Cheyne Lempe and Ethan Pringle Climb New Route in Yosemite
Cheyne Lempe and Ethan Pringle teamed up to establish a new, 1000-foot route on the north face of Higher Cathedral rock in Yosemite Valley, California.
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![Lempe and Pringle at basecamp above pitch two on <em>The Constant Gardner</em>. Pringle posted this photo to Instagram explaining that this was his “first night ever on a portaledge.” Photo by Pringle.” />Cheyne Lempe and Ethan Pringle teamed up to establish a new, 1000-foot route on the north face of Higher Cathedral rock in Yosemite Valley, California. </p>
<p>“It has been said that Yosemite is climbed out … which is true,” says Lempe, who at 23 years old is the youngest member of the Yosemite Search and Rescue team. “All of the mega splitter routes have already been climbed, but I have been inspired to learn the arduous process of new [obscure] route development.”</p>
<p>Lempe found exactly what he was looking for after a friend encouraged him to check out Higher Cathedral’s north face.</p>
<p>“I scrambled up a series of ledges to get a good vantage point of the wall, and spotted the beautiful line,” he says. “In all of the Yosemite guide books from 1993 to now, there is no information about this section of the wall.”</p>
<p>Lempe planned to tackle the potential new route with rock-climbing extraordinaire Ethan Pringle, whom he says he had never roped up with but had watched climb before.</p>
<p>“I first met [Pringle] when I rapped in to shoot photos when he nearly onsighted <em>Free Rider</em> (5.12d) on El Cap this spring, and it was wild watching such a high caliber climber move so fluidly up the wall,” says Lempe. “He has a lighthearted demeanor and a unique ability to diffuse potentially stressful situations, which makes him an incredible climbing partner.”</p>
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