Widow's Tears, an ice formation in Yosemite Valley that rarely occurs, was free-soloed by Vitaliy Musiyenko on New Year's Day. He was the first documented person to send the route without a climbing partner.
The 1,000-foot root is graded a WI5 on the Alpine Ice grading system. It features long, full rope-length 90 degree pitch, and patches of thin ice.
Musiyenko's feat was matched a day later by an unidentified "Valley local," and several other teams have sent the route this month.
Vitaliy Musiyenko Soloing Widow's Tears in Yosemite National Park from Alpinist Magazine on Vimeo.
"I attempted the Widow's Tears three years ago," Musiyenko told Climbing Magazine. "My more experienced partner started leading but backed off, leaving a screw about 50 feet up in the only good ice. Giant bummer, but it led to Widow's Tears becoming a dream route for me."
Widow's Tears is the longest continuous ice climb in the lower 48, according to Rock and Ice, and it is also one of the Yosemite's first falls to dry up. In order for it to be climbable, enough water must be falling while a strong high-pressure system moves in and drops temperatures rapidly.
"Soloing it was something I dreamed about but didn't think it was going to happen ... I have a few friends who said they would skip work to climb it if it formed," Musiyenko said.
When the ice finally formed in late December, Musiyenko took time off but couldn't find a partner. He drove from San Francisco, where he works as a registered nurse, to the Yosemite Valley to check it out.
"My plan was to hike in the gear to the base and check on the trail and ice condition," said Musiyenko. "I was at the base, feeling calm and confident. I set a song I like on repeat, placed a headphone into one ear, and started climbing. I brought no rope or belay device, just a few screws and a few slings in case of an emergency and a cell phone. I onsighted the whole route without knowing anything about the conditions and did not hang on any screws."
With the exception of an ice chunk that came loose and fell, cutting Musiyenko's badly, the ascent went smoothly. "I didn't want the climb to be over and took a steeper and longer option," he said to the Alpinist. "I took like 100 photos, enjoyed the views, took a more direct finish than the roped parties the day before, and made sure to take long rests between sustained sections. All I wanted was to climb the route! If there was a party at the base willing to climb roped with me, I'd probably have roped up with them."
