MOSS

Will Moss interviewed by Aidan Lyons

Aidan Lyons: At the top of your lead rope solo on China Doll, you yelled and celebrated. Could you describe your feelings from that moment?

Will Moss: Yeah. I mean, I was very psyched to have done that. It was mainly just a training goal for Yosemite, and I thought that if I was able to do that, then I'd have a pretty good shot at Free Rider. So yeah, I was just like to be feeling fit enough to do the climb, and obviously sucked to have completed a world's first 5.14 trad lead rope solo, even though it's a little niche.

AL: Were there any moments during Free Rider when you thought the flash might not happen?

WM: There was one moment on the boulder problem where I bumped into the left hand pinch that my body kind of fell away from the wall, and I was a little unsure for a second. But other than that, it all felt pretty chill. Was there a feeling of relief getting through the Karate Kick? Yeah, for sure. Before the Karate Kick, Stew and I were at the base of the problem, and we said that even if I flashed the boulder there was a lot of climbing left to do, and no need to celebrate. But once I got through the boulder, I immediately started screaming, and was so psyched, and called my friend who was watching and screaming from the Valley. Even though I had to climb a bunch after it, it was a great moment.

AL: Did you ever question your level of confidence when teaching yourself to lead rope solo right before your ascent of China Doll?

WM: A little bit, yeah. I guess I learned to lead rope solo that day, but I watched a YouTube video. So, you know, I couldn't have been that oblivious. But, yeah, it mostly just had to do with my confidence of feeling on the climb China Doll itself, because I had done a lot of TR soloing on that to prepare for granite tech in general. So then just taking it one step further, and dealing with this new form of belaying myself didn't seem that extreme because it was a climb I had super dialed.

AL: What does it feel like to be a part of climbing history?

WM: I don't know if I care too much about that, honestly. I mean, I guess it's psyched to do world firsts, but at the end of the day, I kind of just like to go for the goals that seem the most fun for me, and I'm mostly just experience chasing.

AL: What goals do you have for the near future?

WM: I want to try and free El Cap routes in a day that haven't been freed in a day before. I want to free Triple Direct in a day. I want to free the original South Dihedral variation in a day. Because, as I said, I just want to chase the best experiences in climbing, and that many amazing pitches on El Cap in a day is the best experience, in my opinion, that I can have with climbing.