Paraclimber Eleonora Delnevo Climbs El Cap With Team

Italian paraclimber Eleonora “Lola” Delnevo has climbed Zodiac on El Capitan with Diego Pezzoli, Antonio Pozzi and Mauro Gibellini.

A statement on Delnevo’s website backtothetop.com read, “They made it!! Less than two years since their first attempt: they went back, they climbed it, they conquered Zodiac. It was an unfinished business, but our strong team of four climbers conquered El Cap in just three nights!”

Eleonora suffered a serious injury after an ice climbing accident in 2015 which left her paralyzed from the waist down. To climb Zodiac, she had to do 550 metres worth of chin-ups over a few days.

We made it!! Less than two years since our first attempt: we went back, we climbed it and we conquered Zodiac. It was an unfinished business, but our team of four climbers conquered El Cap in just 3 nights! #elcap #paraclimbing #yosemite @lolibacktothetop Thanks to our leader Antonio Pozzi, our hauling man Mauro Gibellini, Me the technician man Diego Pezzoli and the superstar Eleonora “Lola” Delnevo! Thanks to @krukonogi e @totemcams for the indispensable gear!

A post shared by Dié Jim Pezzoli (@diegojimpezzoli) on Oct 11, 2018 at 10:49pm PDT

Her trip started in San Francisco, where they rented a car and then drove to Yosemite. They stopped at the top of Big Oak Flat to eat a burger at the Priest Station Café, which is owned by Conrad Anker and his family.

They continued to the valley to meet with Timmy O’Neill of Paradox Sports to watch films that were part of the Yosemite Facelift project.

They then met their team at Camp 4 and the group of Italians cooked pasta and caught up. On day three, they prepped for the climb, packed gear and went of logistics.

O’Neill rallied a big group of climbers together to help get the team to the start of the route.

Over the next three days and two night, they made a successful ascent of Zodiac, which can be climbed at IV C3. Be sure to visit here as the team publishes more from their ascent.

What has 60 legs, 60 arms and one wheel? It is the team work that makes dreams work – yesterday @lolibacktothetop approached the Zodiac wall on the southeast face of El Captain. Several years ago she broke her back and became paralyzed from the waist down and soon after set the ambitious goal to ascend the world’s best know & most coveted big wall. #elcap Two seasons ago she failed on their 1st attempt, both her and her team overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the toil and trouble. #readytohaul ? ••• She’s back, determined, fit and with a strong, dedicated wall team. Yesterday the Climbing Stewards, Climbing Rangers, the SAR team and a wide range of intl and local climbers gathered at the #meadow to load Loli up and quickly deliver her to the base. ••• What some thought would take 3-4 hours, took less than an hour with skilled hands and strong bodies. Thanks to all who joined in order to answer the question of “How can I help?” by showing up and stepping in to take a turn at the litter and at the wheel. @paradoxsports @patagonia_climb @ospreypacks @clifbar @petzl_official @lasportivana @zealoptics

A post shared by Timmy ONeill (@timmyoneill) on Sep 29, 2018 at 10:59am PDT