El Capitan

Other trips to Yosemite: 
Yosemite 2005   •   Yosemite/Tuolumne 2007   •    Yosemite 2015    •    Yosemite 2016    •    Yosemite 2017: The Nose (in 3 days)    •    Yosemite 2017    •    Yosemite 2018     •    Yosemite 2022: NIAD 
Category: CaliforniaSummit Elev: 7,569 ftRock Type: Granite
Date: October 15, 2022 (Sat)Trip Report #: 591Partner: Nate Beckwith

Route: The Nose in a Day aka NIAD (Trad&Aid, 28 pitches, 2900', Grade VI, 5.9 C2 or 5.14a, & lots of stamina)

The Nose in a day!

Route Overlay

Without times.

With our times.

Intro

The Nose is a rock climb that ascends the nose of El Capitan in Yosemite. Some sources call The Nose the best rock climb in the world: 3000 feet of granite, featuring pitch after pitch of 5-star crack climbing, with memorable pitches such as Stoveleg Crack, Boot Flake, The King Swing, The Great Roof, Pancake Flake, and Changing Corners. On paper, The Nose is rated 5.9 C2, and much of the route can be climbed free at the 5.10 level, but it is physically and psychologically demanding, and failure rate is high (various sources say anywhere from 20-50% success rate). Planning and efficiency is key. 

I first climbed The Nose in June 2017, with John Plotz. This was my first (and only to date) big wall. John had climbed the route multiple times, and was happy to lead and haul as I jugged away as a happy and efficient support member. We climbed the route in 3.5 days (3 nights on the wall) and had a blast. 

John and I had discussed climbing The Nose in a day (no hauling!). The covetable NIAD. However, we never quite pulled the trigger. But once I get my mind wrapped around doing something, it eats away at me until I do—someday I would climb the NIAD. That someday came in October 2022 when my climbing partner Nate Beckwith asked me if I was interested in joining on a NIAD attempt. Nate had climbed The Nose 3 times (June 1995, June 2010, April 2014), the most recent 2 of these being NIAD ascents. His personal best NIAD time was 11 hours and 35 minutes, with Eric Sloan in June 2010 (report here). His goal this time was to lead the entire route. My role would be to be the tireless, efficient, and psyched jugging support member. My initial reaction was: Dang. Wish I could! But I just started a new job, sounds like a big endeavor, and I don't think I can fit it into my schedule. But then I got to thinking: It's only a day, right? Certainly I can fit that in. Next thing I knew I was digging in my gear bins for my dusty ascenders and easy aiders. Then I was booking my plane tickets.

Nate and I climbed the route in just over 19 hours (I'm obviously not as fast as Eric Sloan...). To speed things up, Nate usually short-fixed and was already about 30-40 feet into the next pitch by the time I arrived at the anchor and put him on belay, and then passed him all of the gear I collected via his 45 foot tag line. It was a splitter October weekend, so there were several parties on the route—at least 3 NIAD parties and 5 hauling parties; we passed 6 parties and were passed by one party. Another factor to consider was the amount of daylight—sunrise at 7:06 am and sunset at 6:22 pm gave just over 11 hours of daylight. As follower, I carried the pack, which contained extra clothes, food, 1 gallon of water each (for a total of 16 lb of water starting off the route), and miscellaneous items like tape and batteries. I appreciated the athleticism of the day. Our bodies felt great, and the only real complaint on Sunday was we were a bit thirsty and our fingers hurt (my thumbnails had split back from all the jugging and Nate's pads were raw from touching 3000 feet of Yosemite granite). It was so nice to be back in the Valley again; I love this place. I took lots of photos.

The entire trip ended up being just over 69 hours Boulder-to-Boulder, during which time we flew to and from California, climbed the NIAD, wrote an entire trip report, and got a total of about 11.5 hours of sleep. I only missed a couple of hours of work. A productive weekend!

The following page gives time stats and pitch-by-pitch photos for the climb. Enjoy!

Time Stats

The times in the following table were collected from my photos I took en route. For all 28 pitches on the route, I always snapped a photo shortly after arriving at the base of the pitch. This is the time I give for "Start climbing Pitch #". At this point, Nate was usually short-fixing and about 30-40 feet above the belay. So, we officially started the pitch a bit sooner.

NIAD Stats
NIAD Stats

Gear List

Below is our pre-climb spreadsheet listing the gear we planned to bring. We pretty much stuck to this list.

NIAD Stats

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Note: Various route topos have different pitch counts. We used the Yosemite BigWalls topo on the route, which puts the Nose at 28 pitches, so I will use this numbering system for my pitch-by-pitch description below.

Approach

Car to base of El Cap: 2:17-2:39 am (22 min)Base of El Cap to base of Nose: 2:39-2:50 am (11 min)Rack up: 3:50-3:04 am (14 min)
At the Denver airport on Friday afternoon.
The weather forecast for the day of our climb. This forecast is for elevation 7400 feet (just below top-out elevation). Splitter California weather. (Nate thought it was a bit on the warm side for a fast NAID ascent due to fatigue from the heat, but I'm a lizard and felt pretty comfortable throughout.)
Starting out from the car at 2:17 am.
At the Denver airport on Friday afternoon.
The temperature in Yosemite Village on the valley floor had a high of 81°F (and low of 43°F). 
The base of El Cap. From here it is a short scramble (4th to 5.3) to the base of The Nose.
Headed to Fresno.
We arrived in the Valley at night and packed up for an early start the next morning.

Pitch 1

3:04-3:37 amCumulative on route: 0:33Split time: 33 min
Pitch 1. See my 3-day ascent of The Nose trip report from June 2017 for daylight photos of this pitch and the other pitches that we climbed in the dark on the NIAD ascent.

Pitch 2

3:37-4:02 amCumulative on route: 0:58Split time: 25 min
Pitch 2.

Pitch 3

4:02-4:30 amCumulative on route: 1:26Split time: 28 min
Pitch 3.

Pitch 4

4:30-4:53 amCumulative on route: 1:49Split time: 23 min
Pitch 4. Careful about the rope-eating flake noted on the topo—indeed, it tried to eat our rope and I had to do a short rappel down to free the end of the rope. Clipping in bites of rope is essential on this section.

Pitch 5

Sickle Ledge
4:53-5:19 amCumulative on route: 2:15Split time: 26 min
Pitch 5.

Pitch 6

5:19-6:09 amCumulative on route: 3:05Split time: 50 min
Pitch 6. This begins with a pendulum (for leader) or lower-out (for follower). This is a bit of a logistical lead. Here's how we did it: We simulclimbed across Sickle Ledge, I clipped into a piece around the "5.6" marked on the topo, belayed Nate through the pendulum, then he fixed himself, I jugged up to the pendulum/lower-out anchor, I clipped in and gave Nate a belay up to the base of Stoveleg Crack, he fixed the rope, and I did a lower-out and then jugged up to the belay anchor at the base of Stoveleg Crack.

Pitch 7

Stoveleg Crack
6:09-6:37 amCumulative on route: 3:33Split time: 28 min
Pitch 7. This would be a fun crack to free.

Pitch 8

6:37-7:16 amCumulative on route: 4:12Split time: 39 min(Sunrise: 7:06 am)(we passed two parties: one NIAD party and one party in a portaledge at the top of the pitch)
Pitch 8. More fun-looking crack climbing I had to jug up.

Pitch 9

Dolt Tower
7:16-7:59 amCumulative on route: 4:55Split time: 43 min(we passed three parties on top of Dolt Tower)
Pitch 9. Daylight has arrived!
Crowds at the top of Dolt Tower at the top of Pitch 9. We passed three (non NIAD) parties here.
We encountered a party bivied at the belay anchor at the top of the pitch. They had not made it to the top of Dolt Tower the previous day and were planning on bailing.
Standing on the portaledge at the anchor at the base of Pitch 9.

Pitch 10

7:59-8:21 amCumulative on route: 5:17Split time: 22 min
Pitch 10.
The sun hit us as we climbed Pitch 10.
There was another NIAD party behind us (we had passed them in the Stovelegs; they were a pair of friendly climbers from Chile). We gradually pulled ahead as the day went on. They ended up making it to Camp V before bivying for the night.

Pitch 11

8:21-8:39 amCumulative on route: 5:35Split time: 18 min
Pitch 11.
Looking back down at climbers on the top of Dolt Tower.
I gobbled down a gluten free bagel+cream cheese sandwich I had made the night before in preparation for the climb. Yum!

Pitch 12

El Cap Tower
8:39-8:52 amCumulative on route: 5:48Split time: 13 min
Pitch 12.
The steep walls of El Cap to climbers' right of The Nose. I am standing on a ledge on El Cap Tower.  John and I had bivied here on our 3-day ascent of The Nose in 2017. It is a pretty awesome bivy spot and generally less crowded than the top of Dolt Tower.
And old piton.
Shadow fun.

Pitch 13

Texas Flake
8:52-9:18 amCumulative on route: 6:14Split time: 26 min
Jugging to the top of Texas Flake.
Jamie from the Chilean NIAD party below us (we had passed them a few pitches earlier) leading the chimney behind Texas Flake.
My bagel sandwich I had devoured a couple of pitches previous had been so good that I had another. Only 9am and I have already had 1100 calories of food at this point. I ate a whopping 5800 calories this day and didn't feel full.

Pitch 14

Boot Flake+King Swing leader
9:18-10:15 amCumulative on route: 7:11Split time: 57 min
Nate collecting gear. Nate short-fixed nearly every pitch. This meant I would usually arrive at the anchor and Nate was already 30-40 feet up the pitch. I would pass him gear (via his 45-foot tag line) and put him on belay.
Nate executing the King Swing. Here's how we did it: I belayed Nate to the top of Boot Flake, lowered him, he executed the King Swing, clipped into an anchor, I jugged to the top of Boot Flake against his body weight, put Nate on belay, Nate led Pitch 15, fixed the rope, I lowered out off the top of Boot Flake, and finally jugged to the belay to meet Nate at the top of Pitch 15. This is an efficient way to do this section of the route if not hauling.
Standing on the top of Texas Flake for the belay for Pitch 14.
Taken while jugging to the top of Boot Flake.
Tape to protect the rope against sharp edges at the top of Boot Flake.
Top of Texas Flake. 
Looking down at Jamie from the Chilean NIAD party below us (we had passed them a few pitches earlier). He is standing at the belay at the top of Texas Flake below Pitch 14.
Looking down from the top of Boot Flake and down at the location of the King Swing.

Pitch 15

King Swing follower
10:15-10:49 amCumulative on route: 7:45Split time: 34 min
Passing a cam down to Nate from top of Boot Flake. He was leading Pitch 15. 
I did a lower-out from the top of Boot Flake to avoid repeating the King Swing.
Tom Evans (of the ElCap Report) photo of me following the King Swing.

Pitch 16

10:49-11:34 amCumulative on route: 8:30Split time: 45 min
Pitch 16.
Jugging the Lynn Hill Traverse.
The follower has to execute a few lower-outs on the Lynn Hill Traverse.

Pitch 17

Camp IV
11:34-11:58 amCumulative on route: 8:54Split time: 24 min
Pitch 17.

Pitch 18

11:58 am - 12:33 pmCumulative on route: 9:29Split time: 35 min
Pitch 18.

Pitch 19

Great Roof
12:33-2:02 pmCumulative on route: 10:58Split time: 1 hour 29 min
The Great Roof.
Looking across the Great Roof. Nate back-cleaned the gear here, so I did a lower-out.
I did a lower-out off this tiny nut. It was a bit spooky to think of the swing I would take onto my jumars if the piece popped (I did have a backup knot and gri-gri, but even so swinging onto sideways-weighted jumars sounded a tad terrifying; fortunately the nut and tat held).

Pitch 20

Pancake Flake
2:02-2:50 pmCumulative on route: 11:46Split time: 48 min
Looking up at Nate already starting up Pitch 20 as I finished following The Great Roof.
Piton near the anchor.
The Pancake Flake looks like a fun free pitch. There is a lot of great looking free climbing on The Nose.
Tom Evans (of the ElCap Report) photo of Nate leading the Pancake Flake pitch. I am completing my follow of the Great Roof.
View down. There were a few parties below the Great Roof. One party had come up from The Muir Wall and the other two were on The Nose.
Tom Evans (of the ElCap Report) photo of me following the Pancake Flake pitch while Nate is short-fixing the next pitch.

Pitch 21

Camp V
2:50-3:39 pmCumulative on route: 12:35Split time: 49 min
Pitch 21.
I had several meat sticks for snacks. The Epic bar salmon is my favorite.
Enjoying the view from Camp V. John and I had bivied here the night on our 3-day ascent of The Nose in 2017. I had slept on the ledge on the right in the photo.
My water. I had been conserving water until now when the heat of the day hit on the upper half of the route. Having enough water to keep hydrated but not too much to slow you down is essential. We each had 4L of water.
Enjoying the view. Middle Cathedral across the way and El Cap Meadow below. The tape on my leg is because the rope was rubbing my skin graft (tib/fib fracture 2010) raw as I jugged, so I taped it for protection.

Pitch 22

Glowering Spot
3:39-4:35 pmCumulative on route: 13:31Split time: 56 min
Pitch 24.
Aaron (from the NIAD party creeping up below us) leading Pitch 22. I took this from the belay at the top of the pitch. 
Jugging Pitch 24.
Jugging setup. I need to cut off some of the extra straps on my easy aiders, as they were driving me nuts the entire climb.

Pitch 23

Camp VI
4:35-5:19 pmCumulative on route: 14:15Split time: 44 min
Pitch 23.
A bolted anchor on a ledge below the top of the pitch. It is convenient to short-fix here so the follower can start jugging as the leader continues to the top of the pitch.
The final stretch of Pitch 23 above the intermediate bolted anchor.

Pitch 24

Changing Corners
5:19-6:53 pmCumulative on route: 15:49Split time: 1 hour 34 min(Sunset: 6:22 pm)(we were passed by another NIAD party)
Nate starting up the Changing Corners pitch. The red rope is from a passing NIAD party (Sam and Aaron). This was the only party who passed us the entire day.
Aaron beginning jugging the pitch.
Alpenglow.
Old ring/bolt next to the anchor at the base of the pitch.
Nearing sunset.
Jugging the pitch. Nate led the bolted variation to the left of the corner.
Pretty rope in evening light. The rope and feet are owned by the NIAD party (Sam and Aaron) that was passing us on this pitch.
Basking in the last rays of sunlight.

Pitch 25

6:53-7:34 pmCumulative on route: 16:30Split time: 41 min
Pitch 25. One of my most memorable parts of the climb was belaying from the tiny ledge at the top of Pitch 25 enjoying the lingering warmth of the rock and just gazing out at headlights of cars in the Valley below and stars above. El Cap is a special place.

Pitch 26

Wild Stance
7:34-8:49 pmCumulative on route: 17:45Split time: 1 hour 15 min
Pitch 26.

Pitch 27

8:49-9:55 pmCumulative on route: 18:51Split time: 1 hour 6 min
Pitch 27.

Pitch 28

9:55-10:22 pmCumulative on route: 19:18Split time: 27 min(we passed a party hauling the final section)
Almost at the top! The second rope is from a party we passed hauling the final pitch.

Descent

Top of route: 10:22 pmStart descent: 10:45 pmRoad: 1:32 amCar: 1:47 am(Top to car: 3 hours 2 min)
Top of route timestamp photo.
Descent. It is marked by cairns but still a bit inobvious at times.
The location of the bottom of the rappels on Google Earth.
Sorting gear at the car Sunday morning after the climb.
And I thought the gas prices in Colorado were high!
I had eaten all of my food but Nate still had plenty, so I snarfed down some of his peanut M&M's and a couple of RX bars.
Descent slabs.
The road. Almost to the car! And then our secret bivy spot for some well-deserved shut-eye.....
Dinner on Sunday during the drive back to Fresno Airport. Carl's Jr. for Nate, oatmeal and meat sticks for me.
We had an early flight out of Fresno on Monday morning, so we slept behind a row of hedges at the Fresno Airport. We slept surprisingly well. I was happy to find a plug (right side of photo) so before I went to sleep I plugged in and worked for awhile on my trip report.
Google Earth was nice to have to navigate the descent.
Near the end of the descent there are four rappels on fixed ropes. This photo shows the top rappel anchor. One of the ropes on the rappel route had a knotted off core shot which required passing the knotted off core shot with the assistance of a jumar or microtraxion.
A view of El Capitan taken from El Cap Meadow the next morning. It was a satisfying feeling to know we had climbed that the previous day.
Nate went back for a second round at Carl's Jr.

Free climbing history of the nose

A poster detailing this history of free climbing on the Nose, created by Galen Rhys von Wodtke as a college cartography project on Lynn Hill's 1994 ascent of The Nose. Click the image to enlarge.

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