A feat that can take 7 days

El Capitan was first scaled by Warren Harding in 1958, after his team spent 45 days looking for the easiest route

The 3,000ft-high, 1.5-milewide granite cliff was formed 220 million years ago

It takes experienced climbers up to seven days to scale El Capitan’s sheer side. They take a portable ‘ledge’, which allows them to rest or sleep against the wall

Alex Honnold holds the record for the fastest climb, at 2hrs 23mins

In 1984, two climbers died of exposure 50ft from the summit, a year after a climber died of heat exhaustion