Yosemite’s Ultimate Challenge: 3 Peaks, 1 Day | Tuolumne Triple GoPro POV

3 peaks. 1 day. 15+ hours of nonstop climbing. This is the story of my Tuolumne Triple — the hardest and most rewarding day I’ve ever had in the mountains.

For those who don’t know, the Triple links three iconic Yosemite climbs in one continuous push:
• Tenaya Peak (5.5, 1,500 ft)
• Matthes Crest (5.7, ~1 mile of ridgeline climbing)
• Cathedral Peak (5.6, 700 ft)

It’s a massive linkup — thousands of feet of climbing, long approaches, and a full day on your feet. Many compare the energy output to an ultra marathon.

I first heard about the Triple when climbing Cathedral with my dad a couple years ago. At the time, I thought people were crazy for wanting to do it. But as I kept climbing, that disbelief slowly turned into curiosity… and eventually, a dream. Two years later, the chance to attempt it came up randomly when conditions lined up perfectly. Even though I wasn’t sure I was mentally or physically strong enough, I committed. My motto for the day became: “do it scared” — I was nervous I would fail, but I couldn’t let self-doubt get in the way of fulfilling a dream of mine.

Our day, play by play
• 5:10am: Left the car, hiking by headlamp.
• 5:50am: Started climbing Tenaya Peak.
• ~1.5 hours: Summited Tenaya, then moved toward Matthes.
• Matthes Crest: Took nearly 5x longer than we expected (the North Ridge was harder than anticipated).
• 5:00pm: Finished Matthes and pushed toward Cathedral.
• Cathedral Peak: Started tired, but after refilling water at a stream (and popping Advil), I found a new flow. We climbed it in about 1.5 hours, part of it in the dark.
• 8:30pm: Topped out Cathedral, finishing the Triple after more than 15 hours of nonstop movement.

This was the most physically strenuous day of my life. My body was wrecked afterward, but in the best possible way. I was amazed by the positivity of our group, impressed by what our bodies could handle, and proud of myself for not letting doubt stop me. While I’m not sure I’ll ever do the Triple again, it gave me more confidence to chase my next big objective.

Fun note: Ender and I had climbed all of these peaks individually before, but never linked them. Doing them all in one push was a whole different experience.

To the community
• Have you ever tried the Tuolumne Triple? Share your story — I’d love to hear how your experience compared!
• If you haven’t — what’s your next big objective you’re chasing? Or better yet, what would you recommend mine be?

This truly felt like flying through the heart of Yosemite in a single day, and it’s one I’ll never forget.

#Climbing #Tuolumne #TuolumneTriple #YosemiteClimbing #TenayaPeak #MatthesCrest #CathedralPeak #MultiPitchClimbing #AlpineClimbing #EnduranceClimbing #AdventureClimb #EpicDay #DoItScared #ClimbingLife