Biography

Hans Florine (born June 18, 1964) is an American rock climber, who holds the record for the number of ascents of Yosemite Valley's El Capitan and is known for holding the speed record on The Nose of Yosemite’s El Capitan 8 different times. Hans' last speed record on The Nose was accomplished with Alex Honnold for climbing The Nose in 2:23:46 (2 hours, 23 minutes and 46 seconds), on June 17, 2012. In addition to climbing El Capitan over 175 times, Hans also holds the record for the number of ascents of The Nose, climbing it more than 111 times.

El Capitan is traditionally climbed in three to five days. The Nose route is 2,900 ft long (880 m) and features 31 pitches of strenuous, exposed climbing. This translates to a rate of roughly 5 minutes per pitch.

Florine is well regarded in the climbing community, and pioneered many of the methods currently used in speed climbing.