Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell Complete an Insane Linkup in Rocky Mountain National Park
35-miles, 11 classic alpine climbs, 17 peaks, 20k ft of elevation gain. And pain. Lots of pain. All in 36 hours.
You probably know Alex from his free-solo climb of El Capitan or his speed ascent of the Nose. You might not know about his penchant for sufferfests, like climbing all of California's 14ers and biking between them. Or climbing 45 of the most iconic desert towers -- and also traveling by bike. This week's linkup was a wild one. Teamed up with Tommy Caldwell (legend, his partner on the Nose, and Estes Park local) , they created what they're calling the "Continental Divide Ultimate Linkup" or CDUL for short.
Their linkup went from Mount Meeker to Notchtop through the alpine of Rocky Mountain National Park took them up 11 classic climbing routes, and 17 named peaks, with roughly 20,000 ft of elevation gain and 35 miles of "hiking/climbing/scrambling/suffering". All in roughly 36 hours.
The linkup wasn't without its hiccups, as they missed meeting a friend to resupply and ended up doing a bit of free soloing in the dark...with their iphones as headlamps. They did eventually meet up with friend Adam Stack, who brought the much appreciated headlamps and some very needed Chipotle. From Tommy:
"We missed our pre night support drop off and therefore ended up climbing through the night in our short shorts and howling winds at 13000 feet, phone jammed under my hat as a flashlight."
Sounds fun. There are a few great moments of Alex on Tommy's instagram.
If you're familiar with RMNP, here's the full breakdown of routes. Keep in mind that this is all long, multi-pitch alpine. The total number of pitches is around 70.
Here's the full list of routes. It's veritable Rocky Mountain bucket-list for most Colorado climbers.
- Flying Buttress on Meeker (6 pitch, 5.10)
- The Casual Route on Longs Peak (7 pitch, 5.10a)
- Pagoda Peak
- The Barb on Spearhead (9 pitches, 5.10)
- Birds of Fire on Chiefshead (9 pitches, 5.11a)
- Central Ramp on Alice (7 pitches, 5.8)
- Arrowplane on Arrowhead (6 pitches, 5.11a)
- McHenry's Peak
- Powell Peak
- Taylor Peak
- The South Face of The Petit Grepon (8 pitches, 5.8)
- SW Corner of Spearhead (8 pitches, 5.10b)
- NE Ridge of Sharkstooth (5 pitches, 5.6)
- Otis
- Culp-Bossier on Hallet (8 pitches, 5.8+)
- Flattop
- Ptarmigan
- Notchtop
We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on. Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!
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