The Big Climb My Life

'You ready?'

BIRD SCREECHES

Hello. I'm Ella, and right now,

I don't know how the rest of my life is going to pan out.

I guess it could go one of two ways - up...

or a very long way down.

I'm attempting to climb one of the world's biggest rock faces.

It's called El Capitan, or El Cap for short.

It's in the USA.

It's nearly a kilometre high, which probably doesn't sound like much,

but that's six London Eyes stacked on top of each other.

In the climbing world, this is one of the toughest challenges there is.

I kind of underestimated how big it was.

It's much bigger when you come to this angle.

Many experienced climbers never make it to the top,

but if I manage it, I'll be the youngest girl ever to do it.

'I'm 13. I live here in Sheffield with my family.

'I split my time between my mum's house and here at my dad's flat.

'That's my brother, Ewan, my stepmum, Karen, and my dad.

'He's a famous climber.

'He travels all over the world to climb the biggest,

'scariest rock faces he can find.

'I've grown up with his love for it,

'and I guess that's where it all began.

'My friends all think I'm a bit mad for liking climbing so much.

'But my head for heights does come in handy sometimes.

'We all go cheerleading together

'and I'm the one who gets to go flying through the air.

'Actually, everyone in my dad's family is nuts about climbing.'

This is, like, the living room,

where things happen like sitting and playing.

THEY GIGGLE

That was Ewan trying to act cool.

This is the climbing bedroom. Ooh, that was on!

You can't see in it, but if I...

You can just see maybe a little bit of it.

Just that tiny bit of my bedroom that...

Me and Ewan have to sleep in there, you know.

It's an adventure every night.

But instead of having a bath, we store our climbing and camping,

and here we have a fold-up kayak.

'Dad loves to talk about his climbing adventures.

'I've heard all his stories over and over again.

'So, last year, to keep him quiet, I said, "I bet I could do that."

'At first it was like a joke.'

"Oh, one day, Ella, you'll come and climb El Cap with me."

So I was like, "Yeah. Yeah, all right then."

I thought it was a joke, but then it just all happened so fast

and it's all happening and I'm... I'm excited about it.

Slightly nervous, but I'm definitely excited for it.

The reality of climbing a big wall is scary.

It's SO massive.

We'll have to spend at least four days and nights living and sleeping

on the wall, and that's not without its challenges.

'Challenge number one means there's no getting away from my dad.'

-Oh, he's very smelly!

-HE LAUGHS

He's very smelly, he snores, and I'm sure he moves around.

Hopefully it'll be OK.

I might have to prod him to tell him to stop snoring, but...

-You're so tired, you'll sleep...

-I know, I'll sleep through it.

'Challenge two is even scarier than my smelly dad -

'getting time off school.

'And to do that, I need to see my headteacher, Mr Gauge.

'I have to ask for two whole weeks off school.

'And guess what? He agreed.'

Got some books that might help you.

'There's just one catch though - I still have to do my homework. Ugh!'

I've got a sheet here, and on the top it's got two activities.

Activity two is homework.

Just because you're going away, Ella, for a couple of weeks,

I don't think there's any getting out of your homework.

I think you should make a concerted effort.

I wonder how easy it would be to find

the volume of this great mountain you're climbing, Ella.

Do you reckon you could do that for us?

It's probably the first big decisions of my life to say,

"Yes, I do want to do this and I am going to do this.

"I'm going to persevere and, like, do it."

'A big inspiration for me is my stepmum, Karen Darke.

'She broke her back in a climbing accident when she was 21.

'And now she uses a wheelchair.

'But that didn't stop her from climbing El Cap with my dad.

'She's now a super-talented athlete

'and competed in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.'

Come on, Karen! Up, up, up, up, up!

Whoo!

'She won a silver medal...

'and I got a bit emotional.

'Karen conquered her own personal mountain,

'so what advice can she give me before I head off to conquer mine?'

I think, just like racing,

instead of thinking of getting to the top all the time

or looking down and thinking how far up you are, you've just got to

think about every little thing you've got to do in the moment.

And we're off.

It's an 11-hour plane journey before we touch down in California.

I've never been to America before,

although I did once watch an episode of Friends!

This place is WAY bigger than Sheffield.

-BOTH:

-Whoo-hoo!

El Cap is still four hours away by car.

Only one thing for it - road trip.

'Finally, we're in Yosemite National Park.

'And I get my first glimpse of what I'm going to be climbing.

'O...M...G.'

Is that it? Whoa, that's big.

-I expect you feel...

-Small.

HE LAUGHS You are quite small, though.

Yosemite is a huge valley,

and its steep granite rocks are a climber's idea of paradise.

-WHISPERS:

-I reckon it's anyone's idea of paradise!

Yeah!

'Dad and I won't be climbing alone.

'Because I've never tried anything like this before,

'it would be too dangerous.

'So we have an expert team to help get us to the top.'

Aldo Kane, safety climber.

'Hairy bloke.'

Ben Pritchard, cameraman.

'Another hairy bloke.'

Paul Tattersall, lead climber.

'And another hairy bloke.'

ALL: Yeah!

'So I'm the only girl.

'To most people, this looks like a cliff.

'But in the climbing world, we call it a wall.

'Before we can climb, there's a lot of stuff to do.

'Everyone is super-busy sorting out equipment, food and water.

'Loads of it!'

So here we have 24 bottles of three-litre water, which is, like,

70-odd litres,

so, like, 70-something kilograms.

That's going to be fun to carry up(!)

'Climbing a big wall is a bit like taking a trip to the moon.

'We take everything we need to survive,

'like food, water and clothes.

'Haul bags are used to carry it all.

'They are pulled up on a rope behind us,

'and when full, they will weigh even more than me.'

I think she's not as heavy as the bag will be,

carrying all the water up and all the food and everything,

but, er, she's better company.

'Carrying all our food means we need to think carefully

'about what we're going to eat and buy just the right amount.

'There will be no fancy meals when we're up there.

'So it's just the basics.'

Oreos.

-What's this?

-Squeezy cheese.

-Weighs a ton!

No, it doesn't.

The main thing you need is lots of liquid.

You can survive for a week without much food,

but if you're out of liquid, that's the worst thing.

Froot Loops.

-What's this?!

-They're Froot Loops.

Put them back, you're not having those.

-Pop-Tarts! You know I love Pop-Tarts!

-Pop-Tarts?

Ella, you can't have Pop-Tarts. Ella, put them back.

Dad, biscuits!

Pot Noodle, Pot Noodle, Pot Noodle! Pringles.

'I'm making loads of brilliant suggestions,

'but my dad has weird ideas about eating cold food out of a tin.'

Ella, this is what you want.

This is stew in a tin. You just eat it cold.

'We'll be climbing as soon as the sun comes up tomorrow,

'so I'm taking one last look

'at where I'll be spending the next four days.'

I kind of underestimated how big it was.

It's much bigger when you come to this angle.

Well, the main reason I'm climbing is cos not many people do it.

It's kind of an individual thing.

You do everything for yourself. It's like no-one can help you.

It's just you and the wall.

I don't really feel scared, like, outside, but I had a dream...

I don't even think it was a dream, I just woke up,

and just felt really anxious. and it was just really scary.

I got a little... I was just really worried about food and stuff,

because we've obviously just bought food, so, I don't know,

not having enough food and then getting stuck or something.

But, yeah, it kind of knocked me a little bit.

I was, like...

I wasn't as confident then.

If there's anything that I'm thinking about the wall the most,

it's probably going to the toilet.

I'm still so nervous about that, it's, like, the main thing.

So I just don't want to go.

I'll have to hold it in all the way to the top and then I'll just burst.

Today's the day.

It's boiling hot, and loads of people have decided not to climb

because of the heat.

But...we're going for it.

Well, the height's obviously much bigger from here,

cos you can just see it and it's kind of like...

It shows you how big it is compared to in the valley.

It is bigger from here, definitely.

'And this is how we'll do it.

'Super-climbers Paul and Aldo lead climb up the route,

'using the friction from their hands and feet to move up the rock,

'and pulling on bits of equipment that they wedge into cracks.

'They fix a rope to the wall,

'which is what I'm going to use to climb up.

'Here I go!'

This is kind of make-or-break time.

If she struggles on the first little bit,

then it doesn't bode well for the rest of it.

It's usually the worst bit, cos you have to dumar such a long way.

'It's a long way up, and after years of dreaming,

'months of planning and weeks of waiting, I'm finally on the wall.

'The technique I'm using to climb the wall is called dumaring.

'Basically, I push myself up with my feet using this foot loop.

'I slide this clip up the rope,

'it locks on, and it won't slide back down again.

'To get to the top, I'll just have to do this about, mm...

'4,000 times.'

Ugh!

The rope is 70 metres long,

so the climb is split into rope lengths,

or pitches, as climbers call them.

At the end of each rope length, there's a place called a belay,

where climbers before us have drilled metal bolts into the rock.

We clip ourselves in to rest or camp overnight.

There are 14 pitches on my route up El Cap.

Need to grab my cow's tail.

'And I've done my first pitch. Only 13 to go.

'It's only eight in the morning, but it's already boiling.'

-SHE SIGHS

-Need to put some suncream on.

'Dad is the last member of the team to make it off the ground.

'The whole team is now climbing.

'The only way is up.'

-Yeah!

-SHE LAUGHS

I'm a little bit scared about dropping things.

I haven't got my iPod out yet cos it's not attached to anything,

so I'm scared I'm going to drop it, and I don't want to drop it.

My shoelaces are coming undone as well,

so I'll probably end up dropping my shoes.

I should really do them up.

'When we reach the top of a pitch, Dad has to haul up all the bags

'with everything we need to survive on the wall.'

So we've got five people's stuff and lots of water,

so hauling is turning into a bit of a day-long nightmare.

'We can only climb as fast as Dad can pull the kit up.

'It's really heavy,

'and it's taking longer than we expected,

'so there's a bit of waiting around.'

I've conquered one of my fears, or my main fear.

I had my first wee on the big wall.

That was weird.

BEN: Pee on your dad?

I peed on my dad, yeah.

It's the end of a long day of climbing,

and with the hauling slowing us down

and temperatures hitting nearly 40 degrees on the rock,

we haven't got as far as we wanted.

Eventually.

'I'm exhausted. I can't wait to go to sleep.

'So right here, 150 metres above the ground, is my bedroom for the night.

'The only thing between me and the rocks below is a tiny portaledge -

'a lightweight metal frame that's a bit like a camp bed.'

-SHE YAWNS

-I'm glad to be on the portaledge.

This is the first time you've ever slept on one.

It's the first time I've ever slept on one, obviously,

as Dad just pointed out.

'At this height, you really wouldn't want anything to go wrong.'

-CRASHING

-Oh!

'Because of a rope tangle below, my portaledge has become unstable.'

-Move your feet.

-I am. Right, can you lift it up a bit?

It's fine. I'll just wait until I sort out these stupid straps.

Agh!

..I'll do it.

'Luckily, I'm roped into the wall, as I always am.

'Dad sorts out the problem.

'But that's one bedtime I won't be forgetting in a hurry.'

-BIRDS CALL

-'I'm awake at the crack of dawn.

'I don't think I've ever seen dawn before.

'But after last night's portaledge incident,

'I'm just happy to be here.'

Time for school.

No, it's not.

MUSIC: "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye ft. Kimbra

'When you're climbing big walls, you have to get used to early starts.

'I am trying, but it's just gone 7.30am, and it's hot already.'

Oh, I'm not enjoying this.

'It isn't just a sheer wall I'm climbing.

'The whole wall overhangs, which means, sometimes,

'I'm just floating in space.'

It's too early in the morning to be doing th...

'The hotter it is, the more water we have to drink,

'and we have a limited supply of water.

'Running out would be really dangerous.

'And that isn't the only danger.

'Loose rocks can fall off the wall,

'so I wear a helmet when I'm climbing.'

I think it's at times like this when you start thinking,

"Was it a good idea?" really, but she'll get up this bit.

It just might take longer than you'd like, really.

You're doing well, Ella. Are you OK?

-Mm-hmm!

-Have you still got a sense of humour?

'I've finished the second pitch of the day,

'but Dad's having some problems.'

Dad, you've really tangled the rope.

'He's somehow managed to twist his rope

'around the bags he's pulling up,

'and, if he doesn't untangle it we're going to grind to a halt.

'To fix it, he has to swing out and around.

'Rather him than me.'

Whoo!

'The heat is unreal.

'The rock is like a radiator, and there's no shade on this wall,

'but I have to keep climbing.'

A-whoo-hoo.

Well, this is fun(!)

Yeah.

'Dad's not the only one to get his ropes tangled.

'Now I've got mine tangled too.'

This is really hurting.

Is that the strap round your neck?

Yeah, it's really digging in.

'A tangled rope can cause injury,

'but mostly they just slow you down until you sort it out,

'and, at this height, the only one who can sort it out is me.'

So annoying.

Everything's tangled, and ugh...

and I'm pulling things and they're not doing anything. So annoying.

Whoops.

Aah.

-Good job you're not scared of heights, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Do you think being scared of heights is genetic?

-Maybe.

'We haven't yet reached our planned camp for the night.

'The whole team is exhausted, but we have to keep climbing.

'I don't mind so much - it's much cooler at night.'

# Your walls are up

# Too cold to touch, yeah

# Your walls are up, are up

# Too high to climb... #

So we've done what we usually try to avoid doing,

is hauling your bags up and setting off in the dark,

but...it was kind of, we had to push it a little bit to get to the top.

Go.

Think of it as motivation.

We'll do 20.

3, 2, 1, go.

'Throughout the day on the wall we just eat snacks,

'but at night we have our meal,

'and tonight Paul and Aldo were the chefs.

'On the menu is a wrap with tuna and cream cheese

'and some curry couscous.

'It may seem like an odd combination

'but when it's your only meal of the day, it goes down well.'

Ow, got indigestion from eating too fast.

Thank you, Paul and Aldo, you made my day.

# Holiday, oh, holiday The best one of the year... #

'I'm really starting to struggle with these early-morning starts.'

Harder getting up this morning.

She's very...

Really quite tired, so we had to like feed her bagels in bed.

But she's waking up now, we've had some music on.

'It's day three of the climb and we are now too far up to go back down.

'We have to make it to the top.'

Yeah, big wall climbing just seems to be a lot of work, really hard.

But, hey, if it was easy, everyone would be up here.

'And we only have two days' water left, so there's no time to waste.'

We've got to get up as many pitches as we can.

We've got eight climbing pitches.

The last one's a big, long scramble.

I'm spraying everyone because everyone smells.

And it's not nice.

'These have been the most exhausting days of my life.

'I'm doing 1,000 pull-ups a day,

'I'm burning more calories than I'm eating,

'and I'm not getting enough sleep.

'But we can't fall behind schedule.'

So I feel really, really, really tired...

SHE YAWNS

..and try and sort of sleep but um...

..I think on a scale of nought to ten, I'm definitely ten,

I'm like so tired.

-Ella, I had a bit of an emotional moment yesterday.

-Did you?

-You know when you were dumaring up?

-Mm-hmm.

Didn't want to put your new chest harness on

-because you were complaining?

-Mm-hmm.

I was like really... I was really amazed how tough you are.

Doing well, Ella.

It's harder than it looks, seriously.

'At times like this, the thing that keeps me going

'is the thought of my friends rooting for me back home.'

I've not seen that picture. Wow.

I would really love to do this, but I probably won't.

I'm really scared of it.

She'd been practising like every day.

For ages we would go to the park and she couldn't come

so I'm sure she's pretty good at it now, like really good at climbing.

Aw, Ella.

One more pitch in, yeah?

Yeah, I'm not letting you haul me up, that's just pathetic.

I had a mini emotional moment when I was like really sad,

because I dropped my iPod, which was sad.

It's been a really hard day.

It's not that it's tiring, but everything rubs and everything hurts

and so your leg loops are rubbing and your ankle things are rubbing,

and your...chest thing's rubbing on your neck and your...

Everything's rubbing, your trousers are falling down,

your sleeves are getting in the way and your helmet's itchy,

and so's your hair and your back and your knees.

Your knee pads are all sweaty so you have sweaty...

Ugh, it's just horrible. It's not nice.

It may look easy, but it's really not. It's horrible.

'It's day number four, and hopefully the last.

'There's no sign of it being any cooler, and we're close to the top,

'but it will still take a full day of tough climbing to make it.'

So you've got two more pitches to go. Have you got it in you?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Yeah.

'I'm really sore and this is one of the longest pitches of the climb.

'I'll try anything to take my mind off all my aches and pains.'

-Right, could we play a game then?

-Yeah, go on.

-A word association game. Right, you say a word.

-Yeah.

And I say a word and every time I say a word

-I have to jug up one thing.

-Er...

You can't repeat the word.

Atlantis.

Film.

Star Wars.

Jediism.

'It's not working!'

-Ella.

-Yeah.

What are you going to do when you get on the top?

Er...fall asleep.

-Why don't you sing a song?

-I don't want to sing a song.

# I like to move it, move it I like to move it, move it

# I like to move it, move it I like to...

# Move it. #

'Yeah. Thanks, Dad.'

What will it take to get you to the top?

I want some escalators.

I haven't got one of those.

'But the end is in sight,

'and after four days and 13 pitches

'there's only one more rope length between me and success.

'I've got to make it.'

It's not very far, size of your house to give up now.

Neee, wake up, come on. We're nearly there, we're nearly there.

-Come on. Come on.

-OK.

When you're at the top, you can have pizzas.

There's a cafe at the top.

Stop saying that! I knew you were going to say that.

That's what Grandad says.

'I know there's no cafe at the top.

'There's only 70 more metres of climbing

'until I get to see it for real.'

Dad, can I free-climb this last pitch?

You couldn't talk a few seconds ago!

Where have you got the energy from?

Well, no, cos dumaring takes more effort.

OK, I'll belay you up, over.

'So far, I've done over 3,500 pull ups

'and my arms are really hurting from all the effort.

'But I really want to try and finish as strongly as I can.

'I'm going to attempt to free-climb this last pitch.

'This means using just my hands and feet to scale the rock.

'I'm still clipped into Dad via the rope, just in case.'

# Cos baby, you're a firework

# Come on, show 'em what you're worth

# Make 'em go "Ah, ah, ah"

# As you shoot across the sky... #

'It has been epic!

'It's been worth every amazing view and every tangled rope,

'every early morning and every late night,

'every pull-up and every scraped knee.'

Ugh.

Come along, it's like climbing on the edge of the world.

'At the start of this journey,

'I didn't know which way things would work out.

'But now I do, because I'm about to make it to the top of El Capitan.'

# Cos, baby, you're a firework

# Come on, show 'em what you're worth... #

Remind me never to do that again with any other of my children.

Ella was fantastic on the wall. Really good.

I mean, I'm struggling at 34 to get up there

but Ella seemed to take it all in her stride

so I don't know if that's the start of things to come.

I never really actually thought about us actually getting to the top.

I just thought about us trying to do it.

Um...it always seems like so far away getting to the top

and then all of a sudden you're there.

Give me five.

Ow!

'I'm Ella.

'I'm 13 years, ten months and eight days old

'and I'm now the youngest girl ever to climb El Capitan.

'Oh, yeah. Thanks, Dad.'

# Cos, baby, you're a firework

# Come on, show 'em what you're worth

# Make 'em go "Ah, ah, ah"

# As you shoot across the sky... #

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd