In the Sierra Nevada, California, in the Yosemite National Park, stands El Capitan. At over 3000 feet high, it is the largest monolith of granite in the Yosemite Valley, towering majestically over the Merced River. Half Dome, another granite giant, which was famously photographed by Ansel Adams, stands almost opposite. On 15 January 2015, two Americans, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, were the first free climbers to scale the sheer Dawn Wall of El Capitan.