Leeds-based climbers Jacob Cook and Bronwyn Hodgins are currently on a three month road-trip in the States. We came across a fun video of the couple climbing Moonlight Buttress in Zion and caught up with them to find out how the trip had gone so far.
Having climbed The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite last year as their first big wall climb, it seems as though Jacob and Bronwyn have well and truly caught the big-walling bug...
Jacob told UKC:
"We spent a month in Indian Creek, Utah, then went over to Zion to have a bash at Moonlight Buttress. It's 11 pitches with a middle section of six 5.12 pitches in a row (7a+-7c or E5 to E7). We abseiled in to stash the portaledge in the middle of the route and then climbed it over two days with a luxurious bivy in the middle. The route is a very different style to anything in the UK, the pitches higher up are so splitter they make London Wall look kind of chossy! We both freed every pitch, which is an especially amazing achievement for Bron who's only been climbing two and a half years and did her first E1 last October...!
"Also in Zion, I free climbed Space Shot, the *other* big free climb. The route goes at 5.13- or 7c+ and I onsighted all the pitches except one, including the 7c+ crux pitch. The pitch I fell off and had to redpoint was a sandy 5.12 flare higher on the route. The route was quite a different proposition to Moonlight, much less traveled, more sandy and more adventurous! Some of the pitches higher up had quite suspect small gear and the route was capped off by a font style 5.12-/7a+ sandy topout."
"The main goal of the trip was to have a go at free climbing El Capitan via Free-Rider but the weather in Yosemite has been terrible (read snowstorms!) so we haven't been able to have a go yet. Hopefully the last 3 weeks of our trip gives us a weather window!"
Visit Jacob's Facebook Athlete Page.
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