In June of 1960, Tom Frost and Yvon Chouinard successfully established the first ascent of the West Face of Yosemite’s Sentinal—marking the third big wall climbed in America.
This impressive 2,000-foot wall, graded at VI 5.9 A5 hadn’t yet seen a free ascent when Kevin Jorgeson and Ben Rueck arrived at its base. This was due in part to a particularly challenging crux pitch, which Kevin discovered demanded an 8-foot dyno move. Once this key beta was unlocked, the pair felt confident in their ability to free the route (5.13).
The only question that remained:
Could they do it in a day?
Find out in this week’s Friday Flick Pick.
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