Jason, who had a knack for handiwork, was always eager to help him and JJ when he could. Driven by deep religious faith, Tim dedicated himself to serving others, both as an educator and outside of school, where he coached a soccer team comprised of players with special needs. Jason was referring to the time he had landscaped the Kleins’ entire front yard while waiting for Tim to finish work so they could leave for Yosemite. “Flight arrives at 10 but will hit and can work at Starbucks till whenever unless you want me to remove another stump. “Rental car is booked for less than a rental bike at the beach,” Jason messaged Tim as he packed for California. Occasionally they turned around and scampered up El Cap a second time in the same day-a stunning achievement for two recreational climbers in their forties with families and intense careers. While teams often take between three and five days to scale El Capitan’s 3,000 vertical feet of smooth granite, Tim and Jason usually summited in seven or eight hours. To most climbers, this mission would sound quixotic, but for Tim and Jason it was routine. On this trip, they planned to tackle two El Capitan routes in two days: the Salathé on Saturday, June 2, and the Nose on Sunday, June 3. Tim and Jason climbed together in Yosemite so frequently-around eight weekends a year-that the arrangement made sense. That way he didn’t have to shuttle so much back and forth from Boulder, Colorado, where the 45-year-old lived with his wife, Becky, and ran an asset-management firm. After climbing together in Yosemite, Jason would often stash clothes and gear at Tim’s home, a cheery one-story cottage decorated with framed Ansel Adams prints and bible passages taped to the wall. Tim, a 42-year-old teacher at a low-income public high school, lived with his wife, JJ, and two young sons in Leona Valley, a quaint ranching hamlet an hour outside Los Angeles. Early the next morning Jason would fly to California and the pair would head to Yosemite to climb El Capitan, as they had dozens of times before. Also puffy and new with tags…rain jacket,” wrote Tim Klein in an accompanying text message. “Knickers, pants, and 2 of socks, underware, shirt, fleece. Reusable water bottle: To avoid single-use plastic.Jason Wells’s phone buzzed as photos of crumpled climbing garb popped onto his screen. ![]() Trekking poles: We’ve used Black Diamond for years as they are light, solid and durable. We’ve both used these for over three years and they just keep going. Hiking Boots: Merrell Moab (for men and women). Check on Amazon, REI or direct with Osprey Trekking poles can make the descent easier on your knees.ĭay Pack: Osprey Talon 22 (we’ve owned this for years). We’d recommend bringing a life straw as it makes any water from a creek into safely drinkable - you can check them out REI or Amazon. In other seasons there should be many more water sources. In fall lots of the creeks are running dry and we couldn’t fill up until one mile before the El Cap summit. We’d recommend lots of snacks and a decent amount of water (a lot of water if you don’t plan on filling up at the creeks). Read next: 16 mistakes to avoid in Yosemite National Park Īround half the hike or so is exposed so you might want to bring a hat. We chose to take the Upper Falls route as we wanted the most scenic option. ![]() The Upper Falls route has the option to see the falls and also Yosemite Point. There are also a number of side trails you can take which lengthen the route too, both trails have the option to visit Eagle Peak. The Upper Yosemite Falls trail route is the most scenic but also the most heavily trafficked (at least along the first 3.5 miles) the Old Oak route is primarily through forest and is much quieter (there are just a handful of parking spaces at the trail head as opposed to hundreds down in the valley for the falls route). Both trails are similar in length and elevation. There are two routes you can take up El Cap: the first being the one via the Upper Yosemite Falls Track and the second being via Old Big Oak Flat Road. This is primarily because of the Upper Yosemite Falls Track - a brutally steep trail which is tiring on the way up and incredibly slippery on the way down. The quickest time to hike the trail is about 8 hours, but the average is between 10-12 hours. ![]() The first thing to know before taking on the El Capitan hike is that you need to allow a full day.
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