Sasha Digulian does FFA of a 900m 8a+ (b)

Sasha Digulian, Overall World Champion in 2011, has done the first female ascent of the 40 pitches The Direct Line / Platinum Wall (8a+) in Yosemite (CA). The FA was done by Rob Miller in 2017 after projecting it for several years. Sasha, with some 50 routes 8b+ to 9a under her belt, spent 23 days on the 900 meters route, out of which nine of them spent stuck on her portaledge as back-to-back storms drenched the upper wall. (c) Christian Pondella

DiGiulian prepared over three seasons, rehearsing the glacier-polished lower two-thirds until she deciphered its complex sequences, then rappelling in to work the crux pitches of the upper wall. She launched her continuous ground-up attempt on November 2, weathered storms that halted progress for days at a time, and finally topped out on November 26 under clear skies and softening summit snow.

”That storm was one of the scariest experiences of my life. The wind hammered the portaledge all night, the poles were bending, and I couldn’t stop thinking it might break. I felt isolated, exhausted, and terrified — but I also knew I’d regret it forever if I didn’t give this climb every possible chance. So I chose to stay. Day by day, breath by breath, believing the storm would eventually pass.”

👉 Day 21 - the hardest pitch, mentally and physically “The roof pitch was soaked and I was exhausted — my hands, shoes, everything was wet. I fell, pulled the rope, and went again. By the downclimb my whole body was shaking with nerves and adrenaline, just trying to breathe and hold on. When I clipped the anchor, I screamed and burst into tears. It wasn’t the top, but it was the end of the hardest pitches — the moment I realized the summit was actually possible.”

“This climb started as a wild, audacious dream — something that honestly terrified me. I battled so many moments of feeling unprepared or not good enough. But pitch by pitch I proved to myself that when you show up, commit, and keep believing, you can do things you once thought were impossible. This ascent is the proudest achievement of my career.”