No 1-day Climb, but Paraplegic Scales El Capitan by Aaron Williams Modesto Bee - July 26, 2000 YOSEMITE -- Halfway up El Capitan, Trooper Johnson realized he wasn't going to achieve his goal of ascending it in 24 hours. Though it took 14 1/2 hours longer than expected, the paraplegic climber and his partners called the journey up the 3,000-foot Yosemite peak Thursday and Friday a success. "At the 24-hour mark, we figured we could summit in about 30 hours," the 36-year-old Johnson said Tuesday. Then, a short distance from the top, Johnson, Scott Stowe and Dave Bengston ran into a pair of international climbers who, Johnson said, seemed reluctant to let the trio pass by. "We still have no idea why they didn't let us by," he said. "They gave a couple of indications they'd let us pass." Johnson said each time they got close, the two climbers started ascending another pitch, in effect cutting them off. "There's a rule on the mountain that says if someone is ahead of you, they have to give their permission for you to pass them," said Jay Rosenthal, Johnson's father-in-law. "It's not good climbing etiquette to argue. So you just bite your lip and wait." Johnson, of San Leandro, scaled El Capitan to raise money and awareness for a renovation project at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he is director of wheelchair sports. As of Tuesday, Johnson said he had received more than $18,000 in donations and about $40,000 in overall pledges. It was his second ascent of El Capitan, using a harness to pull himself up, nine inches at a time. In his first ascent, he reached the peak in four days. Stowe, an instructor at the Yosemite Mountaineering School, said an expert climber can summit in less than a day, while an able-bodied climber with modest skills can do it in about four days. "What he did, scaling El Capitan in 38 hours, is quite a remarkable accomplishment," Rosenthal said. Johnson and his partners reached the summit at 5:32 Saturday morning. "We reached the top, watched a gorgeous sunrise and then passed out," he said. When the trio woke, they still faced several more hours in their already protracted adventure. With no food and just a little water, Johnson had to navigate a 2 1/2-mile-long trail -- without use of his wheelchair -- to a place where he and his mates could rappel off the mountain. "I was either scooting on my butt, being carried piggyback by Scott or crawling," Johnson said. Johnson does not discount another try at a 24-hour summit attempt, but said his main focus for now is to gear up for the Paralympics, in which he will compete in wheelchair basketball. "I'd love to get back up on that rock," he said. "I've already set that goal for myself."