Also in This Area The Forbidden Wall For a long time, the
Diamond's sinister appearance made climbing it nearly
unthinkable. Almost a hundred years passed between the first
recorded ascent of the mountain and the first ascent of this
wall. In the 1950s steel pitons, efficient direct-aid techniques
and a fierce new core of climbers led to the first ascents of
Half Dome and El Cap. Colorado's big wall was the Diamond, and
soon aspirants from all over the country were eyeing it. While
not as big as some of Yosemite's walls, its weather and altitude
made it much more daunting. In 1953 Tom Hornbein and John
Rensberger traversed out high on the Diamond looking for an
obvious line, but found only a lot of space. A year later Dale
Johnson, one of Colorado's leading climbers, was prepared to
attempt the Diamond, but as he said afterward, "We did one of
the dumbest things I have ever done in my life: we told [the
park officials] what we were going to do. And the Longs Peak
rangers said in words to this effect: 'Like He