Hard to describe a 26 pitch route. You'll obviously want a topo but here is some basic info to get you started.  Amazing route - one of the major highlights of my climbing career and one of the best experiences of my life.  I highly recommend this line for a big El-Cap route without undue difficulty.  You need to pay some dues on easier and smaller routes but you don't need to be an aid master or put your head on the chopping block for this one. I put a free rating of 9+ because you will do much better freeing a couple of the awkward chimney pitches instead of trying to aid them.  The chimney on pitch 19 was especially awkward to aid, I had much better luck with freeing it.  Lots of amazing pitches.  No stand out crux but alot of spicy A/C2-3 pitches. The bismark is pretty exiting at the top, be ready to belly flop!    Make sure you plan a bivy for the Bismark ledge, unbeleavable views of Halfdome and the Valley.  Be efficient on cleaning lower outs and traverses, no big pedulums but some devious pitches to clean - especially the seagull and the molar traverse.  Get good at highstepping it really helped me with the rivot ladders and getting past some spicier terrain.

Mescalito

Neptune

Scorched Earth

Virginia

Lunar Eclipse

Wall of Early Morning Light

South Seas

Eagle's Way

North America Wall

Tangerine Trip

Lost in America

Tribal Rite

New Dawn

Native Son

The Dawn Wall

Ephemeron

Born Under A Bad Sign

New Dawn is a beautiful, exposed, clean route that is often used for access to the Wall of Early Morning Light. It is a great route for those looking for a legitimate challenge. It is a good route for those who have completed the Shield and Zodiac and are looking for something a bit harder. New Dawn is roughly the same difficulty as Mescalito.

Bailing may require some downaiding and a few pendulums. The route is mostly clear of runoff during a summer rainstorm, but in the winter sheets of ice tend to strike portions of the route making for a dangerous situation. It's a good idea to fix the first three pitches, then cruise to P7 on the first night. Pitch 11 has a bivy if you can make it that far on the first night.

The route has been done clean, but we used a hammer on a few pitches. P5 involves overhaning climbing on pin scars and I found offset cams dident stick too well. Sawed angles were great for P5. When I climbed P4 the fixed gear was missing so I had to resort to small beaks through the crux.

On P10 you can cut across onto the Nose if you want, or wait until P14 and cross onto Wall of Early Morning Light.

1100 feet of independent terrain. Shared pitches are mainly from Space, Pacific Ocean Wall, and Tempest.

Climbs steep and sustained features on golden rock. Pull onto the headwall on the 3rd pitch and keep going until you summit.

This stellar route certainly deserves more ascents.

Most holes filled with solid 3/8 stainless.

Great route that feels fresh and requires many pitches of sustained nailing fun. Though the crux pitch is rated as A4 and the story in supertopo claims it was probably an A5 on the first ascent, don't let the gnarly grade scare you from this generally safe (if you know hot to hammer iron into the wall) route. The A4 pitch starts with a few drilled hooks off the anchor and decent pins can be hammered/bolt clipped. Few more hook moves take you to a solid crack. Plenty of nailing has to still be done before an anchor is reached, but at this point, you have done several pitches with sustained nailing!

The route is in a very cool part of El Cap and not advised to be done after rain or while Horsetail Falls is flowing, you may get soaked.

This Historic route features long sections of rivets with a few memorable natural sections in the first two thirds of the route with a stellar natural section on the last third of the route. The whole route is in a stunning position of the wall, with killer exposure from the top of the second or third pitch all the way to the top out. Although not as classic as Porter's1972 Route, New Dawn, which accesses the same upper pitches, those looking for a modearate romp up the Dawn Wall should consider this as a logistically easy and perhaps quicker option as the lower two thirds climb rather quickly due to the amount of riveted pitches.

As of October 2019, most of Harding's original aluminum rivets are still in place, and for the most part in good condition! Some however are bent, so make sure you bring a huge variety of rivet hangers, including the cinch variety. 20 rivet hangers wouldn't be an unreasonable amount, with an emphasis on small and medium sized wire hangers, as the old aluminum rivets are pretty tight against the wall, and the larger wire hangers tend to pop off as You climb above them.

The South Seas is an incredibly steep and classic 10 pitch start to the Pacific Ocean Wall. The first few pitches are the steepest on the whole route and climb straight out of the alcove. The subjective/brief description below is based upon my recent experience climbing the route.

P1: Super steep with good placements and interesting climbing right off the ground (A2+ or C3ish, ~160')

P2: Still super steep with lots of funky fixed gear. This was a short pitch (A2+F, ~70')

P3: A few easy free moves off the belay lead to easy aid up a ramp (5.8, C2 or A1, ~150')

P4: Interesting climbing out of the belay to some fixed mank/heads (A3, ~110')

P5: Technically the crux of the route, break out the small cams and cam hooks. This is a really cool/long pitch. I'm not too sure what to say for the grade, one book calls it A4, one calls it A3+ but it wasn't the most involved pitch on the route. Don't worry about the grade and have fun cam hooking between fixed heads/other things. (~150', A3+?)

P6: Splitter C1 in a corner to A3 with rope drag (~140', A3)

P7: The Great White Shark, rivets to clean aid and then a wide crack, break out the big gear (~150', C2)

P8: The Rubber Band Man! As of September 2016 there is only one pendulum point in, thin climbing leads to this point and there is tricky climbing as you move above the pendulum after back cleaning.(~130', A3)

(P9 & P10 can be easily linked w/ a 60m rope)

P9: Climb a thin crack, getting to the anchor can be a bit awkward if you don't link pitches (~150, A3)

P10: This was an interesting section for us, it seemed like some recent rockfall had occurred and it was more engaging than described in the guidebook. My partner had nailed a hollow expanding feature to get through this and I lowered down a ~40 lb dangerously loose block to the anchor. The book lists this pitch as C2, it ended up being a bit spooky. (~50, A-strange?)

From here you set sail on the Pacific Ocean Wall! Be mindful of loose rock towards the top. It is well worth spending a night on the Island in the Sky and fixing the free pitch above this awesome ledge.

Eagle's Way is a great route that follows some large features up the far right side of El Cap. The rock is generally solid with occasional loose sections and the climbing is a step up in difficulty from the Zodiac or Shield. Some of the fixed anchors could be replaced, as most of them consist of one good bolt in addition to one or two less-than-inspiring bolts/rivets.

The route starts out with five pitches of mostly fast and moderate free climbing that wanders up to a steep headwall. The first two pitches have some interesting free/aid traversing for those who don't plan to free climb the poorly protected 5.10-5.11 sections. The headwall is steep and sustained, never too difficult but often thought-provoking. The most difficult climbing is in thin cracks that take many beaks and sections of fixed junk (rusty broken RURPs/questionable heads). Near the top, you get to climb the amazing "C1 Beauty" which is one of the most striking splitters on El Cap.

As of September 2019, the route was pretty clean. Beware of some junk ropes hanging near pitch 5, they are not fixed to anything and I was alarmed to discover this after thoughtlessly yarding on them for some short sections. Eagle's Way is a solid option if you're looking to avoid crowds and check out a cool part of the wall that doesn't get climbed too often.

An old school classic, the NA Wall was the first route to be climbed on the Southeast Face of El Cap, and skirts the large diorite blob resembling North America.  This also means that it follows a rather wandering line up through the black diorite.  There is loose rock, sketchy free climbing, and some funky aid, but all in all, this is a great line which visits some amazing places on the wall.  Big Sur Ledge, Cyclops Eye, and the Igloo are all good bivies. Be prepared for many penjis and lower-outs, and have your free climbing hat on for many pitches.  It's a bit heady in spots.

I'm not the person to describe this route, because I did it a zillion years ago when it had no piton scars (and we had no cams).  Consult a recent topo.  Nonetheless, I can say that, overall, the Tangerine Trip is a classic second generation El Cap route -- not an obvious line, but a honest, old-fashioned nail-up.  The route ascends the most consistently overhanging part of El Cap, and there are no ledges.  It's a good vertical adventure.

One very important warning.  There is a sharp edge toward the top of pitch two (see topo).  Please be careful not to jumar with the rope hanging over this edge (see photo below).  Unfortunately, while doing the Pacific Ocean Wall later in the spring of 1979, I watched Chris Robbins fall to his death when his rope was cut while jumaring.

Classic right side aid route. Main characteristic is fairly sustained beaking linked by hook traverses and rivits. The crux for most party’s is not the A4 but the mandatory 5.10 face climbing pitch. Our free gun took the pitch and said the moves where crimps on expanding/flexing flakes with a copper head as the first pro 15 feet off the belay. It’s a short section of 5.10 though. If you don’t have a free gun, an aid variation exists at A3+ called the beefaroni, which consists off a few steps or hooks to the right of the belay to a flake you can beak to some 5.8. The two aid crux’s of the route are pitch 8 and 9 aren’t to bad. Pitch nine is only A4 because of the corner you’d swing into if you pulled that whole flake your hooking with bomber large pika hooks. Cams and other gear options exist in the flake in question, the second just has to have a couple hooks to do some re-aid trickery to avoid lowering out on the sparse pro left behind. Pitch 8 used to be considered the crux of the route and has a tenuous thin natural 30 ft hook traverse protected by one number one beak, and a few copper heads into expanding nailing into expanding cams. Pitches like the fly or die and the dead roads are classic. The last move of LIA as it links into ZM is a really fun penji off the belay into the ZM A2 arrows cornor, I stuck the swing with a heal hook to get a cam hook in. Overall the aid never felt to hard. Comparable to tribal rite.

Tribal Rite is a steep and incredible line on one of the most outrageous locations on El Cap. The continuous headwall to the right of the upper pitches of the nose gives you some of the best views and exposure El Cap has to offer. Tribal Rite has seen far fewer ascents than other routes of the same difficulty and quality giving it a very "Fresh" feel. The position, the climbing, and the amazing Bivy ledges make Tribal Rite an overlooked classic at the grade.

The route starts from the top of the boot flake. How you get up there is up to you. Many wall parties start on New Dawn spending a night on Lay lady ledge and another on el cap tower. Starting on the Then Nose is a logical choice as well, although, crowds can cramp your style. I have also heard of people starting on Grape Race and reversing the King Swing onto the route.

1) 120' C3f

I got dead ended and had do some reverse hooking. Loose rock.

2) 140' C3f

Hooks beaks and microcams. These first 2 pitches are not as high quality as the rest of the route.

3) 150' C2+f

Long rivet ladder with some missing rivets.

4) 140' C3

Penji Pitch! Hook over to the rivet ladder and hope that the rusty relics don't give out. Follow this up until a penji right that leads you to a nice 2' by 12' ledge.

5) 140' A2+ exp?

"The Carrot" rivets and heads lead you up to the hanging carrot feature. This is the most visible feature from the ground. I was told that it was expando but never really noticed.

6)160' A3

This one jumps around allot. Climb through the roofs and past some heads and beaks (A3) up a few short crack systems to a stance belay. Big loose flake on this one.

7) 120' A2

Climb the sweet corner up to a roof. Go out the roof to the left to a rivet ladder. Some of the Rivets might be gone. Penji left to right facing corner and bust a mantle onto the bivy ledge.

8) 160' A3

Climb to the top of the pedestal. A3 hooks lead you off the tower past some rivets. Climb corners and seams avoiding the huge loose flake by going over it to the belay.

9) 150' A3+

"RURP Pitch"Move right to the beak seam. Beak that shit! My partner placed like 20 beaks.

10) 160' C2+

Climb the rivet ladder with short sections of hooking. Go waaaaay right (5.3) considering your follower. Great ledge below the last crux of reticent.

11) 160' A3

Go way left and up the less than vertical crack. Start beaking all sorts of strange holes and shapes up to a hanging belay.

At this point we were over 14 hours into our push. We managed to get way off route climbing up a blocky corner and thin flakes in a long horizontal roof. My partner brought me up and climbed another pitch straight out the diving board feature known as the Porch, home of the porch swing. My partner fell on the same move (the last move) like 5 times trying to pull the lip. When he finally pulled the move there was no anchor. This was quite clearly off route.

I can not stress enough the

need for a hand drill/rivet kit on this route

. Most of the rivets are terrible. I had one blow on me while i was jugging sending me for a bit of a swing. I was unable to see if the rivet sheered or pulled out  so i don't know if its hook-able.

Excellent route. Sustained A3, it adds up towards the end. In terms of danger, the crux is p4, the Coral Sea. It's best to link this with p3 for a 190' pitch. Other cruxes are the Wing, which is steep, and Golden Nipple, a slabby pitch at the end.

There is classic nailing to do on several pitches. It overall feels fresh. I don't think there is many more holes on the hard pitches than there were on the FA(?) At least for the Coral Sea this is obvious from the original topo.

Every pitch stands out in some way.

The only ledge is after p2. Every anchor is good.

You've all seen the movie. You all know the story. The Yosemite legend and the pebble wrestling apprentice working for years on the blankest big wall in the world. Tommy sends the traverses, Kevin keeps falling. Plenty of drama for cinema to milk. They send it. Voila, hardest big wall in the world. Obviously I haven't climbed this route, but I did some research on pitch-by-pitch stuff so we can all enjoy, dream, and imagine.

There isn't much pitch-by-pitch beta to be found on the Internet, in Tommy's book, or elsewhere. Here's what I could piece together.

P1 (5.12b) - It doesn't start easy. Begins on Mescalito for the first five pitches. Climb a blank, low-angle slab to a shallow crack.

P2 (5.13a) - Continue on Mescalito up slabs that trend slowly steeper.

P3 (5.13c) - Intermittent cracks/features on Mescalito.

P4 (5.12b) - And so on.

P5 (5.12d) - And so on.

P6 (5.13c) - And.... so on.

P7 (5.14a) - Leave Mescalito and begin following Adrift, a once-repeated aid route, at Anchorage Ledge. Follows an offset seam for a hundred feet. Protected by beaks only.

P8 (5.13d) - Climb up and move right to join Mescalito again.

P9 (5.13c) - Climb up and move right to join Mescalito again.

P10 (5.14a) - Continue following Mescalito up the intermittent crack/dihedral system.

P11 (5.13c) - Prepare for the Molar Traverse.

P12 (5.14b) - The Molar Traverse.

P13 (5.13b) - Preparing for the big-deal traverses. Climb off the flake up and left to the belay at the lighter-colored band.

P14 (5.14d) - Traverse number one. Tiny pinches along the yellow band.

P15 (5.14d) - Continuing to traverse along tiny edges and crimps until you're done! Oh wait....

P16 (5.14c) - Either the Loop Pitch (.14c) or the Dyno (.14d). Loop Pitch downclimbs, traverses, and loops around the blank 8-foot section that is otherwise done in a eight-foot double dyno to a two-hand edge.

P17 (5.14a) - Up through some upward-facing flakes.

P18 (5.13c) - Continues through an intermittent crack system.

P19 (5.13c) - Ascend crossing New Dawn and traversing right.

P20 (5.13c) - Climb up the 'features' to the left of the large dihedral in which New Dawn climbs.

P21 (5.13c) - Keep on climbing up.

P22 (5.12c) - To Wino Tower!

P23 (5.9) - Easy pitch above Wino Tower.

P24 (5.11) - Long blank but moderate pitches heading up and right.

P25 (5.11) - Continue as above.

P26 (5.11d) - Up and around a flake, then traverse slightly right.

P27 (5.11c) - Climb up then a longer traverse to join Mescalito once again.

P28 (5.12c) - Joining Mescalito, and climbing higher in its crack system.

P29 (5.12b) - Long pitch up to the Ship’s Bow.

P30 (5.13a) - Begin a long traverse right, breaking away from Mescalito.

P31 (5.12a) - Continue traversing.

P32 (5.12b) - The final pitch, on the Tempest. You’re done!

The Dawn Wall, 5.14d, Grade VI, FA Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, January 2015. It’s had one repeat by Adam Ondra in eight days, November 2016. The hardest big wall climb in the world by far, and perhaps the hardest climb, if commitment, exposure and sustained difficulty are counted along with grades.

Modern hard aid big wall climb up the center of El Capitan.

Bill Price was 19 years old when he put up this route.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in 3. Southeast Face