Caldwell and Honnold Climb Nose in Under Two Hours
Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold have climbed The Nose on El Capitan in a blistering one hour, 58 minutes and seven second (1:58:07) on June 6.
On May 30, they set a new speed record on The Nose of El Capitan in two hours, 10 minutes and 15 seconds (2:10:15) and broke in a week later at two hours, one minute and 50 seconds (2:01:50).
It’s been a heavy few weeks in Yosemite with the deaths of Tim Klein and Jason Wells after falling from Freeblast.
Their deaths, along with Hans Florine’s and Quinn Brett’s recent injuries on The Nose, have cast a shadow over the sport of speed climbing and made many question the point of it all.
On Instagram, photographer Austin Siadak posted the below photo and said, “After climbing The Nose in 2:01:53 yesterday, a half-eaten popsicle from his daughter was a better-than-expected prize for Tommy Caldwell.
“A snagged rope forced Tommy to rappel and free it only three pitches from the summit, and that alone might have been all that prevented him and Alex Honoold from breaking the mythical two-hour mark. This saga will hopefully soon be over.”
Caldwell and Honnold’s sub-two hour speed record is a major accomplishment historically and demonstrates where the world of rock climbing has come since the first one-day ascent back in 1975.
This record will likely stand strong for years to come, because it’s an insanely fast time by two of the world’s best climbers and because climbers might be reconsidering the sport of speed climbing.
However, this accomplishment might also inspire others to climb quickly, as there have already been at least four speed record four different El Cap routes this year.
Speed climbing is dangerous and should be left to highly experienced and practiced climbers.
Congratulations to Caldwell and Honnold, this saga is finally over.
43 Years of The Nose Records
2018-6-6: Tommy Caldwell, Alex Honnold in 1:58:07
2018-6-4: Tommy Caldwell, Alex Honnold in 2:01:50
2018-5-30: Tommy Caldwell, Alex Honnold in 2:10:15
2017-10-21: Jim Reynolds, Brad Gobright in 2:19:44
2012-6-17: Hans Florine, Alex Honnold in 2:23:46
2017-10-10: Jim Reynolds, Brad Gobright in 2:34:30
2010-11-6: Dean Potter, Sean Leary in 2:36:45
2008-10-12: Hans Florine, Yuji Hirayama in 2:37:05
2008-7-2: Hans Florine, Yuji Hirayama in 2:43:33
2007-10-8: Alexander and Thomas Huber in 2:45:45
2007-10-4: Alexander and Thomas Huber in 2:48:30
2002-9-29: Hans Florine, Yuji Hirayama in 2:48:55
2001-11: Dean Potter, Timmy O’Neill in 3:24:20
2001-10: Hans Florine, Jim Herson in 3:57:27
2001-10: Dean Potter, Timmy O’Neill in 3:59:35
1992: Hans Florine, Peter Croft in 4:22:0
1991:Peter Croft, Dave Schultz in 4:48:0
1991: Hans Florine, Andres Puhvel in 6:01:0
1990: Peter Croft, Dave Schultz in 6:40:0
1990: Hans Florine, Steve Schneider in 8:06:0
1986: John Bachar, Peter Croft in 10:05:0
1984: Duncan Critchley, Romain Vogler in 9:30:0 (approximate)
1975: Jim Bridwell, John Long, Billy Westbay in 17:45:0