Posted on 08/10/2026 1:20:35 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A 30-year-old climber who made headlines for racing up Yosemite’s famed El Capitan in record time has died in an accident in the Sierra Nevada.
Jake Whisenant, a Mammoth Lakes climber known for his speed ascents, died Aug. 3, according to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Coroner.
Officials have not released further details about the circumstances of the accident.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
No word on the state employees who were assigned to recover the body and bring it down to ground level.
They probably also had to risk their lives.
I climbed for a while, always on belay. I quit when my hands let go one day with no warning. I considered this to be a my one free mistake.
There are old climbers and there are bold climbers. But there are no old bold climbers.
I don’t understand that, but...that is me. I can understand mountain climbing, being prepared, having the equipment and the plan, the safety.
But free climbing like that? Seems crazy to me.
Alex Honnold’s record was climbing the Freerider route (5.13a) in 3 hours and 56 minutes.
Jake Whisenant’s record was climbing the Lurking Fear route in just 2 hours, 55 minutes and 32 seconds.
Wow.
Records are made to be broken. Once somebody breaks the record, others follow...
I never climbed on dangerous slopes without a rope and protection (anchors) at least as often as I was willing to fall. I taught at the Colorado Mountain Club Basic Mountaineering Course for several years and safety was the main topic. Free climbing would be considered as suicidal.
It wasn’t enough to be engaged in a dangerous climbing sport so he had to be the fastest. Speed climbing is not a good combination. Mistakes and slips can happen and rock climbing is not forgiving. Well he died doing what he loved - being splattered apart upon the rocks.
I’d guess he at least tied the record for speed descent.
Gravity poisoning, aka “Rapid Deceleration Trauma”.
CC
“Yosemite speed climber who set record for scaling lethal El Capitan dies in Sierra Nevada accident”. I knew a guy from El Capitan, he trained his pig to bark at strangers.
And he ain’t gonna climb no more
No he ain’t gonna climb no more….
The speed climber just experienced v = 32.2 X t
you forgot real fast
Too fast to last, sorry for him and his family.
Most of you are confusing speed climbing with free climbing. I can find nothing stating Whisenant was a free climber or was free climbing when he was killed.
Honnold remains the only climber ever to free climb El Cap solo and in a single attempt.
In fact, Honnold still is actively seeking new “firsts,” like seeking out the tallest rock faces on the world. Two years ago made the first recorded ascent of a sea cliff in Greenland called Ingmikortilaq that is 1500 feet taller than the nose of El Cap. But now he’s climbing roped/protected, and with a partner, a woman.
Ingmikortilaq is made of gneiss and granite and if you know anything about geology/petrology you know gneiss rots (relatively) quickly once it’s exposed to weather and the biggest danger on this climb was getting you skull caved in by a chink of rock the lead climber had dislodged. I round it refreshing watching Honnold work in an environment that didn’t make me want to suck the upholstery of my La-Z-Boy into my anal sphincter.
Sorry, I obviously meant a "chunk" of rock.
There is a documentary about it, if you're interested, titled, "Arctic Ascent (with Alex Honnold)."
Now he’s known as Matt.
but hey!! they were “Cool” and “Rad Dude” while they lasted!!
lol
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