Local Student Attempts Record Climb

LOCAL STUDENT ATTEMPTS RECORD CLIMB

Jess Rollins
Springfield News-Leader
June 17, 2009

A Springfield elementary student took a shot at being the youngest person ever to climb the largest single piece of granite in the world.

Grant Frisbie, 11 , climbed more than 1,000 feet up the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park before high winds turned him and his father back.

“We decided it was getting a little dangerous,” said Clay Frisbie, 50.

He estimated the wind speed at nearly 50 mph.

Grant said he was only “kinda” scared because the wind was causing him to “turn around in the rope” when dangling from the sheer rock face.

Grant, who is on summer break from Cowden Elementary School, and his father set out to California on Friday to break the record for the youngest climber to scale the more than 3,500-foot-tall rock.

The youngest person to climb El Capitan is Scott Cory, according to Guinness World Records. Scott scaled El Capitan on Sept. 9, 2001, at the age 11 years, 110 days.

If Grant had successfully reached the top of the rock, he would have beaten the record by 28 days at the age of 11 years, 82 days.

After two days of climbing — and one night of sleeping while suspended from the rock face — the father-and-son team decided to rappel down.

“I didn’t know he had that much strength inside him,” Frisbie said of his son.

Grant said he was disappointed about having to turn back, but he is excited to try it again someday, even if it’s just for fun.

Frisbie, who said he has climbed El Capitan about 20 times, was surprised at his son’s ability and determination.

“There aren’t any kids up there,” he said.

Frisbie said they would stay in Yosemite until next weekend, adding that the trip was an “awesome” Father’s Day present.

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