Climbers Tanner Wanish and Michael Vaill racked up a major accomplishment in Yosemite over the weekend, shaving an impressive 35 minutes off the previous record on a famously difficult route that only a handful of other climbers have even attempted.
The Yosemite Triple Crown is a composite route linking three classics: The Nose on El Cap, the Regular NW Face on Half Dome, and the South Face of Mount Watkins. The route includes 2,448m of climbing and 77 pitches connected by 30km of hiking. As if that wasn’t hard enough, to claim the Triple, you’ve got to send all three in under 24 hours. That’s why only nine teams have completed the feat.
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Wanish and Vaill managed it in 17 hours and 55 minutes, besting the previous record of 18 hours and 30 minutes. That record was held by Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds, according to Wanish.
Details on the pair’s achievement are scanty as of this writing.
“A perfect day in the park. Will share some fun details and stories later, for now we’ll smile and sleep,” Wanish shared on his Instagram today.
Maxim Ropes, one of Wanish’s sponsors, notes he’s only been climbing for about five years. And ExplorersWeb sister site GearJunkie reports that the pair has only been tackling big walls for an incredible three years.
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Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Alex Honnold held the Yosemite Triple Crown speed record, and that that record sat at 19 hours.
