El Capitan Meadow - Watch for Climbers

Photo: Mike Murphy (talk . contribs), CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

A stop on Yosemite Valley, a free self-guided tour.

Pull over along Northside Drive and look straight up. El Capitan rises about 3,000 feet from base to summit, a single face of pale granite that cooled deep underground roughly 100 million years ago and was later laid bare by erosion and glaciers.

To climbers it is the ultimate big wall. Warren Harding, George Whitmore and Wayne Merry made the first ascent of its central prow, The Nose, on November 12, 1958, after 47 days of climbing spread over about 18 months, using fixed ropes and camps. On June 3, 2017, Alex Honnold climbed it alone and without ropes in just under four hours.

Bring binoculars and scan the wall for tiny climbers and their colorful haul bags. After dark, their headlamps twinkle on the rock like stars. The Miwok name for the rock is often translated as the captain or rock chief.

Please watch from the road edges and established paths. Meadows are fragile, and trampled plants take years to recover. Watch for traffic when you cross the road.

Getting here: Drive east on Southside Drive, then turn left onto El Capitan Drive and cross El Capitan Bridge over the Merced River. The meadow opens up along Northside Drive, with roadside parking.

Did you know?: On his ropeless 2017 climb, Alex Honnold started at 5:32 in the morning and reached the summit at 9:28.

Photo op: Stand at the edge of the meadow, not in it, and frame El Capitan's full height. A long lens or binoculars will pick out climbers on the face.

Nearby: No facilities at the meadow. Bring water; the nearest restrooms are back at Bridalveil Fall or ahead at Yosemite Valley Lodge.

More on Wikipedia: El Capitan · The Nose · Warren Harding · Alex Honnold

El Capitan Meadow - Watch for Climbers

Stops on this tour