Rappel Off El Capitan: If you’ve ever wondered what it is like to rappel off the face of El Capitan in Yosemite, this video is definitely for you. If you happen to be afraid of heights, it might not be the clip you want to watch today.
We start high up the most famous rock face in the world and join a climber as he begins the rappel downward, dropping some 2650 feet (807 meters) to the valley floor below. All of the action is captured by a helmet cam, providing an excellent first-person view of the proceedings. Needless to say, the views are pretty spectacular, although the descent is a harrowing one at times.
Kraig is an outdoor and adventure travel writer based in Nashville, TN. Over the course of his career, he has contributed to numerous online and print outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Gear Junkie, Outside Online, National Geographic, Digital Trends, Business Insider, TripSavvy, about.com, and of course The Adventure Blog.
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It would have been interesting to see the top set up and the start of the descent. That’s usually the second scariest step for me; the first one being, finding the belay bolts below, and trusting them to set up the next rappel point. One long rope descent, with a safe ends of the rope, that’s surely a fun one!