Free climbing el cap It was first climbed in 1958, and free-climbed in 1993. El Capitan: an obsession. ) Tempest (Nailing! Heads up climbing! Beaks, baby, BEAKS!) Mar 14, 2016 · The route is in-fact a variation on the super-classic Salathe Wall, which avoids the Salathe Headwall and the need to have exceptional crack climbing abilities to climb free. Over the past month, a dream team assembled in Feb 14, 2025 · Berthe and Kentzel left the ground at 5 am on Jan. Today, National Geographic broke the story that Alex Honnold, the best free soloist in the world, climbed El Capitan via Freerider (5. Mar 1, 2019 · And the film that chronicled his historic climb captured an Academy Award on Feb. Originally climbed as an easier variation of Salathé Wall, avoiding the hard crack pitches on the headwall, Freerider is now one of the most popular free routes on El Capitan. Jun 4, 2017 · We all knew free soloing El Capitan had been on his mind since the beginning of his climbing career; we just never knew when or even if this crazy idea might ever become a reality. 9) At the top of Hollow Flake, he stopped to take off his shoes and rub his feet before continuing quickly up the 3 pitches to the start of the difficult and strenuous Nov 26, 2024 · Zangerl has set a new bench-mark in big wall climbing, with her no-falls ascent, while her climbing partner Jacopo Larcher came agonisingly close to also flashing the route, with just one fall on the boulder crux. 11 AND A3 pitch on this route) and beaks, beaks, beaks!! The crux pitch is one of the best pitches I’ve ever led on El Cap. He’d freed pitches up to the top of El Cap Tower and called it Passage to Freedom. ” Nonetheless, the East Buttress of El Cap is one of the most classic multi-pitches in the Valley. Oct 23, 2017 · For big-wall climbers, El Capitan in Yosemite National Park is the most famous piece of rock on Earth. “I want to spend half my time bouldering Learn to climb 5. Tell us about your first encounters with the route, back in 2019: Jun 12, 2024 · Yosemite Valley and its famous El Capitan have long been at the centre of the rock climbing universe. To the naked eye gazing up at El Cap from the valley below, humans hanging from the face appear virtually Jan 14, 2015 · In 1988, Todd Skinner and Paul Piana became the first to free climb El Cap via one of its major routes: the Salathé Wall. Honnold applied himself obsessively to solving the problem of climbing El Cap, rehearsing crux sections, such as the Boulder Problem, countless times with a rope before committing to the free solo. Honnold attributed his relatively Alex Honnold climbs to the top of El Capitan without ropes. Late on November 4, Emily Harrington climbed over the lip of El Capitan (Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La) in the dark; she’d free climbed all 41 pitches of Golden Gate (5. The climber is the first person to reach the top of Yosemite’s 3,000-foot El The route follows complex crack systems up the southwest face of El Capitan. Immerse yourself in the experience of free solo climbing Yosemite’s famous El Capitan alongside Alex Honnold in this breathtaking 360 video. Nov 24, 2024 · That’s pretty much what free soloing El Cap is like. The hauling on the last seven pitches is bad and punishes parties that bring too much. Jul 1, 2022 · Selected El Cap Free Climbing History. Has anyone free soloed El Cap since Alex Honnold? A few dozen men have “free-climbed” El Capitan, but only three – Tommy Caldwell, Honnold and the late Brad Gobright – have gone up the route Harrington achieved, known as Golden Gate. 13s on Fifi Buttress, the 5. A year later, Hill returned to free climb The Nose in a day, this time reaching the summit in just 23 hours and setting a new standard for free climbing on El Capitan. 12+/5. It’s the highest free solo climb ever made. it is off on the far flank and isn't considered a "real" El Cap route. 13- crux. Often referred to as the "best rock climb in the world" it is obvious why this route is one of the most sought after big walls in the valley and the Aug 15, 2022 · El Capitan, Yosemite. However, in recent years, the gigantic rock formation has found its way into the general public's consciousness thanks, in part, to free soloist Alex Honnold's incredible 2017 ascent of the Freerider route and the resulting film, 2018's Free Solo, which became a global sensation and won the Oct 3, 2018 · Watch Alex Honnold's journey toward his rope-free climb of the world's most famous rock wall—Yosemite National Park's El Capitan—in Free Solo, a stunning, intimate, unfliching film by E. Martin and I are free climbers. 1975: Jim Bridwell, John Long, Kevin Worrall, Mike Graham, John Bachar and Ron Kauk free the first 10 pitches of the Salathé Wall and name their “route” Freeblast 5. We had no intention of free climbing the Muir Wall. May 19, 2025 · His father, who has climbed five El Cap aid routes, belayed him on Lurking Fear and taught him the necessary big wall systems. In the past I’ve equated the possibility of this climb to the moon landing of Nov 20, 2024 · Houlding on the E9 Beauty pitch on The Prophet, El Cap, 2010. 13b. He made the ascent up the 3,000-foot vertical wall in June 2017 without any ropes. 12b Crucifix on Higher Cathedral Rock, and the 5. Moss traveled to Yosemite in early 2023 with his dad to try the flash, but the route was soaking wet. Now that Vidi has made the decision to leave competition climbing behind, he’s eager to free more El Cap routes. Free Soloing is the act of climbing without any rope, harness, or safety equipment. Jun 19, 2023 · The East Buttress is considered the easiest free route up El Capitan, although it climbs one of the shorter walls, it still gives you an amazing opportunity to experience the face and to descend the legendary East Ledges. Just below El Cap Tower the possible free route traversed 30 feet on what Jardine hoped would be 5. Dec 6, 2024 · Austrian powerhouse Barbara “Babsi” Zangerl has stunned the climbing world, becoming the first person in history to successfully flash a route on El Capitan. Mar 20, 2025 · About climbing with Caldwell, Herson says, “He looks incredibly comfortable and completely in his element up there. The agency said Jason Wells, 46, of . Nov 10, 2020 · Emily Harrington Free-Climbs Yosemite's El Capitan In 1 Day She made her way into the record books last week after becoming the first woman to climb the Golden Gate route of El Capitan in Yosemite Jun 8, 2017 · Alex Honnold became the first person to free solo El Capitan via the Freerider route (VI 5. OK, now that that’s settled…. Honnold and climbing With California’s Yosemite Valley far beneath him, Alex Honnold free solos— which means climbing without ropes or safety gear—up a crack on the 3,000-foot southwest face of El Capitan. Aug 25, 2020 · Samuel Crossley has made his film Free As Can Be available online until Friday. 12d. The route’s path to a free ascent required significant work. Nov 16, 2018 · That climb up El Capitan didn’t only bring innovation in gear, but author John Long says it also brought a new way of thinking about big-wall climbing. Lynn Hill was the first person to free climb the Big Stone in 1993, via The Nose (5. In 1994, Lynn changed the definition of what is possible in rock climbing with her first free ascent of the most famous big wall climb in the world called The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley Jun 3, 2018 · Two men climbing a granite rock wall known as El Capitan in Yosemite National Park fell to their deaths Saturday morning, the National Park Service said. The lower pitches are beautiful, exposed and straightforward, while the upper part of the route involves wandering, lower-angle free climbing of lesser quality. 6) to expert (5. That’s because it’s known for having a wide variety of classic pitches that clock in at a moderate grade, even for free climbing. 13 pitches on the Salathe Headwall with some 5. That week—the last days of May 1953 and the first days of June—was indeed a memorable time. org. The Nose route goes roughly up the center of the photo. Oct 3, 2018 · Alex Honnold climbs El Capitan without a rope or safety equipment, becoming the first person to free solo the route. Dec 27, 2024 · Herson told Outside that free climbing on El Capitan with Caldwell was the realization of a lifelong dream. After the Flake a few bolts lead to a decent-sized penji left to easy free climbing or C1 to the belay ledge. In November 2021 I freed El Corazón over the course of 13 days. Thanks! East Buttress will go at some point! Freerider on the other hand… A year later, Hill returned to free climb The Nose in a day, this time reaching the summit in just 23 hours and setting a new standard for free climbing on "El Cap. [13] Jun 7, 2017 · The Southwest face of El Capitan, as seen from the valley floor. Though that’s beginning to change—with parties freeing El Cap routes almost every week during peak season—unsupported, ground-up, one-day free ascents remain few and far between. 6 days ago · The whole time, Moss held a greater goal front of mind: flashing a route on El Cap. It’s harder Nov 23, 2020 · When Harrington free climbed the route for the first time in 2015, it took her six days to top out. 13+. Mar 22, 2024 · As we all know, Alex Honnold made history in June 2017 by free soloing Freerider—becoming the first (and only) person to free solo a grade VI route on El Capitan. 14) grades. This comes in several forms, from having the nerve to start the route in the first place (you or your partner may look for reasons not to begin), to wanting to go down on the first day when things are the hardest, to being intimidated by wind, heat or simply gravity. Look for the trail sign at the back left corner of the Camp 4 parking area. But none of that makes him faster than Ehman on The Nose, for whom yesterday brought an impressive tick. A granitic monolith of 914 meters from base to summit. This is not a review. Then, I had new goals on El Cap each season, to climb it faster, to free climb it, to do better on it. You're a superhuman freak if you can do that in two years. Then, on May 11a climber from Lake Tahoe named Brant Hysell tagged the Mar 1, 2018 · Watch Alex Honnold's journey toward his rope-free climb of the world's most famous rock wall—Yosemite National Park's El Capitan—in Free Solo, a stunning, intimate, unfliching film by E. 1 day ago · Free Rider is a 4-pitch variation to Salathe Wall. On Saturday, Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds scaled its most iconic route, the Nose, in 2:19: Jul 26, 2021 · Many news outlets claimed that she was the first woman ever to free-climb El Cap in a day; she’s the fourth. [Photo] Jon Glassberg, Louder Than 11. The incredible film follows Alex Honnold’s athleti Jul 29, 2023 · In reality, they never even considered it “climbing El Cap. May 24, 2024 · Honnold famously climbed El Cap’s Freerider route in 2017 alone and without a rope or harness, a previously unimaginable feat conveyed in the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo. 13a). 12d, and the climb from Free Solo, in case you’ve been under a rock since 2017). It’s certainly not a “big wall” El Cap climb. "It’s really like walking on the moon Nov 27, 2023 · On Monday, November 13, 2023, Sam Stroh climbed El Capitan’s El Corazón (5. Sep 4, 2020 · Alex Honnold climbing 3,000 foot up El Cap without a rope in “Free Solo” caught the world’s attention. Now, Alex Honnold has done the unthinkable; on June 3, he completed the first-ever free solo of El Capitan, climbing the wall via Freerider (VI, 5. If it is, do some basic aid climbing and then learn to haul. 11. 14a). Make sure to climb with someone who’s competent with the rope skills, the hauling, the wide climbing, and the basic logistics of big walling, but who also wants your success and shares your dream of flowing over the Big Stone. Nov 5, 2019 · The new all-free climb heads up a variation to Early Morning Light and New Dawn to the right of The Nose. Honnold rose to worldwide fame in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a full route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park (via the 2,900-foot route Freerider at 5. 14a has emerged for Changing Corners, pitch 27. By 2009, I was Jun 22, 2015 · Earle and Gobright’s free variation starts left of the Salathe Wall on the Slack pillar and then climbs difficult 5. The Salathe shares big swaths of El Cap with the Freerider (5. FREERIDER (12d/13a, 32 pitches) You've seen it in “Free Solo,” Honnold climbed it before breakfast, how hard can it be? Freerider on El Capitan follows much of the classic route The Salathe, but with a four-pitch variation that avoids the sustained 5. 9) At the top of Hollow Flake, he stopped to take off his shoes and rub his feet before continuing quickly up the 3 pitches to the start of the difficult and strenuous Dec 27, 2024 · Herson told Outside that free climbing on El Capitan with Caldwell was the realization of a lifelong dream. 11c. It’s one of the many amazing additions to El Capitan free climbing made by the Huber brothers and was first climbed in 1998. The free climbing variation left is super fast tension-to-bolts-to-easy-french-free or 5. Practice efficient climbing, hauling, changeovers, etc. 11c) of El Cap, and he and Tommy Caldwell free climbed the entire Dec 13, 2018 · Jimmy Chin is a professional climber, skier, mountaineer, 18-year member of The North Face Athlete Team and National Geographic Explorer. Big wall routes on El Capitan can be a mix of free and aid climbing, though free climbing certain routes, like The Nose, significantly increases their difficulty. It ascends the most prominent line of the most esteemed wall in the most iconic climbing destination in existence. TL;DR terms Aid climbing = Using gear in the actual climbing. Free-climbing El Cap is still very much “a Dec 17, 2024 · To free climb El Cap’s big-wall routes is a proud feat, undertaking difficulties of at least 5. 10, one of the finest long free climbs in the Valley. The Window Pane Flake is the feature that will help you find the Lurking Fear line when looking from the Bridalveil Falls straightway, either Andy Kirkpatrick is a world-famous climber and award-winning writer and film maker. “The last time I spent a decent chunk of time there was in 2010. m. I'd suggest learning to trad climb and then see if el cap is something you'd like to pursue. He and author of 9 books and viewed as an expert in big walling, soloing, and climbing techniques, having climbed El Cap over 40 times and climbed on all seven continents. The route was a project started by Leo Houlding nearly 20 years ago. free-climbing means using hands and feet to climb, but with protective gear. com Just two weeks after free-climbing Yosemite's Triple Crown with Tommy Caldwell, Alex Oct 12, 2023 · 5:50 also doesn’t come close to Honnold’s fastest solo time on El Cap; that came during the events of Free Solo, when he climbed the Freerider in 3:56. Then try a shorter wall like the leaning tower or the column. Jan 25, 2025 · Free climbing El Cap feels like this complete test of climbing across a really broad range of skills. In the ensuing years, the route became the crucible for free climbing. Free Solo is a great movie—one of the best climbing films to date—and you should go see it. Zangerl blitzed the 3,300-foot granite monolith via Free Rider (VI 5. 12 pitches. The easiest free route on El Cap is 3,000 feet of free climbing on trad gear, has multiple 5. Pitch = A climb as far as you can safely go with a rope. “I never believed I could actually free climb El Cap in a day when I first set the goal for myself. Kevin Jorgeson had joined Caldwell and Honnold, but wasn’t on the final free push. It is the first free solo ascent of El Cap, and arguably one of the crowning achievements of climbing up to this point. Subscribe: http Mar 19, 2024 · “We were just trying to find a way up the biggest, steepest, blankest section of El Cap,” Leo Houlding recalls of his 1999 and 2000 attempts to free climb the Dawn Wall sector of El Cap with Jason Pickles, Jose Pereyra, and Ammon McNeely. Over the years, it has always taken a significant effort from a world Jun 5, 2017 · It’s easy enough to read it: On June 3, 2017, Alex Honnold rewrote what is humanly possible by climbing the nearly 3,000-foot-tall face of Yosemite’s El Capitan without a rope. This season before Golden Gate , Warme did Freerider on El Cap, all the long 5. 13a, the first-ever big wall free solo ascent at that grade), [3] a climb described in The New York Dec 9, 2024 · Honnold, star of the Oscar-winning 2018 climbing film Free Solo has spent the last few weeks attempting to free climb El Capitan’s famed route The Nose, the 2,900-foot vertical climb that is Climber Alex Honnold has been dreaming of free-soloing the 3,000 feet (900 m) rock wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, a feat no one has performed. 24. 355. Jan 10, 2024 · On Sept. It avoids the two 5. 13a) over a four-day ground-up push from November 19 to 22, all without falling. 5 days ago · Emily Harrington speaks to PEOPLE about her history-making ascent of El Capitan in 2020, becoming the first woman to free climb Golden Gate in under 24 hours Skyler Caruso is a Writer and Reporter Feb 16, 2022 · Eleven years later, wrote Roper, Frank Sacherer, father of modern free climbing, along with Wally Reed, “freed the entire route with hardly a pause. Aug 26, 2022 · 1. The climb is also a ton of crack climbing, which you could train if you found crack boulders, but if you're in a bouldering gym, you'll have trouble learning those techniques at all. First, we outline the basic philosophy behind training for Astroman. 13 free climbing on the insanely steep Salathe Headwall. He found the moves were actually much harder, so he used a cold chisel and manufactured 5. 12d/7c 1,750’/533 m), holding the speed record on the “Yosemite Triple Crown,” a link-up of routes on Yosemite National Park’s three biggest faces, Mount Watkins, El Cap, and Half Dome, and setting a sub-two hour speed record We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Dec 14, 2016 · “We just entered the gold rush,” Tommy Caldwell says of the numerous free-climbing achievements on El Cap in fall 2016. ” In the following years, if you thought yourself the shizzle, you jumped up on the East Buttress of El Capitan, Grade 4, 5. But most importantly, I’d finally climbed El Cap without a rope. 13 crux pitches first freed by Paul Piana and Todd Skinner in the mid 80's. Essentially it is the Salathe wall with a few variations used (pioneered by Alex Huber) to avoid the numerous 5. Alex Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. How Alex Honnold Did It: A Play-By-Play of His Free-Solo Climb on El Capitan - Men's Journal. The achievement was documented by National Geographic Documentary Films. Feb 26, 2023 · Easiest technical free route on El Cap itself is East Buttress, which is 10b. Free climbing = Using gear only as a safety measure. Apr 18, 2022 · Some people decide to climb the mountain without any ropes or equipment, relying only on their own individual strength and skills. It follows a young climber, Jordan Cannon, who's infatuated with climbing history. All in all I'd be surprised if someone only training bouldering got more than a pitch up El Cap, using any route. Jun 5, 2018 · Climber Josh Wharton saw his dedicated training pay off when he successfully free climbed El Cap from the ground up in May 2018. Earle the free variation of the Heart Route to Heart Ledges “Heart Blast,” to add to Muir Blast and Free Blast, two other hard El Cap free routes. For protection, the leader trails a rope which is belayed by the second. I’d set some kind of speed record. Free soloing = No gear. Jun 7, 2021 · The climb was Warme’s second free ascent—both done this season—of El Cap, and Karow’s first. While El Capitan climbing offers a wide range of big wall climbing routes, there is plenty to do for non-climbers as well. 13a) near the top of El Capitan. For clarity: aid-climbing means using a rope to pull yourself up. Feb 27, 2007 · El Capitan is home to numerous classic routes but "The Nose" is the mega classic of them all. ” I’d done the first free ascent of a very minor new route on El Cap. ) For Alex Honnold Than El Cap - capradio. ” It was the culmination of years of effort. Oct 29, 2022 · Genesis (traversing, mandatory 5. 13a, 3,000') on June 3, which is indisputably a landmark in the history of climbing. “Of all the El Cap legends, no Jun 3, 2017 · The moves to the crack are usually done by an easy pendulum but those tactics are not allowed on a free climb, even if he had carried a rope. ” Apr 10, 2022 · Emily Harrington was listed as an example but she free-climbed El Cap, NOT free solo, meaning she used ropes and harnesses for safety. Rope Solo Fr 2 days ago · But in climbing the East Buttress they would be the first ever to climb El Capitan. 13b, 3,000′) in 21 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds, becoming the fourth woman to free climb El Cap in a day Mar 5, 2019 · Alex Honnold's Freerider Free Solo: 360 Degree Video - Climbing Magazine In 'Free Solo,' A Steeper Challenge (moving out of his van and maintaining a long-term relationship. On pitch 7, a slippery 5. Zangerl was supported by her Jun 5, 2024 · While the route now serves as the standard free climbing route on El Cap, this spring it became a race track for rope soloing. Still lots of fun! Easiest technical free route that is on a main face of El Cap is Freerider, 13a. It was an audacious goal—Babsi Zangerl had yet to become the first person to flash El Cap via Free Rider—but he felt certain the route would suit him well. 17, making it up six pitches on Day 1. 1988: Todd Skinner and Paul Piana free Salathé Wall 5. Unlike its neighbor, the Nose, where intense competition has pushed the current speed solo record down to 4 hours and 37 minutes, the Salathé has seen just a few fast rope solo ascents in its lifetime. In 1992, Steve Mar 19, 2024 · I’ve long thought a single-day, stashless, partnered free ascent of El Cap—two partners walking up to the wall with a rope, cams, food, and water, and then free climbing to the top in a single push—to be the gold standard. 10 and 5. Our feelings toward aid climbers were those quoted in the old guidebook to El Cap. “But it’s an elite few that manage to pull off a first There's not much stopping you from learning to aid climb a wall in a year or two, if you're willing to dump effort into it. The two met three days before setting off, having hatched the plan over texts. Over the past 30 years, a consensus grade of 5. “The important part of being able to climb El Cap was for it to feel slightly normal, for it to feel slightly May 25, 2024 · The free soloist adds his new record to a growing list of El Capitan benchmarks, including the overall Salathe speed record (4:55 with the late Sean Leary in 2009). At 9:28 a. 14a, Berthe nearly took a huge fall before grabbing a quickdraw clipped to bolt—above that, he would have committed to hard climbing protected by a fixed bird beak—and lowering back to the belay to try it again the next day. 11 free climbing, creative climbing, (I did a real live 5. This distinction has blurred, especially in recent years. , National Geographic Feb 21, 2019 · Free solo climbing is a high-stakes game. 10d). Honnold Foundation Jun 6, 2018 · On June 6, 2018, in California’s Yosemite National Park, Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell accomplished the seemingly impossible—climbing the 3,000-foot Nose route of El Capitan in 1 hour 58 4 days ago · Lurking Fear is the easiest aid line on El Cap. It was our big goal for the whole year, to be able to climb El Cap. Sep 17, 2024 · Be the first person to solo-free (free climb alone) El Cap, in under twenty-four hours. Photo: Mike Murphy; CC BY-SA 3. Jun 10, 2017 · @alexhonnold composed and casual free soloing (sans cord) 2000ft above the deck on the Enduro Pitch of Freerider yesterday. It should be understood that these men (El Cap climbers) were not climbing any more than a stenographer going up an elevator is climbing. Chai Dec 12, 2017 · “El Cap is center stage for big-wall free climbing,” says Tommy Caldwell, who in 2015 made the first free ascent of the Dawn Wall. 19 with Canadian Steve Sutton, Hill made another go for El Cap free in a day, and after 23 hours she topped out. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the directors of the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo,” discuss how they captured rock climber Alex Honnold’s f Nov 23, 2023 · But even free climbing El Cap with a partner is uncommon. Jun 4, 2022 · In 2012 Honnold soloed The Triple, enchaining Yosemite’s three biggest faces—El Cap, Half Dome, and Mount Watkins, free soloing all but 500 feet of the 7,000 feet of climbing in under a day. 0. He took the ‘youngest’ record from Caldwell who free-climbed El Cap’s West Buttress El Capitan is Yosemite's majestic icon known for its sheer cliff face and stunning views. “He was one of my heroes growing up,” Herson said. This video is mostly iPhone footage, captured by Elliott Bernhagen and myself while climbing Jun 5, 2017 · Free soloing El Cap has been the most anticipated climbing feat of our generation, but only because of Alex. Before I move on, let’s get one thing out of the way. Jun 7, 2012 · Alex Honnold solos the Pancake Flake during a speed ascent of El Cap in 2010. 1979: The West Face 5. “Free Solo” makes its commercial-free television debut on Sunday, March 3 (9 p. Chai In 2017, when Alex Honnold made his stunning free-solo ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan, he was taking an unimaginable risk: nearly three thousand feet of cli Climbing El Cap using only our hands and feet! Bron and I made our second trip to Yosemite in spring 2015. What they did in Dawn Wall is multi-pitch free climbing. Free Rider is currently the easiest and most popular way to say proudly "I have free climbed El Capitan". After removing the piton she re-climbed the route from the ground. Generally this is defined by whoever created (established) the climbing route. Legend Yvon Chouinard said her climb was “the biggest thing that’s ever been done on rock. 11c is freed by Ray Jardine and Bill Price. They established free variations from the Muir into the into the Shield via new terrain they called The Shaft. Good luck! Nov 10, 2020 · Emily Harrington leading the Golden Desert pitch (5. 13b/c) on El Capitan’s southwest face, with a few variations to avoid some of the harder pitches. Stroh is only the fourth person to climb the 3,000-foot route in a day, after Tommy Caldwell, Alex Honnold, and Brad Gobright. Photo: Tom Evans/elcapreport. 12 pitches, and has a 5. . 11 and 5. Sep 19, 2015 · By Mason Earle / While free climbing El Cap’s Golden Gate in 2009, I spotted a system of beautiful cracks and corners leading out of the left side of the massive heart-shaped recess in the middle El Cap’s southwest face. This fall, he’s planning to try to free the Nose (5. The process of preparing and executing that dream was made into the Oscar-winning National Geographic documentary, Free Solo , by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. " [ 10 ] In 1998 Scott Burke summitted after 261 days of effort, leading all but the Great Roof, which was toproped, free. Alex's process to prepare for his dream of free soloing El Cap has been an incredible, and sometimes stressful, journey to witness and be a part of over the last two years while filming him for a feature documentary (co-directed by @mochinyc). Focus for free solo on the El Cap “A few years ago, I would never have been able to climb the El Cap free solo in four and a half hours,” Alex Honnold free solo El Capitan time says. Jun 15, 2006 · El Cap is probably the most recognized chunk of rock in the world to rock climbers. 13d); and England’s Pete Whittaker rope-soloed Freerider (VI 5 Jun 5, 2017 · On Saturday, the professional climber Alex Honnold became the first to climb the nearly 3,000-foot El Capitan, Yosemite’s iconic granite wall, without ropes, called free soloing. Harrington is now the first woman, and only the fourth person, to free climb the Golden Gate route in a day. This form of climbing is called free soloing. If your systems are dialed then el cap might just happen. A month later, James Lucas’s now classic piece, “The Freerider,” appeared in Climbing No. Nov 14, 2024 · Connor Herson free-climbed the Nose at only 15 – the youngest ever to free-climb a line on El Capitan. 12d/13a) by Alex Honnold—the first free solo of one of the main faces of El Capitan in Yosemite Dec 8, 2023 · Free climbing El Capitan has been a goal of mine ever since I started climbing but one that I assumed wouldn’t happen for years to come. Towering nearly 3000' this route offers 31 pitches of superb climbing right up the middle of the wall. It's an awe-inspiring thing that first time you go to the Valley and stand at the base of El Cap, looking up. 11 terrain. Doing El Cap free in a day is like the climbing equivalent of some kind of ultra endurance race or something, I find that kind of thing super inspiring. In my initial research, I was discouraged to find only a few elite partnerships that had pulled it off: Tommy 3 days ago · In 1981, Ray Jardine, the inventor of Friends, launched the first major attempt to free climb the Nose. Austrian Jorg Verhoeven made the second ascent of Dihedral Wall (VI 5. There are two common variations that make up the crux of the route, The Boulder Problem at around 7c+ sport or 7B/+ boulder or The Teflon Corner at around 7c sport. 12d/7c 1,750’/533 m), holding the speed record on the “Yosemite Triple Crown,” a link-up of routes on Yosemite National Park’s three biggest faces, Mount Watkins, El Cap, and Half Dome, and setting a sub-two hour speed record Oct 12, 2018 · My first season [as a climber] in Yosemite in 2005, a partner and I climbed El Cap with a rope for the first time, and that was the culmination of our season. It has since seen countless ascents, although few of them free. Nov 22, 2021 · Climbing this 1,000-meter wall free solo also gained him overnight fame outside the climbing scene. . Photo: Alastair Lee “Well, it’s been a long time since I was in Yosemite,” Leo says. , Saturday, June 3, 2017, Honnold succeeded in free soloing El Capitan , becoming the first person ever to do so. Except for his fresh-faced appearance, apparently bottomless energy, and evident brain Jun 18, 2024 · Climbers with Palestine didn’t notify the National Park Service in advance of their protest, but they researched the laws and looked at past instances of groups flying banners and flags from El Capitan, including an eight-year-old boy who flew a banner that read “I love you, Mom,” and the late “El Cap Pirate” Ammon McNeely, who flew a Oct 30, 2017 · Miller concluded his post about the route with, “When I first free climbed the Freerider in 2001, El Cap was still much more an aid climbing wall than a free climbing crag. We teamed up with Chris Bevins and spent 6 days an May 31, 2024 · The solo speed record on the Salathé Wall, a climbing route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, had stood for 10 years. 12d), without ropes. 13b, 32 pitches) in 22 hours. 13 pitches to the famous Heart Ledge. Honnold famously climbed El Cap’s Freerider route in 2017 alone and without a rope or harness, a previously unimaginable feat conveyed in the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo. Free Solo: Directed by Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. 11c Oct 22, 2018 · The film Free Solo, which documents Honnold’s groundbreaking El Cap solo via Freerider, is this concept distilled. “Also, I believe this makes Tommy the oldest free ascensionist of El Cap, at 46! May 19, 2025 · The hike to El Capitan begins at the Upper Yosemite Fall Trailhead – located near Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley. Of the twelve free ascents of the Nose, only Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden’s 2005 ascent and Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher’s 2019 ascent involved both climbers freeing the route. But that has less to do with the degree of difficulty than it does with the ability to focus that he acquired over years of countless free solo climbs. May 25, 2024 · Climbing El Capitan stole the national spotlight with Alex Honnold’s death-defying free-solo climb on “El Cap”. As the director, producer and cinematographer of the National Geographic Documentary Film FREE SOLO, which he co-directed with Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Chin captured rock climber Alex Honnold's nail-biting free solo ascent of Yosemite National Park's El Nov 9, 2020 · The first to do so was Lynn Hill, whose scaling of El Cap in 1994, following the Nose route, remains one of the most famous ascents in rock climbing. Jul 21, 2014 · The Nose is really an alpine climb, and like any alpine route you will need to be able to hold your nerve. Alpinist Digital Editor Derek Franz recounts climbing with Honnold before he became famous and interviews him about scaling El Cap without a rope. 14a), and two years later Alexander Huber free climbed a variation to the Salathé Wall, which he dubbed Free Rider (5. My mentor, Jim Bridwell, the biggest cheese in Yosemite climbing, said I had to get up on El Cap while I still was green and could find an epic. Nov 11, 2019 · Last week, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold put a new free climb, which they will probably call Passage to Freedom, up on El Cap, rated 5. ” “What a wild route, with some of the steepest climbing I’ve done on El Cap and a very thin slab,” Herson wrote on Instagram. Earlier that season he had been the first to free solo the 1500-foot West Face (5. 11 climbs in the universe: Astroman. A top down view of Scotty-Burke Offwidth (heinous 5. Enjoy the El Capitan picnic area or trails and get carried away in Yosemite Valley. Dec 18, 2024 · That year, Warren Harding, Wayne Merry, Rich Calderwood, and George Whitmore became the first to climb the route over 47 days, drilling a bolt ladder to the summit. After four days of climbing, Hill reached the summit, making her the first person to free climb The Nose. We climb the rock. Most people aren’t aware that 99% of the people who climb El Cap don’t even attempt to free climb it, since such an endeavor was historically only accomplished by the elite of the climbing world. One can argue that the East Buttress is not really an El Cap climb. 8) Alex in the Hollow Flake. On their final push, the team spent 10 days climbing. (Photo: istock Photo, Marcus Garcia) This was my first full summer in the Valley after graduating high school a month earlier. Aug 12, 2023 · First free climbed by the Huber brothers in 1998, the 3,300 ft climb essentially follows The Salathé Wall route (5. Free Solo co-directed by Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi was just nominated for an Academy Award. Lynn Hill was the first person—man or woman—to do it, in 1994, on the Nose route. free-soloing means using hands and feet with no protective gear. Final Thoughts on the Routes of El Capitan While free climbing El Capitan’s Golden Gate (VI 5. El Cap’s mind-bending aesthetic is recognizable from popular climbing films like Free Solo, Valley Uprising, and The Dawn Wall (all HIGHLY recommended viewing experiences), or classic images from famous photographers like Ansel Adams. Nov 16, 2023 · Honnold’s tick list is extensive, but among other feats, he is known for a free solo of El Sendero Luminoso (5. Oct 3, 2018 · In 2010, Honnold free climbed the walls of Half Dome and El Capitan in slightly more than 11 hours, crushing the speed records for El Cap and the two routes consecutively. Climbers come from across the globe to challenge themselves on the 3000 foot walls of El Capitan. Feb 3, 2022 · The 18-hour, 51-minute ascent earned him the title of the youngest person to free climb El Cap in a day. While El Capitan houses some of the most challenging big wall climbs in the world, it offers a wide variety of route difficulty, ranging from beginner (5. His choice of big wall climbing route on El Capitan is called Freerider, a route that was created by Alexander Huber in 1998, and which Honnold has completed several times with protection equipment. El Capitan is a giant rock located on the north side of Yosemite Valley. The route’s crux (hardest section) is a horizontal traverse across rock with only the tiniest holds for fingers and toes, spaced far apart and sharp enough to draw blood when gripped. Freerider begins toward the right side of the formation, then moves up the middle. The controversy over free soloing has been around since it’s beginnings – but it’s hard not to be captivated by the unique style of climbing. 13b, Huber-Huber, AAJ 2001) in 2009, I spotted a system of beautiful cracks and corners leading out the left side of the massive, heart-shaped recess in the middle El Cap’s southwest face. In November 2016, Pete Whittaker became the first person to solo - all free - El Capitan in under 24 hours, finishing in 20 hours and 6 minutes. It is the realization of my original vision of my artwork, both in size and content. The logistics of climbing alone on a route that complicated and challenging are titanic. Apr 22, 2022 · A free ascent of El Capitan used to be a rare beast. It’s either death or perfection. El Capitan Free, Yosemite National Park, CA PUBLISHED IN 2012, FIRST EDITION • SIZE: 36" X 63" This giant climbing poster map has all of the routes on El Cap. Summary: Free solo of Freerider (33 guidebook pitches, with variations, 5. 14a); Austrians Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher made the third ascent of Zodiac (VI 5. I like a goal and a challenge off the beaten track, to think of something a little different from the norm. Thanks to Jimmy Chin, I received a call from National Geographic in 2010. I’ve forgotten how big and complicated climbing El Cap can be. Dec 13, 2024 · Free climbing El Cap requires a lot of support. Jul 15, 2023 · The Nose of El Capitan is perhaps the most decorated and sought-after rock climb in the world. 11 — the best free climb in Yosemite The Road to the Astroman This pack will to help you obtain the skills needed to climb one of best 5. Zangerl’s ascent evokes memories of Lynn Hill’s remarkable free-climb of The Nose in 1993. More often, a single partner frees the route and the second supports. Nov 22, 2021 · Alex Honnold is a 33-year-old rock climber who was the first person to make a free solo climb on the world’s most famous rock face, El Capitan. The steep crack system I was looking at belonged to the Heart Route, a natural 6 days ago · First Free Ascent History In June 1994, Kurt Smith and Scott Cosgrove managed to free 99% of the Muir Wall. With Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Cheyne Lempe. Alex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. ” Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson labored seven years to free climb El Cap’s absurdly-difficult Dawn Wall. A definite challenge, as I had no experience solo climbing on big walls. rdonb haqxv xnh hzim flkpg ewqmfdp lrxnnq pzda bkbdr svahe