Anthamatten blitzclimb Yosemite valley

This autumn the Swiss mountain guides Simon and Samuel Anthamatten had a whirlwind 3rd trip to Yosemite valley where, in the space of a month, the duo blitz-climbed a staggering number of routes up the 1000m high El Capitan and Half Dome.

Climbing fast and light to gain alpine-style experience the two endured both intense heat and windy weather and ascended a total of about 10'000 vertical meters. Enough routes to last a lifetime for most climbers, but which Simon feels should not be overplayed.

“All of the routes we did have much faster speed records, than our ascents” Simon told us “But our goal on this trip was to keep up-to-date with new climbing techniques. Places like Yosemite Valley are the birthplaces for developing climbing styles: aid climbing, free climbing, bouldering and now 'speed climbing' have a huge history in Yosemite Valley. To learn a specific technique it's important to visit where it was developed, as this gives a much better understanding of the sense of the new climbing-style.”

Simon concluded: “If you can climb fast then you can make the most of a window of good weather, and this can be decisive in Patagonia, Pakistan and the Alps.” So this trip, in many respects, was training for greater things to come.


The Anthamatten ascents
Westface 5.11c 19 pitches in 6h 20min
Lurking Fear 5.7 C2 19 pitches in 10h 55min
Zodiac 5.7 A2 16 pitches in 12h 20min - by night
Tangerine Trip 5.7 A3 17 pitches in 14h
Lost in America 5.10 A4 2 days
North American Wall 5.8 A2 26 pitches 14h
Mescalito - A3 26 pitches 1.5 days
The Nose - 5.13c or 5.9 A2, 35 pitches, 5h 50 min
Salathé - 5.13b 35 pitches, 9h
Linkup Half Dome – The Nose C1 5.9 54 pitches 11 h 50 min