The Color of Life

"During 21 days, I was living on the wall and suffering the bad, bad weather," Vidal wrote in an email. (The "bad, bad weather" comprised 12 days of snow.) Still, Vidal climbed daily as much as she could until "my hands and my head said stop," except for one full day (and countless hours of the others) trapped inside her portaledge, where things started to get a bit loopy. "[That's when] the crazy thoughts came to me," she said. "I was trying to imagine which was life's color. And for me, at this moment it was lilac." Hence, the route's name.

Vidal carried no radio or phone, and was so laden down with gear and haulbags that the approach to the wall's base from her advanced basecamp took 2.5 hours each time. Vidal stands 5'2" and weighs 95 pounds; she carried two full A5 Grade VII haulbags, 50kg of food and water, a full rack, 280 meters of fixing rope, a dynamic lead cord, and one haul line for Life is Lilac. Vidal recommends that repeat parties bring rivet hangers. 

You talked about the moments of craziness up there, being alone on Life is Lilac - were there also moments of black?
Lilac was the main color, and the rest of the colors were also there but with less intensity. Sometimes it was lilac with black dots, and only during the rappels, the dots were really big.

Describe the "craziness."
When you are alone and in silence for a long time, deep feelings start to appear. Because of the silence, you are able to hear many things. Nothing annoys you.

I don't know where my mind goes. It's just that it goes, but always returns. So that's no craziness.

Did you have any companions?
This time I took Setis, a plush beetle that a good friend made for me and gave as a present for the expedition. Usually, I don't have something as a lucky amulet. 

How do you fund these trips?
During the year, I do slideshows. And if I need more money, I work with windmills -- installing the wire cable for security, inside the windmills. I get a little money from my sponsors. But one month before leaving, I had problems with some of my sponsors and they dismissed me. So I didn't get money for the Shipton trip. I paid for everything myself.

Does the fear ever go away on a solo wall?
Fear is always present, but never panic. You need to deal with fear all the time. Sometimes it's more present, sometimes it seems it's not there, but it's, like, colors and dots. How to reduce the dots -- that's the story.

What color is life now that you're back home?
Still lilac.