Climbing
In mid-September, Pearl Johnson, age 9, climbed the Triple Direct route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, earning her the title as the youngest person to climb the 3,000-foot granite wall. Pearl originally wanted to climb The Nose, but it was crowded, so they switched to the much less-preferred but equally extended Triple Direct route, which parallels the Nose just before joining it for the upper third of the climb.
- Related: 10-Year Old Girl Just Became Youngest Ever Climber to Scale 3,000-Foot Nose of El Capitan, CA
Taking 4 days and 3 nights, Pearl climbed with her mother, Janet, and family friend Nick Sullens, of Yosemite Search and Rescue. Pearl’s dad, Philip, a law enforcement ranger in the park, met them at the major.
“Someone asked me if I was nervous, and I stated ‘No,’” Janet stated right after. “I knew I was comfy up there. I’ve climbed a lot with Pearl. I knew what she was capable of.”
Pearl, however, was nervous, according to Sullens:
“A lot of time was spent overcoming her worry,” Sullens stated. “I was impressed with her wanting to maintain going. If it had been me at nine, I would have wanted to be out of there.”
In June, 10-year-old Selah Schneiter climbed the Nose on El Capitan with her father, becoming the then-youngest to climb El Cap.
