Trip Report: Nose in a Day

Wiley leaves Camp VI, headed into the Changing Corners.

The storm this week arrived with less force than expected, but it’s forecast certainly had an effect on the El Cap crowds.
On Wednesday, (my weekend) and the last day before weather was scheduled to move in, we snuck in an early season Nose in a Day. Among the 6 parties on the route, all were racing for that 24hr deadline. The only haul bags were on their way down, bailing from Dolt after spending what was most likely a beautiful but cold night on El Cap tower.

First I wanted to give a shoutout to the good energy of all the parties on the wall. I consider it unusual to see 6 NIAD parties (and no wall parties), and it would have been easy for the dozen or so ropes and taglines and gear and goals to end up in a tangled frustrating (and potentially dangerous) mess. Being up there reminded me of a few ideas and considerations for climbing big walls in a day – something that has become increasingly popular in the last decade. The NIAD is still a big, big day out, but I imagine we will see more folks attempting it sans bivy as our the collective experience of our community continues to grow from season to season.

It was pretty rad to see the Nose in it’s early season state. Ledges didn’t smell like urine, there were only a few empty water bottles, and spring seep at the Great Roof and Changing Corners were in full effect.
Camp IV to the base of the Great Roof

Here are two tips for a clean NIAD:

1. Bring a wag-bag. Sometimes the coffee doesn’t kick in quickly enough at 4am… Camp VI has historically been the bonk point for NIADs, and has certainly been the site of a few unplanned bivies. The crack there always has human waste in it by the end of the season. Wag-bag’s are the size of a packing envelope and weigh almost nothing, throw one in the pack. Defecating in Camp VI or anywhere else on El Cap is a major bummer to the whole community and sacrilegious to the Big Stone. You can find Wag-Bag’s for $2.75 at the Mt. Shop in Curry Village. Or bring a homemade version, look for a future post on accomplishing that craft project. And of course… Don’t throw them off the wall!
2. Pack out water bottles and trash. I saw multiple water bottles drunk to the last sip and left. Although folks are trying to be considerate, those bottles tend to sit as unidentified backwash. Down it, and carry out the bottle. You’re doing the NIAD and leaving El Cap cleaner than before, how rad is that!

Let us know in the comments if you have any other ideas for crushing In-a-Day pushes.