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AP/Press Association Images
Yosemite

In photos: The journey of the two men who completed the hardest climb in the world

They’ve been “free-climbing” to the 3,000-foot summit for the past 18 days.
10.09am, 15 Jan 2015
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TWO MEN HAVE completed what has been widely described as the hardest climb in the world.

Kevin Jorgeson (30) and Tommy Caldwell (36) reached the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in the US after nearly 18 days.

The men have been “free-climbing” to the 3,000-foot summit – meaning they don’t use climbing aids other than ropes only to prevent deadly falls.

They relied entirely on their own strength and dexterity to ascend by grasping cracks as thin as razor blades and as small as dimes.

Both men trained for over five years, and they have battled bloodied fingers and unseasonably warm weather during the climb.

Here’s a look at the work of Tom Evans, a climber and photographer, who has been chronicling Jorgeson and Caldwell, as they scale their way using only their hands and feet:

In photos: The journey of the two men who completed the hardest climb in the world
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  • Rock Climbing - El Capitan - Yosemite National Park, California. Dec 27

    In this Dec. 27, 2014 photo, Kevin Jorgeson, 30, of Santa Rosa, Calif., left, and Tommy Caldwell, 36, of Estes Park, Colo., prepare their climbing gear before beginning what has been called the hardest rock climb in the world.Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Rock Climbing - El Capitan - Yosemite National Park, California. Dec 29

    Tommy Caldwell eats dinner during what has been called the hardest rock climb in the world: a free climb of a El Capitan, the largest monolith of granite in the world, a half-mile section of exposed granite in California's Yosemite National Park. (AP Photo/Kevin Jorgeson, elcapreport)Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Yosemite Climb - File Photo

    File photo shows Half Dome and Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point at Yosemite National Park, Calif. Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Rock Climbing - El Capitan - Yosemite National Park, California- Jan 3

    In this Jan. 3, 2015 photo provided by Tom Evans, Tommy Caldwell works what is known as pitch 15.Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Rock Climbing - El Capitan - Yosemite National Park, California - Jan 7

    In this Jan. 7, 2015photo provided by Tom Evans, Tommy Caldwell, top, climbs what is known as Pitch 17 with Kevin Jorgeson handling the lineSource: AP/Press Association Images

  • Rock Climbing - El Capitan - Yosemite National Park, California - Jan 8

    In this Jan. 8, 2015 photo provided by Tom Evans, Tommy Caldwell, in red, climbs pitch 19 as Kevin Jorgeson, below, belays rope on a rest day as cameraman Brett Lowell records at top right.Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Rock Climbing - El Capitan - Yosemite National Park, California - Jan 12

    In this Jan. 12, 2015 photo provided by Tom Evans, Tommy Caldwell, bottom, watches as Kevin Jorgeson climbs.Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Yosemite Climb - Jan 14

    Kevin Jorgeson of California, wearing green, and 36-year-old Tommy Caldwell, wearing blue lower right, climb near the summit of El Capitan Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, as seen from the valley floor in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Yosemite Climb - Jan 14

    Kevin Jorgeson, left, and Tommy Caldwell climb El Capitan, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, as seen from the valley floor in Yosemite National Park, CalifSource: AP/Press Association Images

  • Yosemite Climb - Jan 14

    Tommy Caldwell, left, and Kevin Jorgeson near the summit of El Capitan Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Yosemite Climb - Jan 14

    Media members watch as two climbers vying to become the first in the world to use only their hands and feet to scale a sheer slab of granite make their way to the summit of El Capitan Wednesday, Jan. 14Source: AP/Press Association Images

  • Yosemite Climb - Jan 14

    Tommy Caldwell, top, raises his arms after reaching the summit of El Capitan as Kevin Jorgeson, bottom, watches WednesdaySource: AP/Press Association Images

  • Yosemite Climb - Jan 14

    Tommy Caldwell, top, raises his arms after reaching the summit of El Capitan,Source: AP/Press Association Images

Read: Yosemite duo complete world’s most difficult climb… free-climbing (yikes)>

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Cliodhna Russell
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