In a feat of extraordinary endurance, 34-year-old professional climber Sasha DiGiulian became the first woman to free-climb the longest route on Yosemite’s El Capitan, the 40-pitch Platinum route.
Her historic 23-day expedition was nearly derailed just 400 feet from the summit when a fierce November storm trapped her on the sheer granite face. Bringing torrential rain, gale-force winds, thunder, lightning, hail, snow, and ice, the tempest marked the most severe November weather Yosemite had experienced since 1973.
For nine grueling days, DiGiulian rode out the storm inside a cramped, 4-by-6-foot portaledge tent suspended high above the valley floor. Compounding the physical and psychological toll, her climbing partner, Elliot Faber, had to descend prior to the final push due to a family emergency, leaving DiGiulian to navigate the remaining stretch of the wall entirely alone.
Surviving the extended lockdown required meticulous preparation, strict rationing, and resourcefulness. Because big-wall climbing demands extensive logistical planning, DiGiulian was not caught without provisions.
Before launching up the wall, she and her support team had packed roughly two weeks' worth of food, cached 30 gallons of water at the summit, and stashed extra supplies on specific ledges along the route to keep their hauling loads manageable.
Inside the swaying tent, she carefully rationed her provisions, using a Jetboil stove to heat water for freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners, while relying on protein bars from her own brand, Send Bars, and occasional cans of Red Bull to get through the afternoons.
Living in a hanging tent during freezing conditions also forced creative improvisation for basic hygiene. To avoid opening the tent flaps to the biting elements, DiGiulian carved an empty plastic water gallon into a makeshift urinal.
When the worst of the weather finally broke—stretching the climb well past its original 15-to-16-day timeline—her support crew lowered fresh food and water down to her via fixed ropes. Replenished and resolute, DiGiulian emerged from her nine-day shelter to finish the final 400 feet, etching her name into climbing history.
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