“THERE WAS NO CHEERING CROWD when Alex pulled over the final block, no spraying of champagne, no gushing reporters asking him what it felt like to have just completed the greatest rock climb of all time. Alex walked a few feet back from the edge and took off his shirt and shoes. He was covered in chalk from the tips of his fingers all the way up his Popeye-like forearms. He stood on the rim, squinting into the bright morning sun, arms by his sides. It was 9:28 A.M. The first free solo ascent of El Capitan had taken three hours and fifty-six minutes. Synnott, Mark. The Impossible Climb (p. 389). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. ”
