Hans Florine is an American rock climber, who holds the record for the number of ascents of Yosemite Valleys El Capitan and is known for holding the speed record on The Nose of Yosemite’s El Capitan 8 different times. Han's last speed record on The Nose was accomplished with Alex Honnold for climbing The Nose in 2:23:46, on June 17, 2012. In addition to climbing El Capitan over 160 times, Hans also holds the record for the number of ascents of The Nose climbing it more than 101 times. El Capitan is traditionally climbed in three to five days. The Nose route is and features 31 pitches of strenuous, exposed climbing. This translates to a rate of roughly 6 minutes per pitch. Florine is well regarded in the climbing community, and pioneered many of the methods currently used in speed climbing.
Climbing career
Florine started climbing as a teenager in 1983, and began competing in bouldering and speed competitions by 1987 at a time when competition climbing was not popular. He found that by speed climbing in competitions he was able to earn some money to fund his climbing, and by climbing quickly he could simply get more climbing in. He broke The Nose speed record with Yuji Hirayama in 2002, with a time of 2:48:55. This was bested by German brothers Alexander Huber and Thomas Huber in 2007, however, Florine and Hirayama regained the record with a time of 2:43:33 just six months later. They improved again to set a time of 2:37:05, on October 12, 2008. On July 30, 2005, Florine also completed a solo ascent of The Nose in just 11 hours and 41 minutes. Solo ascents are characterized by climbing by yourself while using a rope for protection, and require one person to do all the work. In 2018 he broke both his legs during a training run up The Nose after a piece of protection popped out of a crack. He and his partner were rescued by Yosemite Search and Rescue the next day.
Notable ascents
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with , 1990. Time: 8:06
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with Andres Puhvel, 1991. Time: 6:01
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with Peter Croft, 1992. Time: 4:22
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with Jim Herson, 2001. Time: 3:57:27
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with Yuji Hirayama, 2002. Time: 2:48:55
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with Yuji Hirayama, July 2, 2008. Time: 2:43:33
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with Yuji Hirayama, October 12, 2008. Time: 2:37:05
The Nose of El Capitan: Former speed record with Alex Honnold, June 17, 2012. Time: 2:23:46 or 2:23:51
Competition Climbing
Florine has been climbing competitively since 1988. He has won 3 gold medals in X-Game speed climbing, in 1995, 1996 and 1997.
