Sasha DiGiulian and Jon Cardwell Make First Free Ascent Yosemite’s Misty Wall

Sasha DiGiulian Instagram. 

In what has been an already insane climbing season in Yosemite Valley, with Alex Honnold free-soloing El Capitan’s Freerider, and the first naked ascent of The Nose, Sasha DiGiulian and Jon Cardwell made the first free ascent of another iconic route, The Misty Wall.

Originally climbed as a hard aid route in the 1960’s by Royal Robbins and Dick McCracken, the route has seen numerous attempts at free climbing, but had never been climbed clean in a day until now. On May 27, the two completed the 15-pitch route in 14.5 hours, after spending several days working all the pitches.

DiGiulian said the crux included 5.13 roof climbing with offwidths and splitter cracks. After spending much of her career as a competition sport climber, DiGiulian is relatively new to trad and alpine climbing, but has teamed up with climbers to make some impressive ascents in recent seasons. In true fashion, this first free ascent was her first Yosemite big wall climb.