Yosemite climber Jake Whisenant died in a Sierra Nevada accident on August 3, 2026. He was known for his speed ascents of El Capitan's challenging routes. Whisenant and Brant Hysell set a speed record on El Capitan's Lurking Fear route. They completed the climb in under three hours, breaking an old record. The climbing community mourns the loss of a notable speed climber.

Whisenant hit the headlines in October 2024 when scaled El Capitan - the iconic summit in Yosemite National Park which stretches 3,000ft into the sky - in record time.

Jake Whisenant, the Yosemite speed climber who holds the record time up El Capitan's Lurking Fear route, has died in an accident in the Sierra Nevada. He was 30.

Yosemite climber Jake Whisenant died in a Sierra Nevada accident on August 3, 2026. He was known for his speed ascents of El Capitan's challenging routes. Whisenant and Brant…