The West Face route on the Leaning Tower is one of the many classic big wall climbs in Yosemite National Park. It winds up the sweeping formation of granite just south of Bridal Veil Falls near the west end of the Valley. The beauty of the route -- and the overwhelming exposure one feels on its overhanging face -- routinely draws climbers from around the world.

The lower part of the Tower overhangs an average of 110 degrees, while the upper section averages about 95 degrees -- making it one of America's most continuously overhanging cliffs.

The driving force behind the first ascent of the Leaning Tower was Warren Harding, a person who figured prominently in the development of big wall climbing during the golden years of Yosemite exploration. The West Face route was first climbed by Harding, Glen Denny, and George Whitemore in 1961 and took 18 days to complete during their final push to the summit (Harding's first attempt of the route was actually ten months earlier with Al Macdonald and Les Wilson).

With 111 bolts installed and fixed ropes stretching from top-to-bottom, the ascent of the Leaning Tower was one of the first times such aggressive "siege-like" tactics were used to climb a big wall. It was this record-setting number of bolts placed on a single route that helped create one of the first major ethical and climbing-style controversies in the history of rock climbing in Yosemite Valley.

Royal Robbins also played an important part in the route's history by soloing it two years later in four days' time -- not only was this the second ascent of the route, it was also the first-ever solo climb of a big wall in Yosemite National Park! Robbins did the route in spectacular style. He completed the route from the ground-up in one push and permanently replaced dozens of bolts that Harding had cleaned during the first ascent. Robbins also did not use fixed lines that stretched all the way to the ground like Harding did, thus making the route much more "committing" considering how tough it is to retreat off the steep faces of the Tower.

Today, with its pristine location, moderate grade, and established topos, the Leaning Tower is climbed almost continuously during the summer months by beginners and hard-men alike. The route is typically climbed by a party of two or three people and completed within two to three days. However, in 1995, Hans Florine solo-onsighted the route in 5 hours and 56 minutes! And one year later, he went back with Andres Puhvel to run up the route in just under 3 hours and 21 minutes!

Given the Leaning Tower's long history, and the fact that I could not find a climbing partner for the specific time-slot of September 10-13, 1999, I decided to follow the footsteps of both Warren Harding and Royal Robbins by soloing the West Face route, more than 35 years after its first ascent.

Day One - November 10, 1999
I woke up bright and early the morning of the first day because I knew there was a lot of work ahead. After breaking down my bivy spot (that I "poached" near the campground in Yosemite Valley), I strolled over to the village for a hearty breakfast. I knew I was in for a serious workout and that this would be the last hot food I would eat for days, so I pigged-out on eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast. I then hopped in my vehicle and eagerly drove down to the Bridal Veil Falls parking lot to get started on my endeavor to climb the Leaning Tower.

I had packed my gear the night before, so I was ready to get going as soon as I arrived in the lot. I planned to make two trips to the base of the climb simply because I had too much gear to carry in one load -- I erred on bringing too much stuff, knowing that my load would get lighter during the next few days and that I wanted to be able to stick out an extra day if need be. I was hoping to be able to carry it all at once after I reached the summit. The first load I carried up the nearly 500-vertical foot approach consisted mostly of climbing gear: one 50m rope for leading, one 60m rope for hauling, two sets of camming devices with sizes up to three inches wide, two sets of stoppers, 40+ carabiners, a Wall-Hauler pulley, and a slew of other climbing equipment.

"It was on this first rap down that I realized how overhanging the Leaning Tower really is..."

Once I scrambled up the talus fields and along the bottom of the cliff to the start of the route, I stashed my gear in the bushes and went back down for the second load. The first trip was long, and required some route-finding, but was relatively moderate; the way up was pretty obvious from below.

After getting back to the vehicle, I ate lunch and relaxed just a bit before setting out up the switch-backing trail that wound up and through the boulder fields again. This time I carried 10.5 liters of water, rain gear, a sleeping pad and bag, and food (cans of fruit and soup, a pepperoni stick, string cheese, apples, energy bars, and a bunch of candy to help quench my cotton-mouth). The second time up the approach was much more brutal and exhausting than the first. The sun was out in force, and sweat started to pour off my face as I crisscrossed my way back up the boulder field. I had to make frequent stops so that I wouldn't burn myself out too quickly -- after all, I still needed to climb the first pitch, not to mention the fact that I had three more days of hard work ahead.

At this point, I managed to shuttle all of my gear up to the base of the route by 1:00 PM. Although I was happy to finally have completed the approach, I still had to get across a very exposed, fourth-class ledge system to reach the actual start of the climb. This ledge system cut directly out to the left a couple of hundred feet from where the trail runs up next to the cliff, and put me nearly 100-200 feet up on the formation when I reached the anchor at the bottom of the first pitch. Luckily, there was a fixed static line that allowed me to self-belay across the ridge. I had to take three separate trips because I feared that carrying any more gear on a single trip would be too difficult and dangerous.

Finally, at about 2:30 PM, I had gotten all my gear across the ledges and was ready to start fixing the first pitch. It was an easy 140-foot bolt ladder that went straight up an overhanging face. It was steep, but it was also straightforward aid climbing. Once I finished the pitch, I fixed the line and rapped back down to the start of the climb. It was on this first rap down that I realized how overhanging the Leaning Tower really is. By the time I had reached the vertical level of the initial ledge system, I had to literally pull myself back into the wall because I was hanging about 15 feet out from the ledge with a couple hundred of feet of air looming beneath my dangling toes!