There are some newsworthy happenings on the speedclimbing and running fronts happening right now in Yosemite. To back up a bit for those who don’t know about these obscure domains of human endeavour, some folks like to compete against a clock (you’ve perhaps heard of the Boston Marathon or the Iditarod?) and some of those folks like to do so on Yosemite and try to keep track of records. Of those, hands down, the most coveted speedclimbing record is for the Nose route on El Capitan. Originally climbed in 47 days, then in seven days by the second asenscionists, the time is now down at two hours and forty-five minutes.
As I write this, Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama, former record holders (best time of 2:48) are doing a recon in preparation for an attempt to take the record back from the Alex and Thomas Huber. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go watch today, but rock climbing on El Cap is, by its nature, generally about as interesting to watch as watching paint dry. But when someone steams up in a just a few hours, it’s quite an enjoyable pastime. In any case, Hans and Yuji currently plan to go at it again on Sunday (probably starting at 6:00am), possibly for the record depending on how things go today. You can get details on Hans’ speedclimbing site and the story is being followed by the SF Chronicle.
Meanwhile, the most coveted trailrunning record in Yosemite is undoubtedly the Half Dome run. Until recently, it was held by Hari Mix, a top runner from Stanford University, who blazed the trail in 2:38. About a week ago, Ryan Ghelfi, of Redding, CA, ran the trail in 2:30:50 round trip. It took him about 1:32 from Happy Isles to the summit, and about 00:57 to get back down. Ryan is a college freshman and after his junior year of high school, he had run the trail in 2:40, almost record pace. He thinks he could go even faster. But in the near term, Hari Mix wants the record back! I have a full story on Ryan’s Half Dome run as well as Hari Mix’s reaction on my site (based on email interviews).
Comments
5 responses to “Yosemite Speed: Half Dome Running and Nose Climbing Records”
Makes it kind of hard to see and enjoy the scenery when you’re too busy speeding through it to notice the beauty of where you’re at.
Oh, I heartily disagree. It’s when I’m moving fast that I experience the beauty the most intensely and feel the most connected to the world. I’m not anywhere as fast as those guys, but I sure do appreciate the appeal of what they do. Just can’t do it myself!
That said, I figured someone would make a denigrating comment like, that, but to be honest, I’m sort of disappointed that it would be you Loyd since I think this blog is about celebrating the variety of experiences people can have in Yosemite! It’s up to any individual to judge whether one person’s experience of nature’s beauty is inferior or superior. And in any case, people go into the outdoors for many reasons. The fact is, very few people climb Everest for the beauty of it!
Though I’m not nearly as fast as those guys, I have to applaud what they do and how amazingly fit and experienced they are. For me, there are few pleasures as intense as moving quickly and competently in the out of doors. On some occasions the flowers are too amazing and I need to slow down. Sometimes I set out to go slowly and may only cover one mile in three or four hours. That said, rarely does moving faster and lighter make my experience of the outdoors inferior, my experience of the beauty less intense. Rather, it usually it makes it more intense, more enjoyable. I feel my body more and that makes me feel more connected to the nature around me. My mind and body seem to be in the “flow” and that makes me feel at one with nature in a way that is never possible for me when I’ve got a camera in front of my face.
Of course, everyone who knows me knows that I love to take pictures, but for me, the thing that is most likely to ruin my connection with nature while out on a hike, climb or run, is actually bringing a camera. Again, just speaking for myself, the camera tends to separate me from nature to a far greater degree than moving fast does. If I want an intense personal experience of the beauty of what’s around me, that means leaving the camera at home and picking up the pace.
But that’s just me. I do not criticize people who carry a camera (I’m usually one of them after all). If that’s how they like to experience the outdoors, what business is it of mine? If they get an amazing shot, I think congratulations are due, just as they are for the amazing feats that Ryan, Hans and Yuji accomplish.
Some reasons that moving fast does NOT make it harder to enjoy the beauty around you:
– usually going faster means going lighter. I find it easier to enjoy a the beauty around me with a 7-pound pack than a 70-pound pack.
– you simply cover more ground and see more. As Hans says, “I don’t spend any less time smelling roses, I just smell a lot more of them”.
– moving fast gives a tremendous sense of liberation and freedom, of belongingness in the outdoors. The true freedom of the hills.
Finally, most of the folks who set speed records also spend a lot of non-speed time outdoors. That run was, for example, one day out of Ryan’s week in Yosemite. I’ve been admonished to slow down and appreciate the beauty while running the Mist Trail. Well, I’ve hiked it slowly countless times, but sometimes I just want to go out for a run, feel my lungs and legs, and experience it in a different way.
All experiences are valid and there are many ways to appreciate the beauty of nature.
I guess the same argument could be made for those people speeding along the roads in the park. They’re not missing a thing driving by at 60.
If I sit by the river, I miss the bear crossing the road a mile up. If I drive the road, I miss the American Dipper in the river. You *could* look at that as missing out, but that’s a glass-half-empty view. Maybe you appreciate different things at different speeds, but it’s all good.
[…] at another one of my sites Tom, one of the contributors to my site, put up an article about speed running Half Dome and a 2 man attempt at speed climbing record. This morning I received an email from an organization dedicated to helping stop abuse of sled […]