Don's Home Recreation Rock Climbing in Yosemite Contact
Rock Climbing
LocationRoutePitchesRating
Half Dome Regular Northwest Face 23 5.12 or 5.9 C1
Lost Arrow Spire Lost Arrow Spire Tip 2 5.12b or 5.7 C2
El Capitan Salathe Wall 35 5.13b or 5.9 C2
El Capitan The Nose 31 5.13c or 5.9 C2
El Capitan Zodiac 16 A2 5.7
El Capitan North America Wall 27 A2 5.8
El Capitan Muir Wall 33 A2 5.9
El Capitan Eagles Way 19 A3 5.8
El Capitan Excalibur 28 A3 5.8
El Capitan Mescalito 26 A3 5.8
El Capitan The Shield 30 A3 5.8
El Capitan Wall of Early Morning Light 27 A3 5.8
El Capitan Pacific Ocean Wall 27 A3 5.9
El Capitan Lost in America 16 A4 5.10
Tribal Rite 29 A4 5.5
El Capitan Aurora 16 A4 5.8
El Capitan South Seas 24 A4 5.8
Half Dome Zenith 21 A4 5.8
El Capitan Sea of Dreams 27 A4 5.9
El Capitan Reticent Wall 21 A5 5.7
Washington Column South Face 10 C1 5.8
El Capitan Triple Direct 30 C2 5.8
El Capitan Lurking Fear 19 C2F 5.7
Leaning Tower West Face 11 C2F 5.7
El Capitan history (brief)
"To climb anything on the cliff proper, top to bottom, was about as likely as a trip to the moon. I think it's safe to say that no being before 1950 entertained even a moment's thought about climbing El Cap," wrote Steve Roper in "Camp 4, Recollections of a Yosemite Rockclimber".

Nose Timeline:

  • 1958 - Climed for the first time using siege climing (climb for a few days then retreat to the floor). Over a period of 18 months, Warren "Batso" Harding (5'-5"), Wayne Merry and George Whitmore spent a total of 45 days on the wall. Some 675 pegs and 125 bolts were placed.
  • 1960 - Second climb of El Capitan, completed in 6 and 3/4 days by Royal Robbins, Joe Fitschen, Chuck Pratt and Tom Frost.
  • Over an eight year period, the Nose went from impossible to last great problem to hardest rock climb on the planet to classical alpine rock climb.
  • 1969 - First solo climb of the Nose by T. Bauman.
  • 1975 - Nose is climbed for the first time in a single day by John Long, Jim Bridwell and Billy Westbay.
  • 1993 - Lynn Hill, America's premier rock climber, makes first free ascent of The Nose. In August Hans Florine solos the nose in 14:10.
  • 1999 - Most parties take three days to climb The Nose and bivy on a variety of ledges such as (from ground up) Dolt Tower, El Cap Tower, Camp IV, Camp V, and Camp VI.
  • 2002 - Yuji Hirayama and Hans Florine speed climb the Nose route in 2 hours, 48 minutes, and 30 seconds.
Other historic climbs
The ascent of the North American Wall in 1964 with Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, Chuck Pratt and Yvon Chouinard, was considered the hardest rock climb in the world.

Map: www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/national_parks/yosemite_detail98.pdf View the complete list of every Yosemite big wall route ever climbed

See Also:
Rock Climbing and Ratings under recreation
El Capitan climbing history
Rock Climbing Products

last updated 4 Sep 2003