Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
10/29/14 – Mayan Smith-Gobat and Libby Sauter have set a new women’s speed record for The Nose on El Cap in Yosemite. The pair set off at 7:18 a.m. yesterday and topped out on the 3,000-foot monolith a mere five hours and two minutes later. According to El Cap Report, the two women lead in blocks, with Sauter leading the first half and Smith-Gobat leading the second. The ascent wasn’t without a few hiccups. Sauter dropped an aider towards the end of her block, and also got stuck on a bolt later in the route, so a faster time could be possible. The pair may attempt the route again on Friday, October 31 with the intention of dropping the time into the four-hour range.
The new record knocks 37 minutes off the previous record of 5:39, which was also set by Smith-Gobat and Sauter in September of 2013. Before that the record was held by Smith-Gobat and Chantel Astorga at 7:26.
This makes for an impressive El Cap season already for Sauter, who less than two weeks ago became the first woman to climb two El Cap routes in a day, along with Quinn Brett.
UPDATE: On Friday, October 31 Smith-Gobat and Sauter broke their own record again, bringing the time down to 4:43.
Date of ascents: October 28, 2014 and October 31, 2014
by
.
by
.
by
.
by
.
by
.