Yosemite - Long Hard Free Climbs

Several long (Grade V and VI) hard free (and nearly or mostly free) climbs are found in Yosemite Valley. This page attempts to provide:

significant repeat ascents, and details about the style used in each
some historical background - who freed what parts of them
topos (if not in guidebooks yet)

The definition of "long 'hard' free" climbs is rather arbitrary; the climbs included here are at least 10 pitches and 5.11 or harder. The idea was to include Astroman as one of the shorter and easier routes, but a few other routes seem to have slipped in.... The more climbs, the better! See also long moderate free climbs and midsize hard free climbs (including the West Face of Leaning Tower).

The purpose of this page is mainly to provide an accurate cumulative record of the facts on these climbs. Many details on style are given here, which have not always been accurately reported in the magazines. These facts have also been widely scattered in magazines over many years. The intent is not to be negative or trivially critical of the climbs and climbers. Just a plain presentation of the facts is intended. If people want to make a comparison of new ascents by themselves or others, they can refer here to a full set of details about what was involved in the previous attempts and ascents.

Jump to: West Buttress (El Cap) The Shaft (Muir/Shaft/Shield) Salathe' Wall Golden Gate El Corazon The Nose El Nino The Prophet
Washington Column Mt. Watkins Half Dome Glacier Point Apron Sentinel Rock .

Ribbon Falls

Silent Line - 5.13a R ** (10+ pitches: 1 5.13 pitch)
- FFA(of p1 only) - Dean Potter, 2004
  the free version of p1 is not always close to the bolts
  did not do the upper pitches
- nearly Free Ascent - 5.10c A1, Rick Cashner, Werner Braun, 4/82
  freed all pitches except the bolt ladder
Sky People - 5.11d (14 pitches)
- FA - Sean Jones, Phil Kettner, spring/2001
- AAJ 2004
Gates of Delirium - 5.12c ** (19 pitches: 2 5.11, 2 5.12 pitches)
- FA - Sean Jones, Jake Jones, 11/2002
- topo and beta Jim Herson
- AAJ 2004
Ribbon Candy - 5.11c ** (10 pitches: 2 5.11 pitches)
- FFA - Jonny Woodward, Scott Cosgrove, 5/88

El Capitan

West Face - 5.11b *** (20p: 4 5.11)
- FFA - Ray Jardine, Bill Price, 5/79
  Style/chronology of FFA:
  - May 14, 1979 - Jardine freed the first 2 pitches, with Susie belaying.
  - May 17, 1979 - Jardine jumared the first 2 and belayed Bill Price free. They then alternated leads to the top of the 7th pitch.
  - May 20, 1979 - With the first two fixed, they alternated leads on the entire route in a single day. Not two days as indicated in the Mountain 69 article.
- 2nd FA - Max Jones, Mark Hudon, Spring 79 (4 days after Jardine and Price; Jones and Hudon were up on the Salathe' during the FFA of the West Face)
  After freeing and fixing the first two pitches, they freed the remainder the next day in 7 hours.
Lurking Fear - 5.13c ** (18p: 9 5.12, 3 5.13)
- FFA - Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden, 6/2000
  - 3 weeks of work, using fixed lines from ground
  - leading style not known (whether redpointed or protection preplaced)
  - both people led or followed every pitch free
  - In 2003, Tommy said the 5.13c rating was a "sandbag" (like the Nose); the crux pitches are actually harder than Zodiac (5.13d).
- pitch ratings (using topo in '87 guide):
  p1: 5.12c face,
  p2: 5.13c steep slab (120' with multiple cruxes, vertical and horizontal lunges),
  p3: 5.12d face, p4: 5.12a tricky pro,
  p5: 5.12b, p6: 5.12c,
  p7: 5.13c traverse (70' of 5.12c leading to one short blank section),
  p8: 5.10, p9: 5.10a, p10: 5.12b,
  p11: 5.13a/b (stick clip pin. Crux pin removed on 95% FA; has since reappeared),
  p12 "Grand Traverse": 5.12d via variation, p13: 5.12b, p14-p18: 5.10
- Attempted FA
  - Matt Wilder, 11/09
    Redpointed p1-p6, close to getting p7 but stopped due to worn skin and tight schedule.
    Matt's blog
- near FFA - Steve Schneider, Jeff Schoen, Alan Lester, spring/94
  - they left 1 aid move on p2 (5.13a A0), plus the rivet/hook traverse pitch (p7)
  - Climbing #146, Rock & Ice #63
  - all gear preplaced on aid for 95% FA
West Buttress - 5.13c (20p: 3 5.13)
- FFA - Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden Caldwell, 6/03
  - Tommy redpointed all the pitches at different times; a continous free ascent may or may not been done yet.
  - in their initial attempts, both apparently freed the first 4 pitches. After that, Beth mostly followed on ascenders to save time.
  - Climbing #224
- 95% FA - Matt Wilder, fall/02
  - freed all pitches to start of the Grand Traverse
  - established new free variations
  - cleaned the pitches
  - route description from Matt Wilder:
  - p1: 5.7
  - p2: 5.10a (fun flakes)
  - p3: 5.13c This is the first half of pitch 3 on the aid topo. Climb right instead at the first pendulum following the crack. When the crack bulges, traverse straight left to the second pendulum point on the aid pitch and stop here at a no hands for a belay. 5.13b or c (Matt thought b, Tommy thought c... let's go with c for now.)
  - p4: 5.12b This is the second half of the aid pitch 3. Climb left of the belay and slightly down on thin holds. Continue left and slightly up to gain a shallow left facing feature. Lieback it to a stance and climb the undercling flake to the left. Pull the bulge when possible and climb to the ledge. Traverse right on the ledge to get back to the belay at the top of pitch 3 on the aid topo)
  - p5: 5.12b (4 on the topo) This is a great pitch, though it sounds like it was wet when Tommy did the route. Probably a lot of the pitches were probably less pleasant because of wetness which isn't present in the fall. They called this pitch 12+ which would be true if it was wet.
  - p6: 5.11b (5 on topo) This is an excellent bulging hand crack... probably wet for Tommy and Beth. 11b hands to 5.10- 4" crack.
  - p7: 5.10c (6 on the topo) This pitch is not so great, but ok. Climb the groove on fairly easy moves to a few harder moves at the end.
  - p8: 5.12c (7 on topo) This is one of the hardest pitches on the route; a burly ow. You climb the physical steep ow for a while till it totally works you and then you have to pull outside of the crack onto the face to pull a delicate ~V4 crux. Then it is back into the crack which opens up again and is easier to the top. A stiff challenge.
  - p9: 5.12a (8 on topo) Pull a 12a bouldery move to climb past the roof and move up into the left crack. Continue up easy flakes and then climb the very dirty (and probably very, very muddy for Tommy). Chimney...all bushes are on route. This is a long pitch and takes you to the top of a coffin shaped pillar.
  - p10: 5.11d (variation to 9 on topo) Climb out right on the loose face instead of going up the bolt ladder. Gain the ugly flare... mantel into the mud puddle, climb a little more, clean your shoes, and then commit to a runout lieback/undercling of the death flakes. Stand on top of them for the belay. 9 and 10 are by far the worst pitches on the route, all the other pitches have redeeming qualities and can even be called somewhat classic (when they are dry)
  - p11. 5.12a (pitch 10 on topo) Climb the beautiful, big, open dihedral. Matt climbed past the belay on the aid route to a one bolt belay that he made where you can get a no hands with a heel hook. This is where the crack starts to thin.
  - p12. 5.13b (pitch 11 on topo) Lieback the end of the crack and then pull hard face moves to get the flake to the right. Follow this flake to the roof and undercling the slopey roof to the finish. This pitch ends at the belay for the Grand Traverse pitch which isn't a no hands rest, but is an easy stance.
    Matt thought this pitch was 13c with V8 or 9 crux. Perhaps Tommy thought it was easier and he could be right because Matt was trying it without ever having a proper rest (no portaledge or belay seat). It's not clear that this is the grade he gave to this pitch, but it doesn't warrent anything less.
  - p11: 5.13b From where you left off on the last pitch, climb up into the underclings and then go left under the roof on technical climbing. Reach the horizontal crack that traverse leftwards a long way on it. Go past the anchors for the aid route and climb another 25 feet of easier climbing to gain a no hands rest where there is a one bolt belay and places for gear.
  - p12: 5.11c Climb a few not too hard moves to the left to gain the 11c pitch on Lurking fear that goes to the base of the 12d traversing pitch on that route.
  - Finish up the rest of Lurking Fear.
  - p11 and 12 were the only pitches that Matt didn't do on his attempt. He worked all of the moves out though and did pitch 11 in two hangs.
- 85% FA - Steve Schneider, Bill Price, early 90s???
  - all gear preplaced on aid for 85% FA
Dihedral Wall - 5.14a (25p: 5 5.12, 8 5.13, 1 5.14a)
- FFA - Tommy Caldwell, 5/04
  - topo at supertopo.com
  - start is 5.11
  - p2-p5 are 5.12
  - p6 is 5.14a, a face climbing variation bolted by Skinner and Piana
  - p7-p15 are 5.13 (some 5.13d, 5.13c, many 5.13b), except one pitch is a 5.12+ flaring/rounded offwidth
  - only a few variations; almost entirely the original line
  - 4 day ascent
  - belayers on the final push: Adam Stack and Beth Rodden Caldwell (with a broken foot protected in a mountain boot)
  - prep: soloed the route in fall/03 and spring/04, to check for free climbing and start working some of the moves. More prep later, working on it with Adam Stack.
  - on the final redpoint push, he took at least one fall on most of the hard pitches, and some of the pitches took 5-6 attempts.
- Todd Skinner and Paul Piana worked on freeing this route in 2001
- 50% FA - Alan Lester, Peter Takeda, 5/94
  - Climbing #146
  - all gear preplaced on aid for 50% FA
  - 2 5.12+ pitches freed
Excalibur - 5.13a A4 ** (28p: 5 5.11, 8 5.12, 1 5.13, 75% free)
- 75% FA - Steve Schneider, Bill Price, Jeff Schoen, 5/92
- final push - 9 days
- 4-5 days of preparation on lower pitches
- Climbing #140
- pitch ratings (using topo in '87 guide): p5: 5.12d thin or face, p6: A4, p7: 5.12a, p8: 5.12b ow, p9: 5.12c ow, p10: 5.10, p11-p12: A3, p13: 5.12d ow, p14: A3, p15: 5.11c, p16: 5.12a, p17: 5.10d, p18: 5.12d protection bolts added, p19: ?, p20: 5.11c, p21: 5.13a tips, p22: ?, p23: ?, p24: 5.11d, p25.1: 5.12a, p25.2: A2, p26: 5.11d, p27: 5.11a ow
- all gear preplaced on aid for 75% FA
The Shaft (Muir/Shaft/Shield) - 5.13c ** (33p: 7 5.11, 14 5.12, 4 5.13)
- topo
- FFA - Tommy Caldwell, Nick Sagar, 5/2001
  - both climbers freed all pitches (either on lead or following)
  - done in 2 pushes - first lower half, then up fixed ropes to free upper half
  - style for leading pitches - preplaced gear
  - preparation: Tommy Caldwell toproped pitches 31 and 32 (the last aid pitches) in 7/2000.
- near (99%) FFA - Kurt Smith, Scott Cosgrove, 6/94
  - stopped by p32 - a thin A2 pitch above Chickenhead Ledge
  - 10 days on the final push
  - Work on lower part: 20-40 days
  - Styles used for leading pitches:
    1. Redpoint: pitches 1 2 6-12 15 16 18-20 22 28 29 33
    2. Pinkpoint: pitches 3 4 21
    3. Preplaced gear/pinkpoint: pitches 5 13 14 17 23-27 30
    4. Aided: pitches 31 32 (20' of A1)
  - Climbing #146, 176, 178 (p.14)
preMuir (Muir/Shaft/Turning Point/Shield) - 5.13 ** (33?p: 7? 5.11, 12 5.12, 6 5.13)
- A 5 pitch variation to The Shaft, with a new 5.13d crux.
- the route follows the Muir and then Shaft variation (corner system to right), then traverses back left to the original Muir to avoid some loose blocks on the Shaft. Up a difficult stemming corner, and then traverses left and frees part of Turning Point before rejoining the Shaft and finishing on the Shield.
- FFA - Rob Miller, Justen Sjong, 5/07
  - final 7 day push
  - worked on the route for 2.5 years
- 2nd FA - Hazel Findlay, James Mchaffie, 10/2012
  - both freed every pitch
  - Neil Dyer was also on the team and freed almost every pitch
  - James and Neil climbed Muir Blast to Mammoth first, then did it again with Hazel
  - climbed to Grey Ledges, but were stuck behind an aid party, went down before some wet weather
  - jumared back to Grey Ledges and freed it to the top in a 5 day final push
  - used a few fixed pins in the stemming corner, mainly to keep the nuts from lifting out
  - http://hazelfindlay.wordpress.com/2012/10/
Magic Mushroom - 5.13d/5.14a (31p: 1 5.13d/5.14a, 10 5.13, 9 5.12)
- FFA - Tommy Caldwell, Justen Sjong, 5/08
  - swung leads; each freed every pitch, except for p20, which Sjong followed the first 2/3 free, then later toproped the upper 1/3 free
  - free version is straighter, and follows the original aid route 60-70% of the time
  - the climbing includes some technical flaring chimneys
  - final 5 day push, with some cached bags and portaledges
  - worked on the route for 5 weeks
  - originally worked on for 2 years by Adam Stack, 2005
  - climbing.com
- 2nd FA - Tommy Caldwell, 6/08
  - Tommy led all pitches
  - 20 hours
  - attempted one week earlier, spending nearly 24 hours, but took 3 falls at the last hard move on the crux pitch and couldn't get it free
  - partner: Beth Rodden
  - alpinist.com
Free Blast - 5.11b *** (10p: 2 5.11)
- FFA - Jim Bridwell, John Long, Kevin Worrall, Mike Graham, John Bachar, and Ron Kauk, 5/75
- First 10 pitches of the Salathe' Wall (see below)
Salathe' Wall - 5.13b *** (35p: 7 5.11, 4 5.12, 4 5.13)
topo - shows both the Skinner/Piana and Huber versions of the climb.
- FFA - Todd Skinner, Paul Piana, 6/88
  - 7 days on final push
  - Preparation: about 30 days, over 2 months
    Skinner had also freed most of it with Craig Smith in 1987.
  - Most pitches were redpointed. Other pitches were "pinkpointed": gear was placed free on lead, and the rope was pulled between attempts.
  - Many pitches were followed on aid to conserve strength/skin/flesh.
  - Besides the p24 "Teflon Corner", they also bolted a new 5.12a knobby variation on the left end of Long Ledge, to avoid the thin start of the original aid pitch off the right end of Long Ledge.
  - Climbing #110
  - High #191, October 1998 - a few more details on Teflon Corner
- 2nd FA - Alex Huber, 6/95
  - final push: 3 days (1 day to Lung Ledge, and fix back to ground due to rain; 2 more days to top), with Heinz Zak.
  - Preparation: 18 days
  - Redpointed all pitches
  - used new variations to avoid 2 pitches (see below under Crux pitches)
  - Climbing #154
  - On The Edge #51
- 3rd FA - Thomas Huber, 7/96
  - He used the original p19 corner, split it into 2 pitches. He led the second half in "yoyo from no hands rest" style. Did not return to the belays and did not pull the rope.
  - He used Alex Huber's variation to avoid the "Teflon Corner".
  - He also yoyoed the second Headwall pitch, from a "no hands rest" at the big hole in the middle of the pitch.
  - 2 days on final push
  - Prior to his FA, he also made three attempts to free the route in a day:
    - On the first attempt, he failed on the first headwall pitch (just before the belay).
    - On attempts 2 and 3, he failed on p19 (fell and hurt his fingers).
  - Climbing #164
  - Rock & Ice #76 - more detailed, by Huber
- 4th FA - Yuji Hirayama, 9/97
  - used Alex Huber's variations.
  - originally tried to onsight the Teflon Corner. He fell, worked it some, then bailed and flashed Huber's variation.
  - 2 days for an almost entirely flashed ascent.
  - flashed most pitches; only 4 falls and a little work on headwall pitches. (Not counting falls on the Teflon Corner which he ultimately did not use).
  - onsight style; his belayers did not provide any beta on the moves. They sometimes gave him an idea on protection, but no exact beta was given on that.
  - pinkpointed the 2 headwall pitches, instead of redpointing, to save time.
  - no fixed ropes were used, except to provide a brief rest and rewarming on Long Ledge, before his final attempt on the 2nd Headwall pitch.
  - time: 37:30
  - Climbing #172, 173
  - Climb - Australia New Zealand #5 -- many details
    interview translated from Grimper (French) #?
  - On The Edge #79
  - partners: Hans Florine, Hidetaka Suzuki
- 5th FA - Tommy Caldwell, 5/99
  - used Alex Huber's variations. (Teflon Corner was likely wet)
  - final push: 2 days (5/14-15/99); jugged to Heart
  - only one fall on the final push (lowered and reled the pitch).
  - preparation: worked on the Headwall a week before his final push; tried the route in 1998
  - partner: Mike Cassidy
  - AAJ 2000
- 6th FA (his 2nd) - Tommy Caldwell, 5/28/02
  - probably used Alex Huber's variations.
  - no falls
  - first one-day free ascent
  - 19.5 hours, including a 3 hour nap at The Block, allowing the pitches above to cool off.
  - preparation: worked the Headwall a few days prior, plus his 1999 free ascent.
  - partner: Beth Rodden
- 7th FA (his 2nd) - Yuji Hirayama, 9/19/02
  - used Alex Huber's variations, as before.
  - no falls
  - second one-day free ascent
  - 13 hours
  - used a 70 meter rope to link multiple pitches -
    one pitch from Sois le Toit ledge to the stance at the lip of the roof.
    one pitch from the lip to Long Ledge (linking 3 5.13 pitches from the Skinner topo into one)
- 8th FA - Jim Herson, 7/3-4/03
  - used original Skinner-Piana pitches
  - climbed to base of Headwall on 7/3; Headwall pitches were too hot, so he aided to the top. Rappelled back in on 7/4 and redpointed the Headwall to the top.
  - preparation: many ascents over several years
  - partner: Hans Florine
  - trip report
- 9th FA - Justen Sjong, Adam Stack, 4/12/04
  - used Alex Huber's variations
  - their 3rd attempt
  - 4 days on their successful ascent
  - style: lead and followed all pitches free. A continuous ascent from the ground, using some gear stashed at El Cap Spire.
  - no falls until headwall. Sjong had 2 falls there (one on purpose as a "warmup burn"). Stack had one fall, following the 5.12a knob pitch above Long Ledge.
- 10th FA - Steph Davis, 10/05
  - 11 days on the free push
  - originally planned for 5 days, but many delays due to passing parties, heat, sleet/rain, falls, and running out of food.
  - preparation: many days during the summer toproping pitches solo, plus the pitches worked in 2004 for Freerider
  - Days:
    - 0 - Free Blast to top of Hollow Flake, belayed by Dean Potter. Rapped down for the night.
    - 1 - up the fixed lines to Hollow Flake with Cybele Blood, free to Alcove (via Huber offwidth variation, probably)
    - 2 - fell on the 5.12d Huber variation while an aid climber hung on a piece below
    - ~8 - fell on the last move of the 5.13b Enduro pitch (long headwall pitch)
    - 9 - out of food, Blood jumared to the top, went down the East Ledges and returned with supplies, so that Davis could finish. Davis in turn jumared to the rim to retrieve a water cache, then rapped back in to the free high point.
    - 10 - redpointed the 5.13b Enduro pitch, on her fourth redpoint attempt
    - 11 - freed the 5.13b Boulder pitch to Long Ledge in the morning, then free to the top.
  - Climbing #246
- 11th FA - Alex Honnold, 10/07
  - used Alex Huber's variations
  - no falls
  - 3 days -
    first day to the Block, where they had stashed some bivvy gear
    rest day at the Block
    third day to the top
  - linked multiple pitches -
    one pitch from Sois le Toit ledge to the stance at the lip of the roof.
    one pitch from the lip to Long Ledge
    8b as linked
  - preparation: had done Freerider twice; worked the linked Headwall pitches. A week prior, belayed Jake Whittaker on Freerider.
  - belayed by John Robinson
- 12th FA - Alex Honnold, 5/09
  - used Alex Huber's variations
  - one fall, near the top of the linked headwall pitches
  - 8 hours
  - climbed with Sean Leary; much of the route was simulclimbed;
  - tried to enchain with Half Dome, but it rained up there
- early 92% FA - Max Jones, Mark Hudon, Spring 1979
  - overall, all but 250' free, of which 100' was wet (on the Jungle pitch; it had been freed before)
  - see below under "early pitches freed" for more details
- p19 corner above The Ear - 5.13b
  - FFA - Skinner, 1988
    - Used a belay above the 5.10d roof, to split the pitch into two parts. (See cover photo of Climbing #110); also verified by Piana.
    - Not sure if redpointed or pinkpointed.
  - 2nd FA - Thomas Huber, 6/96
    - During his first attempt to free it in a day.
    - Split the pitch into two parts.
    - Yoyoed second part from no hands rest, just under the crux.
  - 3rd FA - Thomas Huber, 7/96
    - During his successful free ascent of the route.
    - Split the pitch into two parts.
    - Yoyoed second part from the no hands rest.
    - Considers the pitch to be 5.13c or maybe harder.
  - 4th FA - Jim Herson, 10/98
    - Split the pitch into two parts.
    - Redpointed the upper part.
  - 5th FA, FFA of original pitch, 5.13c - Jim Herson, 7/01
    - Redpointed the entire original p19, without splitting it above the 5.10d roof.
    - A tube chock was used near the lip of the roof to prevent the rope from running deep inside the crack and causing rope drag when high on the pitch.
  - 6th FA - Jim Herson, 10/01
    - Redpointed the entire original p19, without the tube chock this time.
  - alternative: 5.12b traverse to 5.10d offwidth of Bermuda Dunes (used by FAs #2-5). This was also considered by Skinner and Piana. Piana wrote in Climbing #110:
    "Our original plan called for avoiding the aid pitch above The Ear by climbing an offwidth just to the left. Steve Schneider had run these pitches out during the first ascent of Bermuda Dunes, but we both doubted our offwidth skills and wanted nothing to do with such a loathsome technique. Since we were aesthetically repulsed by this vile crevice, we decided we would have our way with the original aid pitch or else abandon the climb."
- p24 "Teflon Corner" - 5.12d
  - FFA - Skinner, 88
    - Piana followed the pitch free.
    - The crux section is only 10' long, but very technical stemming.
  - 2nd FA - Doug Englekirk, 98
    - Split the pitch into two parts. The lower part is 5.11b, to the belay added by Alex Huber, where his traverse variation starts.
    - Redpointed the upper part.
    - Climbing #183
  - 3rd FA - Jim Herson, 6/01
  - 4th FA - Jim Herson, 7/01
  - 5th FA - Jim Herson, 10/01
  - 6th? FA - Lucho Rivera, 6/08
    Apparently the first time it was done with no falls. Semi-onsight, since he cleaned it first.
  - 7th? FA - Leo Houlding Sean Leary, 6/08
  - "free climbed" by Alex Huber on his recon (apparently not led free?)
  - A new variation bolted by Skinner, as they could only free the first half of the original p24 at 5.12a.
  - Alternative: (was 5.13a, now 5.13b, used by FAs #2-5). After first half of Teflon Corner, traverse right to original aid corner. Then traverse right of the original corner onto a face with bolt. May have been split into two pitches due to rope drag. This alternative was drier than the upper Teflon Corner during Alex Huber's recon. This variation got harder in 2008 when a flake broke at the crux; in June 2008 people climbed the Teflon Corner instead. It is now 5.13b.
- p30+31 "first Headwall pitch" - 5.13b
  - FFA (as 2 separate pitches) - Skinner, 1988
  - 2nd FA (combined both pitches) - Hidetaka Suzuki, 1990s?
    - Used preplaced gear.
    - He did not free p32, the "second Headwall pitch".
  - Skinner led the start of this pitch (p30) for 15' unprotected off the belay, before he could clip a fixed piton. A bolt was added in this section by a later party, prior to Alex Huber's ascent. Besides making the crux moves better protected, the bolt also makes it easier to link the two pitches, since it reduces rope drag. Alex Huber placed the belay bolts at the start of this pitch, but I don't know if he placed the protection bolt.
- p32 "second Headwall pitch" - 5.13b
  - FFA - Piana, 1988
    photo at www.paulpiana.com
  - The presence of fixed gear and yoyo vs. redpoint styles make a big difference on this pitch, as it is hard to place the RPs. A fixed Lost Arrow piton was used by Piana and by the Hubers. It was not in place for Hirayama.
- 5.12c traverse to Hollow Flake freed by Stefan Glowacz, 1986 or 87
- Max Jones, Mark Hudon, Spring 1979:
  - pitch above Heart Ledge - 5.11c
  - pitch below The Ear - 5.10d
  - all but last 20' (4 aid moves) of pitch above The Ear - 5.12 A1
  - 2 pitches above El Cap Spire - 5.11c, 5.11a
  - pitch below The Roof - 5.12d
  - most of The Roof - 5.11 A1 (free to the "foot of the dangling hand traverse"; now given 5.11d or 5.12b for full pitch)
  - all but last 25' of main headwall pitch - 5.12 A1
  - overall, all but 250' free, of which 100' was wet (on the Jungle pitch; it had been freed before)
  - Mountain #79, AAJ '81
- Free Blast (free to Mammoth) freed by Jim Bridwell, John Long, Kevin Worrall, Mike Graham, John Bachar, and Ron Kauk, 5/75
  Originally the Free Blast involved doing the first pitch of the Nose free, and then traversing left on hard friction past 2 bolts to reach the Salathe above its p3 roof traverse. This was climbed by Mike Graham and Kevin Worrall. Above this, they freed the pitches of the Salathe' to Mammoth, using a free variation to the right of the original Robbins bolt ladder (with one bolt placed on the variation). When following this pitch, Graham removed the aid bolts which were not used; they were later mostly restored. See Kevin' Worrall's post on supertopo.com.
Salathe' Wall / Freerider - 5.12d ** (37p: 8 5.11, 5 5.12)
- FFA - Alex and Thomas Huber, 10/98
  - topo
  - Salathe' Wall / Excalibur
  - uses a new 5.12a traverse and 3 previously freed Excalibur pitches to avoid the 5.13 Salathe' Headwall
  - used Alex Huber's variations to avoid the p19 corner and "Teflon Corner".
    Note: the Huber varation which avoided the Teflon Corner has changed, and recent ascents in June 2008 climbed the Teflon Corner instead.
  - time: 15:25. Both climbers freed all 37 pitches.
  - This variation was eyed by Skinner and Piana as a "backup plan", in case they were unable to free the Salathe' Headwall
  - Climbing #182
- 2nd FA - Heinz Zak, Peter Janschek, 9/98, wet conditions, (AAJ 1999)
- 3rd FA - Scott Burk, Sam Shannon, 6/99 (AAJ 2000)
- 4th? FA - Rob Miller, Nathan Martin, 2001, 5 days
- 5th? FA - Dean Potter, 9/02, linked after doing Half Dome free
  He did the crux at 3:40am, using 4 headlamps (one fall, redpointed).
- 6th? FA - Ben Bransby, Jvan Tresch, 10/02, 13:50
- 7th? FA - Matjaz Jeran, Miha Valic, 10/03
- 8th? FA - Steph Davis, 4/04, 4 days
  Led all pitches
  3rd woman to free El Cap; 2nd to lead all pitches free
- 9th? FA - Mike Anderson, Mark Anderson, 5/04
  Mike led or followed all pitches free with no falls
  6 days, including one rest day, and a day off to fly home to Salt Lake City and take an exam!
  they aided the Salathe' in 2002, but otherwise hadn't worked on the free pitches
- 10th? FA - Steph Davis, 5/04, 22 hours 15 minutes
  2nd woman to free El Cap in a day, leading all pitches
  started in the evening, climbed to the Alcove and slept 3 hours there
  crux sideways dyno above is 5.13a for 5'5" person
  partner - Heinz Zak
- 11th? FA - Andres Cottamiata Muller, Fernando A. Ayres, 6/04
  worked on the free pitches in the spring
- 12th? FA - Nicolas Favresse, Seán Villanueva, Fall/04
  onsighted 35 of the 36 pitches
- 13th? FA - Doug Englekirk, Fall/04
  onsighted the Freerider variation pitches
  had been up the Salathe' several times
- 14th? FA - Ivo Ninov, 6/05
  this was after the infamous incident where he removed the fixed lines to Heart, to reduce competing traffic on Freerider! (Even though some of the lines had been placed recently by parties actively working routes).
  with Nico (Nicolas Favresse?)
- 15th? FA - Leo Houlding, 9/05
  - onsighted all but one pitch, where he took one fall (had climbed Free Blast before, but not Salathe')
  - Day 1: started at 10am, reached El Cap Spire bivvy at 4:20pm, 21 pitches, no falls
  - Day 2: started at 8am (after a cold bivvy), took one fall on p24 (5.12d crux), on top at 5:30pm
  - belayed by Chris Van Leuven
- 16th? FA - Chris Thomas, 9/05
  - onsighted all but two pitches, over 3.5 days. First time on El Cap.
  - Took one fall when off route on the Free Blast, and one fall on on p24 (5.12d crux)
  - belayed by Robert Georgantas
- 17th? FA - Sean Leary, Steve Schneider, 10/05
  - swapped leads to Sous le Toit ledge, then Leary led the remaining 5.12 pitches. All pitches were followed free.
  - Leary took one fall, leading the 5.12d Huber variation
  - Schneider had 3 falls, following the last 3 5.12 pitches, but returned to each belay to follow free (including reversing the 5.12 traverse).
  - preparation: Leary worked the route in 2004, when he nearly freed it in a day. Schneider had not tried the 5.12 Freerider variation pitches.
  - 3 days
- 18th? FA - Tommy Caldwell, 10/05
  - done in preparation for the Nose-Freerider linkup, a few days after freeing the Nose in a day
  - preparation: freed the Salathe' in 1999 and 2002
- 19th? FA - Tommy Caldwell, 10/05, linked with the Nose
  - 2 falls on p28 (5.12b flaring corner crack), partly because it was dark and hard to see the stemming footholds
  - 10:50 for Freerider, 23:23 elapsed time for the linkup
  - started at 1:36pm, on top at 12:26am
  - 2 hours for the first 10 pitches
  - on the Monster Offwidth at sunset
  - belayed by Chris McNamara
- 20th? FA - Nick Martino, 6/06
  - 1 fall on the 5.11d traverse from the Ear to the Monster Offwidth; got it second try
  - preparation: tried it in June/05; stashed a little water on the route
  - 6 days, no fixed pitches
  - bivvies: Hollow Flake, Alcove, Block (rest day), Knights of Round Table
  - due to heat, siestas in afternoons at bivvies with the portaledge as a sun blocker
  - belayed & assisted by Sandy Rea
- 21st? FA - Alex Honnold, Ben Gilkison, 10/06
  - Honnold: almost onsight - one fall
  - Gilkison: did not free all of it
  - 1.5 day push
- 22nd? FA - Alex Honnold, Brian Kimball, 5/07
  - Honnold led and hauled every pitch; both climbers freed every pitch
  - started at 6:30pm, on top at 3pm, 20:30 elapsed time
  - two falls on p24 (5.12d crux), rope pulled between attempts
  - on the Free Blast at sunset
  - Monster Offwidth by headlamp
  - on p24 at sunrise
  - linked the 2 corner pitches above Sous Le Toit
- 23rd? FA - Nicolas Potard, Paul Dudas, 5/07
  - each led about half the pitches, and followed free, although Potard led the cruxes.
  - day 1: free to Hollow Flake Ledge, then down Sean Leary's fixed ropes
  - day 2: rest day
  - day 3: free to The Block, where they had previously stashed food/water by rapping down the route
  - day 4: free to the top
  - redpointed all pitches, except the 2 corner pitches below the roof, which were pinkpointed
  - there was a sketchy fixed rope behind Potard's feet when he was doing the 5.12b traverse - not fun
  - 4th attempt for Potard; one time (10/06) his #6 Friend got stuck in the Monster offwidth - it's still there!
- 24th? FA - Nick Martino, Cedar Wright, 5/07
  - each led about half the pitches, and followed free. Nick led the boulder problem and Ceder had the 5.12c corner.
  - the only fall taken was by Nick on the 5.12a traverse; he then followed it free. Cedar had a no falls ascent.
  - day one: started at 5am and climbed to the Alcove by 10am
  - day two: rested at the Alcove
  - day three: climbed to the top
- 25th? FA - Stephane Perron, 6/07
  - rope-solo free ascent, belaying himself with a Soloist
  - 2 falls - one on the boulder problem, and one on the easy pitch to Sous Le Toit.
  - all other pitches were redpointed first try. The above two were redpointed second try, after cleaning the gear from the first try.
  - 7 days
  - had previously done the Salathe'
- 26th? FA - Stephanie Bodet, 6/07
  - 1 fall, on the first pitch of the enduro corner. On the next day, she aided it and then led it free first try with the preplaced gear. She also did the same for the next pitch, as it was very slippery in the hot conditions, and she preferred to climb it that way rather than to not free it.
  - 6 days - originally planned for 4 days, but it was very hot, so they took a rest day at the Alcove
  - 2nd woman to free the route, leading all pitches
  - belayed by Arnaud Petit
  - 4 days of preparation
- 27th? FA - Nick Martino, Cedar Wright, 6/07
  - in a day this time
- 28th? FA - Renan Ozturk, 6/07
  - about 7 days
  - belayed by Amee
- 29th? FA - Micah Dash, Matt Segal, 6/07
  - 6 days floor to floor
  - Micah worked the route 3 years ago, but couldn't do the boulder problem
  - they worked 2 days on the monster ow and boulder problem prior to the send this year
  - Matt onsighted the 12c corner
  - Matt's first time up El Cap
- 30th? FA - Lee Cossey, Lawrence Dermody, 9/07
  - both climbed each pitch free
- 31st? FA - Jake Whittaker, 10/07
  - 13 hours
  - had tried the route twice before from the ground
  - belayed by Alex Honnold, who mostly jumared and aided, but followed the long corner to the base of the Roof free with the pack on
- 32nd? FA - Dana Drummond, 10/07
  - prehauled a bag to Heart, then 5 days on the wall
  - had been on it before
  - belayed by John Gleason, who also freed a couple of the pitches
- 33rd? FA - Lucho Rivera, 6/08
  - led all pitches
  - cleaned and freed the Teflon Corner; the Huber variation to the right has changed
  - 1 fall - on the 5.12a traverse which avoids the Salathe' Roof; reled it
  - 3 days
- 34th? FA - Leo Houlding, Sean Leary, 6/08
  - simulclimbed to the start of the Teflon Corner in 5 hours
  - belayed from there to the top
  - both climbers freed all pitches
  - 11.5 hours to top
  - first part of a linkup with Half Dome, in under 24 hours
  - both had done the route before
Golden Gate = Salathe' Wall / Heart Route - 5.13b (41p: 5 5.12, 3 5.13)
- 5th? FA - Justen Sjong, Steve Schneider, 6/04
  - info from bdel.com and climbing.com (Hot Flashes section)
- 6th? FA - Martina Cufar, Sean Leary, 5/07
  - mostly exchanging the leads
  - all the pitches were climbed free by both, except The Downclimb and The Move pitch only freed by Sean and A5 traverse only by Martina
  - Martina flashed Goldendesert and A5 traverse
  - 6 days
- 7th? FA - Tommy Caldwell, 6/07
  - one fall, on his first try on a 5.13 pitch
  - onsighted all but one of the pitches not shared with El Corazon
  - 20 hours
  - Beth Rodden belayed and followed on ascenders
- 8th? FA - Sean Leary, Jimmy Haden, 6/07
  - Sean had one fall on The Downclimb pitch; got it second try. Led all 5.13 pitches first go
  - Jimmy freed all pitches except The Move and A5 traverse
  - 3 days: 1 to Alcove, 2 to Tower to the People, 3 to top
- 9th? FA - Lee Cossey, 10/07
  - 5 days ground up 1st attempt
  - 4 falls; all redpointed 2nd attempt
  - partner, Lawry Dermody who was also attempting the route
  - on all of the 3 routes they climbed this fall they used no stashing or fixing
- 10th? FA - Alex Honnold, Chris Weidner, 10/07
  - 4 days
  - 3 falls for Alex - 2 on the 5.12c slab downclimb and one on the Golden Desert. Then redpointed both. All other pitches onsight.
  - Chris worked the slab downclimb, but it required a downmantle that he couldn't do; his knees were not up for it.
  - some gear prestashed at Hollow Flake and Tower to the People
  - day 1: climbed and hauled to the Alcove
  - day 2: climbed 4 pitches, including working on the slab downclimb pitch. Then it started raining, so they left a rope fixed and went down to bivvy. It rained the rest of the day and all night; Chris' bivy sack leaked and he got pretty cold.
  - day 3: spent until noon drying out wet gear, then climbed to the Tower to the People, with Alex leading everything, and Chris following as fast as possible (freeing most, but skipping a few scary moves). Got to the Tower by dark.
  - day 4: topped out
  - about 7c+ (easier than the Salathe' as linked - 8b)
- 11th? FA - Petter Restorp, Stefan Wulf, 10/08
  - Style: both freed all pitches, changing leads.
  - Petter fell on the downclimb and the move, but redpointed these pitches.
  - Stefan fell on the the traverse to the monster, the downclimb, the move, golden desert, and A5-traverse, but redpointed these pitches.
  - 6 days, one push
  - Also worth mentioning is that this was Stefan's first multi-pitch climb!
- 12th? FA - Ueli Steck, 5/09
  - onsighted all pitches except for 1 fall on the 5.11 pitch above El Cap Spire, which was wet
  - 4 days
  - partner, Nicole Steck
- 13th? FA - Mason, Clay, 5/09
- Attempted 2nd FA
  - Tim Kemple, Chris Van Leuven, Matt Childers, 7/01
    Taking 5 days from the ground up, they free climbed all the pitches except the A5 traverse. Kemple tried it 4 times, but always had one hang.
    photo of Matt Childers (on Golden Desert pitch?) from timkemple.com
- climbs the lower half of Salathe'/Freerider to El Cap Spire (23 pitches). 60' above El Cap Spire, it traverses out right 300' (one short 5.12 section) to reach the Heart Route. The first 3 pitches on the Heart Route are 5.10. The 4th is a 5.13a face bypass to "Rainy Day Woman Crack". An old 5.9 pitch and a former A3 pitch reach the Tower to the People bivouac ledge. Above the bivouac are 2 more 5.13 pitches. It finishes up a sustained overhanging 300' 5.11 thin lieback flake (the "Razor Blade" and "Golden Eagle" pitches), just left of the "Fat City" ramp pitches on the Heart Route. 18 new free pitches, 10 of which were existing pitches on the Heart Route.
- crux pitches (after it leaves the Salathe')
  - 5.13a, bouldery pitch, which bypasses the "Rainy Day Woman Crack" on a newly bolted face to the left. A few small undercling flakes broke during the FFA, and the pitch was redpointed after they broke.
  - "Golden Desert" 5.13a, face to thin lieback, above Tower to the People bivouac
  - "A5 Traverse" 5.13b, 50' traverse. Immediately follows "Golden Desert".
- El Corazon topo shows pitches from "Golden Desert" to top.
El Corazon = Free Blast(Salathe') / Flight of the Albatross / Son of Heart / Heart Route - 5.13b (35p: 5 5.12, 5 5.13)
- topo copied from Huber web page
- FFA - Alex Huber, 10/01
- 2nd FA - Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden, 5/07
  - swapped leads to Grey Ledges, then Tommy led most of the upper pitches.
  - instead of using a bird beak to protect the crux on p17, they traversing a little to the side and clipped rivets
  - 7 day push
- new crux pitches
  - "Beak Flake" 5.13b R, p17. Only 4 pitches above Mammoth Terrace. The crux dyno move is 25' above a ledge, protected only by a dubious Bird Beak.
  - "Coffee Corner" 5.13a, p27.
  - "Roof Traverse" 5.13b, p28. Joins Heart Route/Golden Gate here, at start of "Golden Desert" pitch.
- includes 2 crux pitches of Golden Gate ("Golden Desert" 5.13a, "A5 Traverse" 5.13b)
- Preparation: Alex aided the route with Max Reichel in September, then spent 6 days working on the free sequences. It was freed in a 3-day push with Reichel.
- style for leading pitches - redpoint, with a few fixed pins as noted in the topo.
- Huber Corazon page 1 overlay photo, German route description
- Huber Corazon page 2 pitch photos, topo
The Nose - 5.13c/5.14b *** (34p: 6 5.11, 4 5.12, 1 5.13, 1 5.13/5.14)
- FFA - Lynn Hill 9/93
  - AAJ 1994 online version
- 2nd FA - Lynn Hill 9/94, in a day
  - 23 hours (10pm 9/19 - 9pm 9/20)
  - only 2 falls -- both on the "Houdini Corner" above Camp 6
  - one previous attempt, 9/6, ended at Great Roof (too hot)
  - Climbing #148
- nearly FA - Scott Burk 11/98, led all but Great Roof, which he toproped free. It was wet at that time.
  - led the "Houdini" or "Changing Corners" pitch above Camp 6, which he feels is 5.14b for his body size.
  - 12 days on the continuous near-free ascent.
  - Preparation: 261 days of work, starting in January 1996.
    During this time, he led 3 sections of the Great Roof, but did not link them.
  - Climbing #185 online version
- 3rd FA - Tommy Caldwell, Beth Rodden 10/05
  - each led about half the pitches, and every pitch was followed free
  - Great Roof 5.13c, led by Rodden, on her second try that day
  - Changing Corners 5.14a, led by Caldwell, on his third try that day
  - 4 days on the free push:
    1. started at midnight, climbed 20 pitches to Camp 4, where they hid from the sun, using some stashed bivvy gear
    2. Great Roof to Camp 6
    3. Caldwell led Changing Corners pitch, Rodden rested
    4. Rodden followed Changing Corners pitch, on her second try. Then free to top out at around noon.
  - preparation: 5 weeks of working pitches
  - Climbing #245
- 4th FA - Tommy Caldwell 10/05, in a day
  - only one fall, on the 5.14a Changing Corners pitch
  - under 12 hours
  - started at midnight, reached Dolt Tower at 3am
  - belayed by Beth Rodden
  - Climbing #245
- 5th FA - Tommy Caldwell 10/05, linked with Freerider in a day
  - two falls, on the 5.14a Changing Corners pitch
  - 11 hours
  - started at 1am, ran/rappelled down the East Ledges, reaching El Cap Meadow before 1pm
  - belayed by Beth Rodden
- pitch above Camp 5 - 5.12d - Brooke Sandahl, 1992
- last pitch (new variation) - 5.12c - Brooke Sandahl, Dave Schultz, 1991
- variations to Camp 4 - Ray Jardine, et al, 1980
  included chipped traverse to avoid King Swing
- all but 400' freed - John Bachar, Ron Kauk, Dale Bard, 1975
- Stovelegs - Jim Bridwell, Jim Stanton, 1968
The Passage to Freedom (New Dawn) - 5.13d A0
See the midsize list - this route is 7 pitches; slightly too short for this page.
El Nino - 5.13c A0 ** (30p: 5 5.11, 7 5.12, 6 5.13, 1 25' rappel, 99% free)
- topo
- Continental Drift / New Jersey Turnpike / North American Wall
- FFA - Alex and Thomas Huber, 9/98
  - 3 days on continuous ascent
  - both climbers freed all pitches (except the rappel)
  - Preparation: many days, over a 3 week period
  - 20 bolts added to new variation pitches
  - Climbing #182; includes topo
  - El Nino nice detailed article (with photos) by Thomas Huber
- 2nd FA - Leo Houlding, Patrick Hammond, 10/98
  - 3 days on their ascent
  - climbers alternated leading and jumaring
  - all but 2 pitches (p3, p5) were onsight flashed; only 2 falls taken
- 3rd FA - Michael Mayr, Richard Schipflinger, 1999
  - AAJ 2000
- 4th FA - Iker Pou, Eneko Pou, 6/03
  - he reported a hold apparently broke on pitch 26 (Eismeer), changing it from 5.12d to 5.13d/5.14a (new crux of the route)
- 5th FA - Steve Schneider, Brian Cork, Heather Baer, 7/03
  - they established a 3-pitch 5.13a variation to avoid the broken hold on pitch 26 (Eismeer). This involved pitches of the original North American Wall, where 2 protection bolts were added with approval from Frost and Robbins. The variation is named "Lucy is a Labrador".
  - the Black Cave pitch was broken into 2 sections at a no-hands rest.
  - Schneider led 6 of the 7 5.13 pitches; Cork led 1 and followed the other free. Leading style: redpoint.
  - preparation: Schneider and Cork worked on the route since May, with help from Jeff Schoen and Steve Smith.
- 6th FA - Yuji Hirayama, 10/03
  - all but 2 pitches (p4, p15) were onsight flashed
  - only 2 falls taken
  - he used the "Lucy is a Labrador" variation
  - 5 days, with one rest day
  - details and photos
- 7th FA - Lee Cossey, 9/07
  - all but 3 pitches were onsight flashed; they were each redpointed on the second try:
    - Galapagos (5.13c)
    - the 5.12c pitch above "Black Dihedral", because the first reinforced foothold broke.
    - the final 5.13a pitch which was a traverse left hand variant to "Eismeer".
  - 6 days
  - partner: Lawrence Dermody, who split a tip working the 3rd hard pitch, then belayed and cleaned on the remainder of the climb.
- The first 5.13 pitch might be the pitch on the New Jersey Turnpike, originally bolted by Dave Schultz, Scott Franklin, and Jason Karn, 1994 (Climbing #146)
New Jersey Turnpike - 5.13? A0?
- 80% FA - Leo Houlding, Ivo Ninov, Tim Emmy, 2003
- details sparse, but apparently freed all of it except for 2 long bolt ladders near the top?
Zodiac - 5.13d (21p: 6 5.12, 6 5.13)
- topo (from rockandice.com)
- uses a 4 pitch start variation (vs. the 5 original pitches)
- FFA - Alex and Thomas Huber, 10/03
  - 3 days on free ascent
  - Preparation: Spring 2003 - freed all the pitches individually except the Nipple pitch. Needed cooler conditions to redpoint it.
  - In the process, they set a 2:32 speed record for the route. Probably this is with their start variation, but I'm not sure.
- 2nd FA - Tommy Caldwell, 11/03
  - with Topher Donahue, who freed all the moves, but did not link every pitch.
  - 6 day push on free ascent
  - spent 2 days working on the Nipple pitch (5.13d)
  - Preparation: 2 prior trips up the route for Tommy
The Prophet - 5.13? (13p: ? 5.13)
- overlay of A1 Beauty and top
- First 5 pitches of Bad to the Bone, then 3 new pitches, a traverse to The Secret Pasage, does 25' of The Secret Passage (original intended line in 2001), and finishes on the last 4 pitches of Eagle's Way.
- some pitch ratings: p1 5.12b R, p2 5.12b R, p3 5.11d X, p4 5.13a R, A1 Beauty start V8, A1 Beauty end "not as powerful but very sustained", last pitch 5.13b R
  from sonnietrotter.com 10/23/2011
- FA/FFA - Leo Houlding, Jason Pickles, 10/10
  - During the linkup, spent 2 days in the portaledge in a big rainstorm.
  - Originally attempted from the ground up with no drill.
  - Freed the first 5 pitches in 2001: Leo Houlding, Jason Pickles, Kevin Thaw, Cedar Wright
  - On 3rd attempt in 2001, Jason Pickles was injured in a fall on p1.
  - On 5th attempt in 2001, Houlding and Thaw made it halfway before retreating from a blank section which needed a bolt to protect free climbing.
  - 10/2004 attempt (Houlding and Pickles) ended in a bad storm.
  - 6/2010: Over 4 days, climbed all pitches from the ground and freed all but the "A1 beauty" pitch.
  - Leo's great article on the 9 year project, in Rock & Ice 192
  - ukclimbing.com
  - El Cap Report 10/27/10 (Tom Evans)
- 2nd FA - Sonnie Trotter, 11/11
  - with Will Stanhope, who led half and freed all but the A1 Beauty (which he followed with one hang on the final push).
  - 3 day push on free ascent
  - spent 5 weeks working on the climb
  - http://sonnietrotter.com/2011/11/20/a-chapter-ends/
- 3rd FA - Nik Berry, 5/2012
  - supported by Madaleine Sorkin
  - 2 days on ascent
  - http://madaleine.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/nik-the-propheteer/
- 4th FA - Will Stanhope, 11/2012
  - supported by Dave Allfrey
  - 3.5 days on ascent
  - used Nik Berry's "Devil's Reacharound" variation, instead of Leo Houlding's long sideways dyno
  - http://www.willstanhope.com/uncategorized/monkey-off-the-back
The Secret Passage - 5.13c R (15p: 5 5.13, 4 5.12)
- FA/FFA - Nicolas Favresse, Seán Villanueva, 10/08
- climbing.com hot flashes
- Eagle's Way and Bad to the Bone
- The first 5 pitches had been freed previously as The Prophet, by Leo Houlding, Jason Pickles, Kevin Thaw, Cedar Wright, 2001
Lost in Translation - 5.12b/c (10p: 2 5.12)
- FA - Nicolas Favresse, Ivo Ninov, 9/06
- climbs the big corner left of the East Buttress
- short stemming crux
- http://www.nicolasfavresse.com/spip.php?rubrique=2&id_article=20

Golden Years - 5.12a ** (10p: 4 5.11, 1 5.12)

FA - Tom Davis, Kelly Rich, David Rubine, Jeff Gorris, 5/79
2 pitch finish to rim added later. by Davis and Rubine?

Camp Four Wall

Camp Four Terror Free - 5.12a (16p)
- FFA - Cedar Wright, Lucho Rivera, fall 2001 or 2002 or summer 2004?
- free variation to Camp Four Terror
- alpinist.com (archive)

Yosemite Point

Misty Wall - 5.11d A0 *? (16p: 3 5.11, 3 pendulums, 90% free)
- 90% FA - Walt Shipley, Kevin Fosburg, early 1990s
L’Appât - 5.13a *? (12p: 1 5.11, 4 5.12, 1 5.13)
- FA - Nicolas Favresse, 9/05
- no new fixed protection, mostly gear belay anchors, some runouts
- pitches: 5 x 5.10, 5.12d, 5.12b, 5.12c, 5.12d, 5.11b, 5.13a/b, 5.10a.
- crosses Summerland and Reckless Abandon
- route name translates roughly to "the lure"
- belayed by Chris Van Leuven
- photo essay by Chris Van Leuven
Lost Arrow Chimney + Tip - 5.12b ** (13p: 1 5.12)
- FFA Lost Arrow Tip - Dave Schultz, et al, 5/84
- FFA Lost Arrow Chimney - Chuck Pratt, Frank Sacherer, 1964
ABC Route / Lost Arrow Chimney - 5.11 *? (13?p: 1 5.11)
- FA - Ron Kauk, Jerry Moffat, 6/85 (included Arrow Tip)
- topo in '87 guide
Min-Ne-Ah - 5.11d *? (11p: 3 5.11)
- FA - Scott Cosgrove, Walt Shipley, 6/90

Arrowhead Arete

Arrowhead Arete East Wall - 5.11c R (10?p)
- FA - Cedar Wright, Lucho Rivera, summer 2004
- onsight with no bolts or pins

Royal Arches

God Told Me to Skin You Alive + The Shining - 5.12 ** (10p: 4 5.11, 3 5.12)
- FA - unknown
The Cobra - 5.11a R * (18p: 1 5.11)
- FFA - Tobin Sorenson, Tim Sorenson, 1975
- Many bad bolts. The belay in the corner below the final crux pitch has a good (ASCA) bolt, plus 2 buttonheads. Also, the first pitch has 6 new bolts where there were formerly none (apparently added when a new route was done off to the left of The Cobra).
Bulging Puke - 5.12a A0 (12p: 4 5.12)
- FFA(99%) - Bob Jensen, Jake Whittaker, 2003-4
- seasonally wet
- free variation p5-7 out right of original line. Moves on p7 freed but not linked on lead.
- details on free pitches from supertopo.com forum, 9/09

Washington Column

The Odyssey - 5.11 (14p: 2 5.11)

FA - Ray Jardine, John Lakey, 5/76
bad bolts

South Central - 5.12 or 5.12+ (?p)

FFA - Dean Potter

South Face V10 (5.14a) - (10p: 3 5.12, 1 5.14)

topo
FFA - Matt Wilder, 10/3/02
start with 2 pitches to Dinner Ledge, using a 60 meter rope
p3 (Kor Roof): 5.8 to 5.10 move to V10 (crux boulder problem at roof) to 5.11a diagonal crack above the roof.
p4: face climb right of the aid line (towards Skull Queen), 5.11b, then back left across the aid line and make a thin undercling left on a small feature, 5.12c.
This brings you to the base of the long diagonal dihedral halfway through the old aid pitch. Belay there to reduce rope drag. There is a good stance a little below the belay which could be used for a complete rest, but belaying in the middle doesn't affect the difficulty.
p5: left-leaning dihedral, about 5.10b, then 5.12a through the thin part, and 5.8 at the end.
p6: The last aid pitch is a beautiful thin splitter and goes at about 5.12b. That brings you to a ledge, and you keep going up a 5.11d technical double crack and finally make it to the anchor.
p7-p10: 5.10 or easier to the top, as shown in the regular topo.
preparation: worked the moves in June, and made a speed ascent of the route at that time.
"Crosstown Traffic" (Electric Ladyland) - 5.13 (13p: 6 5.12, 1 5.13)
- topo
- FFA - Alex Huber, 5/24/02
- style: redpointed first over 2 days. Then a few days later, redpointed in 10 hours.
- starts with 2 pitches on the Prow, then 5 1/2 on Electric Ladyland, a 5.12c traverse past Afroman, and a 5.11c pitch linking to Astroman just below the Changing Corners pitch.
- crux 3rd pitch has a single 5.13 move
- called "Crosstown Traffic", but there is already an aid route with this name, between Astroman and Mideast Crisis.
- Climbing #215, 9/02
- Huber photos
Astroman - 5.11c *** (11p: 4-6 5.11)
- FFA - John Long, Ron Kauk, John Bachar, 5/75
  - not a continouous free ascent, but all pitches were freed individually during 2 separate days
  - one day: Kauk had spied the enduro corner, and went over with Bachar to try it. Bachar led the boulder problem (p3), and then Kauk led the enduro corner (p4) with no falls. This was the first time these pitches had been freed.
  - another day: Kauk and Bachar returned with Long. They jumared a fixed rope to the top of pitch 4, to get out in front of some parties which were aiding the route. They freed from pitch 5 to the top, with many of these pitches being freed for the first time. Pitch 5 (5.10) had previously been freed by Mead Hargis. John Long had also previously freed pitch 5 and a 5.10d pitch above Changing Corners during a mostly aid ascent.
- 2nd? FA - Ray Jardine, Vern Clevenger, Spring 1975
  - 1 bivouac
- 3rd? FA - Ron Kauk, 6/1977
  - led all pitches; Werner Braun jumared
  - up to the last pitch by 11am
- 4th? FA - John Bachar, 6/1977
  - led all pitches; Rick Piggot jumared
- 5th? FA - Dale Bard
  - led all pitches; partner jumared
- 6th? FA - Max Jones, Mark Hudon, Fall 1977
- 7th? FA - Tobin Sorenson, 5/1978
  - led all pitches; David Goeddel jumared, wet conditions
  - photo trip report
The Quantum Mechanic 5.13 - (15p: 5 5.12, 1 5.13)
- topo
- FA - Rob Miller, Jay Selvidge, 4/02
- FFA - Rob Miller, 6/2/02
  - starts on Terminal Research. Crux is 2nd pitch, 5.13 traverse left out roof from end of Terminal Research. The pitch is known as "Planck's Constant"; it involves constant liebacking. Shares several pitches with Mideast Crisis. The meat of the route is 3 roof pitches- 5.12b, 5.12d, and 5.12c, at the level of the Changing Corners pitch on Astroman. Protection is almost entirely gear; only 3 bolts for protection on the route.
  - style: Miller redpointed all the 5.11 and harder pitches in a day (and followed the others free). One fall was taken on the wet 4th pitch, but the rope was pulled and it was redpointed. Selvidge freed all pitches except for two during the FFA push; a fall on the wet/traverse pitch, and on the lieback pitch.
  - Climbing #215, 9/02
  - Alpinist #1, 11/02 alpinist.com (archive) description, topo
- 2nd FA - Yuji Hirayama, 9/02
  - onsighted

North Dome

Dakshina - 5.11 * (15p: 2 5.11)
- FA - Daniel Dingle, Ken Black, 8/83
  On the FA, the only aid was a couple of rests/hangs on pitch 6, a steep, 15-20', slightly flaring hand crack. p7 has a 5.11 friction move. The route was bolted on lead in a 2 day push.
- FFA - Ken Black, Ian Cummings, 6/84

Basket Dome

Milestone (aka Orion) - 5.12b (19p: 1 5.12, 14 5.11)
- FA: Kevin Worrall, Sean Shannon, 5/2004
  - best to climb in spring
  - more details
- 2nd A - Bob Jensen, Jake Whittaker, 2011?

Mt. Watkins

The Twisted Road - 5.12- (19p)

FA - Paul Turecki, Kristen Kremer, Greg Collins, 2002?
7 pitches up the slabs left of Hook, Line, and Sinker, and then 12 pitches up the SE arete of Higher Watkins Pinnacle. Descent by rappelling the route.
alpinist.com (archive)
Mt. Watkins - South Face - 5.13 ** (19p: 5 hard pitches, 2 5.13)
- FFA - Brooke Sandahl, Steve Sutton, 6/1996
  freed all but 1-2? aid moves in one push, then returned from the top to free the last pitch separately
  photo caption in Spring 2002 Mountain Gear catalog, p.92: "Brooke Sandahl following high on the South Face of Mt. Watkins during its first free ascent. Grade VI 5.13a"
  5.11d/5.12a direct variation to initial pendulums
  p13 5.12c/d Pendulum Bypass
  p15 5.13+ (V8/9) huge dyno boulder problem
  last pitch 5.12a slab var.
  full story supertopo.com
- 2nd FA - Leo Houlding, Dean Potter, 5/08
  - "almost" onsight - Houlding took a 40 foot fall on an easy pitch
  - fixed first pitch, then did the rest in one day
- 3rd? FA - Tommy Caldwell, 5/2010
- near FFA? - Dave Schultz, Peter Croft, 1997?
  freed all but 1-2? aid moves
- near FFA - Max Jones, Mark Hudon, 10/79
  freed all but the pendulums (at start and middle of route), and 7 aid moves (5 on the bolt ladder, 2 on the last pitch).
- topo in '87 guide
Escape From Freedom - 5.12c? perhaps ** (18p: 3 5.11, 3 5.12)
- FA - Urmas Franosch, Bruce Morris, 7/88
  - originally 5.11d A0 (1 pendulum, 2 tension traverses, 2 points of aid, 99% free)
  - They ran out of water, food, and climbing shoes on the route, and had a real epic at the top.
- 2nd Ascent - Urmas Franosch, Elliott Robinson, 88
  Elliott took a 50' fall on this ascent!
- 3rd Ascent - Greg Murphy, Paul Kallmes, 89
  first one day ascent
- All pitches freed - Tom Addison, 10/99
  - free version:
    - p7 - easy traverse right into an overhanging 5.12b corner
    - p13 - freed slightly under tension traverse at 5.12a
    - p14 - freed slightly left and under bolt ladder to tension traverse at perhaps 5.12c
    - p16 - 5.10d on original line
  - style: p7, p14 were pinkpointed with draws in place on the bolts.
  - route has not been freed in a continuous push yet, but that is planned soon.
  - 75% of the bolts were replaced with 3/8" x 2.5", including some on the Rabbit Ears rappel approach.
  - Bolts were added at one belay, with permission from Morris.
Austin-Cantwell - 5.11 (15p)
- FA - Dave Austin, Chris Cantwell, 6/81
- on East Face of Mt. Watkins/Yasoo Dome, below start of Golden Dawn
- p2 crux face climbing, reaching 3rd bolt
- Mountain #95
- could be linked with Escape From Freedom for 33p
- could be linked with Golden Dawn for 24p

Yasoo Dome

The Chief - 5.12b *** (15p: 4 5.11, 1 5.12)
- FFA - Al Swanson, Ben and Bernie from the deli, 2 days
- FA - Al Swanson, Arthur James Foley III, Brian Warshaw, 8/92
  (with 10' of aid)
- 2nd 99% FA - Al Swanson, Jimmy Hayden, in a day
- 3rd 99% FA - Peter Coward, Greg Murphy, 6/99, in a day trip report

East Quarter Dome

Pegasus - 5.12 ** (17p: 1 5.11, 1 5.12)
- photo overlay
- FFA - Max Jones, Mark Hudon, 1979
- p1-p4 are currently strewn with loose rock, due to a rockfall in July 1997.
- p11 is runout because Hudon and Jones brought no bolt kit with them. A person later died on this pitch, when he did the mantle but then fell over backwards.
- style: after climbing a few pitches, Mark and Max bivvied at the base and then climbed to the top in a day (their first time on the route). All the pitches were freed onsight. Incidentally, the next day, they did a "free as can be" (and first time) ascent of the NW Face of Half Dome, using about 10 points of aid.
  See Bill Wright's Quarter Dome is Full Adventure trip report. In his report, Bill speculates that several sections of the route may not have been freed, including the jump from the All Time Finger Crack. He describes this as a 10' gap. In June 2006, I did a rappel recon of the route, and found the gap is really only 5.5' (I can bridge across it with my legs). So I have no doubts that the route was freed by Mark and Max. See my trip report.

Half Dome

Arcturus - 5.13c (22p: 7-9 5.12, 1 5.12+/5.13-, 2 5.13)

FFA - Mike Anderson, Rob Pizem, 2007
- hoping to have a topo for this soon. In the meantime, here are some nice pitch-by-pitch descriptions from Rob, off the top of his head:
  - p1 5.12- 100 feet right of Regular Route, ledge anchor
  - p2 5.11- up thin crack to easier terrain
  - p3 5.11- or 10+ up wider easy crack traverse left at top through face to corner and anchor
  - p4 5.11 long starts thin then perfect hands and wider forever!
  - p5 5.12- follow a bolt or two up perfect short corner to traverse inside massive chimney to ledge belay (no bolt anchor)
  - p6 5.12- climb up chimney out roof to right and up 20-30 feet to belay
  - p7 5.11 up corner to bolts
  - p8 climb up ledges to do 4 pitch variation of Regular Route or the 1 pitch variation to Regular Route. your choice
  - p9 start on Regular Route's 5.11 pins in corner and continue up through 5.13 arete crux (bolts)
  - p10 5.11+/12- perfect corner
  - p11 5.12- corner through roof
  - p12 11+/12- left leaning overhanging hand crack
  - p13 5.12 crack and face (2 bolts) up the Robbins Rod
  - p14 5.10 offwidth corner with bolt
  - p15 5.13c/d out easy roof (don't protect - you'll lose gear when you fall), back clean roof part, crux left leaning corner
  - p16 5.12- corner pin and bolt
  - p17 5.12 face climb out right from anchor (don't worry - there is natural gear) ends after super thin traverse with bolts (traverse is crux)
  - p18 5.12+/13- bolted pitch, traverses right, ends after slab
  - p19 5.8 finish on Regular Route to summit
- Rock & Ice #165

Regular NW Face - 5.12 *** (24p: 6 5.10, 5 5.11, 1 5.12)

topo
FFA - Leonard Coyne, Dennis Jackson, Doug Lorrimer, 5/1979

Used a low left traverse to avoid the final A3 pitch.
Climbed over 3 days.
Coyne's 3rd time on the climb.
Mountain 60

variation to Robbins Traverse freed - 5.12c / hard slab, 2007?
"From the normal anchor there head left into a corner [with some bolts], then traverse back right across the face [bolts and pins].
The crux is a campus-y type traverse across a thin dike. It's awesome." Bolted by Matt Wilder. [from a post on supertopo.com]
HuberHedral free variation, Alex Huber, Scott Franklin, 2002
bolted variation right of final old A3 pitch added by Todd Skinner, 1992, while working on the Direct NW Face
near FFA - Jim Erickson, Art Higbee, 1976

established free variations, and freed the Zigzags
were stopped by the final A3 pitch
efforts over several years
Mountain 51
Erickson went back later (1977?) and toproped the last pitch free. Maybe via the traverse variation.
Direct NW Face - 5.13c/d ** (23p: 7 5.11, 3 5.12, 4 5.13)
- FFA - Todd Skinner, et al, 1992
  - First 12 pitches redpointed over 55 days and fixed, by Skinner, Paul Piana, Nancy Feagin, Scott Franklin, and Steve Schneider.
  - Final 12 pitches redpointed over a 2 day push, by Skinner, Steve Bechtel, and Chris Oates.
  - Skinner redpointed all the 5.12 and 5.13 pitches, and led or followed the remainder free.
  - Total days of work: 61
  - Climbing #140
- 2nd FA - Tommy Caldwell, 10/07
  - linked pitches 3 and 4, for a 150' 5.14a 88-degree slab crux
  - fell twice on this crux pitch, before taking almost an hour to redpoint it
  - a pitch above the crux was grassy and dirty with bad gear
  - 24 hour push
  - belayed by Beth Rodden
  - preparation: spent 2 days working the crux; had not been above pitch 4 previously
  - Rock & Ice #165
Dreamscape - 5.11+ ** (10p: 4 5.11)
- FA - Scott Burk, Tory Elbrader, Jeff Folett, 5/88
The Fast Lane - 5.11+ ** (12p: 1 5.11)
- FA - Dimitri Barton, Scott Burk, Chris Hash, 6/86
- shares crux with Autobahn
Autobahn - 5.11+ ** (12p: 1 5.11)
- FA - Charles Cole, Rusty Reno, John Middendorf, 4/85
- bad bolts; need replacing
Growing Up - 5.13a A0 (21p: 7 5.11, 7 5.12, 1 5.13, 60' bolt ladder, tension traverse, 97% free)
photo overlay of Lost Again, Growing Up, South Face, Southern Belle
- topo
- FA - Sean Jones, Sarah Watson, 7/07
  - up largest left-facing arch (South Face route goes up next crack system to the right) to 1000' upper slab
  - arch established on lead by Sean Jones, Sarah Watson and Ben Montoya; free efforts were stopped by a smooth headwall, and they left fixed lines in place while they considered options for finishing
  - upper slab was rap bolted by Sean Jones and Doug Robinson
  - upper slab was redpointed by Sean Jones and Sarah Watson after ascending the fixed lines
  - Rock & Ice #165
- 2nd A of arch & traverse - Chad Suchoski, Mike Cane?, 3/09
Southern Belle - 5.12d / 5.11 X *** (14p: 6 5.11, 4 5.12)
- FA of pitches 1-3, with some hangs (only one set of cams!) - John Bachar, Rick Cashner?, 1986
- FA - Dave Schultz, Walt Shipley, spring/86
  - used some aid on a few pitches
- FFA - Dave Schultz, Scott Cosgrove, 7/88
  - 7 days, spread over 3 weekends
  - fixed ropes on p1-p6, then one more day to the top
  - Schultz did some bolt replacement prior to the FFA
  - Climbing #110 online version
  - full story by Scott Cosgrove
- 2nd FA - Dean Potter, Leo Houlding, 10/06
  - freed in a day, on their second ground-up attempt
- (Climbing #205, in the biography of Walt Shipley, said it has had one repeat; perhaps this meant the FFA in '88)
- Alan Lester, Hank Caylor, 7/94
  Caylor broke his ankles on a 60' fall on p8
  full story by Hank Caylor
- Peter Croft, Dave Schultz (two attempts, prior to 7/94)
  Did not get past p5
- Climbing #147, p.66
Karma - 5.11d A0 *? (13p: 8 5.11, 7 aid sections, 90% free)
photo overlay of Growing Up, South Face, Southern Belle, Karma
- FA - Dave Schultz, Ken Yager, Jim Campbell, 7/86

Glacier Point Apron

Regular Mouth + Mouth to Perhaps - 5.11b (10p: 1 5.11)

Hall of Mirrors - 5.12c *** (16p: 7 5.11, 5 5.12)

topo
overlay
FA - Chris Cantwell, Scott Burk, 9/80

added the final pitches 13-16
5 days on continuous ascent
a couple of short sections of p13 were toproped, instead of led. In these sections, the bolts were placed as aid ladders, then the leader lowered to free the moves, but left the rope clipped in from the aid high point.

2nd FA - Jonny Woodward, John Bercaw, 10/92

1 day on continuous ascent
Preparation (10/92): 2 days, mostly for bolt replacement (p13-16)
Preparation (5/92): 4 days, including establishing the "Springtime Dry Variation", Jonny Woodward and Darrell Hensel.

3rd FA - Alex Honnold, 10/2011

1 day on continuous ascent
all onsited except Unfinished Ninth
Preparation (a few days before): climbed to pitch 9.
partner (jumared): Stacey
crux protection bolt on Steel Wall missing (very runout there)
bolt conditions and some details

Method and Madness - Evolution of Yosemite Face-Climbing Standards, American Alpine Journal, 1982, by Bruce Morris
Hall of Mirrors, Mountain 69, by Bruce Morris
Smoke and Mirrors, Climbing #141, 1993, by Jonny Woodward

Early pitches freed
p9-12, started p13 - 5.12c - Chris Cantwell, Scott Cole, 1979
p3-8.5 - 5.12b - Dave Austin, Chris Cantwell, Bruce Morris, 1978
p1-2 - 5.11a - Mark Wilford, 1975
Galactic Hitchhiker - 5.11b ** (39p: 1 5.11)
- topo trip report
- FA - Lou Renner, Matt Brooks, 10/95
- FFA, 2nd Ascent - Karl Bralich, Mark Albosta, 8/97
- 3rd? Ascent - Karl Bralich, David Andersen, 8/99
- 4th? Ascent - Theresa Ho, Tom Lambert, 6/03
- 5th? Ascent - Tom McMillan, Ken Zemach, 6/07 (10 hours)

Sentinel Rock

Psychedelic Wall - 5.12c (11p: 1+ 5.11, 3+ 5.12)

FFA - Cedar Wright, Jake Whittaker, 7/14/2002
2nd? FA (onsight) - Yuji Hirayama, 9/2003
Has a burly 5.11+ offwidth/roof pitch, and several 5.12 face pitches. The route is in the vicinity of the Psychedelic Wall; may not follow its original pitches.
Several R rated pitches, including some 5.11 R.
"the crux ... was the 5.11d, one pitch below the top."
Climbing #216, #219 (rated 5.12d)
www.climbing.com climbing news 9/26/03 (rated 5.12c)

Medicine Wall, aka Uncertainty Principle - 5.13a (13p)

FA - Cedar Wright, Jose Pereya, 2002
2nd? FA (onsight) - Yuji Hirayama, 9/2003
Alpinist 2, Spring/2003, article by Cedar Wright, cover photo
Direct North Face - 5.12a *? (11p: 6 5.11, 2 5.12)
- topo
- FFA - Kevin Thaw, Adam Wainwright, 10/94
- Note: serious topo error on p9. A full 60m rope may reach. Watch for rope drag.
- Climbing #150
Chouinard-Herbert - 5.11c ** (15p: 3 5.11)
- FFA - John Long, Pete Minks, Eric Erickson, 1976
- story in Yosemite Climber
West Face - 5.12b A0 ** (11p: 1 5.11, 1 5.12, 1-2 aid moves, 99% free)
- 99% FA - John Bachar, Mike Lechlinski, 1983
  - using original undercling
  - six aid moves in corner above
- 99% FA - Jonny Woodward, Scott Cosgrove, 1993
  - added second bolt to variation which avoids undercling and corner
  - one aid move at bolt
How the West Was Won - 5.12b *? (16p: 3 5.11, 1 5.12)
- In Cold Blood / West Face
- topo
- FA - Scott Cosgrove, Bob Gaines, 7/95
- Climbing #156

Higher Cathedral Spire

The High Life (free var.) - 5.11d or 5.10 (10?p)
- FA(original) - Brian Kay, Josh Thompson, Jamie Mundo, 4/2003
- FFA(free var.) - Rob Miller, Jay Selvidge, 6/2003
  - goes through the middle of a large copper stain
  - continuous 5.10 climbing from north toe of the spire
  - crux is a 5.11d horizontal hand crack near the top, which can be avoided at 5.10 on some poor rock

Higher Cathedral Rock

Gravity Ceiling - 5.12c (10?p)
- This is the large roof above the main corner of the Northeast Buttress.
- FA - Cedar Wright, 2002? or fall 2001?
  - style: preplaced gear on roof
- 2nd FA - Rob Miller, 5/2004
  - style: redpoint
  - first complete ascent of the entire route from the ground
  - partner: Mike Anderson, who freed all pitches except for 2 hangs on the roof
  - preparation (Miller): one attempt a week earlier with Chris Van Leuven. Van Leuven flashed the roof on toprope.
Gemini - IV 5.12b (10?p)
- FA - Rob Miller, Lucho Rivera, 5/2003
  - established over 9 days, with no fixed ropes - rapped at the end of each day down Mary's Tears.
  - on 9th day, Miller redpointed all pitches
  - not sure where this is relative to the Gravity Ceiling and its associated entire route
The Crucifix (via Mary's Tears) - 5.12b *** (9p-11p: 2 "5.10", 4-5 5.11, 1 5.12)
- FFA - Peter Croft, et al, 1985 (freed 4 aid moves at start)
- 2nd? FA - Simon Parsons, John Fantini, 5/86
  - I climbed Mary's Tears and the Crucifix free in May 1986 with John Fantini. I lead the crux 12b undercling second try, yoyo (as was the style of the day). John had to lower off one of the "5.10" OW pitches to retrieve one of our only 2 large cams (No4 Friend was largest then), the other was probably in the belay (we climbed then with doubles but no 1/2 sizes). Otherwise we had no falls and each of us seconded free.
- nearly Free Ascent - 5.11d A1, Max Jones, Mark Hudon, fall 1979
  - freed last 60' of aid on 2 upper pitches
  - 4 aid moves at start remained; they did not think of freeing them at the time.
  - AAJ '81
- First Ascent (Mary's Tears) - 5.11b - Bill Price, Mike Borris, 1977 or 1979 (not in 1980; it was prior to fall 1979)
- First Ascent (Crucifix) - "5.10+" A1 - Jim Bridwell, Kevin Worrall, 1973
  - all but 60' freed, on 3 pitches
- trip report - find out why those "5.10" pitches shouldn't be taken lightly!
- At some point after 1995, a bolt was added to each of the belays. This has changed the nature of the climb somewhat. Prior to this, large (heavy) cams had to be saved on the rack to make the belay anchors. Now it can be done with a lighter rack, and retreat may even be feasible without leaving behind much gear.
Power Point - 5.11c ** (11p: 4 5.11)
- FFA - Werner Braun, Scott Cosgrove, 4/86
The Affliction - 5.11d A0 ** (11p: 7 5.11, 1 tension traverse, 99% free)
- FA - Walt Shipley, Scott Cosgrove, 7/90
- Loose and dirty. Might clean up one day into a good climb.

Middle Cathedral Rock

Left Rabbit Ear + Turret 5.11 (12p: 2 5.11)
- FFA Left Rabbit Ear - Clint Cummins, Joel Ager, 5/89
- FFA Turret - Jim Donini, John Bragg, 1973
- Loose and dirty.
Father Time - 5.13b (16p: 3 5.13, 3+ 5.12)
- 60 days of effort over 2 years, 113x, 2200'
- bolts drilled by hand, ground up, 1/4" then replaced with 3/8"
- 9 days on final push by Schaefer and Lucas, Schaefer redpointed every pitch
- 10 pitches to headwall, including some 5.12
- p11: V7/V8 boulder problem
- p12: 5.13 lieback, "Athletic 5.12c"
- p13: 5.13 lieback, "Index Corner"
- p14-15: 5.12
- p16: 5.9
- FA - Mikey Schaefer, James Lucas, Kate Rutherford, John Dickey, Sean Leary, Jeff Johnson, Josh Huckaby, 10/18/2012
- story by James Lucas and Mikey Schaefer
- 2nd FA - Alex Honnold, supported by Stacey Pearson, 10/21/2012
- attempted FA - Tommy Caldwell, Jonathan Siegrist, 10/19/2012
  Tommy redpointed to p13, and Jonathan did not redpoint that pitch; they descended
Mother Earth (to Gunsight) - 5.11c ** (11p: 1 5.11)
- FA - George Meyers, John Long, Kevin Worrall, Mark Chapman, 1975
Smith-Crawford - 5.11d ** (12p: 4 5.11)
- FA - Jay Smith, Paul Crawford, 9/84
Border Country - 5.12 (11p: 2 5.12, 2 5.11)
- FA - Mikey Schaefer, Dana Drummond, Jeremy Collins, 9/09
- topo

Fifi Buttress

Romulan Freebird - 5.12c (10p: 4 5.11, 3 5.12)
- FA(w/ some aid) - Dan McDevitt, 1999 [original name: Romulan Warbird]
- FFA - Lucho Rivera, Spring 2012
  prep: 2 weeks of work spread over 5 months
- 2nd FA - Alex Honnold, 10/2012
  Sean Leary climbed with Alex and fell on the first and 7th pitches
Vortex - 5.12 *? (10p: 4 5.11, 2 5.12)
- FFA - Chick Holtkamp, Eric Zschiesche, 5/82
Wind Chill - 5.11 *? (10p: 1 5.11)
- FA - Greg Murphy, Elliott Robinson, 5/90
- The 5.11 can be avoided with a different start, so this route is also in the moderate list.

Elephant Rock

Hotline + Elephant Man - 5.12a (12p)
- FA - Cedar Wright, Renan Ozturk, fall 2001 or 2002 or fall 2004
- 6 new pitches on Elephant Man
- first pitch off Worst Error is a ground up bolted face, and can be done without having to go to the top of Elephant Rock
- alpinist.com (archive)

A few 8- and 9-pitch routes that nearly make it to this list:

Ribbon Falls, Thin Line - 5.11c R ** (9p: 4 5.11)
- FFA - Werner Braun, Scott Cosgrove, 10/86
Geek Towers, Freestone - 5.11b ** (8p: 3 5.11)
- FA - Jim Bridwell, Ron Kauk, Dale Bard, 10/74
  A piton was used to widen a thin crack slightly on this route.
Lower Cathedral Rock, Beggar's Buttress - 5.11c ** (9p: 2-3 5.11)
- FA - Kevin Worrall, Mark Chapman, 5/76
The Rostrum, Regular North Face - 5.11c *** (9p: 2 5.11, using Blind Faith finish; 5.12 or 5.13 for original finishing pitches)
- FFA (using Blind Faith finish) - Ron Kauk, John Yablonsky, 1977
- FFA (original 2nd-to-last pitch - The Excellent Adventure) - Peter Croft, 1990s
- FFA (final pitch) - Ray Jardine, 1977
  2nd FA of final pitch - Mark Hudon, Max Jones, ~1979.
  They also attempted a FFA of the entire route, using the original final pitch, but failed on this pitch.
The Rostrum, Mad Pilot + Blind Faith - 5.11c *** (10p: 5 5.11)
- FA(Mad Pilot) - Rob Rohn, Peter Croft, 5/81
- FA(Blind Faith) - Dale Bard, Ron Kauk, 10/75

Links

www.huberbuam.de Alexander and Thomas Huber (in German)
Salathe', El Nino, Golden Gate, El Corazon, Crosstown Traffic photos
www.yujihirayama.com Yuji Hirayama
El Nino details
www.jsmgroup.co.jp/yuji/ official site (in Japanese)
www.toddskinner.com Todd Skinner
Salathe', Half Dome Direct photos
www.paulpiana.com Paul Piana
www.speedclimb.com another way to enjoy long routes!
www.supertopo.com topos with detailed beta

Thanks to Jim Herson, James Lucas, Jeff Schoen and Mark Hudon for providing many details and corrections to this material. Some historical material was drawn from the "Climbing History" section of the 1987 "Yosemite Climbs" guidebook by George Meyers and Don Reid. The title of this page was copied from Mark Hudon's 1981 article Long, Hard and Free.

Any remaining errors (including interpretations) are my responsibility, of course. For example, the term "free ascent" has perhaps been rendered meaningless. I intended it to mean anything where the (non-fixed) protection was placed free on lead, but the pitch was at least led "yoyo from no hands rests". Of course "yoyo from the belay", "pinkpoint", "redpoint", "flash", and "onsight" are increasingly better styles.

By this definition, Burk's ascent of the Nose is not counted as a "free ascent", because the Great Roof was toproped. However the first ascent of Hall of Mirrors by Cantwell and Burk was counted as a "free ascent" even though some sections of p13 were toproped (clipped on aid, then freed). Then there are the routes like the mid 90s ascents of Lurking Fear, Excalibur, and Muir/Shaft where gear was preplaced on aid. No doubt this was due to the many very hard pitches, to cut down on the time required, to keep things fun and logistically feasible. On the borderline are tactics like splitting pitches or using variations to avoid certain pitches/sections. Hopefully by providing the details, not much value needs to be placed on my usage of "free ascent" -- you can draw your own conclusions. Or better yet, go out and have fun climbing!

rev. 10/10

Please send any comments or corrections to Clint Cummins: clint@leland.stanford.edu .