Italians Free 35-Pitch 5.13c/d on El Capitan
Italians Camilla Moroni and Pietro Vidi have repeated the Pre-Muir Wall
Italians Camilla Moroni and Pietro Vidi freed Pre-Muir on El Capitan from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26. The 35-pitch route goes at 5.13c/d. First climbed in 2007 by Rob Miller and Justen Sjong, it follows pitches on Muir Wall, The Shaft, and The Shield. This was Moroni’s first time freeing El Cap, and Vidi’s second of the year.
Moroni and Vidi both freed every pitch, with both leading the classic hard pitches, including pitch 16 at 5.13b/c, pitch 24 at 5.13c/d, and pitch 32 at 5.13c. In total, there are 12 5.12 pitches and six 5.13.
“After a rest day we started climbing and cruised to the first 12 pitches to Pharaoh ledge in the shade, then struggled through the heat on the last two harder pitches and reached our bags at pitch 14 in the afternoon,” said Moroni. “Day 2 started greatly with a quick send of the first crux “Silverfish” and setting camp at pitch 19 ,fixed a couple more pitches including a 5.10 chimney which was probably the biggest fight so far.”
They sent the crux stemming pitch before the mid-day heat shut them down until the evening. And then on days five, they climbed the remaining 5.12s to the last crux pitch. “We set up our portaledge and both managed to send it the next morning on our second attempt and finish the last easy pitches to the summit,” said Moroni.
