Named after Yosemite climbing pioneer John Salathé. 5.13c/8b if the headwall is climbed in a single pitch.
[1] https://www.climbing.com/culture/climbing-style-el-capitan/
Details of the incremental freeing of the route:
[2] https://web.archive.org/web/20170213064201/http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/longhf.htm#salathe
19 successful ascents and 1 unsuccessful attempt recorded.
| Climber | Style | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Frost | Aid | worked | 1961 | ||
| First ascent. With Royal Robbins and Chuck Pratt. | ||||
References |
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| Chuck Pratt | Aid | worked | 1961 | ||
| First ascent. With Tom Frost and Royal Robbins. | ||||
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13 bolts placed, mainly on the lower slabs. Many more have been added in subsequent ascents. |
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| Royal Robbins | Aid | worked | 1961 | ||
| First ascent. With Tom Frost and Chuck Pratt. | ||||
| Doug Scott | Aid | May 1970 | ||
| With Peter Habeler. | ||||
References[1] Mountain Issue 15, page 12 |
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| Peter Habeler | Aid | May 1970 | ||
| With Doug Scott. | ||||
References[1] Mountain Issue 15, page 12 |
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| Peter Haan | Rope Solo | ground up | Jun 1971 | ||
|
First solo ascent. Haan's first multi-day route of any kind. References[1] https://climbing-history.org/library/8202/the-salathé-wall-solo |
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| Mark Hudon | Alternate Leads | worked | 1979 | ||
| With Max Jones. | ||||
|
All free bar 250' of climbing of which 100' had already gone free (the Jungle Pitch, which was wet). 5.12d climbing was cutting-edge at the time and unprecedented on a big wall. References[1] Mountain #79 [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20170213064201/http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/longhf.htm#salathe [3] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198108700/ |
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| Max Jones | Lead | worked | 1979 | ||
| With Mark Hudon. | ||||
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All free bar 250' of climbing at approximately 5.12+ |
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| Todd Skinner | Alternate Leads | worked | 1988 | ||
| First ascent. With Paul Piana. | ||||
|
First free ascent and a psychological breakthrough: the first time a route on the main face of El Capitan had been freed. Climbed alternating hard leads with second jumaring and with the headwall split into three pitches. |
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| Paul Piana | Alternate Leads | worked | 1988 | ||
| First ascent. With Todd Skinner. First free ascent. | ||||
| Alex Huber | Lead | worked | 1995 | ||
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Huber claimed this as the first free ascent as he led all the hard pitches. However he avoided the pitch above The Ear (8a) instead taking the Monster Offwidth. He climbed the headwall in two pitches taking a belay at a hands-off rest. References |
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| Pietro Dal Prà | Lead | 1997 | ||
| Yuji Hirayama | Lead | worked | 1997 | ||
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Yuji attempted to onsight Salathé Wall falling only three times, once on The Teflon Corner and then twice on The Headwall.
References[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/DCTyllktwK7/?hl=en [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZueiGMv4x6w&ab_channel=narutokintoki |
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| Jim Herson | Lead | worked | Between 3rd Jul 2003 and 4th Jul 2003 | ||
| Eighth ascent. With Hans Florine. | ||||
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A multi-year siege. The final ascent was completed 90 hours before the birth of his son Connor Herson. References[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20170529112145/http://web.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/longhf.htm [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20180212032339/http://www.jimherson.com/climbing/tr/salathe-free.html |
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| Steph Davis | Lead | worked | Oct 2005 | ||
| Dan McManus | Alternate Leads | did not finish | 2014 | ||
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Dan was unable to climb the headwall pitch free. References[1] https://danmcmanus.blogspot.com/2014/05/salathe-wall.html |
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| James McHaffie | Alternate Leads | worked | 2014 | ||
| With Dan McManus. | ||||
References[1] https://danmcmanus.blogspot.com/2014/05/salathe-wall.html |
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| Hazel Findlay | Lead | worked | Dec 2017 | ||
| Connor Herson | Lead | worked | Between 18th Jun 2022 and 20th Jun 2022 | ||
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3 day ascent. Led all pitches, including the infamous P19, making him the second person after his father Jim Herson to lead all the hard pitches including P19. Climbed the headwall in two pitches. References |
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| Emilie Pellerin | Lead | worked | |||