Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell climb The Nose in under 2 hours to set new El Capitan speed record

After weeks of practice runs, and after having beaten the record twice in the space of just a week, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold have now climbed The Nose on El Capitan in an astounding 1 hour, 58 minutes and 7 seconds. In doing so the American climbers have finally broken the symbolic 2 hour barrier on the route that, typically, requires three to five days to repeat.

On 30 May Caldwell and Honnold beat the record set last autumn by Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds, climbing the world’s most famous big wall in 2:10:15. They were ten minutes shy from the goal they’d set themselves, and early onn4 June they launched upwards once again, climbing the nigh 1000 meters in 2:01:50. A tangled rope had caused them to lose precious seconds and it was clear therefore that they’d soon return in order to become the first to climb The Nose in sub two hours. Today they succeeded.

As reported previously, Caldwell and Honnold are two of the world’s most talented and expert climbers who have honed their skills on the smooth granite walls of Yosemite valley. One of Caldwell’s standout climbs is the Dawn Wall, the world’s hardest big wall freed in January 2015 with Kevin Jorgeson. Honnold for his part has countless free solos and huge linkups to his name, but without a doubt the crowing achievement that earned him worldwide recognition was his audacious free solo of Freerider on El Capitan a year ago. The two are not new to setting new standards together and in February 2014 they teamed up to complete the coveted first traverse of the major ridge line of Fitz Roy in Patagonia.

The process that led to this unfathomable sub 2-hour achievement has been thoroughly documented for an upcoming Reel Rock film. Unless Honnold and Caldwell return to try and better the record further, it is highly likely 1:58:07 will stand for a long time in the future.

The Nose Speed
Women
10/2014 - 5:02 Mayan Smith-Gobat & Libby Sauter
09/2013 - 5:39 Mayan Smith-Gobat & Libby Sauter 
09/2012 - 7:26 Mayan Smith-Gobat & Chantel Astorga
06/2012 - 10:19 Jes Meiris & Quinn Brett
09/2011 - 10:40 Libby Sauter & Chantel Astorga
2004 - 12:15 Heidi Wirtz & Vera Schulte-Pelkum
1994 - Lynn Hill, 23 hours. First free ascent in a single day

Men
06/06/2018 - 1:58:07 Tommy Caldwell & Alex Honnold
04/06/2018 - 2:01:50 Tommy Caldwell & Alex Honnold
05/2018 - 2:10:15 Tommy Caldwell & Alex Honnold
10/2017 - 2:19:44 Brad Gobright & Jim Reynolds
06/2012 - 2:23:46 Hans Florine & Alex Honnold
11/2010 - 2:36:45 Dean Potter & Sean Leary
10/2008 - 2:37:05 Hans Florine & Yuji Hirayama
07/2008 - 2:43:33.Hans Florine & Yuji Hirayama
10/2007 - 2:45:45 Thomas Huber & Alexander Huber
09/2002 - 2:48:55 Hans Florine & Yuji Hirayama
2001 - 3:24:20 Dean Potter & Timmy O’Neill
1992 - 4:22 Hans Florine & Peter Croft
1991 - 4:48 Peter Croft & Dave Schultz
1991 - 6:01 Hans Florine & Andres Puhvel
1990 - 6:40 Peter Croft &Dave Schultz
1990 - 8:11 Hans Florine & Steve Schneider
1986 - 10:05 John Bachar & Peter Croft
1975 - 17:45 Jim Bridwell, John Long, Billy Westbay, first repeat in a day
1960 - 7 days, Royal Robbins, Joe Fitschen, Chuck Pratt e Tom Frost, first repeat
1958 - 47 days, Warren Harding, Wayne Merry e George Whitmore, first ascent


TOPO: The Nose, El Capitan, Yosemite

I’m feeling mighty thankful for my friendship with this guy. Thanks for hauling the geriatric handicapped dad up the mountain this morning. 1:58.07. It was a heavy and thoughtful week here in Yosemite. I am so saddened by the deaths. RIP Jason Wells and Tim Klein. I can’t imagine the pain of the families. The only way to do this stuff reasonably safely is to climb with the worlds most prolific big wall climber and analyze everything carefully. Thanks Alex for keeping it safety first. This was a experience I will not soon forget. @patagonia_climb @team_edelrid @lasportivana Photo credit @austin-siadak @reelrock

A post shared by Tommy Caldwell (@tommycaldwell) on Jun 6, 2018 at 2:17pm PDT