Hans Florine Injured in El Capitan Fall

Californian Hans Florine, 53, spent the night on El Capitan after he fell while climbing Thursday afternoon, said Scott Gediman of the National Parks Service.

Rescue crews with a helicopter picked him up from the top this morning and he’s now in the hospital.

Florine suffered “significant” injuries after the fall, according to Gediman.

Yosemite officials did not disclose the extent of Florine’s injuries due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

But Florine wrote on Instagram that he broke his ankles after receiving treatment in the hospital.

Hey y'all! I am out of surgery! All good. I love climbing. I love the climbing community. Hard to beat a medical care facility that has all their staff wearing "We Rock Care" on their uniforms. #climbingcommunity @diablorockgym #dohardthings #hansflorine The quick version: I pulled a nut placement I had made, (previous partners know I always use cams even in perfect V slots). I fell in the thin section above the pancake flake, hit triangle ledge with my heels. . Then went 5 ft farther, hung upside down, back against the wall. Probably 26 ft 7 1/4 inch in total. I had a @petzl_official helmet.(really Hans a sponsor plug?) I was on self belay while @abrahamshreve was cleaning the great roof. Current info: Broken left ankle and broken right heel/calcaneus. All good above the calves. I love climbing because you use your whole body to do the sport. If your pinky is broken, you can still train your abs, if your elbow is broken you can still train your legs. I'm super psyched my upper body's going to get trained amazingly well the next 3 to 11 months. And my business work/play/education etc. Is going to get ahead! Psyched!

A post shared by Hans Florine (@hansflorine) on May 4, 2018 at 11:25pm PDT

Florine mid-Nose-in-a-day push with Abraham Shreve when he took the fall.

Shreve wrote on Instagram, “Well, not what we planned. Hans took a fall about 2,300 feet off the ground. His gear caught him, but not before he hit a ledge and broke 1 leg and possibly the other.

“I was able to lower him about 500 feet to a decent ledge. YOSAR is working on our rescue. Hans is in good spirits. He’s a warrior.”

Officials said the incident happened too late in the afternoon to rescue Florine and he had to spend the night on the El Capitan wall where the temperatures can get as low as 40 degrees.

Florine has held The Nose speed record many times, most recently with Alex Honnold at a time of 2 hours and 23 minutes.

It’s go time. #niad #yosemiteclimbing #rockclimbing

A post shared by Abraham Shreve (@abrahamshreve) on May 3, 2018 at 4:09am PDT