After 4 days climbing and 3 nights spent on the wall, Major Phil Packer has finally reached the top of the 3000 ft El Capitan in Yosemite. Exhausted, aching but exhilarated, the team, led by Andy Kirkpatrick, finally reached the top at the end of their fourth day on the gigantic rock formation.

Phil’s third challenge in his bid to raise £1 million for the charity Hope for Heroes has arguably been the most difficult, with Phil having to face his fear of heights whilst being lowered over sheer drops of thousands of feet. Using a belay device specially adapted by Andy, Phil had to use just his arms to pull himself up the overhanging wall of granite, climbing just 1 metre for every 3 metres of rope he pulled - effectively climbing El Capitan 3 times over.

The long haul up the rock face - El Capitan from half-way up               Photo:  Andy Kirkpatrick

Thanks to Ian Parnell’s fantastic footage, the world has been able to follow the team’s progress on ITN news as Phil inched his way up the rock face - we look forward to their final report later on today.

Having reached the top, exhausted, aching but exhilarated, the team had to face their next challenge – getting everyone safely back down.  We’re pleased to report that everyone is now safe and sound and taking a well earned rest.  

You can continue donating to Help for Heroes by following the link below.

Andy will be telling us about this challenge in his own words next week.