Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama Miss El Capitan’s The Nose Speed Record By 1 Minute, 45 Seconds
Posted by Jason A. Hendricks on July 1, 2008 |
It looks like The Huber brothers can still lay claim to their speed ascent of El Capitan–barely. Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama gave a heroic effort in trying to recapture their speed record from The Hubers on June 29th, but fell less than 2 minutes short. The pair’s new time of 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 30 seconds will still go down as the second fastest ascent of El Capitan’s The Nose, in history.
Since 1991, the speed record for climbing El Cap’s The Nose has been broken on nine separate occasions, most recently by The Huber brothers, who broke Hans Florine’s sub three hour ascent in 2007. Earlier this year, Hans Florine called up his old climbing partner and suggested a bid to reclaim their record, which they had held from 2002 until The Hubers finally bested it last year.
The speed-ascent record on El Capitan is one of the most coveted records in rock climbing. It is a test of agility, will, and sheer madness. The Nose stands at 2,900 ft, straight up. Just a few short years ago, the time to climb The Nose was measured in days, and even still, most climbers take 2-3 days to scale the granite wall.
Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama have planned to leave El Capitan on Wednesday. Alpinist.com is reporting that the duo may make one last run at trying to reclaim their record on Wednesday. It should also be noted that Florine and Hirayama have a documentary film crew with them and have been filming their efforts-much like The Huber Brothers last year.
We will have to keep our eyes focused on El Capitan, at least till tomorrow. Perhaps Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama can finally shave off that extra minute and forty-five seconds and reclaim their record. This attempt has captured quite a bit of media attention. It would be nice to see them break it, then see if the Hubers come back for more. Nothing like a good old-fashioned competition for one of the world’s most coveted climbing records..
I will let you know how Wednesday goes. By the way, anyone know who held the speed record before Hans Florine captured it in 1991? I am looking for a name and time–good luck on the research.
Hey Jason,
Do you know if Hans Florine & Yuji Hirayama made another attempt today?
By the way, we are showing TO THE LIMIT at The Roxie Theater in San Francisco. for 1 week beginning Aug 8.
Thanks in advance for your earliest reply.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Hit the ‘Home’ Tab at the top of this site. I just made a post in regards to this–Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama have broken The Nose’s Speed Ascent record…very cool!
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm