Aquarius. In June, Jim Bridwell and Kim Schmitz put up a new line between the west buttress and the dihedral wall. The route starts near the left side of the great apron between these routes and meanders to a ledge about 1000 feet up, where the wall steepens. Earlier this year they had reached a high point several hundred feet above this ledge. At the end of May, they climbed fixed ropes for 2½ pitches and quickly reached virgin territory 12 pitches up. They then climbed to Thanksgiving Ledge and finished up the west buttress, doing that section free, and reaching the top about 1:30 P.M., June 1, on their third day — fast time for an El Capitan first ascent. They drilled 70 holes into which they placed either bolts, or aluminum dowls which, like Harding’s rivets, can make use of shallow holes. Bridwell says the route was the hardest he or Schmitz had done on El Capitan. NCCS VI.

ROYAL ROBBINS