Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What it's like climbing El Capitan without ropes or safety gear
Alex Honnold was whistling as he scaled the 3000 foot granite monolith of Yosemite’s El Capitan. He did it with just climbing shoes, a bag of chalk, and his bare hands. It took him less than four hours to reach the top. He’s the first person in the world to do it without any ropes.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readAlex Honnold was whistling as he scaled the 3000 foot granite monolith of Yosemite’s El Capitan. He did it with just climbing shoes, a bag of chalk, and his bare hands. It took him less than four hours to reach the top. He’s the first person in the world to do it without any ropes. National Geographic is calling it the greatest feat of rock climbing in history. Honnold is 31 years old and lives out of his van.
Photos courtesy of Jimmy Chin)
