Climber Amity Warme needed to call on some deep inner reserves for her free ascent of El Capitan, a sheer granite wall rising almost a kilometre above the floor of the Yosemite Valley in the Sierra mountains of east-central California.
In an age when countless climbers use sport-climbing techniques and fixed ropes on on El Cap, Warme and her climbing partner Brent Barghahn choose a more adventurous method, documented in the just-released Ground Up.
Starting literally from the ground up, Amity and Brent pull off their free ascent of the difficult Pineapple Express variation of the 25-pitch El Niño route (5.13b/c) over eight gruelling days, contending with crumbly rock, iffy weather and injury.
“Going ground up means you’re starting from the ground with all of your supplies and going to the top, versus rappelling in or rehearsing pitches where you would rappel down the climb itself where you can practice everything,” said Warme. “When you’re going ground up, everything is unknown. It’s all a bit more of an adventure as you are questing up from the ground without having any prior knowledge of what these pitches will be like.”
From director Chris Alstrin and Arc’teryx, this doco captures the determination, perseverance and focused mindset required to go ground up on a free ascent of a legendary route that can still present immense challenges.
“In a lot of ways, [Amity Warme] is the opposite of an Instagram influencer. She’s just out sending all the time.” — Alex Honnold
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