Austrian all-rounder Babsi Zangerl has freed the preMuir (5.13c) 5.13c/d on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California. This is Babsi's fourth free ascent of El Cap, having made the first female free ascents of El Nino in 2015, Zodiac in 2016 and the first free repeat of Magic Mushroom in 2017. Her partner Jacopo Larcher came agonisingly close to a free ascent, just falling short at the top of the iconic crux 5.13c/d stemming corner.

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It's not „the Nose" but maybe even better. 5 stars to the crux pitch of „Pre-Muir wall"!! Plan D was not a bad one! 😜. But I wished it would have been a team send as usual!! Jacopo cruised everything (of course), just the stemming pitch was heart breaking close. With bruised hands he fell on the very last hard sequence. 🙈 Sometimes you have luck and sometimes not! Eventually we ran out of time and @jacopolarcher decided to support me on my free ascent and climbed with me to the very top!!! Huge thanks my ❤️ Always fun to spend some days on the wall with you!!!.....and thanks to @hazel_findlay for the beta!!!#onesinglepush #haulinglikehell #groundup #4thfreeascentofElCapitan #climbing_pictures_of_instagram •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• @blackdiamond @lasportivagram @vibram @verivalbio @powerbar_europe @frictionlabs @fazabrushes @climbskinspain 📸@jacopolarcher #multitasking

A post shared by Babsi Zangerl (@babsizangerl) on Jun 25, 2019 at 10:46pm PDT

'It's not „the Nose" but maybe even better. 5 stars to the crux pitch of „Pre-Muir wall"!'

Babsi is only the second woman to achieve a free ascent of this line after Hazel Findlay's second-ever ascent in 2012 alongside James Mchaffie and Neil Dyer. The line is a variation of Yvon Chouinard and TM Herbert's Muir Wall A2 5.9, weighing in at 5.13c/d overall (around E8 in UK grades) with around 30 pitches. It takes a line up the centre of El Cap following parts of the Muir Wall, The Shaft and The Shield, but also includes some 5.13 climbing of its own.

Babsi originally intended to attempt a free ascent of The Nose alongside Jacopo, but recent storms in the Valley meant that the Great Roof proved too wet to climb. The Pre-Muir was described by Babsi on her Instagram as their 'Plan D'. Before heading to Yosemite and while waiting out a period of poor weather, the pair spent time in Pine Creek, Bishop as 'Plan B', where both Babsi and Jacopo made a quick repeat of the sport route Everything Karate 5.14c/d (8c+/9a).

After giving up on The Nose, the couple were denied climbing on Leaning Tower due to the weather, but managed a free ascent of Mikey Schaefer's - AKA 'the one who can't watch in Free Solo' - 20-pitch route Father Time 5.13b on Middle Cathedral.

Babsi commented on social media that the technical crux Changing Corners pitch of The Nose 'felt great', so watch this space for a potential free ascent at some point in the future, weather permitting. The Nose has attracted the attention of a few top female climbers in the past year, with both Nina Caprez and Hazel Findlay putting some time into the Changing Corners pitch.