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Conquest of El Capitan
Much like it dominates the entrance to Yosemite Valley, El Capitan dominates Yosemite rock climbing.
Climbers prefer the shortened version, El Cap, or its most common nickname, "The Captain." Three thousand feet of sheer, vertical granite that's as accessible as it is beautiful to look at.
While El Capitan has witnessed many astonishing climbs over the decades, none are more celebrated than the first ascent, a gargantuan effort finally completed in November 1958 by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore.
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Rock climbers attempt speed record on El Cap
When rock climbers first scaled the sheer granite face of Yosemite's El Capitan in 1958, it took them 47 days over a period of several months.
Today, speed climbers Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama hope to make the same 2,900-foot ascent in less than 2 hours, 45 minutes. In an e-mail, Florine said they plan to begin climbing at 6:45 a.m.
After failed attempts Thursday and Sunday, Florine and Hirayama will try for the third and final time today to break the record on the ferocious vertical route known as The Nose. The record was set in October by Germans Tomas and Alex Huber.
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Victory in Yosemite
As citizens celebrate the recent federal court ruling to halt multiple construction projects in Yosemite, it would be helpful to point out to readers that The Bee's Nov. 7 front page article did not capture the essence of what this lawsuit is about.
The article could lead one to believe that the suit was all about plans and esoteric documents. Instead, this legal victory has stopped the construction of upscale hotel units. It has stopped the re-route of a main road in Yosemite Valley closer to the river so vehicles can go faster, and coincidentally open the door to massive future development.
It also has stopped the Park Service's intent to provide for oversized RV motor coaches -- which would take away from old-fashioned family camping -- and the ruling also acknowledges a controversy over the park's lack of fair treatment for Native Americans.
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Armstrong braced for tough last week in Tour
For Lance Armstrong to win an eighth Tour de France, he will not only have to beat the best rider in the world - his teammate and rival Alberto Contador - he will also need to master an innovative course with a grueling last week that includes four mountain stages.
The 37-year-old American rider, back in competition this season after more than three years of retirement, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that this year's race, starting Saturday in Monaco, was more likely to favor pure climbers like Contador.
"There is only (about 34 miles) of time trials, which is much less than normal," Armstrong told The AP in a telephone interview. "And the final week is extremely hard with a lot of climbs. So all the way from Colmar (stage 14), to Verbier, the Alps, the time trial and then the (Mont) Ventoux ... I've never seen a final week of the Tour like that!"
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Yosemite Falls roars despite state water shortage
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - California's drought seems like fiction up here with thundering Yosemite Falls leaving lines of gawkers soaked and shivering.
The 2,425-foot trio of waterfalls - the tallest in North America - can easily be seen a mile away, but visitors can't resist getting up close to that blast of icy water.
"This is my favorite place in the world," said Christy Rosa of Los Angeles, who was celebrating her 60th birthday in Yosemite National Park. "I wouldn't miss this."
The House of Representatives this week approved a resolution saluting three climbers who were the first to scale Yosemite's El Capitan, North America's tallest free-standing granite monolith, a half-century ago.
"It's a landmark," said U.S. Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa, whose congressional district includes Yosemite. "It was a really big deal."
The resolution honors Wayne Merry, Fresno resident George Whitmore and leader Warren J. Harding, who took 47 days over an 18-month period in 1957-58 to climb El Capitan's so-called "Nose" route. Theirs was a full-blown siege, complete with sizable support crew, fixed ropes that hung from the face for months at a time and established camps along the vertical way.
Today, climbers race up the same route in two or three days. Some have done it in one. In July, Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama ascended the 2,900-foot route in a record-setting 2 hours, 43 minutes.
The National Park Service is getting ready for its own commemoration of the event, scheduled Nov. 8. That was the date 50 years ago that the three men made their final push toward the El Capitan summit.
"What they did 50 years ago is really significant in the history of the park," park spokesman Scott Gediman said. "Climbing really turned into a sport here in Yosemite."
The Nov. 8 event in Yosemite Valley will include auditorium presentations by Whitmore and Merry.
Gediman said officials are working with Yosemite Climbing Association president Ken Yager on establishing a rock climbing museum that would display some of the gear used during the park's history.
Harding, known as a hard-living soul, wrote a memoir titled "Downward Bound" and died in February 2002. Merry went on to head the Yosemite Mountaineering School.
Whitmore has been active in the local Sierra Club chapter.
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