The Schnoz’s first ascent of the nose of El Capitan

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This December, 26-year-old Swedish climber Hannes Puman made the first ascent of the pitch known as The Schnoz in The Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. This V10 boulder problem was an unsent alternative to the notoriously difficult Changing Corners pitch (5.14a/8b+). As the first to send this variation through a scarred corner, Puman made the ride a little more accessible and took a step towards a freer and purer El Capitan.

Freeing the nose

the nose, that climbs the bow of El Cap, separating the southeast from the southwest sections of the wall, has a history dating back to 1958. That year, Warren Harding, Wayne Merry, Rich Calderwood and George Whitmore became the first to climb the route up from 47 days, drilling a bolt ladder to the top. In the years that followed, the route became the melting pot for free climbing.

The route of the free-climbing route required considerable work. In the late 60s, Jim Bridwell and Jim Stanton released the classic Stoveleg Crack pitches at 5.10+/6b+. In 1975, Ron Kauk, John Bachar, and Dale Bard cleared more of the route, eliminating assistance except for a handful of pitches in the upper section at 5.11+/7a. Five years later, Ray Jardine made a major push The Noseline fixing and large section work. He built handles to create a traverse that bypassed the King Swing. However, his chipping was not accepted and Yosemite climbers led him out of the park. For the next decade, climbers invested their energy in freeing other parts of El Cap.

Then, in 1990, Brooke Sandhal ran the route. His tactic was to jump off the top to make the point. Resealed many of the relays and added free climbing lead bolts where necessary. He then quickly entered the four pitches that had yet to be climbed: The Great Roof, the pitch above Camp V, Changing Corners, and the Harding Bolt Ladder. The latter is the final step to the top. Sandhal made the first free ascent of the final pitch, then sorted the beta and sent the pitch over Camp V. Only two main points remained: the Great Roof and the Corner Changes.

History of the Changing Corners

In 1990, the water flowed on the Great Roof, so Sandhal and Dave Schultz looked at Changing Corners. Clearing the face, they found a variation 12 feet to the left. “It was simpler to climb and less of a worm in that corner,” says Sandhal. The pair made most of the moves, climbing to a short stop and then launching into a boulder problem.

“You make a big move and you get a tiny flat edge, and then you have to match it,” Sandhal recalls. “Then you would take the piano, putting your left hand where your right was.” This allowed Sandhal to reach Changing Corners and complete 5.10/6b climbing on this pitch. However, the high temperatures made it very difficult for Sandhal to connect the climb.

The following year, Sandhal returned with Lynn Hill, who quickly built the Great Roof. But as a short climber, she lacked the ability to send the variation step, so she tackled the initial help line. Performing a series of stem distortions, an arm bar and an El Cap disco, he unleashed Changing Corners. Hill and Sandhal then attempted the route from the ground over five days. Sandhal was able to make all the moves on the Great Roof but ran out of time.

In the end, Hill ended up showing red on the two critical pitches, making the first free ascent of El Capitan via The Nose. A year later, he returned to climb it in a single day in one of the most significant climbing feats in history. Despite the efforts of some of the world’s strongest climbers, the route has seen only a dozen free ascents in the past 21 years.

Why so few? The answer usually comes down to the pitch of the changing angles (5.14a/8b+). The cryptic style makes repetition difficult. While working on the route in 2004, Matt Wilder envisioned Sandal and Schultz’s variation. Supposedly a hatch had broken, making it impossible to pass through the changing corners.

In the early 2000s, Alex and Thomas Huber and Ivo Ninov had bolted a relay to the small stop, making it more accessible. This allowed Wilder to stand and stare down a series of holds leading more directly to the Changing Corners anchor. “It’s difficult and technical,” Wilder says of the variant. Although he came close to a grounder, on the day he sent the variation into place, he tore his rotator cuff down on a 12d/7c pitch, ending his bid. Huber and Ninov also sent the pitch, though they didn’t clear the route.

The nose straightens

Earlier this season, Alex Honnold added a lead bolt to The Schnoz to make variation climbing safer and to direct the line to the Changing Corners anchors. “It’s as it should be,” says Honnold. “You end up in a nice stop, you skip the other hanging relay The Noseand you do the essence immediately from the relay. It’s kind of better.”

After dialing in the V10 moves, Honnold attempted the route from the ground, sending through the Grand Roof on a day with Tommy Caldwell holding on. “I fell for the last move of The Schnoz,” says Honnold.

After splitting a tip, he tried to send it with the back three fingers. Then he split another edge. “I was just bleeding everywhere,” says Honnold, whose index and middle fingers were dripping with blood. Unable to hold on despite numerous attempts, he stretched at the Corner Changes and finished the course. “Is this middle age and you don’t have the fire?” Honnold remembers thinking when he left the valley.

Hannes Puman frees the Schnoz

Honnold may have lacked fire this year, but it was alive and well inside Swedish climber Hannes Puman. On his two-month trip from October to early December, he worked his way through the Yosemite classics. He bouldered in the valley, flashing the technically demanding Just kidding (V8), as well as the iconic Midnight lightning (V8) and the highball King Air (V10).

Puman headed for Tuolumne, where he fired Peace (5.13c/8a+) at Medlicott Dome. It went up A book of hate (5.13d/8b) in the Elephant’s Graveyard and broke his fingers on the handle of the vise Cosmic Debris (5.13b/8a). He also explored longer routes, including climbing Lost Arrow Chimneya 5.10a 10 pitch route that leads to a series of wide climbs on the Yosemite Falls Wall. And he made quick work of it Wet Lycra Nightmare (5.13d/8b A0) on the Leaning Tower and Final Frontier (5.13b/8a) on Fifi Buttress.

Towards the end of this expedition spree, Puman turned his attention to El Capitan, where he and his partner Jacob Östman free climbed Free Rider* (5.13a/7c+). “It was my first big wall,” Puman says.

They started the route the day after a storm so many of the cracks were damp or wet. They expected the climb to take three days, but it took five. Unscathed #7, Puman climbed The Hollow Flake unprotected. Mice ate their water tank and their retrieve line took a core. “We didn’t really expect it to be such an extreme experience,” Puman says. Despite the challenges, they made the job of climbing easy. Puman crashed once on the Freeblast and once on the Enduro Corner course, while Ostman only crashed on the Boulder Problem course. They threw the pitches red and left with a free climb.

After just two days of rest, Puman resumed tackling The Nose. “I was really exhausted,” he recalls. But he decided to do his best and “see what happens.” This attitude helped him climb the wall.

With the support of 22-year-old Scottish climber Jamie Lowther, Puman reached the Great Roof. But when he got there, he discovered water dripping from the pitch. He tried to dry the holds, but every time he dried them and started to climb, various holds got wet. He fought through the water, sending the Great Roof’s hard traverse.

Finally, Pooman arrived at Changing Corners. He had been on the field before, going through the motions. While he hoped to send both Changing Corners and the variant, he arrived at the pity tired. “At that point, I just wanted to do it,” Puman says of taking over The Schnoz. “It’s much more basic and Changing Corners is highly technical,” he adds. So he fought the tough moves and made the first ascent of the pitch. He then continued to the summit, becoming one of the elite few to free climb Yosemite’s classic route.

So why did it take so long for The Schnoz to be released? Lots of free climbers The Nose he might not even know about this alternate route and I wasn’t looking for the beta. The path of least resistance was to stay on the helpline, and by December 2024, that’s what everyone had done. Since Honnold had worked the line and had it chalked just before Puman’s ascent, it actually paved the way for the release of the variation.

Ultimately, the efforts of Sandhal, Wilder, Honnold, Puman and other climbers on The Schnoz mark a breakthrough in the evolution of Yosemite’s non-big wall climbing. Instead of following the exact aid line, climbers have moved along the wall, seeking better alternatives to the chipped and scarred terrain. While much of El Cap’s free climbing depends on freeing existing belays, The Schnoz’s expedition shows that not every hard pitch needs to be nailed first, an idea that can preserve the rock of other formations.

*Although the route today is more often formatted as FreeriderAlexander Huber noted that the route was actually intended to be formed into two words (Free Rider). This is a reference to the 1969 film Easy Rider.