Salathé Wall

The Salathé Wall is one of the original technical climbing routes up El Capitan, a 3,000-foot (900 m) high granite monolith in Yosemite National Park. The Salathé Wall was named by Yvon Chouinard in honor of John Salathé, a pioneer of rock climbing in Yosemite. The route is recognized in the historic climbing text Fifty Classic Climbs of North America and considered a classic around the world.[1][2] Due to its length, difficulty, rock quality and variety of climbing, it is often called the world's "greatest" rock climb.

Rock climber Chuck Pratt bivouacking during the first ascent of the Salathé Wall in September 1961.

Salathé Wall
Southwest face of El Capitan from Yosemite Valley
Location	California, USA
Coordinates	37°44′02.4″N 119°38′13.2″W
Climbing Area	Yosemite Valley
Route Type	Aid climbing, Free climbing
Vertical Gain	2,900 ft (884 m)
Pitches	35
Rating	5.13c or 5.13b or 5.9 C2
Grade	VI
First ascent	Royal Robbins, Tom Frost, and Chuck Pratt, 1961
First free ascent	Paul Piana and Todd Skinner, 1988 Alex Huber, 1995 Yuji Hirayama, 2002

It was first ascended in 1961 by Royal Robbins, Tom Frost and Chuck Pratt. After climbing about a quarter of the route, they retreated to re-supply, leaving four fixed ropes in place. Quickly returning, they jumared back up the ropes and totally committed to climbing the upper wall in a single push, which they did in 6 days using only 15 bolts total. The route was about 25% free climbing with sections of run-out 5.9, and the direct aid was also difficult (A4). A year later, Robbins and Frost returned and did the route in a single push from the bottom.

Peter Haan in 1972 was the first to climb the route alone, rope solo, using pitons for aid and protection. It was his first Big Wall climb.

In 1975 Kevin Worral and Mike Graham, starting from the Nose route, went left a little and free climbed pitches 4 through 10 of Salathe Wall Route up to Mammoth Terraces, adding three pitches of 5.11. A little later, Jim Bridwell, John Long, John Bachar and Ron Kauk free climbed pitch 3 (5.11b) and repeated the rest of Worral and Graham's free ascent. These ten free pitches, often free climbed as a short route, are commonly known as "Free Blast".[3]

In 1979 Mark Hudon and Max Jones, climbing ground up, led and followed 95% of the route free, adding five pitches of 5.12 and 5 or 6 of 5.11.

Todd Skinner and Paul Piana were, jointly, the first to free climb all the sections (each climber free climbed about half of the route, 2 hanging belays for resting) during a nine-day push in 1988, after thirty days of working the route (graded 5.13c by the Yosemite Decimal System).[4] This was the first major El Capitan route to be free climbed. In 1995 Alexander Huber was the first individual to free climb all the pitches (5.13b), leading every pitch free himself in a single push (with one hanging belay for a rest), although he bypassed the hardest of the three cruxes by an easier free variation. In 2002 Yuji Hirayama made the first redpoint, in a single push avoiding all hanging belays, at 5.13d. The first female ascent was by Steph Davis in 2005 at 5.13b.[5]