YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. — Two rock climbers have set a new speed record ascending El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, achieving the feat in just under two hours.
Documentary photographer Austian Siadak says Tommy Caldwell of Estes Park and Alex Honnold scaled the 3,000-foot (915 meters) sheer granite wall early Wednesday in one hour, 58 minutes and seven seconds.
On Monday, the climbers had shaved the time down to just over two hours — a barrier compared to track’s 4-minute mile.
The time on the technical climbing route has consistently dropped since the peak was first climbed 60 years ago by Warren Harding and three others in 12 days following 18 months of drilling bolts and other hardware into the rock.
The record came just days after another pair of El Capitan climbers fell to their deaths.
