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Scott Cory Reaches Sky-High Goal
By Annie O’Gorman

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA—His friends call him Spiderboy. Scott Cory, 11, became the youngest member of the United States Youth Climbing Team when he was only 8. Last month he became the youngest climber to scale The Nose.

The Nose is a popular climbing route on El Capitan in Yosemite (yo-SEM-ih-tee) National Park. Junior climbing star Tori Allen, 13, and two others climbed with Scott. It took them three days.

In climbing, strength is important. Scott practices on an indoor climbing wall at his home. He can do 10 single-finger pull-ups. Scott’s favorite expression is “one more time.”

Two days after Scott climbed The Nose, the September 11 attacks happened. He decided to go back to the mountain “one more time.” Only this time, he said he would climb its 3,000 feet in one day. The mountain is about the same height as the combined World Trade Center towers.

Scott called it the Climb for Freedom. Two adults climbed with him. He hoped to raise $100,000 for the kids of firefighters and police officers lost in the attacks.

People waved American flags to cheer on the climbers. It took the group 13 hours and 40 minutes to reach the top. They packed lightly to climb more quickly.
 
"When we got to the top, we were all out of water," said Scott. "All I could think about was taking a shower, eating dinner, and getting a good night's sleep. I was really tired and really sore. But it was worth it."