Solo Climber 1st To Climb El Capitan Without Ropes

Above, at left, El Capitan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A feat of mountain rock climbing has been accomplished on 3,000 foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park for the first time. It was an impressive feat (impressive to me since I don't like heights) to accomplish that took nearly four hours.

KHQ.com reported:

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) - An elite rock climber became the first to climb alone to the top of the massive granite wall known as El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without using ropes or safety gear. 

Alex Honnold completed the "free solo" climb Saturday in nearly four hours, according to National Geographic, which documented the historic ascent. A photo posted on the magazine's website shows the grinning 31-year-old wearing just a pair of black pants after reaching the summit. 

Honnold, who grew up in Sacramento and now lives in Las Vegas, said he's been dreaming about the feat for at least eight years. 

"Each year I'd come (to Yosemite) and look up at the wall," he told the San Francisco Chronicle in a telephone interview. "And I'd think, 'Oh my God, how can I do it?'" 

He said he started rehearsing the route, climbing it with partners and a rope, and occasionally hiking up to the summit to propel himself down.

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