For eight years, American Alex Honnold dreamed about climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any safety equipment. But whenever Honnold went to the park and looked up at El Capitan, he became frightened. That changed last Saturday. Honnold, a world-class rock climber, reached the top of the great rock wall in about four hours. He used only his hands and feet. He is the first person ever to climb the 914-meter high granite wall alone and without ropes or safety gear to catch him if he fell. “I was pretty much elated,” Honnold, 31, told the Associated Press about reaching the top. “I was probably the happiest I’ve ever been. It’s something that I thought about for so long and dreamed about and worked so hard for.
Title: Climber Reaches Top of El Capitan Without Ropes
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/el_capitan.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Climber Reaches Top of El Capitan Without Ropes' data-article-id='2423'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='15083'>For eight years, American Alex Honnold dreamed about climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without any safety equipment.</span> <span data-start-time='15083' data-end-time='24104'>But whenever Honnold went to the park and looked up at El Capitan, he became frightened.</span> <span data-start-time='24104' data-end-time='27563'>That changed last Saturday.</span> <span data-start-time='27563' data-end-time='38146'>Honnold, a world-class rock climber, reached the top of the great rock wall in about four hours.</span> <span data-start-time='38146' data-end-time='42688'>He used only his hands and feet.</span> <span data-start-time='42688' data-end-time='59604'>He is the first person ever to climb the 914-meter high granite wall alone and without ropes or safety gear to catch him if he fell.</span> <span data-start-time='59604' data-end-time='69875'>“I was pretty much elated,” Honnold, 31, told the Associated Press about reaching the top.</span> <span data-start-time='69875' data-end-time='74000'>“I was probably the happiest I’ve ever been.</span> <span data-start-time='74000' data-end-time='82271'>It’s something that I thought about for so long and dreamed about and worked so hard for.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/el_capitan.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=8774 data-hint-location='59604' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/what_does_elated_mean.m4a'>What does elated mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='very happy'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/safe.m4a'><span>safe</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/slight_concern.m4a'><span>slight concern</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/very_happy.m4a'><span>very happy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/frightened.m4a'><span>frightened</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=8775 data-hint-location='38146' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/what_did_he_use_to_climb.m4a'>What did he use to climb?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='hands and feet'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/hands_and_feet.m4a'><span>hands and feet</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/several_ropes.m4a'><span>several ropes</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/hooks_and_a_pick.m4a'><span>hooks and a pick</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/safety_gear.m4a'><span>safety gear</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=8776 data-hint-location='15083' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/whenever_he_looked_up_he_became__blank_.m4a'>Whenever he looked up he became <span class='blank'>frightened</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='frightened'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/elated.m4a'><span>elated</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/frightened.m4a'><span>frightened</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/inspired.m4a'><span>inspired</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1906/encouraged.m4a'><span>encouraged</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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