| Grade | E8 / 8a+ |
| Type | Trad climb |
| Pitches | 25 |
| Crag | El Capitan |
| Country | United States 🇺🇸 |
| Rock type | Granite |
| History | |
| First ascent | Thomas Huber, Alexander Huber (23rd-25th September 1998) |
| Recorded repeats | 5 |
| Grade | E8 / 8a+ |
| Type | Trad climb |
| Pitches | 25 |
| Crag | El Capitan |
| Country | United States 🇺🇸 |
| Rock type | Granite |
| History | |
| First ascent | Thomas Huber, Alexander Huber (23rd-25th September 1998) |
| Recorded repeats | 5 |
The third route to be free climbed on El Capitan, after Salathé Wall and The Nose.
The first ascent by Alexander and Thomas Huber followed meticulous preparation, with every hold ticked and every gear placement labelled.
Just a few days after the first ascent, British teenagers Leo Houlding and Patch Hammond made an extraordinary almost-onsight ascent of the route for their first big wall.
The route incorporates parts of Continental Drift (a mixed free and aid route) then largely follows the North America Wall climbed free in its upper half. Until discovery of the Pineapple Express Variation all ascents used a short pendulum to overcome a 10m blank section.
[1] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199901800
7 successful ascents recorded.
| Climber | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Huber | Alternate Leads | worked | 23rd-25th September 1998 | ||
| First ascent. With Alexander Huber. | ||||
References[1] On The Edge Issue 84, page 46 |
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| Alexander Huber | Alternate Leads | worked | 23rd-25th September 1998 | ||
| First ascent. With Thomas Huber. | ||||
References[1] On The Edge Issue 84, page 46 [2] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199901800 |
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| Leo Houlding | Lead | worked | Oct 1998 | ||
| Second ascent. With Patch Hammond. | ||||
|
An incredible ascent as Leo was extremely close to onsighting the entire route at a time when any free ascent on El Cap was notable. However, on the first pitch he grabbed a quickdraw at the end of a runout section on his first attempt before lowering back to the start of the pitch and reclimbing it. He also pulled on the first bolt of the second pitch to clean and inspect the holds on the hard section off the belay before then climbing it clean on his first attempt. [1]
This was Leo and Patch's first big wall, climbed with a borrowed portaledge and other big wall gear. References[1] Alpine Journal 2002 50-53 Houlding El Nino [2] On The Edge Issue 84, page 46 |
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| Yuji Hirayama | Lead | worked | Oct 2003 | ||
|
Yuji attempted to onsight the route falling twice. References[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/yuji-hirayama-repeats-el-nino.html |
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| Hayden Kennedy | Lead | worked | 2008 | ||
| James McHaffie | Alternate Leads | worked | 2014 | ||
| With Dan McManus. | ||||
| Dan McManus | Alternate Leads | worked | 2014 | ||
| With James McHaffie. | ||||