Hans Florine and Yuji Hiriyama, who already held the speed record on The Nose route of El Capitan in Yosemite, have broken their own record according to various reports on the web, including this one over at About.com.
According to the article, the dynamic duo of rock climbing took just 2 hours 37 minutes and 5 seconds. That’s six minutes faster than their old record set back in July. Yuji lead all the pitches once again, with Hans following along, taking care of the gear, and simul-climbing with his partner.
The 2900 foot face of The Nose is one of the most iconic climbs in the entire sport. It was first completed back in 1958, by a team that spent 47 days on the face. They approached it much the way that big mountain climbers in the Himalaya would, establishing camps along the face and laying siege to the mountain. In 1960, the second ascent was put up, and took just 7 days, as the team, led by Royal Robbins, completed the first non-stop climb. It took until 1975 before the first single day climb of The Nose was completed, and even now, it traditionally takes most climbers a couple of days to complete.
I wonder what those first climbers would think about a pair doing it in under three hours. Obviously equipment has improved, and new techniques haven’t been developed, but that’s some serious time to shave off in just 50 years. Impressive work, and once again, congrats to Hans and Yuji.
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Exactly what I was wondering…
Although all of us are standing upon the shoulders of those gone before it would seem…
DSD
Very well said, as always, DSD. We build on those who went before us. But it’s damn impressive to see how far we’ve come.