Final Push – Day 4: Adam Ondra Hits First Hurdle
Adam Ondra, who has been blasting his way up the Dawn Wall (VI 5.14d) of El Cap, hit his first hurdle of the final push.
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Adam Ondra, who has been blasting his way up the Dawn Wall (VI 5.14d) of El Cap, hit his first
hurdle of the final push. Yesterday, on day four of his ground up, single push attempt, Pitch 14 (5.14d)—and the pressure of the climb—proved
their difficulty.
“Climbed super poorly, so much pressure, so nervous!” Ondra reported on Instagram. “Needed seven tries to make it through the first boulder problem on
pitch 14, a boulder problem that I never really found very hard before, but somehow felt really hard today.”
Ondra slipped on his first and second tries, and then “just freaked out” and “felt so insecure with my feet,” he reported. He fell repeatedly, and on his
seventh go, finally made it through the first boulder problem only to fall on the pitch’s last move.
“Hard to find some optimism, but I will try it again tomorrow,” he reported, “hopefully with better mindset. Thanks everyone for encouragement! I am sorry
for today, hopefully there is still the chance!”
On day one of the final push,
Ondra, who is being supported by fellow Czech climber Pavel Blazek, powered through the route’s first nine pitches (5.12b, 5.13a, 5.13c, 5.12b, 5.12d,
5.13c, 5.14a, 5.13d, 5.13c). On Day two, he
dispatched pitches 10, 11, 12 and 13 (5.14a, 5.13c, 5.14b, 5.13b), which brought him to the bottom of the crux pitches. He rested for a day, before
taking on pitch 14 yesterday, and plans to give it another shot today.
Stay tuned for updates on his progress.
A video posted by Pavel Blažek (@pavelblazek) on
Adam Ondra’s Dawn Wall Final Push Timeline:
Click here for the full Dawn Wall topo.” title=”Ondra tracker. Dawn Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite. Click here for the full Dawn Wall topo.“>
Day 1 (Nov. 14):
Pitch 1 (5.12b)
Pitch 2 (5.13a)
Pitch 3 (5.13c)
Pitch 4 (5.12b)
Pitch 5 (5.12d)
Pitch 6 (5.13c)
Pitch 7 (5.14a)
Pitch 8 (5.13d)
Pitch 9 (5.13c)
Day 2 (Nov. 15):
Pitch 10 (5.14a)
Pitch 11 (5.13c)
Pitch 12 (5.14b)
Pitch 13 (5.13b)
Day 3 (Nov. 16):
Rest day
Day 4 (Nov. 17):
Pitch 14 (5.14d), eight attempts, unsuccessful
Related Articles:
Final Push – Day 2: Ondra Completes Pitches 10 Through 13 on Dawn Wall
Final Push: Adam Ondra Blasts Up First Nine Pitches of the Dawn Wall