El Niño (Pineapple Express variation) 5.13b/c

El Niño climbs the North America Wall of El Capitan, a 27-pitch route established by Alexander and Thomas Huber in 1998 and freed as a whole at 5.13c. The Pineapple Express variation is a three-pitch detour around a blank section of the original line, without which the route could not be climbed free from bottom to top. Together the line adds up to roughly six pitches of 5.13, five of 5.12, and long stretches of easier climbing between them.

History

Sonnie Trotter found the terrain that became Pineapple Express with Alex Honnold in 2017, but the two were unable to reunite to finish it. In November 2018 Trotter returned with Tommy Caldwell, added a few protection bolts, and the pair completed the first continuous free ascent of El Niño via the variation in a 13-hour push on November 19, 2018. Alex Honnold made the second free ascent with Brad Gobright on June 11, 2019. The route has drawn further ascents since, including a November 2024 repeat by Lara Neumeier and Nemuel Feurle.

On film

Arc'teryx Presents: Ground Up (2024) follows Amity Warme and Brent Barghahn attempting a ground-up free ascent of El Niño via the Pineapple Express variation over eight days, testing themselves against the route's sustained pitches on El Capitan.