Ondra, a 23-year-old from the Czech Republic, took eight days to finish the free-climb up the Dawn Wall of the famed El Capitan in California's Yosemite National Park. He completed the second-ever free assent up the wall Monday, said John Dicuollo, a spokesman for Black Diamond Equipment, which sponsors Ondra. Throughout the climb, Ondra took to social media to post about the cold, soaking rain and the pain from the granite wearing down the skin on his fingers. To rest, Ondra and his team pitched tents suspended on the wall's sheer face towering hundreds of feet above Yosemite Valley. Yosemite climber and historian Ken Yager said there is no doubt that Ondra is the strongest climber alive today.

Source: CBC News November 23, 2016 00:25 UTC