Sasha DiGiulian absolutely loves challenges and adventure. The 34-year-old dreamed of becoming the first woman to free climb on El Capitan in Yosemite. However, a storm got in the way.
For nine days during the journey, she was trapped and unable to continue. Now, she’s opening up about the terrifying experience. Through it all, DiGiulian kept her composure and didn’t seem at all fazed by the experience.
A Storm in Yosemite Trapped Climbers on El Capitan
Sasha DiGiulian isn’t any ordinary professional athlete. She’s also a professional rock climber with a passion for adventure. Her hobby took her to El Capitan in Yosemite. She and her group were free-climbing the mountain when a storm hit.
“We were 10 days in and 400 feet from the top and sending it climbing — sending means successfully free climbing from the bottom to the top without falling. Then we got hit with this storm that was the most rain and bad weather that Yosemite had seen in November since 1973,” DiGuilian told PEOPLE.
What happened next seemed like a never-ending nightmare for most people.
“When it was spending nine days through a winter storm hunkered in a vertical cliff face tent, you’re in a portal edge, which is a four-foot by six-foot contraption suspended on the side of a wall,” she continued. “The sacrifice of not being comfortable and being out of my element is a part of that journey of seeing what I’m capable of and being in this arena of climbing and pushing myself.”
Though conditions weren’t ideal, the climber described how she was able to endure.
“The body’s really adaptable,” DiGiulian added. “That becomes your new reality and becomes the experience that’s a part of seeing something that, for me, I was just really passionate and driven to see if I could do this climb that I had essentially worked on for three or four years leading up to it.”
The Climber Describes the Mental Stress of the Ordeal
Though Sasha DiGiulian was well-equipped to deal with the setback, she admitted it was still mentally taxing. She read on her Kindle to pass the time. However, she detests sitting still for too long.
“I’m not someone who likes to sit still. Sitting still is like going into a zen monk status,” the 34-year-old told PEOPLE.
Though she didn’t anticipate being trapped on the mountainside for over a week, DiGiulian did engage in mental preparation tactics ahead of the journey.
“I’m a big believer in visualization, as you need to have a healthy mindset [going into a climb] and really good communication with the people that you’re on the wall with,” she told the outlet.
Eventually, the storm cleared, allowing Sasha DiGiulian to continue to the top of the mountain and complete her goal.
“I’m just driven by my curiosity to see what else I can climb and where else I can go and explore and challenge myself on new cliffs around the world,” the climber told PEOPLE. “There’s a feeling of appreciation for the ability to go and travel and challenge myself.”
Yosemite Mountain Climbers Survived 9 Days Trapped in a Severe Storm