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Friday, September 19, 2008

Yuji Attempting El Cap Double-Header

Japan's Yuji Hirayama has arrived in California to attempt an extraordinary double-header on the Nose of El Capitan: a free ascent of the route (5.14a), followed by an attempt to improve the speed record he set in July with Hans Florine. If successful, Hirayama would be the fifth person to free-climb the Nose (if you count Scott Burke's ascent which included top-roping the Great Roof free). As for speed, Hirayama and Florine believe they can slice as much as 15 minutes from their 2:43:43 record if they rest an extra day between attempts—last summer they speed-climbed the route four times in ten days. Gamba, Yuji!

1 comment:

Dougald MacDonald said...

Update: Yuji abandoned his plan for a free attempt and is focusing on breaking the speed record again. On October 8, he and Hans Florine climbed the Nose in 2:48 and change, and they plan to try again in four or five days.