Laura Pineau, from Freerider on El Capitan to Turkey Crack at Cadarese

My crack climbing life began in Utah when Brittany Goris took a chance on me two years ago. She showed me what it’s like to be a trad wizard and how to dig really deep for a project you are inspired by. Brittany convinced me that I could do Free Rider on El Capitan so a few months after our Utah trip, I found myself in the center of the universe, Yosemite!

I went to the valley in spring 2023 and started to learn the techniques required to climb granite big walls. I practiced granite slabs, and of course cracks of all sizes including chimneys and offwidths. I also climbed several big walls, hauling, sleeping on the wall and in general enjoying life in the vertical world. That season left me hungry for more!

After a summer in Squamish where I continued my granite apprenticeship, I went back to Yosemite in the fall and was ready to attempt Free Rider. Michael Vaill and I spent 7 days on the wall, hauled bags that weighed 100 kilos in total, and shared leads on crux pitches. Sending Free Rider marked the culmination of one year of dreaming big and working hard.

After this big wall experience I wanted to focus on some single pitch crack projects. Last April I sent my hardest crack so far, The Phoenix (5.13a), which is a beautiful line just above Cascade Falls. We also did a bit of bouldering including Cedar Eater (V5), Yosemite’s classic invert offwidth. This one proved to be the perfect warm-up for Turkey Crack!

After the valley, I heard of a new crack in Ticino, Butterfly Circus (8a+), which looked very similar to The Phoenix. Barbara Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher were also excited to try it so we spent a few days there. Babsi did the first female ascent on the first day of our trip and I sent it on our second day. The start of the route is a perfect finger splitter followed by an overhang with very tight #1/#.75. The pump comes instantly at the end of the overhang so you have to keep moving efficiently to go above the roof.

After Ticino, I started exploring some ideas on where to go crack climbing this summer and was truly excited to visit Cadarese. While conditions are not optimal, we still gave it a shot and were eager to see what we could do there. A few friends mentioned the classic Turkey Crack so we tried it on our second day. My first go was terrible as my TC pros didn’t fit into the crack… I then switched to my sport climbing shoes that were much smaller and suddenly I could almost fit half my calf in the crack! I got close on my second go but I messed up my flow while placing gear… My legs were fully bruised and I decided to wait until the next day before trying it again.

The following morning my legs were not 100% recovered but nevertheless I felt better than the previous day and ready to try hard! On the 1st go that day, just past my high point, I grabbed the crimp but could not hold it…. Too pumped! I improvised, did a bat hang for a few seconds which helped me recover some finger strength, and grabbed the crimp again to reach the jug. Once on it, you can just relax and enjoy the beautiful climbing to the anchor. Cadarese delivered! Now I’m off to discover more beautiful European cracks this summer!

by Laura Pineau