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 1,000 feet (300 m) 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.
In 2004, Davis became the second woman to free climb El Capitan in one day. One year later, in October 2005, she became the first woman to free climb the Salathé Wall, on El Capitan, The route is rated 5.13b/c, is 35 pitches, and approximately 3,200 feet (980 m) long. The difficulty of the climb can be described as "spidering up the side of a skyscraper, climbing to [handholds] no bigger than lentils". What makes Davis' achievement even more impressive is that she free climbed the route, meaning that she used only her hands and feet to climb the rock; she did not hang off the rope or any other mechanical aids. Davis worked on the route throughout September, learning every inch of the climb and meeting Cybele Blood, who became her belayer. Davis had initially planned for the climb to take five days and had cached water and food along the route for that length of the time, but poor weather, high numbers of climbers on the route and difficult climbing made the climb take eleven days. In fact, Davis wore only light climbing shoes, climbing tights, long underwear, and a light wind jacket. The only other gear she had was climbing gear, a lightweight sleeping bag, a portable espresso maker, water and food. When the two ran low on food and water, Blood went looking for the cached supplies but couldn't find them, so Davis "jugged" to the top to get some water and then returned to the route to continue the free climb. This climb was Davis' "dream come true" and afterwards she said "I don't have to prove anything to myself anymore, or to anyone else."