan.
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Credits: Cover picture Babsi Zangerl