Yosemite free climbers hope to inspire others to find their own Dawn Wall

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- There were cheers at the top of El Capitan in Yosemite and cheers in the valley below as two men scaled the nearly vertical Dawn Wall using only their hands and feet.

Kevin Jorgeson, 30, of Santa Rosa, California, and Tommy Caldwell, 36, of Estes Park, reached the top of the Dawn Wall after 19 days of free climbing 3,000 feet straight up - a feat no one has ever done.

"I hope everyone that's been following along can take the Dawn Wall as an example of what's possible and find their own Dawn Wall," Jorgeson said at a news conference Thursday.

Jorgeson did most of the talking about the historic feat because Caldwell lost his voice during the trek while he was coaxing Jorgeson through an especially hard part of the climb.

It took Jorgeson 11 attempts and seven days to get over that part.

"I was definitely getting frustrated, but the weather was great and Tommy was super supportive in saying we would spend as long as we needed to let my skin heel, because that was clearly the limiting factor for that hitch," Jorgeson said.

He added: "It really felt like a matter of time, but I'd be lying if I didn't have my doubts and frustrations in going through that process."

The same climb had been made before, but with assistance from cables. Jorgeson and Caldwell used no climbing equipment, only theirs hands and feet and ropes and harnesses to prevent deadly falls. Pictures show their hands torn by razor sharp rocks.

During the climb, the two men camped out in tents dangling from ropes. Every step of the way was watched by family, friends and fans.

"This is like the holy grail of all climbing," climbing enthusiast Giovanni Traversi said.

"It's been a long time since we've seen a milestone like this happen on El Capitan," climbing enthusiast Marcos Ramirez said.

Thanks to social media, the world was able to watch too, as two determined climbers beat the elements and the imposing face of El Capitan with nothing more than grit and muscle.