In 2004, Davis started working on Freerider (5.12d), a 38-pitch climb on El Capitan. Her aim was to free climb the route. In order to be able to achieve this in one climb, she had to know the route through and through, so she practiced it extensively. Two to three times a week, she would hike 10 miles to the summit, rope solo to the lower parts of the route and climb up alone. Potter belayed her, during her actual attempt in April 2004. After a grueling four-day climb, she became the first woman to free climb the route. In May, with the assistance of Heinz Zak, she became the second woman, after Lynn Hill, to execute a one-day free climb of El Capitan.