How Many People Climb El Capitan Every Year?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,


Over thirty fatalities

have been recorded between 1905 and 2018 while climbing El Capitan, including seasoned climbers.

Has anyone free climbed El Capitan?

Now, having free soloed El Capitan, one of the most iconic rock faces in the entire world, the argument has been laid to rest;

Alex Honnold is the best free soloist in the world

.

How many times has El Capitan been climbed?

Hardcore mountaineers have been climbing El cap for decades. Since the first ascent of the Nose in 1958 by Warren Harding, new routes have appeared all over the giant rock. To date, there are

over 252

routes on El Capitan with a mix of trad, aid and sport climbing.

Who has climbed El Capitan?

First ascenders

How many people have fallen off of El Capitan?


Five people have died in climbing accidents on El Capitan since 2013

. In all, Farabee said, 31 of the 120 climbers who have died in the park since 1905 have died on the famous granite monolith.

How long did it take to climb El Capitan?

El Capitan, known as El Cap, is a 3,000-foot-high granite edifice that draws thousands of climbers to Yosemite each year. Climbers typically take around

four to six days

to reach the top, using a variety of routes. Only a few elite climbers, Ms. Harrington now among them, have done it in less than a day.

Has anyone Freeed soloed Freerider?

In June 2017, American

Alex Honnold

made the first free-solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite. Honnold, known as one of the world’s most accomplished climbers, soloed Freerider 5.12d/13a in three hours and 56 minutes after starting at 5:32 a.m.

How do female climbers pee?


Leave your climbing harness on to pee

. With most harnesses, the stretchy leg loop connetors in the back don’t even need to be unclipped. Leave the waist on, and pull the leg loops down with your pants, pee, and then pull it all back up. Practice this at home with a few layers on to ensure it goes smoothly.

How hard is it to climb El Capitan?

What is this? The route is graded 5.12d VI, and is

by no means an easy climb

, even when using a rope and safety gear, which made Honnold’s ascent that much more impressive and death defying.

What is Alex Honnold salary?

So, how much money does Alex Honnold make? Alex Honnold earns

around $200,000 a year

, although he’s likely earned more from the release of Free Solo.

Has Alex Honnold free soloed since El Capitan?


No one had ever completed a “free-solo” climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park before Honnold famously did so in 2017

, a feat that was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary.

Who is the youngest person to climb El Capitan?

Nine-year-old

Pearl Johnson

has become the youngest climber to ascent El Capitan’s steep face via Triple Direct. Pearl climbed with her mother, Janet, and friend of the family, Nick Sullens. Philip Johnsons, Pearl’s father, works in Yosemite National Park and joined them on the top of El Cap after the climb.

How did Alex Honnold climb El Capitan?

Alex Honnold is one of the best and most inspiring free climbers of the current generation of climbers. In June 2017, he climbed El Capitan in Yosemite Valley (USA)

via the “Freerider” route without a rope or belay

.

Are Sanni and Alex still together?


Honnold married his longtime girlfriend, Sanni McCandless, in September 2020

. The couple has a home in Las Vegas, Nevada. They welcomed their first child, a daughter named June, on February 17, 2022.

How did Alex Honnold get down from El Capitan?


He rappeled down with an ATC which he borrowed from the camera team

– so he did not actually climb back down where he came from. They didn’t show these scenes in the movie, but he talked about it in a Q&A.. here he also states that they had a 1000 foot fixed rope and that’s what he used.

Can you climb El Capitan in a day?

While

it is possible to hike up El Capitan as a day hike

, the trail tends to be a popular backpacking route for campers. It is recommended for even advanced day trailblazers to start their hike before sunrise to avoid difficult travels during dusk on the way back down.

Who has died on El Cap?


Tim Klein and Jason Wells

were weekend warriors. They were also two of the best climbers to ever ply their trade on Yosemite’s most iconic wall. So the climbing world was stunned when they died on some of its easiest terrain.

How long did it take to free solo climb El Capitan?

THE MOON LANDING OF FREE-SOLOING

Rock climber Alex Honnold stands atop El Capitan after

nearly four hours

of climbing alone, without ropes or any other equipment or safety gear.

What level can Alex Honnold climb?

If you look at his resume, Alex Honnold’s redpoint max — that is, the hardest grade of climbing that he’s done before — is rated

5.14d

.

Who has climbed El Capitan the fastest?

In 2012

Alex Honnold and Hans Florine

set the speed record for fastest climb of El Cap, doing it in 2 hours 23 minutes and 46 seconds. Honnold then became the first person to ever free solo the entire climb in 2017.

What is the hardest free solo climb in the world?

The hardest climbing route to be free soloed is “

Panem et Circenses

“, a 5.14b climb near Arco, Italy. The 15-m route was climbed without ropes by 52-year-old Alfredo Webber (Italy) in March 2021.

What does 9a mean in rock climbing?

Climbing grades 8b+ 5.14a 8c E9 7b 5.14b 8c+ 5.14c 9a E10 7c 5.14d/5.15

Who free climbed El Capitan first?

El Capitan was first free-climbed in a day in 1994 by

Lynn Hill

, who managed the feat before anyone else had free-climbed the cliff in any amount of time. It was another four years after Hill’s feat that a climber would first find another free way to the top.

Has anyone free climbed Everest?


Lars Olof Göran Kropp

(11 December 1966 – 30 September 2002) was a Swedish adventurer and mountaineer. He made a solo ascent of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support on 23 May 1996, for which he travelled by bicycle, alone, from Sweden and part-way back.

How much money does it cost to climb Mount Everest?

The price range for a standard supported climb ranges from

$28,000 to $85,000

. A fully custom climb will run over $115,000 and those extreme risk-takers can skimp by for well under $20,000. Typically, this includes transportation from Kathmandu or Lhasa, food, base camp tents, Sherpa support, and supplemental oxygen.

How do you shower while climbing Mount Everest?

As a rule,

the bath in the Base Camp is essentially a large tent with a few barrels of cold and hot water

. You heat the water on a gas stove (the gas is from the gas cylinders that the expedition brings along). During our trekking trips in the Himalayas, a lot of us got used to using wet wipes.

How do you poop on a portaledge?

Climbers use either ‘poop tubes’ or sealable bags to store their redundancies when climbing on big walls.

Climbers don’t crotch over the edge of their portaledge and let their poop fall down

. Of course, this would litter the climbing area, making a mess out of the wall.

Timothy Chehowski
Author
Timothy Chehowski
Timothy Chehowski is a travel writer and photographer with over 10 years of experience exploring the world. He has visited over 50 countries and has a passion for discovering off-the-beaten-path destinations and hidden gems. Juan's writing and photography have been featured in various travel publications.