Ammon McNeely (June 3, 1970 – February 18, 2023) was an American

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

, who holds the most Speed Climbing World Records and First One Day Ascents on

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

. His other interests included; BASE jumping,

wingsuiting Wingsuit flying (or wingsuiting) is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift (force), lift, which allows extended air time (parachuting), air time ...

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...

trail running Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, h ...

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

. Ammon was also a slackliner and pioneered many highlines throughout the US and had opened up new BASE jumps, as well.

El Capitan rock climbing ascents

Ammon was the conductor of many ascents on El Capitan, most of them in a day (under 24 hrs): Plastic Surgery Disaster, Wall of the Early Morning Light, Atlantic Ocean Wall, and most recent climbing one of the hardest routes on El Capitan, The Reticent Wall along with

Dean Potter Dean Spaulding Potter (April 14, 1972 – May 16, 2015) was an American free climber, alpinist, BASE jumper, and highliner. He completed many hard first ascents, free solo ascents, speed ascents, and enchainments in Yosemite National Park an ...

& Ivo Ninov in 34 hours and 57 minutes, shaving the existing time by more than five days. McNeely was recognized as having climbed El Capitan by the most number of different routes - 75 times via 61 routes. McNeely was the first (Nate Brown is the only other one) to have climbed all three routes on The Streaked Wall in

Zion National Park Zion National Park is an American national park located in southwestern Utah near the town of Springdale. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park has a unique geography and a variety ...

, ascending all three routes with a First One Day Ascent. In 2011 29 years after the first ascent, McNeely with partner Kait Barber made the second ascent of Wings of Steel with the purpose to examine the controversial methods of the first ascent team. The climb was documented in the Jeff Vargen directed fil
Assault on El Capitan

El Capitan speed climbing accomplishments

Some of McNeely's other El Capitan speed climbing accomplishments include: *Lost World: 23:29 - with Ivo Ninov July 7, 2009 (First One Day Ascent) *Never Never Land: 16:00:02 - with Chris McNamara - August 4, 2004 (First One Day Ascent) *Horse Chute: 20:39 - with Chris McNamara - Oct 8, 2004 (First One Day Ascent) *Magic Mushroom: 55:15 - with Ivo Ninov & Kevin Jaramillo - July 4-6th, 2005 *The Reticent Wall: 34:57 - with

& Ivo Ninov - July 12–13, 2006 *Wall of Early Morning Light: 23:43 - with Brian McCray - September, 2004 (First One Day Ascent) *Pacific Ocean Wall: 33:02 - with Ivo Ninov - May, 2004 *New Jersey Turnpike: 14:00:02 - with Brian McCray - September, 2002 *Atlantic Ocean Wall: 23:38 - with Brian McCray - August 4, 2004 (First One Day Ascent) *Native Son: 23:53 - with Ivo Ninov - May 15, 2006 (First One Day Ascent) *Iron Hawk: 30:42 - with Cedar Wright - May, 2004 *Scorched Earth: 22:28 - with Skiy Detray & David Allfrey *Tangerine Trip: 10:24 - with Cedar Wright - July, 2002 *Virginia: 17:24 - with Gabriel McNeely & Ivo Ninov - July 16, 2005 *Lost in America: 18:04 - with Brian McCray - August, 2004 *Zenyatta Mondatta: 22:56 - with Ivo Nivov & Kevin Jaramillo - June 27, 2005 (First One Day Ascent) *Plastic Surgery Disaster: 21:37 - with Brian McCray - June, 2001 (First One Day Ascent) *Lunar Eclipse: 19:58 - with Jose Pererya & Chongo - June, 2001 *Born Under a Bad Sign: 22:22 - with Chris Van Luevan & Eric Walden - October 2, 2001 (First One Day Ascent) *Eagle's Way: 9:08 - with Brian McCray - August, 2004 *On the Waterfront: 17:07 - with Skiy Detray & Ammon McNeely - July 15, 2009 (First One Day Ascent - 3rd overall Ascent) *Pressure Cooker: 23:41 - with Ivo Ninov - September, 2004 (First One Day Ascent) *Get Whacked: 12:49 - with Brian McCray - June, 2001 (First One Day Ascent)

BASE jumping injuries

In October 2013, Ammon nearly lost his foot in a BASE accident in Moab that he described as: "We were with one other jumper who was new, and I voted that Andy goes first, the two new guys go in the middle, and I go last. They had perfect exits, great openings with no wind. I jumped, probably took a tad longer delay than I should have, being it was a new exit with new brake lines, and immediately had a 180-degree opening. I struck the cliff with my left foot and continued rag dolling down the cliff where I finally came to rest on a sloping ledge. I knew I was banged up, but to my utter surprise my foot was flipped on its side looking very similar to a Nalgene bottle with just a sliver of skin keeping it on." In October 2017, Ammon lost his right leg below the knee in a BASE accident in Moab.

Death

On February 18, 2023, Ammon was with his girlfriend, enjoying the sunset near

Moab, Utah Moab () is the largest city and county seat of Grand County in eastern Utah in the western United States, known for its dramatic scenery. The population was 5,366 at the 2020 census. Moab attracts many tourists annually, mostly visitors to th ...

. As Ammon was trying to sit down, he lost his footing under his prosthetic leg and fell backwards off the cliff. He was 52.

References

External links

RocknClimb.com - Ammon's Website

Alpinist Article - Nine Records in 2003

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080522131652/http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/nativeson1day One Day Ascent of Native Son
Podclimber Interview

Video: Realm of the Flying Monkeys

Article: The Zodiac with Ammon McNeely - written by Donald Perry

Video: Ammon breaks leg during MOAB BASE jumping accident Oct2013.
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNeely, Ammon 1970 births 2023 deaths American rock climbers Sportspeople from Provo, Utah