All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
- JRR Tolkien
World-renowned for its epic glacial granite, Yosemite is the mecca for rock climbers.
Back in the day, few pockets of passionate climbers who looked like they belonged at Woodstock, strapped on their colourful harnesses, and started climbing the granite in fairly rudimentary ways. From John Muir’s first ascent of Cathedral Peak in 1869 to the first ascent of half dome in 1875 by George Anderson, from Robert Underhill use of pitons in the 1930s to John Salathé creating steel pitons in the 1940s, from climbing’s greatest rivalry between Warren Harding and Royal Robbins in the 1950s to Lynn Hill free climbing the Nose in a single day in the 1990s—the Valley has seen many pivotal moments in its climbing evolution. In 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson climbed the Dawn Wall on El Capitan, the hardest big wall free route in the world, garnering media attention from around the world. However, on June 3rd, 2017, Alex Honnold did the unimaginable. He completed the first-ever free solo of El Capitan, a 3200-foot wall in Yosemite, completing his biggest life goal. He climbed the wall in 3 hours, 56 minutes, on Freerider (5.13a). Jimmy Chin was alongside him throughout the climb, shooting his process for the upcoming National Geographic produced documentary, "Free Solo".
Mountaineer and photographer Jimmy Chin's exclusive story of a climb on the spectacular prow of the Shark's Fin, a.k.a.
BASE-jumpers Dean Potter and Graham Hunt were killed while attempting a wingsuit flight in Yosemite Valley .