Climbing duo reaches El Capitan summit using only hands and feet

(Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Nineteen days ago, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson set out to free-climb the 3,000-foot Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

They hit the summit Wednesday, The New York Times reports. They're the first free-climbers to accomplish that feat. The men only used ropes meant to break their fall and even slept in tents on the side of the wall. A team behind them carried food, batteries, and other supplies.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.