Yosemite’s Midnight Lightning

National Geographic: Adventure is currently running an amazing piece on Yosemite’s Midnight Lightning.  Midnight Lightning is thought to be the iconic place that helped jumpstart the sport of rock climbing. When Midnight Lightning was first climbed, it represented the hardest route in the world, and today it has become a cultural right for those that share the rock climbing passion.

Midnight Lightning may not be the hardest route in the world at this time (it rates at a V8 climb) but that doesn;t mean that it has lost it’s luster.  Most of the top pros have ascended this icon–including Lynn Hill, who in 1998 became the first woman to top out on the 40 foot granite wall.

National Geographic: Adventure’s feature takes a 360° look at Midnight Lightning.  First they give you some history of the boulder, then they follow it up with a guided tour by world climbing legend Tommy Caldwell.  If that isn’t enough, you can view a retrospective of over 500 different images of the boulder, put together by some new Microsoft technology called Photosynth.  Photosynth allows you to travel up and down the boulder, see the major holds, zoom in, out, and around every inch, and, if your a rock climber, you could even use this to scope out your next problem.  It is some pretty amazing technology.

On the other hand, if you are already one of the very few people that have topped out on this masterpiece of granite, you may be interested in discovering what other adventures Yosemite National Park has to offer.  National Geographic: Adventure has you covered there, as well.  Check out their Best of the Parks 2008: Yosemite feature to get some ideas for your next visit.