page_title: El Capitan
section_title: Climbing history
hierarchical_section_title: El Capitan / Climbing history
caption_attribution_description: One of 30 mammoth-plate albumen prints of Yosemite Valley, Mariposa County, and the Big Trees, Calaveras County, California taken in 1864 by Charles Leander Weed and published prior to 1867 by Lawrence &amp; Houseworth. Weed is widely believed to have been the first photographer to work in Yosemite. For his 1864 photographic expedition to the Valley, Weed was equipped with a large camera and large glass plates, enabling him to produce these 22x28 inch mammoth-plate prints which won the first-place bronze medal at the 1867 Paris International Exhibition for their superior excellence. This complete collection sold at auction in 2012 for $374,500.
context_page_description: El Capitan, also known as El Cap, is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The granite monolith is about 3,000 feet from base to summit along its tallest face, and is a popular objective for rock climbers.
  The formation was named "El Capitan" by the Mariposa Battalion when they explored the valley in 1851. El Capitan was taken to be a loose Spanish translation of the local Native American name for the cliff, variously transcribed as "To-to-kon oo-lah" or "To-tock-ah-noo-lah". It is unclear if the Native American name referred to a specific tribal chief or simply meant "the chief" or "rock chief".
  The top of El Capitan can be reached by hiking out of Yosemite Valley on the trail next to Yosemite Falls, then proceeding west. For climbers, the challenge is to climb up the sheer granite face. There are many named climbing routes, all of them arduous, including Iron Hawk and Sea of Dreams.
context_section_description: Between the two main faces, the Southwest (on the left when looking directly at the wall) and the Southeast, is a prow. While today there are numerous established routes on both faces, the most popular and historically famous route is The Nose, which follows the south buttress.
caption: 1864 photo of El Capitan by Charles Leander Weed
exif: {}