Alex Honnold free solo–climbed El Capitan on June 3, 2017.

Quick Scoop: When did Alex Honnold climb El Capitan?

  • Date of the historic free solo: June 3, 2017.
  • Location: El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California.
  • Route: Freerider, about 2,900–3,000 feet of near-vertical granite.
  • Style: Free solo (no ropes, harness, or protective equipment). One mistake would likely have been fatal.
  • Time to complete: About 3 hours 56 minutes from base to summit.

Why this climb matters

Many climbers and journalists have described this ascent as one of the greatest athletic achievements ever, sometimes compared to a “moon landing” moment for climbing because of its difficulty and risk. The climb later became widely known through the documentary “Free Solo,” which brought Honnold’s El Capitan ascent to a global audience.

SEO notes

  • Focus keyword used: when did alex honnold climb el capitan (answer: June 3, 2017).
  • Contextual additions: mentions of latest discussions and tributes in climbing and online forums that still reference the 2017 ascent as a defining “next level” moment.

Meta description (suggested):
Alex Honnold climbed El Capitan free solo on June 3, 2017, via the Freerider route in under four hours, a landmark achievement that still drives forum discussion and “latest news” retrospectives today.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.