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| The pair began their attempt to make climbing history last month |
When they're not dodging ice falls or leaping to grab nooks, the free climbers rest in tents dangling from the cliff.
Two daredevils are halfway through what has been called the world's hardest rock climb in California's Yosemite National Park.
Kevin Jorgeson, 30, and Tommy Caldwell, 36, aim to be the first to "free climb" the legendary granite monolith El Capitan, using just their hands and feet.
They began scaling the peak's Dawn Wall, roughly half a mile (800 metres) of smooth, vertical rock, on 27 December.
The duo are using ropes only as a safeguard against falls, which have happened a number of times as they lunge sideways to grab tiny nooks.
They have been buffeted by high winds while blocks of ice occasionally plunge down the rock face.
Jorgeson, of California, and Caldwell, from Colorado, eat and sleep in tents suspended from the wall.
Most of the climbing is done in the late afternoon and evening when the temperatures are cool and the sun does not make their hands too sweaty.
El Capitan is the largest monolith of granite in the world, according to the National Park Service.
Although the rock has been ascended a number of times using aids such as ropes to pull the climber upwards, first in 1958, a "free climb" of the rock was previously viewed as near impossible.
On Monday, the thrill seekers were about 1,500ft (457 metres) above ground level on the cliff, which is more than 3,000ft tall.
They were resting "and trying to grow skin back on their fingertips so they can continue to do battle with the hardest climbing sections, which involve grabbing tiny, razor-sharp edges of rock," said Josh Lowell of Big Up Productions, which has been documenting the climb.
Fans from around the world have been following the duo's efforts via social media.
Caldwell and Jorgeson are posting pictures online via mobile phones, charged by portable solar panels, and have even hosted a live question-and-answer session from the wall.
They also spend their downtime sanding their fingers to remove dead skin and applying lotion to their hands.
Each climber has a small stove to boil water and heat meals.
They go to the toilet in a bag or down the rock face.
Caldwell has been trying to do yoga in the hanging tent to stay limber, says his wife.
They are expected to reach the top by Friday or Saturday, if all goes as planned.
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