Home > International

Belgian Climber Seb Berthe Frees The Nose

He's the seventh climber to free the iconic route

Belgian climber Seb Berthe has freed The Nose on El Cap after an eight-day push. Climbing with partner Loic Debry, he led every pitch and reached the Great Roof on the second day.

On day three, he sent The Great Roof on his third attempt and then sent Changing Corners 5.14 a few days later. Debry had to leave and Barbara Zangerl took over as support.

Berthe has a lot of experience on El Cap, as he sent Freerider 5.13 in a day in 2017 and the Heart Route 5.13 in 2016.

View this post on Instagram

A dream came true: I just free climbed THE NOSE in an 8-days ground-up push, partnered up with Loic Debry! I led all the pitches above 5.12a and we swapped leads on the easy pitches. The roof and the corners were climbed on preplaced gear. Until the end, I wouldn’t have bet on my success, but I kept fighting: I even had to add two extra days as we had planned only 6 days on the wall. I got the Changing Corners beast on the last try that our food supplies allowed us. This ascent was a real team work, thanks guys for the cheerings, belays, pictures, food and support… Without you I could never have finished this one: @debryloic, @a.eggermont, @babsizangerl, @florian_gourgue, @alexx4034, Chris, Lucas, @alanaaflor, @gillesdenisexpeditions, @nathan_goffart and so many others! I have dreamt about this line since I was a child when my father told me about @_linacolina_ freeing it the year I was born. I feel so happy, relieved and thankful! More details, pictures and stories to come! Credit to @a.eggermont for the pictures ?. @scarpa_de @lecomte.alpirando @petzl_official @revolutionclimbingteam @escalpades #thenose #elcap #noplacetoofar #yosemiteclimbing #project #stylefirst #climbing #petzl #accesstheinaccessible #helmetup #rockclimbing #climbing_lovers #climbing_pictures_of_instagram

A post shared by Sébastien Berthe (@sebertheclimber) on

The first ascent was in 1958 after 47 days of effort by Wayne Merry, Warren Harding and George Whitmore, with over various partner. The first free ascent was in 1993 by Lynn Hill.

Nina Caprez teamed up with Lynn Hill last year and this year and attempted to free The Nose. She sent everything except for a few feet in the Changing Corner. Watch a huge whipper below.

The Nose Free

1993: Lynn Hill
1994: Lynn Hill
2005: Beth Rodden, Tommy Caldwell
2005: Tommy Caldwell
2014: Jorg Verhoeven
2018: Keita Kurakami
2018: Connor Herson
2019: Seb Berthe

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The Best Climbing Gear According to Our Editors – March

Every month we're bringing you our favourite gear so you can complete your climbing kit with the latest and best stuff out there