In
California's Yosemite National Park, a new breed of daredevil
climbers practice the sport of free soloing -- rock climbing without a
rope and relying solely on hands and feet wedged into the cracks to
ascend the park's massive granite obelisks. When the 2,130-ft tall
Half Dome (pictured in the distance) was first climbed in 1957, it took
Californian Royal Robbins and his teammates five days to reach the top and that was with the aid of ropes. Today, free solo climbers summit
in just a few hours. Pictured is free solo climber Dean Potter
ascending a route on Yosemite's Glacier Point. (Mikey
Schaefer/National Geographic Stock)
Yosemite's
peaks are sheer vertical cliffs thousands of feet high, rising above
the fog and dwarfing the hundred-foot pine trees in the valley below.
About four million people visit Yosemite every year, though only a few
thousand of them are climbers. They venture to the park to measure
themselves against its giants, including El Capitan (left), a prow of
stone 2,916ft tall. To climb in Yosemite is a rite of passage. (Jimmy
Chin/National Geographic Stock)
Kevin
Jorgesen, a climber since the age of 12, clings with fingertips to the
face of El Capitan. On the right is the Thank God Ledge -- a 40ft-long
sliver of granite on Half Dome and the only way to get beyond the Visor,
a massive roof that looms over Half Dome's Regular Northwest Face
route. Most people crawl, but Alex Honnold (pictured), who became a
celebrity in 2008 when he first climbed the famed route without a rope,
prefers to face the 1,800ft void beneath him. (Jimmy Chin/National
Geographic Stock)
Climber
Cedar Wright grips with chalked hand the roof of Gravity Ceiling on
Higher Cathedral Rock, located on the south side of Yosemite Valley near
its entrance. Like many professional climbers, he trains relentlessly
to keep fit. Unlike some European professionals who enjoy generous
corporate sponsorship, most American climbers barely get by financially.
Many earn just enough cash to crash in their vans and eat beans and
rice. Because of visitation limits at Yosemite, many live full-time in
vehicles at the park. (Jimmy Chin/National Geographic Stock)
Climbers
live in portaledges (tiny tents suspended from the wall) when
working on a route. Jorgeson (left) and his companion can live in a
portaledge 1,500ft above the valley for up to two weeks; the best
amenities in their studio in the sky are a French press for coffee and
iPhones (charged with a solar panel). (Jimmy Chin/National Geographic
Stock)
Climber
Kate Rutherford jams her hands into fissures of a climbing route called
Freestone, close to the roar of Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall
in North America at 2,425ft. In Yosemite, 83 climbers have died during
climbs since 1955. Free soloing leaves no room for error. (Jimmy
Chin/National Geographic Stock)
Climbers
BASE jump from Half Dome before hiking down the back of the mountain.
Like those who made the pilgrimage before them and those who will
follow, these thrill seekers come to Yosemite to test themselves against
the parks granite Titans. (Jimmy Chin and Lynsey Dyer/National
Geographic Stock)
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