Brian “Coiler” Kay was one of the original Stone Monkeys. When I first met him, in the early 1990s, he was living in a cave behind Camp 4, putting up big-wall first ascents on Yosemite’s more obscure cliffs. If you have a slanderous Valley nickname, Coiler probably gave it to you. He also popularized the Stone Monkey moniker and even gave us our call — basically, a loud Ooouugh!, like a monkey.

Perhaps no one has a louder Monkey call (and more Monkey spirit) than Ammon McNeely, the “El Cap Pirate.” In 1997, he stumbled up to El Cap with a dream to solo it but no real clue about logistics. Below the cliff, Ammon met Chongo, who taught him to haul efficiently and loaned some crucial gear (e.g., bivy sack and a two-point hammock). Ammon went on to a hugely successful El Cap career, with the first in-a-day ascents of routes like Zenyatta Mondatta (VI 5.7 A4) and the first single-push ascent of Reticent Wall (VI 5.7 A5).