Fellow climber attests to difficulty of El Capitan climb

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- Two men who are attempting a historic climb at El Capitan's Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park will have a friendly face greet them when they reach top. Alex Honnold has climbed with Santa Rosa resident Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson of Colorado for years. He's also climbed parts of El Capitan and knows how difficult an undertaking it is to reach the top.

"What makes it hard is the footholds are very small, they are very far apart," Honnold said. "It's just hard to hold on."

He notes that it's the biggest and blankest part of the wall, and that the two have woven an impossible passage across it.

Honnold said he's watched them train at El Capitan for the past seven years, and it's nice to finally see that hard work pay off.

One Wednesday, Honnold and Caldwell's wife and child are planning to hike to the top of El Capitan to meet the climbers when they reach the top.

Editorial note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of climber Alex Honnold's name.

For full coverage on Jorgeson and Caldwell's historic climb, click here.