KEVIN JORGENSON AND Tommy Caldwell set a record early this year by being the first to free-climb the 3,000-foot walls of El Capitan, a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park in California.
The Dawn Wall face is considered to be one of the hardest climbs in the world and the climbers documented their gruelling 19-day ascent with incredible photos that show just how hard their journey was.
Here, Kevin tackles the “Dyno Pitch” which is one of the hardest parts of the climb considering you have to jump six feet and clasp onto an edge to control momentum
Climbers will position their bodies in unexpected ways to scale walls at the best angles, which is why they sometimes refer to their sport as ‘dancing up rocks’
No wonder nobody ever free-climbed this cliff before, these photos are terrifying
KEVIN JORGENSON AND Tommy Caldwell set a record early this year by being the first to free-climb the 3,000-foot walls of El Capitan, a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park in California.
The Dawn Wall face is considered to be one of the hardest climbs in the world and the climbers documented their gruelling 19-day ascent with incredible photos that show just how hard their journey was.
The Dawn Wall – don’t look down
At times the pair had only tiny cracks to hold on to
Here’s Caldwell sanding his raw fingertips on Day nine
Sanding helps to prevent tearing when clinging on to the rock face.
19 days, gotta sleep somewhere
Photographer Corey Rich recounts how the pair would do yoga and push-ups during rest periods and had solar panels to keep equipment charged
Finding an edge
Sleeping is overrated, climb in the dark
Here, Kevin tackles the “Dyno Pitch” which is one of the hardest parts of the climb considering you have to jump six feet and clasp onto an edge to control momentum
Climbers will position their bodies in unexpected ways to scale walls at the best angles, which is why they sometimes refer to their sport as ‘dancing up rocks’
At the top, time to celebrate
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El Capitan free climbing higher and higher the dawn wall The Wall