Exactly one year ago today, Alex Waterhouse and Billy Ridal successfully made their way through The Great Roof, one of the most famous pitches on one of the most famous routes in the world - The Nose, on El Capitan.

The day after, they arrived at Camp VI, at the bottom of Changing Corners, 'the crux of the route', Alex said, 'and the biggest unknown'. The pressure was on, and yet soon after they were through Changing Corners, and were celebrating on the top of El Capitan as the first British pair to Free The Nose.

Having arrived in Yosemite less than five weeks prior, with no big-walling experience whatsoever, Billy and Alex's free ascent of The Nose was one of the most impressive, and least likely, ascents of the year.

We caught up with them before the release of the film about their ascent - Nose Job - and their appearance at Kendal Mountain Festival later this month, to look back on the ascent, and to find out whether it feels as absurd now as it did then:

Congratulations again on what was one of the highlights of 2023, and on a piece of climbing history, your audacious free ascent of the most famous big wall route in the world, The Nose on El Capitan. As time passes, does it feel more or less ridiculous that you managed to pull it off?

Billy: Without a doubt more ridiculous! Having been back to get some more shots for the film, the whole thing seemed totally out there again. The exposure was back with a vengeance, the systems were rusty and moving on the rock felt totally foreign again, even on the easier pitches. The idea of putting everything together seemed a world away. 

Alex: Totally agree, getting back up there for the film made the whole thing seem absurd. During the mission, we were so focussed on the progression of our skills and learning so quickly that it never really felt like we were too outside of our comfort zone. Obviously we were pushing ourselves, but every day we built on the previous days with something new, and by the final push we had our systems, rock skills, and heads dialed. Going back up on the wall without that build-up made me realize just how far we had come in such a short time.  

Billy: The reception from people back home has made the whole thing feel a bit surreal too. I didn't realize the UK climbing community is as invested in big walling as it turns out they are. I've been humbled by how many people took notice and have congratulated me since, thanks everyone!

I've just watched back the footage of you both after you sent Changing Corners, the levels of excitement - and relief! - were off the charts! Talk us through that moment when you realised you were going to the top:

Alex: Watching Billy send that pitch is the most psyched I've ever been.

We'd been on the Camp VI ledge for three days, Billy had got about as close as you can multiple times and we only had a day left before Billy's flight and the supplies ran out. On Changing Corners, you only get a short window in the morning before the sun hits the line and you're done for the day, and time was running out.

Billy: The whole process was one of the most intense experiences I have had, with low points almost as potent as the highs. Knowing how close we were at Changing Corners, whilst very much facing down the possibility of failure, was the crescendo we had been building towards since first hatching the plan. In the grand scheme of things, whether or not I got through those couple moves didn't really matter. But in the moment, with all that had preceded it, and a certain weight of expectation from those who had shown support, it felt pretty all important!

Alex: I was whispering every new highpoint on the send go to a wall party on the ledge, almost worried that getting excited too early would pull Billy off the wall. Once I heard him hit the jug at the end of the crux and let out a scream, I knew it was over and let it out.

Billy: There was an outpouring of a whole spectrum of emotion when I got to the anchors. Certainly excitement, but I had spent the last 24 hours worrying about letting Alex, myself & people at home down. So I'd be lying if I didn't say a lot of what I felt was relief. Following that what has been left is a deep sense of pride at what we were able to do as a partnership.

If I remember correctly, some filming took place during your ascent of The Nose, and then you made a return trip to do some additional filming this past spring - can you talk us through the process of filming Nose Job, and what it entailed?

Alex: So when we were first there John Kasaian & Tyler Smith got in contact with us and were keen to get on the wall with us and film the process. This was thrown together pretty last minute, fuelled by their psyche to be involved. It quickly became clear that the big wall filming logistics are quite challenging! It took a bit of figuring out but we managed to capture some of the key moments, including that Changing Corners footage!

When Al got in touch this year wanting to put the full film together, we clearly needed to fill in some gaps to tell the whole story. I don't want to ruin the movie magic so I'll leave it at that, but we did go back and have another full big walling adventure up there, which felt just as, if not more out there than last time!

You took a top-down approach to the route, investing the majority of your time into the hardest pitches - which obviously worked well! Looking back now, is there anything you'd change about the way you approached the route?

Billy: I'm actually really happy with the approach that we took. We made a bunch of incremental steps in our systems, but did it all on the Nose so that it was as specific as possible. I think that was key, we didn't have time to become proficient big wallers, but we did have time to become proficient Nose climbers. I suspect if we got on a new wall we would feel pretty amateur again, but by the time we went for the push, we were functioning pretty well on those specific pitches.

Alex: In the time we had, with our skills and experience, I don't think there was anything we would have done differently.

A more mature approach would have been to spend the trip working on our skills, have a quick play on the pitches and plan to come back with a full toolkit, but it was bloody good fun to jump headfirst into something ridiculous. It's easy to say that having got the climb done without anything (major) going wrong, but I do wonder what the reaction would have been in the "Inexperienced Brits rescued off El Cap" alternative universe.

As for the top down, I just don't think there was any other way for us, If it were possible I would have wanted more time working changing corners to gain some more confidence, that would have made the whole thing a lot less stressful! I felt like we went for the push at the point It felt just about viable, but not particularly likely. Perhaps another couple of days for me and I could have gone up with quite a lot of optimism.

Now that you've ticked The Nose, do you have any plans for more big wall endeavours?

Billy: I'm definitely keen! I just don't know when. It would be really cool to get on something a little easier but go ground up, that would be a very different experience for us, and would feel like a jump into the unknown all over again. It's tricky for me though, I have goals within bouldering, sport and single pitch trad which require me to be in the best shape I can be, and unfortunately big walling just doesn't fit very well with that. Getting back from the last trip I was full potato on a boulder wall for about two months. Carving out that much time and accepting the drop in performance in other disciplines I haven't really figured out yet. Right now I'm trying to push in those other disciplines, but when I've done some of the things I'm shooting for, big walls will definitely be back on the menu.

Alex: I'll be back up there for sure! It'll have to be something I'm really psyched about, especially knowing now how much hard work there is attached to any project up there. The hauling, hiking, jugging and wall living is a pretty exceptional way of beating yourself down, the climbing feels like a pretty small part of the story.

Alex, you've been living in the US for a while now, how's life over there? Have you been climbing much, or is your focus mainly with the other projects you have going on?

Yep, I've been living in Boulder, CO for the last year. Between getting settled into a new place, starting a new climbing hold manufacturing business and all the fun Colorado has to offer, climbing has taken a back burner for a bit.

I've been getting into the mountains for some Alpine bouldering this summer, but just enjoying time outside with friends! It's been a nice break, but I am starting to feel the itch for another project…

Billy, what does the next couple of months look like for you? Will you be investing some more time into The Big Island this winter?

I'm definitely keen to get back to the Big Island, last spring I got really close before weather and a knee injury stopped play, and it's one of the goals I want to get done whilst I'm trying to get the best out of myself.

Right now though I've actually made a sport climbing u-turn and am out in Spain for a couple of months getting reacquainted with being pumped. I have rarely given consistent effort to outdoor sport objectives and have always felt I have a lot more to give, so for now I'm enjoying exploring where I can take it.

What was it like watching it all back on screen?

Billy: I'm actually yet to see it! Al is keeping things under wraps, I'm not sure I'll see it before the premiere. Honestly I'm a bit apprehensive to see myself on the big screen, no one likes the sound of their own voice! But it's definitely going to be exciting seeing how Al has brought it all to life, and getting to relive it in a small way. 

Finally, tell us a bit about the events you're part of at KMF:

Billy: So first up we are both a part of a Yosemite Panel discussing some history, British achievements out there, and then of course our recent contribution. It's a pretty stacked line up! 

We then have the Nose job showing itself which I think has a Q&A attached to it?

Finally I'm going to be doing another Panel with James Pearson, Neil Gresham and Angus Kille on male mental health within climbing. I think it's going to be a really valuable discussion on something that so many of us find difficult to express.

Kendal Mountain Festival — 21st-24th November 2024

Buy tickets to The Climb Session: Yosemite Special - presented by La Sportiva here.

Buy tickets to Brit Rock at Kendal - 'Nose Job' and 'Climbing Blind II' here - sold out.

Buy tickets to Men's Mental Health In The Outdoors - Presented by La Sportiva here.

Check out the original post-ascent debrief, filmed shortly after Alex and Billy made the ascent, below: