Thunder Thighs
Climbing|Issue 154

Thunder Thighs

David Allfrey
Thunder Thighs

IN AUGUST 2011, just after sunrise, Luke Holloway and I were simul-climbing 1,000 feet up the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome. I jammed my old, comfy, beat-up climbing shoes in a hand crack, scraping the Velcro against the granite, looking forward to finishing Half Dome then climbing the Nose that afternoon as part of a big link-up day. The Valley was warmer than we would have liked, and smoke from nearby wildfires choked the air. As I twisted my foot in the crack to stand, I heard a familiar tearing sound: the Velcro on my shoe peeling open. My foot shot out of the fissure.

This story is from the Issue 154 edition of Climbing.

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This story is from the Issue 154 edition of Climbing.

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