Alex Honnold has become the first person ever to climb the iconic El Capitan without using ropes or other safety gear. The nearly 3,000-foot granite wall is known as one of the most difficult and daunting climbs in the world. He accomplished the feat on Saturday morning, completing what many consider to be the greatest feat of rock climbing in the history of the sport.
Honnold began his historic rope-less climb at 5:32 a.m. in the pink light of morning. His ascent to the peak took 3 hours, 56 minutes. National Geographic is reporting that he finished the moderate pitch at a near run. He finished his climb 9:28 a.m. PDT.
For more than a year, Honnold has been training for the climb at locations in the United States, China, Europe, and Morocco. A small circle of friends and fellow climbers who knew about the project had been sworn to secrecy. – nationalgeographic.com
Congratulations to Alex on his historic climb.