Mayan Smith-Gobat (born 1979) is a professional big-wall climber from New Zealand and, as of 2019, held the record for fastest all-female team ascent of El Capitan's The Nose in Yosemite, California at four hours and forty three minutes.
[6] Later, she described the experience as "900m of air under my feet and only one single flared crack splitting the sheer overhung granite wall.
"[7] Smith-Gobat became interested in attempting to break the women's record for climbing speed on The Nose after hearing how slow the old one was.
[9] Smith-Gobat also broke the mixed-gender record for The Nose, finishing it in three hours and 29 minutes with partner Sean Leary.
[10] By the end of 2012, between Salathé, a FFA of Australia's iconic Punks in the Gym (8b+) in October, 2012 and the Yosemite speed records, Planet Mountain would describe Smith-Gobat as "certainly one of the world's leading rock climbers.
Smith-Gobat noted that they had to work both on developing trust and communication and to learn a different style of climbing that emphasized speed over safety.
"[12] She noted that "the main difference between us and the guys who are climbing it in 2:30, is that they simulclimb more of the upper half of the route, where we are short-fixing more to keep it within the safety margin we are happy with.
Several key pitches are nearly always encased in ice, and the route, crusted with unstable rock, requires strength in a variety of styles, including crack, roof and face.
[13] Wolfgang Güllich and Kurt Albert put up Riders on the Storm over the winter of 1990/1991 using a mixed aid climbing technique.
While the first free ascent of Riders is considered a "plum objective throughout the big wall climbing world," according to PlanetMountain , the region's notoriously bad weather and the allure of more popular routes nearby at Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, limited the number of attempts.
[13] After summit day, with deteriorating weather and 110 mph winds in the forecast, the team resolved to try to complete the remaining four pitches they had yet to free climb.
"[13] Smith-Gobat recruited a new partner for the second attempt, up-and-coming climber Brette Harrington, who, at 25 years old, was making a name for herself with trad and free soloing accomplishments.
[14] Each morning they would wake at 3am, hoping for a break in the weather, only to encounter punishingly high winds, ice covered slabs, and wet rock.
"[19] Despite falling short of the goal, Harrington and Smith-Gobat free climbed two of the four remaining pitches[14] and felt that, even with the poor weather, they had been very close on a third.