This was Sean's 3rd time up the Capitan and master wall rats Dean Potter and Ivo Ninov accompanied us. We left the ground at 7am and had 10 pitches of low angle slab to negotiate, including the dreaded "Half Dollar", plus a mandatory 200 lower onto Heart ledges before we would sleep that night.

We felt that this was the crux of the route, as it required a lot of dragging and mixed shuffling for Sean and a lengthy section of horizontal rock scrambling across Mammoth Terraces before dropping to Heart.

Every night we had a sweet ledge to chill and bivouac on, which entailed dinner, the mp3 player, and maybe some mixed drinks and eventually well earned slumber.

By 6am the following morning coffee was brewed, then the bags were packed and stowed and we'd fire Dean, the rope gun, up the next 500' of stone.

We'd stop at the next commodious ledge and repeat the hydration and reenergizing process.

We gained a different perspective as our height increased, not only of our epically beautiful surroundings but also of what we felt was possible to achieve in this one life we're granted. It is special to be up on El Cap living on the side of a literal sea of rock and it's even more special to be with my brother as he poignantly demonstrates that life is not over after a traumatic event, or any where near 2nd rate but that life has only begun again in a new way.

Ivo summed it up best with his two favorite maxims "The Monkeys always send" and "The Monkeys are raging". These two Bulgarian dirtbag climber proverbs succinctly state the "Monkeys" mission: Climb rock and enjoy yourself. (check out Ivo's site)

We topped out the summit pitch at dusk 6-days later and were overjoyed to have accomplished such a unique endeavor. We relaxed our guard, surrendered our harnesses and ropes and simply existed - on the edge of the world, as opposed to the side of it.

Steely nerves, a penchant for abject suffering and the ability to feel at home while hanging your posterior a few thousand feet above the ground are all required for entry onto the wall. We had ?em all in copious amounts and gained much more than we lost from the entire experience. I have attached a few pics to give you a glimpse of the magic:

My brother Tommy rolled into town last night from Fresno.  The two of us climbed "After 7" on Ranger Rock this morning, cruising up 500' of granite in the wind and sun. We are currently chilling at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel poaching the wifi and checking in with reality.

This afternoon we plan on ascending the "Royal Arches" on the southeast side of the Valley - it's my favorite route in the world and is the perfect example of uninhibited vertical movement up a tree- and ledge-festooned granite expanse . . . PRIMO.