EVEN THE APPROACH to this place is unreal. Instead of a typical climb (which involves an approach before the ascent), the the group had to make a 1,500 ft rappel down into “what appeared to be a bottomless cavern” just to reach the base of the wall.
This precluded them from having a standard base camp. Instead they had to make a series of “commutes” to fix the pitches, then make a final commitment to “living on the wall,” where life was based out of two portaledges hanging thousands of feet in the air.
In this series of video dispatches, these climbers take us through this amazing ascent.