Mason Earle and Brad Gobright have freed the Heart Route on El Cap. at
unconfirmed 5.13c (8a+). Mason was trying it in 2010 and said at the time most of the climbing was surprisingly reasonable (not more than easy 5.13) but a 15' section was impossible. Evidently they have now found a way around this bit. The upper part of Heart Route had been freed by Golden Gate which traverses in from The Salathe, so this could be considered a direct start to, or completion of, the Huber's route.
The original aid route was climbed in 1970. It takes an obvious line up the left side of the heart-shaped depression on the south west face, a wild pitch through the heart roofs, then cracks more or less straight to the summit. It was a clear feature and with a seemingly not outrageous grade it is a surprise it had not been freed before now. First ascentionists Chuck Kroger and Scott Davis had planned to try what became the Dawn Wall but when this was otherwise occupied they turned their attention to the other side of El Cap. These relatively unknown climber's efficient, low profile, ascent contrasted with the epic media storm on the south east face.
The Heart Slabs (Photo: Tom Evans’ El Cap report)
Breaking the Heart Roof (Photo: Tom Evans’ El Cap report)
Same pitch on the original aid ascent, showing the angle of the climbing (Steve Grossman scan of Chuck Kroger’s photo from
this supertopo thread)
More photos on
instagram
