Lurking Fear | 8b+ Multi-pitch at El Capitan

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First ascent. With Tommy Caldwell.

First free ascent.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/places/how-hard-can-slab-climbs-actually-get/

First ascent. With Beth Rodden.

First free ascent.

On the second pitch:

No single move is crazy, but for thirty minutes your feet are just sliding off the holds, so it’s more of a mind test. [1]

And the crux seventh pitch:

It’s probably a 5.13a slab to a really hard three-move section. Finally one day my foot just didn’t slip. I got the body position just right and I got through it. [1]

and the grade:

At the time I’d never heard of a slab harder than 5.13c so we just rated it that, I think in modern grade it would be firmly into 5.14.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/places/how-hard-can-slab-climbs-actually-get/

Remarkably it was Pietro's first route on El Cap.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/DJrh5JpMGzP/

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ19NXAOADQ/

[3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2025/05/pietro_vidi_makes_second_free_ascent_of_lurking_fear_513c_el_capitan-73976