In the summer of 2025, on July 13, Derek Field and I completed the first ascent of Giselle’s Big Advencha (1,200’, 5.10+) on the north pillar of Mt. Crocker, adding a high-quality route to this sheer buttress rarely visited by climbers.

Giselle’s Big Advencha begins on a clean shield of rock to the left of Crock Kingdom (IV 5.11a, Field-Field, 2020). From there, the line weaves together a variety of styles, blending hard 5.10 crack pitches with fun face traverses, all culminating in a steep hands-to-fists crack pitch, which can be described by one word: exhilarating. The climbing is well protected. From the top, moderate ridge scrambling and loose talus lead to the summit of Mt. Crocker (12,462’).

The ascent held profound personal significance for Derek: Giselle’s Big Advencha was envisioned as a tribute to Giselle Field, Derek’s wife, who passed in July 2021. Her life was marked by a passion for climbing and bold exploration. Derek and Giselle had previously climbed two other first ascents on this formation—Crock Kingdom and Crocks ’n’ Socks (IV 5.11a, 2019)—and our route fulfilled their vision of unlocking the hard-looking cracks they had spied running parallel to Crock Kingdom.

Circumstances delayed the attempt for years. Derek stepped back from climbing following Giselle’s passing in July 2021, and I shifted focus to alpinism and trail running after completing the Goliath Traverse (AAJ 2022) that same year. But driven by a shared desire to honor Giselle’s memory, we finally made it happen. The resulting route celebrates Giselle’s adventurous spirit through graceful movement on a striking High Sierra buttress.

           —Vitaliy Musiyenko