Canadian Bronwyn Hodgins Frees Golden Gate 5.13 on El Capitan
We touched base with Hodgins about Golden Gate, her first El Cap wall Freerider and what's next
Squamish-based Bronwyn Hodgins has freed the 36-pitch Golden Gate 5.13a on El Capitan, which is huge send for the history books. In 2018, she became the first Canadian woman to free a route on El Cap with Freerider over five days with Jacob Cook supporting. Read Hodgins story about it here.
Hodgins grew up in Perth, Ontario, a small rural town an hour east of Ottawa, and learned to climb in England when on a university exchange. Her first time climbing outside was with the climbing club during a weekend trip to some local gritstone in early fall.
Despite never having visited the West Coast, Hodgins picked up and moved to Squamish in January 2017, where she now works as an ACMG rock climbing guide. With Golden Gate, she becomes the third woman to redpoint the climb after Hazel Findlay and Emily Harrington. We touched base with her a few days after she topped out.
How long had you wanted to free El Cap before Freerider? It’s hard for me to pin down the exact moment that idea creeped into my mind. I had the incredible opportunity to tag along on a six-day ascent of Freerider after only climbing for a couple of years, when I supported Jacob Cook and Chris Bevins in spring 2015.
Did you get any beta from anyone who’d freed it before? Yes! I bumped into Emily Harrington a couple of times this winter climbing near St. George. I told her that I wanted to free Golden Gate, and she was extremely helpful (and genuinely excited) to give me all the beta. We kept in touch throughout the remainder of winter and spring. Even on the wall, I would message her with questions, and she’d reply with advice and encouragement! Thanks, Emily!!!
After sport climbing in St. George all winter, what mental steps did you have to take to project a 30+ pitch big wall? Sport Climbing in St George was the perfect training for me. I had the big wall experience, I had the trad experience, but I needed to be at the top of my game to send those crimpy 5.13s up there.
How much fun was it hiking a 200m static to the top? 300m! Luckily my friend Taylor was up for joining me on that first sky cragging mission, so we could share the load. But it was still brutally heavy, especially when you add six gallons of water, food and gear for climbing, cooking and sleeping. After a winter of sport climbing with no approaches, Big Wall climbing was a lot of work.
What does it mean to be the only Canadian woman to free two El Cap routes? I hope it means that more women (Canadian or not) will get inspired to try. I look forward to seeing more and more women up there crushing on the big stone. And it’s already happening. Congrats to Brittany Gorris for sending The Salathe, and Amity and SJ for putting down the Freerider all this season.
It’s only May, you’ve freed El Cap. Now what? Now it’s time to take a breather from big personal goals and focus on the 2021 rock guiding season in Squamish. Experiences like Golden Gate are so incredibly empowering and impactful. I love guiding, as I get the opportunity to bring people into this world and show them first-hand how to experience it for themselves. I’m really excited to offer a couple of Big Wall clinics this summer too, among other programs I have lined up.
Check out some great photos of Hodgins by local photographer Nick Smith below.
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