Ella on El Cap

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog, which is a shame as there’s been a lot to write about (no time to mention Karen’s silver medal in the Paralympics).

I’m in Yosemite with my 13-year-old daughter Ella, about to climb El Cap via Tangerine Trip. We’re making a TV programme for CBBC (the kids’ arm of the BBC) for a series called My Life, where kids go through a rite of passage or overcome something difficult. I guess climbing El Cap at 13 counts.

Because it’s for TV there’s a lot of hanging around: waiting for people, waiting for kit, waiting for permits (we can only climb on weekdays). Ella has been chomping at the bit. I keep telling her she’s not on holiday. This is work. The BBC covered our flights, and those of Aldo and Paul, who we’re climbing with, along with Ben Pritchard on camera.

For years Ella and Ewen used to come to my talks and people would ask, “When will you take your kids up El Cap?” I’d reply, “Not until they’re at least 13.” The youngest girl to climb El Cap was 13. When Ella hit 13 it became, “Right Dad, when are we going?”

It hasn’t been an easy decision, for me or especially for Ella’s mum. But over the last year it’s been Ella pushing to go, not me. The funny thing is that last night, sat having pizza, someone told a story about a guy letting his 13-year-old ski with a broken shoulder and I thought, “What a bad parent!” Only to suddenly realise what we were about to do.

What’s surprised me most is how powerful it is to spend this much time with someone you thought you knew better than anyone else, and still be dazzled by new sides of them. Watching her grow day by day in such an intense place. I’ve lost count of how many times she’s made me laugh, or rethink my own views of her or the world, or filled me with pride at strengths I didn’t know she had. I also know she sees me here at my best, in a place I thrive, and at my worst, because climbs like this never go to plan, and my disappointment would be nothing compared to hers.

You can follow Ella’s progress at Blogspot (we should start on Monday).