UKC

Alex Honnold has soloed the Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.12a, 23 pitches) on Half Dome and The Nose (VI 5.9 C1, 31 pitches) on El Capitan in Yosemite, California - taking just over eight hours for both routes.

"We chatted a while and he walked off to the Nose, with a considerable rack and a rope. He muttered something about having read Han's book about speed climbing last night and was eager to see how the roped solo stuff would work for him..."

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=55921

In reply to UKC News:
sounds a like an incredible feat .. can anyone enlighten me about '3rd classing'

Cheers
Mark

In reply to UKC News: I'm sure even Peter Parker couldn't manage this feat. well done Mr Honnold!

In reply to MarkM:

Beat me too it - I was about to ask what that meant.

A very impressive acheivement. Just over 2 hours to climb half dome is incredible, and it's not exactly VDiff either!

In reply to UKC News:

Thats reet quick, that is!

In reply to MarkM:

3rd class is easy scrambling in the american system, 4th class being proper scrambling, 5th class climbing. I think he means he was strolling up it like it was 'a path'.

In reply to UKC News: Almost unbelievable! I love reading about what Honnold gets up to. Half Dome and El Cap in the time it takes me and my mate to climb 10 routes on Stanage

In reply to UKC News: incredible!!
i just hope he takes care of himself, i shudder when i see news articles with him in for fear of the worst!

In reply to UKC News: Out of intrest does anyone know what pitches he roped up for, was it just the great roof and changing corners (same as Dean Potter i beleave)?

In reply to UKC News:
Completely awesome.
James

In reply to Tom_Harding: He would have roped up for considerably more than just those 2 pitches. It's often the opinion you'd get watch vids, reading websites, but not the true story.

I'd also like to know how much he used Dean Potter's slightly messy system of many "leaver biners" and mini looped solo systems. So much complex rope work and strategy involved in these ascents, that it often leaves the general bewildered. It is important to document these details though I think as they add/subtract certainly to the style of ascent.

Great effort by Alex - one of the true greats of our generation. I think his solo time on the Nose totally smashed all other times out of the water.

In reply to Tom Randall - Lattice Training:

"He would have roped up for considerably more than just those 2 pitches. It's often the opinion you'd get watch vids, reading websites, but not the true story."

I think you need to read carefully, he did NOT rope up for the changing corners pitch!!

He did rope up for the great roof and climbed like a rope soloer, thats it.

"He brought about a 30 ft cord on Half Dome and he brought a full 60 meter rope on The Nose, only used it getting to boot, for the king swing, and on the great roof."

In reply to MarkM:

As Adam Long says, 3rd class is scrambling where you don't need a rope - like approaching some climbs, for instance. However, its use is casually extended to climbing anything unroped. You'd say '... yes, I third classed The Nose... ' That doesn't mean you scrambed up it, it simply means you did it unroped. We'd say solo.

In reply to j mace: Sorry, I should have been more clear. I mean anything in which you're soloing (as in free soloing) is not roped. Roped is pretty much the same thing is many respects, whether you're hanging off a Daisy chain in a moving belay, on a roped solo system or just aiding up bolts. At a cursory glance the reports make me want to believe he "free soloed" 95% of the Nose.

In reply to ChrisBrooke:

It's not really like that though is it? If you were an E8 climber and had every route at Stanage wired - how long would it take you to climb 10 Stanage VS's?
About 10 minutes I reckon.

E

PS - there's a challenge! 10 Stanage VS's in 10 minutes!!

In reply to Enty: it's an awesome effort! 10 stanage VS's in 10 mins you say... including decent time?

In reply to mataius:

I'm waiting for someone brave (or stupid!!) enough to post a link to Dan or Dean speed soloing.....

Go on, you know you want to

In reply to Enty:

Our 500 routes day worked out at less than 2 mins average per route - including driving and walking time, so more like 90 seconds per route. 10 routes in 10 mins would be quite easy on the right (short gritstone) crag, especially if downclimbing counted.

In reply to Enty: Ah, but you need to allow for flapjack eating, general chatting and guidebook faffing! That said I could probably climb 10 routes on Windgather in 10 minutes. 10 Stanage VSs would take a bit longer - I decline your challenge!

In reply to UKC News:

Is that how link ups are usually timed...? Impressive as the times are, it'd be interesting to know the overall time from the foot of Half Dome to the top of El Cap, not just the accumulated times for the routes.

In reply to jon: Alison Hargreaves did her '6 great Alps North Faces' in a total climbing time of under 24 hours, but it took her several weeks counting all the time getting between mountains and waiting for a weather window, surely this has to be 8hrs total time including getting from face to face.

In reply to Al Evans:

Add up the times Al. Half Dome 2:09, and The Nose 5:59...

I did Half Dome and Salathe in 5 1/2 days.......

In reply to jon: Impressive, but not a true 'total' time including repos then.

In reply to Al Evans:

What - me or Alex...? Ha ha

In reply to jon: I believe yours was 'total time'

In reply to Al Evans:

No. Total time was 3 years and 5 1/2 days!

In reply to jon: Lol

In reply to jon:

Pmsl!!

E

In reply to UKC News: Just watched the video of Honnold on moonlight buttress. Absolutely terrifying! Looks well pumpy. The slightest slip of the foot would surely dislodge some of those tenuious finger jams! Yikes!!!