when i did it in 79 there were no bolts, you had to do the chimney unprotected, but its not hard. Its much easier to chimney climb it more to the outside where its wider, than to get inside like this guy did. There was also a ton of trash stuffed behind it then, glad its been cleaned up. Kudos for gettin it done dude.
When I led that pitch in 1993, there was NO bolt and I had a full big wall rack on. Definitely the scariest pitch on the whole climb for me. Hell...it's one of the scariest pitches of my WHOLE LIFE...and I've done a lot of climbing. Cool footage.
Never was interested in climbing untill I heard some dude was climbing around on this thing with no ropes which was amazing to watch, now I'm hooked and can't stop watching vids on El Capitan and looking for the closest climbing gym ! Thanks for the inspiration..👌🏽✌🏽⛰️🏔️🏞️
@@johngiglia5985 yea once, the first guy leads the flake (you can see him putting quick draws into the bolts) he ancors to the top and belays from that ancor for the next guy.
You were glad to see that bolt!? I'm sitting at home watching TH-cam and I was glad to see that bolt! Awesome. One day I'll be on those walls somewhere.
@@bingalz1 Yeah, but it also spent most if not all of human history *NOT* having humans climb through and exert an extra 200+ PSI on it while wedged in the gap.
U know going through everyone’s head is ( what if I push the flake an it falls off ) with me on it .there was a flake that fell the other year an took out like 10 acres of trees .happens all the time .u can ride that bad boy to the ground l8e a surf board .that be rad. An if it did we have to have tommy Caldwell blaze a new route up it or aid climb it
When I did it the Russians in front of us dropped one of their approach shoes from way up in the flake. So I assume you got the King swing too? Wild times
Mehhh, I did a chimney on my CO vacation a month and a half back where my last piece was a BD #5 protecting the move to get onto the ledge below the chimney. It was only about 5 feet shorter than this (also not quite as wide and got skinnier up top) and unless you are super skinny you are forced out onto a slab for the last few moves before you top out. This one has a slung chockstone and a bolt. Also likely a fall in this would have been slow motion and just resulted in some nasty scrapes as your instinct is to push against the walls hard. A fall on the slab moves at the top of the chimney I did would have been really bad as it was also mostly slab below me. Probably would survive but it would have mangled me up pretty bad.
made my hands sweat just to watch it. Imagine the first ascent party that had no idea what they were getting into and also had to drill those bolts. It is bad enough having the beta and knowing that those bolts are already there.
Exactly. Sure, it's been that way for thousands of year but what if that extra 200psi of pressure from you shimmying up is what causes the hairline fracture in the base to finally give way?
watching you put your feet on the top of it and push yourself up scared the hell out of me. I wouldn't be able to do that, too worried that the rock would pick today to sheer off and take me with it!
goddamn....once he crested that chimney I could feel my hands get cold. I love climbing but anchoring in from that feature seems super sketch. obviously I am not of this calibre lol
I really hope they have a camera on it if this thing ever decides to come loose. It's gonna be like watching a bomb go off when it hits the ground and shake the whole valley.
This might be a dumb question, but at that height theirs obviously no belayer, if he were to fall, what would stop the rope from just shooting up and he falls? is there like a winch at the bottom or something?
Naw, they climb short sections at a time called a pitch, which is approximately a rope length. So the leader goes up first, then builds an anchor, and then belays from the top to bring the second up. They repeat this however many times it takes to reach the top. I believe on that particular route, there's like 31 pitches
Imagine if that slab section just fell off one day... I don't get how people put their trust in such crazy situations... The risk is so huge, for what..? How is the reward worth the risk?
Not a good idea for me. Inching my way up 3000 feet of vertical slick granite someone recently pooped or peed on. One mistake, one rock or slab gives way and you plummet thousands of feet into the beautiful valley floor that is Yosemite National Park. Going to the Gym you get muscles. Farming gives you muscles and food for the year. On belay, belay on, climbing, climb on!
I always get nervous watching people climb flakes. I’m sure the human force applied is relatively weak in comparison to the weight of the flake itself, but it’s crazy to think one man could trigger the whole thing shearing off the wall.
Geologists discovered the flakes being supported by only 16 sq. Ft of rock which is less than 0.8% of the flakes total area. Humans have a larger effect than most think.
I’m not impressed. I did this exact climb while sleep walking from Ambien. I woke up only on the top after getting a ticket fro no permit to climb. Also it was winter and I was naked. Just saying
Crazy to think the rock bridge supporting the flake is only 16 sq.ft. which is only 0.8% of the flakes total area according to geologists. I'd hate to be the guy walking on it when it decides to give 🤪☠️
The only reason Everest is so dangerous is the elevation. It's the oxygen deprivation and snow blindness that kills. The climb itself isn't terribly hard if the environment was removed.
@@lorenzweber3131 Hab's korrigiert. Bist Du jetzt zufrieden ? 😊 "deutsch" und "englisch" würde man in Deiner Antwort übrigens groß schreiben, aber ich will ja nicht kleinlich sein😁
Christopher Marlowe If you know anything about the history of climbers that went up to Everest, it proved that none climbers with money have done it, use your head before posting a reply!
I mean thats what a dislike button is for. You watch something and if you don't like it you press the dislike button and i have no idea what should be bad about it.
i did this back in 1989 and returned to free solo it in 1992, it was so so so scary, i had only done about 5 free solos in my whole career in rock climbing. but looking back at it now, I realise I wasn't even born in 1992 and even if I was, I WOULDN'T HAVE THE FUCKING BALLS! LMAO
Am I the only one who's gonna say, c'mon don't spit on it? twice. I get it, you're a man. That's manly. Just kinda feels disrespectful to me. might be more fun to spit off it. better shot for the camera too. But hey, I'd never do what you're doing, props for that.
I'd love to meet the person who decided to bolt the flake instead of the wall.
Can it pull the whole flake off ? Lol sketch
That’s EXACTLY what I was thinking! 😱
If it was hand drilled on lead... gotta go where you have a stance. Flake could weigh 6 million pounds...probably as solid as anything else.
@@toddmulligan2609 You absolutely do not have to just go.
Cameron McMains huh
when i did it in 79 there were no bolts, you had to do the chimney unprotected, but its not hard. Its much easier to chimney climb it more to the outside where its wider, than to get inside like this guy did. There was also a ton of trash stuffed behind it then, glad its been cleaned up. Kudos for gettin it done dude.
When I led that pitch in 1993, there was NO bolt and I had a full big wall rack on. Definitely the scariest pitch on the whole climb for me. Hell...it's one of the scariest pitches of my WHOLE LIFE...and I've done a lot of climbing. Cool footage.
Darrell Logan ^^^ This didn’t happen.
puppy1981 lol
@@ArthurTugwell wanna bet?
@@darrelllogan1274 Don't feed the trolls.
Never was interested in climbing untill I heard some dude was climbing around on this thing with no ropes which was amazing to watch, now I'm hooked and can't stop watching vids on El Capitan and looking for the closest climbing gym ! Thanks for the inspiration..👌🏽✌🏽⛰️🏔️🏞️
Me to! I joined the local climbing centre, and go 4 Times a week. It was a total inspiration. Hooked i am.
"Some dude".
Ya, just some random hobo that lived in his van named "Alex Honnold".
Eric P chill ur nipples dude
@@ericnikus Just Yosemite's seasonal hobo
Ma/ Co/ 😁
My palms are sweating just from watching this. Topping out and standing on top of that flake looks mighty exposed. Nice work!
Same here. Holy shit.
DangerDunn yeah I can see the beads of sweat on my hands too.
wtf, my hand was on my shirt through the whole video, I look down and I can make out a wet palm print
Oh so they're both anchored in each pitch off the lead climbers last hook?
@@johngiglia5985 yea once, the first guy leads the flake (you can see him putting quick draws into the bolts) he ancors to the top and belays from that ancor for the next guy.
When he reached the top did he remember to hit F5 and save so he doesn't have to respawn.
Yeah... all the respect. I’m frozen in fear just watching you look over the flake made me want to hurl lol great job
I’ve got waaaayyy too much respect for gravity to try any of this shit
You were glad to see that bolt!? I'm sitting at home watching TH-cam and I was glad to see that bolt! Awesome. One day I'll be on those walls somewhere.
I would have been gladder if the bolt was not in the flake
Great vid! Wish I could find more pure climbing vids like this one. Keep it up!
There's a bolt on top of the flake. You can see it pretty clearly at 9:06.
Forget being nervous about falling, I'm nervous enough that the rock formation might choose this particular moment in time to shear off.
Ehh its probably had that crack for most if not all of human history. At least that's what climber tell themselves
@@bingalz1 Yeah, but it also spent most if not all of human history *NOT* having humans climb through and exert an extra 200+ PSI on it while wedged in the gap.
@@Razzy1312 Exactly
@@bingalz1 pieces break off all the time
@@Razzy1312 200+ pounds of force not 200 psi right?
U know going through everyone’s head is ( what if I push the flake an it falls off ) with me on it .there was a flake that fell the other year an took out like 10 acres of trees .happens all the time .u can ride that bad boy to the ground l8e a surf board .that be rad.
An if it did we have to have tommy Caldwell blaze a new route up it or aid climb it
Wow, just wow! This is one of the coolest climbing places I have seen so far 😊
epic shot at the top. felt it in my gut when you looked over the top of the flake
When I did it the Russians in front of us dropped one of their approach shoes from way up in the flake. So I assume you got the King swing too? Wild times
I've reached the point where I have watched enough climbing vids that I don't get sweaty palms anymore
Ready to move on to climbing a latter to the top of your roof you are, young Padawan!
@@mosin9105 Let's not get crazy now. I need at least 10 more years worth of hangboarding to achieve such a feat.
wow, only 1 bolt for the entire flake! I don't want to imagine what the fall would look like, hitting each wall again and again. outch!
Mehhh, I did a chimney on my CO vacation a month and a half back where my last piece was a BD #5 protecting the move to get onto the ledge below the chimney. It was only about 5 feet shorter than this (also not quite as wide and got skinnier up top) and unless you are super skinny you are forced out onto a slab for the last few moves before you top out. This one has a slung chockstone and a bolt. Also likely a fall in this would have been slow motion and just resulted in some nasty scrapes as your instinct is to push against the walls hard. A fall on the slab moves at the top of the chimney I did would have been really bad as it was also mostly slab below me. Probably would survive but it would have mangled me up pretty bad.
5:19 get off my mountain..
Damn I fell off the mountain already and I’m actually sitting in my bed
Fr. This shit is craaaaaazy
My palms will sweat all day now, nice climb👍👌
Watching climbing videos (via 'free solo') taught me to look at my fear of heights differently.
That it's completely rational
Nah, I'll stick to bouldering.
Awesome video!!
I wish these videos would show how they get down... the vid always cuts off right at the pinnacle lol
Darion Schetter they kept going up
Texas Flake is pitch 16 on the Nose of El Cap. They have about 20 more pitches to the top, and from there, they can walk out to the Toga Road.
East ledges are closer and easier, dude.
Are those special sunglasses for climbing?
made my hands sweat just to watch it. Imagine the first ascent party that had no idea what they were getting into and also had to drill those bolts. It is bad enough having the beta and knowing that those bolts are already there.
That shit looks like it could break off any second.
and your wedging your body against the crack like your pushing it over. And hooking onto bolts on the ( loose ) boulder.
Large flakes like this are usually quite stable on granite walls.
Yes, but one day that will fall down I can assure you ;)
Exactly. Sure, it's been that way for thousands of year but what if that extra 200psi of pressure from you shimmying up is what causes the hairline fracture in the base to finally give way?
This is the beginning to "127 hours: part 2"
Beautiful work man! Looks like a blast!
I saw that mank old bolt on the right and I'm like... clip the mank bro! ;) lol.
watching you put your feet on the top of it and push yourself up scared the hell out of me. I wouldn't be able to do that, too worried that the rock would pick today to sheer off and take me with it!
I fear that the rock wall collapses when the climber's legs support it. this is scary for those who have phobia of heights
you just know that one day that sucker is gonna break free......
goddamn....once he crested that chimney I could feel my hands get cold. I love climbing but anchoring in from that feature seems super sketch. obviously I am not of this calibre lol
One day that massive rock will fall. I get sweaty just by thinking of it
imagine if you were the unlucky sob attatched to that bolt when it did
I mean yeahi guess thats your point
Todd Mulligan lol
Pucker factor 10,000!!!
Nice lead....great video!
I’d mainly be scared of the flake detaching from the wall while I’m climbing. Seems sketchy.
My lord nerves of steel love it!
I really hope they have a camera on it if this thing ever decides to come loose. It's gonna be like watching a bomb go off when it hits the ground and shake the whole valley.
Falling seems not to be an option...
Pretty hard to fall in the wide anyway. It's all head game with chimneys like that.
Not unless you hit F9 fast.
falling is always an option...
Geological time can be hilarious. That might not fall for 10,000 years, or it could fall tomorrow. Never know 🤷
What the hell is holding that massive slab of rock onto the side? It looks like you could push it right off
Alex Hannold brought me here...😃👍
There is no where to put gear below the bolt, if you fall I I bet it’s painful but safe as there is no where to fall off
I'd Be a Scared that much,,,the next climbing crew would find me as a skeleton hanging onto a rock
This might be a dumb question, but at that height theirs obviously no belayer, if he were to fall, what would stop the rope from just shooting up and he falls? is there like a winch at the bottom or something?
What do you mean there's no belayer? Of course he has a belayer. You can hear him communicating with him through out the video
@@nickerickson497 where is he though? Like 2000 feet below him???
Naw, they climb short sections at a time called a pitch, which is approximately a rope length. So the leader goes up first, then builds an anchor, and then belays from the top to bring the second up. They repeat this however many times it takes to reach the top. I believe on that particular route, there's like 31 pitches
Imagine if that slab section just fell off one day... I don't get how people put their trust in such crazy situations... The risk is so huge, for what..? How is the reward worth the risk?
Statistically. the drive there is more dangerous. Its a weird kind of risk. Its 99 percent safe. But that one percent chance will always be deadly
That was amazing.
Balls of steel
At 9:10 it looks like you could push that flake off. Scary shit
Not a good idea for me. Inching my way up 3000 feet of vertical slick granite someone recently pooped or peed on. One mistake, one rock or slab gives way and you plummet thousands of feet into the beautiful valley floor that is Yosemite National Park. Going to the Gym you get muscles. Farming gives you muscles and food for the year. On belay, belay on, climbing, climb on!
Ale kiedyś ta płyta się osunie po zimowych roztopach , a na niej jeszcze ktoś zamocował blaszkę 🤘
Ooh I’ve gone all fuzzy.
I get a new El capitan video every day.. Is there no other climb on the planet
Yes, but El Cap is THE BEST climb on planet earth!
very good
incrível, parabéns.
Hold on is the bolt on the flake? Yea it’s probably solid but fuck that 😂
There should be just a law against anything flaring off width!
NEVER!!! Go wide or go home!!
It's not flaring though. (The walls at parallel, not at an angle) Just a chimney that happens to be a thousand feet off the deck.
That thing, I don't trust it. Looks unstable from here. That's a no for me.
Stupid question...I'll be 33 this year...am I to old to start climbing...I have this crazy fascination with it these days...
Of course you're not too old
@@mateotoro2395 I appreaciate that so much.
@@valkyrie273 it's just the truth. Go to a climbing gym and start step by step.
You got it dude I didn’t start until I was 26
Thank you both for the encouragement...called my local climbing gym right work cause of this. Small steps. Lol.
That was intense
does it count when you pull up on the gear??? :)
cool vid tho :)
Calling this aid climbing because he pulled on one draw is kind of off base. It was just one sloppy move not an aided pitch.
Watching this makes my stomach drop
imagine if he got stuck who would save him lol
I always get nervous watching people climb flakes. I’m sure the human force applied is relatively weak in comparison to the weight of the flake itself, but it’s crazy to think one man could trigger the whole thing shearing off the wall.
Geologists discovered the flakes being supported by only 16 sq. Ft of rock which is less than 0.8% of the flakes total area. Humans have a larger effect than most think.
@@Laviathan50 That’s so wild. Thanks for the info.
Hope those sunglasses are scratch resistant
Umm... yeah. I'll just stick to hiking!
VERTIGO 😳
dude, my hands get clammy just watching this shit, and this isn't even that technical of a thing.
It would be crazy if that flake broke off.
and award for "Fuck that" goes toooo
6:00 😅
Wow they had a flake strip off an crash took out about 8 acres of trees .what if
What a grunt pitch. Bet you were glad to get back to the air.
I heard that Texas Flake falls off every April. Or was that Boot Flake? 🤔
I’m not impressed. I did this exact climb while sleep walking from Ambien. I woke up only on the top after getting a ticket fro no permit to climb. Also it was winter and I was naked. Just saying
Cool story bro.
So much less anxiety watching this knowing he has a rope. Alex honnold made everything else look much less scary
some of this shit makes me wanna barf. in a good way
He pulled on gear no no no
Hes aid climbing. Just like almost everyone else who climbs el cap. Nothing wrong with that so long as he doesnt claim a free ascent.
Crazy to think the rock bridge supporting the flake is only 16 sq.ft. which is only 0.8% of the flakes total area according to geologists. I'd hate to be the guy walking on it when it decides to give 🤪☠️
Now that everybody is climbing Everest and El Capitan it is becoming boring. So many people on Everest there are traffic jams.
The only reason Everest is so dangerous is the elevation. It's the oxygen deprivation and snow blindness that kills. The climb itself isn't terribly hard if the environment was removed.
Why?
Honnold would walk up this route
Using chalk to adjust the Gopro ? 😂
In Saxony we have such easy chimneys, too. No chalk, no bolts, no Friends und rated 5.6
Erstmal deutsch und englisch vermischen
@@lorenzweber3131 Hab's korrigiert. Bist Du jetzt zufrieden ? 😊 "deutsch" und "englisch" würde man in Deiner Antwort übrigens groß schreiben, aber ich will ja nicht kleinlich sein😁
😅😅😅😅
None of those climbers that made it to the top of mount Everest could ever be able to do this. Shear strength, focus and insanity!
It's pretty easy, actually, just clumsy like all chimney climbing. Texas flake is like 5.8
@@bkbland1626 It looks fun actually, even for a beginner like myself... couldn't get up there though haha
Christopher Marlowe If you know anything about the history of climbers that went up to Everest, it proved that none climbers with money have done it, use your head before posting a reply!
Wtf
Stop spitting all over the climbing routes. This guy does it in every video.
Yeah the spitting damages the rocks integrity I dont even want to climb this route anymore just because of that.
on a more serious note, why?
Why is there 21 dislikes ,if you don't like this video watch something else.
I mean thats what a dislike button is for. You watch something and if you don't like it you press the dislike button and i have no idea what should be bad about it.
Nope
Ropes are for wussies - Alex Honnold
i did this back in 1989 and returned to free solo it in 1992, it was so so so scary, i had only done about 5 free solos in my whole career in rock climbing.
but looking back at it now, I realise I wasn't even born in 1992 and even if I was, I WOULDN'T HAVE THE FUCKING BALLS!
LMAO
You did *not* free solo El Cap please shut ya mouth
>2019
>Not doing the El Capitan free solo
Are you even trying?
What is it with these guys and constantly smacking their camera every 2 seconds. Leave the freakin thing alone. You're making me go deaf.
Yeah headphones arent advised when watching videos with gopro recorded audio 😂😂
Amateur
So what's your point with boring climb video?
sPIRIToFmYSTERY whats your point with boring comment?
Am I the only one who's gonna say, c'mon don't spit on it? twice. I get it, you're a man. That's manly. Just kinda feels disrespectful to me. might be more fun to spit off it. better shot for the camera too. But hey, I'd never do what you're doing, props for that.
It's a drop of water on a fucking mountain.
Don’t be afraid of spit, it’s perfectly natural. The disrespect is all in your own head