The Nose | |
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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,[1] 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.[2]
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.