Curated list

El Capitan Climbing Films

12 films · updated 2026-09-04

No wall has been filmed more than El Capitan. The 3,000-foot granite face in Yosemite Valley is where big wall climbing was invented, where free climbing it became the sport's defining problem, and where speed records are still broken every season.

These films cover the range: multi-day free ascents of The Nose, Golden Gate and Zodiac, an eight-day push up El Corazón, a sub-14-hour aid climb of an A4, and attempts on the Dawn Wall. Start with Jorg Verhoeven on The Nose for the clearest picture of what free climbing El Cap involves.

  1. Jorg Verhoeven Free Climbs The Nose | Full Documentary (2023) climbing film

    01 · 2023 · 25 min · Louder Than Eleven

    Jorg Verhoeven Free Climbs The Nose | Full Documentary

    The Nose free, with Tommy Caldwell and Lynn Hill on the history. The most complete film about the most famous route on the wall.

  2. Emily Harrington Free Climbs El Capitan's ‘Golden Gate' (2015) climbing film

    02 · 2015 · 17 min · Louder Than Eleven

    Emily Harrington Free Climbs El Capitan's ‘Golden Gate'

    Harrington's six-day free ascent of Golden Gate in 2015, years before her one-day push made headlines.

  3. Babsi Zangerl & Jacopo Larcher vs Zodiac (2016) climbing film

    03 · 2016 · 10 min · Louder Than Eleven

    Babsi Zangerl & Jacopo Larcher vs Zodiac

    Zangerl and Larcher free the Zodiac, the steep 5.13d route on the right side of the wall.

  4. FREE ASCENT of El Capitan’s 2nd Hardest Route | ft. Babsi Zangerl & Jacopo Larcher (2023) climbing film

    04 · 2023 · 5 min · Louder Than Eleven

    FREE ASCENT of El Capitan’s 2nd Hardest Route | ft. Babsi Zangerl & Jacopo Larcher

    The same pair on Magic Mushroom, 5.14a, second in difficulty only to the Dawn Wall.

  5. Free Climbing El Corazón on El Cap Over 8 Days (5.13b R) (2026) climbing film

    05 · 2026 · 44 min · Tyler Karow

    Free Climbing El Corazón on El Cap Over 8 Days (5.13b R)

    Tyler Karow and Julian Kraus-Polk free El Corazón over eight days: a realistic picture of a long free push.

  6. Darkest Before Dawn: A Dawn Wall Story (2023) climbing film

    06 · 2023 · 19 min · EpicTV

    Darkest Before Dawn: A Dawn Wall Story

    Siebe Vanhee and Seb Berthe attempt the Dawn Wall, the hardest big wall free climb in the world.

  7. The Traditionalist - Chapter One (2024) climbing film

    07 · 2024 · 21 min · The North Face

    The Traditionalist - Chapter One

    Jacopo Larcher's ground-up ethic applied to El Cap, from The North Face.

  8. Climbing an El Cap A4 in Under 14 Hours: Lunar Eclipse (2026) climbing film

    08 · 2026 · 25 min · Oliver Tippett

    Climbing an El Cap A4 in Under 14 Hours: Lunar Eclipse

    Taylor Martin and Oliver Tippett aid-climb Lunar Eclipse, an A4, in a single push.

  9. Setting a New El Cap Speed Record (Shortest Straw) (2026) climbing film

    09 · 2026 · 43 min · Oliver Tippett

    Setting a New El Cap Speed Record (Shortest Straw)

    The same team set a speed record on Shortest Straw. Aid climbing at a pace most parties cannot imagine.

  10. Assault on El Capitan (2015) climbing film

    10 · 2015 · 1 hr 7 min · Adventure Sports TV

    Assault on El Capitan

    Ammon McNeely and the hard-aid era, when the wall's most dangerous routes were the objective.

  11. Arc'teryx Presents: Wet Lycra Nightmare (2023) climbing film

    11 · 2023 · 21 min · Arc'teryx

    Arc'teryx Presents: Wet Lycra Nightmare

    Jordan Cannon, Sam Stroh and Alex Honnold on one of the wall's hardest free routes.

  12. First Ascent in Yosemite Valley (2025) climbing film

    12 · 2025 · 33 min · Taylor Martin

    First Ascent in Yosemite Valley

    Taylor Martin establishes a new line in the Valley: the wall is not finished.

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