how fast did alex climb el capitan
Alex Honnold’s famous free solo climb of El Capitan’s Freerider route in June 2017 took about 3 hours and 56 minutes from base to summit.
Quick Scoop
- Alex Honnold free soloed El Capitan (the Freerider route, roughly 3,000 feet) on June 3, 2017.
- His start-to-top time was approximately 3 hours 56 minutes, an almost unimaginably fast pace for such a huge wall.
- By comparison, many experienced climbers typically spend 2–3 days on similar big-wall routes with ropes and bivies.
Related speed climbs on El Capitan
While your question is likely about the Free Solo ascent, Honnold has also done record-speed ascents on El Capitan using ropes with a partner:
- With Tommy Caldwell, he climbed The Nose route in 1 hour 58 minutes 7 seconds, breaking the 2‑hour barrier in 2018.
- This Nose time has been compared to a sub‑2‑hour marathon, but on vertical rock.
| Climb | Style | Approx. Time | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freerider (El Capitan) | Free solo (no rope) | ~3 hours 56 minutes | [4][8]2017 |
| The Nose (El Capitan) | Speed climb with partner (roped) | 1 hour 58 minutes 7 seconds | [5][7][9]2018 |
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.
