Yosemite Half Dome Big Wall Freed at 5.13d
Karma was first climbed in the 1980s and has been attempted by several strong climbers over the years
In late 2023, Tobias Wolf and Oliver Schmidt made the first free ascent of Karma, a 15-pitch route on Half Dome, at 5.13d. By doing so, they opened one of Yosemite’s most difficult big wall free routes.
Karma was first climbed in 1987 by Ken Yager, Jim Campbell and Dave Schultz at 5.11+ A1. Then from 2016 to 2021, Schultz and Brooke Sandal rebolted the entire route and freed 95 per cent of it. The main crux section of Karma now goes free at 5.12b, 5.13b, 5.13a, 5.13a and 5.13d.
Wolf, who’s a top big wall climber from Germany, had a standout Yosemite season last fall. Not only did he free Karma, but he also made the eighth ascent of Wet Lycra Nightmare 5.13d, the third ascent of Blue Colar 5.13c, the second ascent of The Light Hearthed 5.13b, The Nexus 5.13a/b, Misty Wall 5.13a and Dream Team 5.13a.
While several El Capitan free routes have become the focus of international climbers, including Freerider and El Corazon, Half Dome sees far fewer climbers looking to push hard free climbing. Perhaps the tide is shifting and more climbers will begin to focus on the routes of Half Dome.
