Alpine Club Talk: Zachary Green- A Long Term Goal Realized: The Nose

A Long Term Goal Realized: The Nose

Whether it's your first or your 100th time driving into Yosemite Valley, El Capitan takes your breath away. Its grandeur is completely hidden from view as you wind in through the forest, until all of a sudden you pop out of the tree cover and it hits you like a blaring foghorn. As a climber, it's hard not to imagine what it would be like to spend multiple nights pinned to the side of its overhanging granite, 3000 feet above the valley floor. For Zachary Green, climbing El Cap quickly became a long term goal in his climbing ambitions.

In the Fall of 2019, Zack and his climbing partner, Brandon Barter, started aid/ big wall training at Stoney Point with their sights set on climbing The Nose the following spring. Nearly three years later - after COVID, the loss of a friend in a climbing accident, and an unsuccessful attempt - the two ultimately found themselves topping out El Capitan. Zack will share stories, pictures, and techniques from a month spent climbing in The Valley - including their trips up El Cap's Lurking Fear and the Nose.