Caldwell and Honnold Set New Nose Speed Record

On May 30, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold have set a new speed record on The Nose of El Capitan in 2:10:15 (two hours, 10 minutes, 15 seconds).

This record beats the October 2017 time set by Brad Gobright and Jim Reynold’s of 2:19:44.

The Nose is nealy 1,000 metres high and has 31 pitches. Speed climbing is done by climbers ascending by any means necessary, such as free or aid.

The climb is steep and exposed and climbed hundreds of times every year.

@tommycaldwell and I climbed the Nose in 2:10:15 today!! Felt great! And I’m proud to announce a new partnership with @livemomentous (link in profile) which I’ve been using for recovery after each lap up El Cap. We’ve climbed The Nose 8 times in the last few weeks so obviously the recovery program has been working pretty well. Check out the link. Photo: @brettlowell

A post shared by Alex Honnold (@alexhonnold) on May 30, 2018 at 1:17pm PDT

In 2012, Honnold and Florine climbed it in 2 hours and 23 minutes and held the record until Reynolds and Gobright’s climb.

Honnold and Caldwell are two of the most accomplished climbers in the world. On El Cap, Honnold made the first free solo with his climb of Freerider VI 5.13 and Caldwell made the first free ascent of Dawn Wall 5.14d with Kevin Jorgeson.

Together, they made the first traverse of the Fitz Roy range in Patagonia and were awarded a Piolet d’Or.

43 Years of The Nose Records

2018-4-30: 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

Alex and I have been lapping The Nose the last few mornings. I think I was never really into speed climbing in the past because I didn’t realize how fun it is. It sure is amazing to see the ease with which Alex handles the big stone. I just hope my fitness can catch up enough. ?@samuelcrossley

A post shared by Tommy Caldwell (@tommycaldwell) on May 14, 2018 at 2:46pm PDT