Oldest person to climb El Capitan (female)

The oldest woman to climb El Capitan is Dierdre Wolownick (USA, b. 23 September 1951), who made the ascent in Yosemite National Park, California, USA, on the day of her 70th birthday, 23 September 2021.

El Capitan is an approximately 3,000-ft (914-m) granite monolith – 7,573 ft (2,308 m) above sea level – in Yosemite National Park that has long been a popular challenge among rock climbers from both the USA and the rest of the world. It was first successfully ascended by Wayne Merry, Warren Harding and George Whitmore on 12 November 1958 after a 12-day ascent.

A language teacher, artist and writer, Dierdre only took up climbing at the age of 60, as a way to spend more time with her son, who happens to be one of El Cap’s most legendary alumni: Alex Honnold (USA). He became the first person to “free solo” (i.e., climb without any ropes) it, topping “the Nose” (El Cap’s most popular climbing route) on 3 June 2017. Not long after this feat, Alex guided his mum up on 31 October 2017; aged 66 at the time, that already made her the oldest woman to have summitted El Capitan, before she returned four years later to tackle it again at a more leisurely pace with friends.

Dierdre’s passion for rock climbing (including her ascents of El Cap) is explored in her 2019 biography The Sharp End of Life and also the award-winning documentary film Climbing Into Life (2023).

The oldest person overall to have climbed El Cap to date is believed to be Gerry Bloch (USA) who at the age of 81 ascended the monolith over a period of 10 days between 13 and 23 May 1999. At the time, he was surpassing his own record having previously scaled it at the age of 68.