Photos of Free Solo Climber Alex Honnold’s Most Epic Routes - 1

Alex Honnold climbs El Capitan without a rope or safety equipment, becoming the first person to free solo the route.

Honnold climbs without a rope 700 metres (2,000 feet) above the ground, on a pitch called Enduro, during his historic free solo of the 30-pitch Freerider route up the iconic El Capitan wall.

Honnold stands at the top of El Capitan after completing its first-ever free solo.

Honnold coils his climbing rope having just finished climbing Galatic Hitchhiker with Jimmy Chin. They topped out on Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park.

Honnold reaches into a crevice during a free climb of El Capitan.

Honnold looks down at his chalked hands while sitting at the summit of Freerider on Yosemite's El Capitan. Alex started climbing the route with Peter Croft, but left him behind for the summit when Croft had to bail.

Tommy Caldwell (right) sets up a rappel on the way to Aguja Saint Exupery, one of the seven peaks of the Fitz Roy Traverse. Honnold and Caldwell completed the first ascent of this massive traverse over five days in February 2014.

Honnold’s first-ever free solo of the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome astonished the climbing world in 2009 and helped bring him to international attention.

Alex Honnold makes his way up Freerider on El Capitan during one of the numerous training climbs he’s made over the years in preparation for his historic rope-free climb.

Last summer Honnold made the third free climb of an eight-pitch route along the underside of the arch, named Corazon de Ensueno.

Honnold free solos the Rostrum, a Yosemite route known for its long vertical cracks.

Alex Honnold free solos an overhanging route 7 metres (20 feet) above the water during a climbing expedition for National Geographic.

Honnold and partner Tommy Caldwell eat, hydrate, coil the rope, and pack their gear during an expedition to climb in the Taghia Gorge in 2016.