The Nose (El Capitan)
| The Nose | |
|---|---|
The Nose on El Capitan | |
| Location | California, United States |
| Coordinates | 37°44′02.4″N 119°38′13.2″W / 37.734000°N 119.637000°W |
| Climbing area | Yosemite Valley |
| Route type | Big wall climbing, Aid climbing |
| Vertical gain | 2,900 feet (880 m) |
| Pitches | 31 |
| Rating | 5.14a (8b+) (free) or 5.9 C2 (aid) |
| Grade | VI |
| First ascent | Warren Harding, Wayne Merry, George Whitmore; 1958 (47 days). |
| First free ascent | Lynn Hill, 1993 |
| Fastest ascent | 1:58:07, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold |
The Nose is a big wall climbing route up El Capitan. Once considered impossible to climb, El Capitan is now the standard for big wall climbing. It is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.
El Capitan has two main faces, the Southwest (on the left when looking directly at the wall) and the Southeast. Between the two faces juts a massive prow. While today there are numerous established routes on both faces, the most popular and historically famous route is The Nose, which follows the massive prow.