Valley Season
Photo: Eliza Earle
Every year, as the light starts to turn from green to golden, a seasonal migration of itinerant climbers make their way to Yosemite Valley. They share campsites and meals, trick-or-treat with their kids in Ranger Village, put up new routes, and repeat favorites. Arriving as the crowds of summer start to thin, they are a community that will be here together until the snow starts to fall and the migration moves onward. These are glimpses of what it looked like in the autumn of last year.
These images were taken during the 2019 fall climbing season in the Valley. It’s been only a year, and yet they feel a world away already. For one thing, COVID-19 has impacted nearly every aspect of life in the United States, and access to Yosemite is no exception. More disruptive still, as of this post’s publication, the National Park Service website has an alert that reads: “Yosemite is closed to all visitors due to significant smoke impacts and hazardous air quality throughout the park. Through traffic is allowed; visitors must remain with their vehicle. The park is closed to recreation.” The air is unsafe to breath. And it’s frightening to consider that this summer, not the 2019 summer captured in these photographs, will become typical as warming temperatures and extended periods of drought brought on by climate change conspire to create the right conditions for big fires. As elections loom, so much we cherish is on the ballot in one way or another. As you look through these photos, please remember the importance of your vote and your voice in shaping the future you want for our public lands and our human experience, in Yosemite and beyond.
Merryn Venugopal and Camden Clements sorting gear outside the housekeeping dorms while a furry vistor looks on. Photo: Drew Smith
Camp 4. This campground near Yosemite Falls has been largely occupied by climbers since just after World War II. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its place in climbing history. Photo: Eliza Earle
People travel from all over the world for a few weeks in the Valley. Here Japanese climber Keita Kurakami climbs Bruce Lee V8 with Tsuyoshi Wada and Teruhito Oki spotting. Keita is known for rope soloing the Nose on El Cap free a few years ago and this season he was working on rope soloing the Zodiac free. This day on the boulders was a rest day. In between making quick work of the hard problems and encouraging his friends he would play a flute he carried with him saying it helped calm his breathing. Photo: Drew Smith
Fall colors in the Valley. Photo: Eliza Earle
Sanni McCandless on Lightweight Guides at the Lower Falls Amphitheater. The routes in this area are only climable during low water. Photo: Eliza Earle
The hard work of big wall climbing on full display. Photo: Drew Smith
Parking lot shenanigans at the Churchbowl. Rhiannon Lee, Sanni McCandless, Sandy Russell, Audrey Sherman, meet up to plan their respective adventures for the day—climbing, trail running, painting and working remotely. Photo: Eliza Earle
More leisure than sport for Ian Siadak and Dan Hart as they get a slow start to their day on El Cap Tower. Photo: Austin Siadak
Josie McKee, five pitches up on Higher Cathedral on the crux pitch of The Crucifix. This climb was first put up by Jim Bridwell and Kevin Worall in 1973. Photo: Drew Smith
Ingrid, Tommy, Fitz and Rhiannon Klee carving pumpkins on Halloween. Later, they all dressed up as Star Wars characters and went trick-or-treating in ranger village. “When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time trying to avoid the rangers,” said Tommy. “And now we’re taking our kids to visit them.” Photo: Austin Siadak
Tommy Caldwell demonstrating the latest in hands-free technology on top of El Cap. This was his solution to having to be on a conference call while prepping his gear for another day on the wall working on the project—a new route on the Dawn Wall. Photo: Austin Siadak
“Tommy really shines at night,” says Austin. “It’s like his time. He sent all the hardest pitches in the dark when it was really cold and Alex and I were shivering in our puffy jackets. Tommy would always say, ‘I can see the holds better at night!’ And we would respond, ‘Tommy, that doesn’t make any sense.’ We called it clocking in for the night shift.” Photo: Austin Siadak
All of the hard pitches were hard. None went first try. One of the hardest was 100 feet from the top. Tommy’s fingertips were bleeding and raw, as he flowed through a really difficult crimpy face traverse. According to Austin, Tommy could barely hang on and was leaving little drops of blood on the holds. Photo: Austin Siadak
