The Nose Solo in Under 12 Hours
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El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California.Photo by Luke Laeser
p>Hans Florine has broken the record for speed-soloing The Nose on El Capitan, climbing Yosemite’s centerpiece route in 11 hours 41 minutes. The past record was Dean Potter’s solo in 12 hours 59 minutes, during his one-day solo of both El Cap and Half Dome in 1999. Florine, a speed specialist, also holds the outright record on The Nose of 2 hours 48 minutes, set with Yuji Hirayama in 2002.
Florine used a combination of techniques for his speedy solo trip up El Cap, including self-belayed leading, unroped soloing and “Metroviching” — a term coined after Russ Mitrovich speed-soloed Zodiac without a rope, using daisy chains to stay clipped to at least two pieces at all times. He passed a Korean party of four near the Great Roof, taking time to fix several ropes above them and to retrieve some water for them from Camp VI.
For a full account and a few photos, visit http://hansflorine.com/NIAHD/.