Posted on 06/03/2017 11:30:41 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It took roughly four hours Saturday for rock climber Alex Honnold to make an ascent so dangerous no one has ever tried it before: scaling Yosemite’s El Capitan with no rope.
Some called it a suicide mission. El Capitan is 3,000 feet of vertical granite, jutting straight to the sky. Many of its cracks are so small, they fit only one finger.
“I mean, there are BASE-jumping stunts that require you to be ‘on’ for 20 seconds,” said Chris McNamara, a Lake Tahoe climber who spent many years diving and parachuting off giant rocks. “And then there’s tightrope-walking between the (World) Trade Centers, which is like a five-minute thing. But this — this is something where Alex had to be ‘on’ for four hours.”
And if he lost concentration for a moment, he’d die.
Honnold, who grew up in Sacramento, began climbing at age 11. At 31, he’s risen to become one of the world’s most high-profile risk-takers. In 2008, he scrambled up the Moonlight Buttress in Utah’s Zion National Park and the northwest face of Yosemite’s Half Dome, completing both climbs without a rope. In 2015, he helped his friends Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson in their historic free climb of El Capitan’s southeast face, which at that time was considered the hardest climb in history.
But there was a difference: Caldwell and Jorgeson had ropes anchored in the rock to catch them if they made a wrong move.
Honnold, who now lives in Las Vegas, said he’s been dreaming about conquering El Capitan with no safety equipment for at least eight years.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Kirk didn't use a rope...
spock punked out and used rocket boot though....
There are guys who juggle hand grenades and live to tell about it, but I don’t admire that type of courage and concentration.
Once, when I was much younger and braver, I climbed onto a
step ladder and went all the way to the third rung from the top.
Ever since a paraplegic climbed it, I won’t be impressed until a naked guy smears Vaseline all over his body and then climbs it without a rope.
Gross stupidity and will lead to his death and the death of others.
He won’t die in bed of old age!
Yes, but the rescue there will more likely be a recovery . . . of the body assuring that this Macho Man will only need to be recovered once.
At 18 months, my grandaughter could scale El Cabinet to the top shelf where the cereal was kept.
Others will copy him
Whatta way to go...
I’d like to see adventurers post a bond. Before some 16 year old girl is put in a sailboat to go round the world exposing navies and private rescuers to countless risks and cost, make them put up the money.
And, I have an image of that rescue helicopter crashing getting some skiers off a mountain every time I read about another one of these people who thinks it makes them more manly to do Everest or the face of El Capitan.
Why not just play Russian Roulette?
I’ve watched him climb. He’s an incredible human being, something special. This is an incredible feat. Good for him.
Patton was supposed to have said ‘Americans love a winner.’
But not here on FR.
Two climbers, with ropes and gear, were still a couple hundred yards below the peak when the sun started setting.
They had sleeping bags and spent the night hooked onto the rock face.
What this free climber guy did was amazing, but also certifiably insane!
I stood atop a napkin once... and only once
It was amazing, but I’m betting it took a lot of pre-planning. This wasn’t just physical work.
I suspect he and his team used high-res photography of El Capitan to identify a possible and (relatively) safe path. He probably also had a spotter with a telescope to guide him.
If not, he IS nuts.
people complain about the rescue costs for deadly pastimes, but i say the ‘rescue costs’ for over eating, eating junk food, smoking, drug abuse, driving while distracted etc etc etc far outweigh the costs of a rescue for a dangerous event like this- health care costs to ‘rescue’ peopel that don’t eat right run into the 100’s of 1000’s for many folks as they linger and slowly die- the darwin awards are actually cheaper to give out
No Parachute?
well duh- because he was in America lol :)
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