US climbers Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds have shaved four minutes off the previous record for climbing The Nose on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, completing the 880m Valley classic in two hours, nineteen minutes and forty-four seconds (2:19:44).

El Capitan © ClaireCC, May 2017

Hans Florine and Alex Honnold set the previous record in 2012, with a time of 2:23:24.

The first recorded speed ascent of The Nose was made in 1975 by Jim Bridwell, John Long and Billy Westbay, with a time of 17 hours and 45 minutes. The challenge has since attracted numerous attempts to beat the record by some of the biggest names in big wall climbing.

Brad and Jim had refined their tactics during a few attempts at beating the old record in recent weeks. Brad posted a few images on his Instagram account documenting their recent endeavours:

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Here's a cool shot of me climbing the stove leg crack during our 2:34 time up the Nose earlier this week. This entire pitch is almost entirely perfect hands. Thanks to Matt Carter for taking this shot while he was waking up in his portaledge. Also thanks for making it easy for us to climb through. A post shared by Brad Gobright (@bradgobright) on Oct 14, 2017 at 7:49pm PDT