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National Geographic/Jimmy Chin2 / 7
Alex Honnold holds all of his climbing gear atop the summit of El Capitan. He just became the first person to climb El Capitan without a rope. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)
National Geographic/Samuel Crossley3 / 7
Alex Honnold atop Lower Cathedral with El Capitan in the background, Yosemite National Park, CA. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)
National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe4 / 7
Jimmy Chin moving into position 2000ft up the wall to shoot the Enduro Corner on the upper part of Freerider. El Capitan. (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)
National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe5 / 7
Jimmy Chin moving into position 2000ft up the wall to shoot the Enduro Corner on the upper part of Freerider. El Capitan. (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)
Jimmy Chin6 / 7
Attached to ropes, Honnold practices a section of Freerider, the route he would free solo up El Capitan. Freerider tests every part of a climber's body-from fingers to toes-as well as mental and physical stamina. (Jimmy Chin)
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With California's Yosemite Valley far beneath him, Alex Honnold free solos- which means climbing without ropes or safety gear-up a crack on the 3,000-foot southwest face of El Capitan. Before he accomplished the feat on June 3, 2017, Honnold spent nearly a decade thinking about the climb and more than a year and a half planning and training for it. (Jimmy Chin)
