Watch two climbers finish historic El Capitan ascent
Two climbers complete a historic 19-day climb of El Capitan – a 3,000ft sheer granite face – without the use of climbing tools.
Tommy Caldwell, 36, and Kevin Jorgeson, 30, made it to the top of El Capitan at 3:30pm on Wednesday (11;30pm GMT).
The two men are the first to climb El Capitan’s “Dawn Wall” without bolts or climbing tools – but did use safety ropes.
Post by Tommy Caldwell.
Starting their ascent on 27 December, the pair ate and slept in tents suspended from the rock face.
At one point the Jorgeson was forced to rest for two days while the skin on his fingers healed after being ripped off by razor-sharp ledges.
Jorgesopn, who had struggled with the Dawn Wall’s 15th stage, wrote on Facebook: “On my fourth attempt, around 11pm, the razor sharp holds ripped both the tape and the skin right off my fingers.
“As disappointing as this is, I’m learning new levels of patience, perseverance and desire. I’m not giving up. I will rest. I will try again. I will succeed.”
Post by Kevin Jorgeson.
The Dawn Wall of El Capitan is divided into 32 climbing pitches, which are varying lengths of rock that the climbers mastered with only their hands and feet.
As the climbers neared the summit Caldwell wrote on Facebook: “I kind of lost it when I pulled onto Wino Tower (on pitch 20) knowing that this seven year dream is looking more and more like it could become a reality.”
The Dawn Wall was first scaled by legendary climber Warren Harding in 1970, but the feat has never been achieved (until now) without climbing tools.
