Fearless free climber clutches on by his fingertips to scale 2,500ft rock face - PHOTO

Just watching this video will most likely make you palms sweat. And if you were trying to recreate it, slick fingers could be a hindrance that proves fatal.The remarkable film shows superstar rock climber Alex Honnold scaling what could be the most dangerous route in a death-defying sport - with no safety gear.The courageous American used nothing but his bare hands, climbing shoes and a bag of chalk dust to conquer El Sendero Luminoso, a route which rises 2,500ft to the summit of El Toro in El Potrero Chico, Mexico.El Sendero Luminoso, Spanish for 'the Shining Path', is believed to be one of the world's most difficult climbs, rated at 5.12 on the Yosemite Decimal System.That classification means that 'the surface is as smooth as glass and vertical'.Most climbers take two days to complete the climb with ropes and safety gear, but Mr Honnold finished it in just three hours, clinging on by just his fingertips to tiny crevices and bumps for most of the way.'I would stop at the occasional good foothold and shake it out, but for the most part I kept a very steady pace,' he said.Before tackling the ascent, Mr Honnold enlisted the help of fellow climber Cedar Wright, a member of the North Face team to clean the route, pulling out vegetation and loose rocks that could prove disastrous on a free climb.'It's kind of weird helping a friend to do something that could potentially lead to his death,' said Mr Wright. 'All it takes is you've got one small hold and it pops out and you fall to your back, so when I was cleaning the wall for Alex I was cleaning every little thing.'Anything that looked loose or any little piece of dirt I was trying to clean it off the wall, because I obviously want my buddy to live.'Mr Honnold, who is already hailed as the best climber of his generation, said that El Sendero Luminoso has 'always just represented that next step in technical climbing' to him.He made his name at the age of 23, when he free climbed Yosemite's Half Dome in just two hours and fifty minutes, an ascent which usually takes between one or two days.But the Mexico climb is undoubtedly his most impressive feat yet.Mr Wright told Outside magazine: 'I climbed the route four times with Alex, and each time I was struck by how complex and tenuous the climbing is.'There are hundreds of hand and foot moves to remember, and at times it’s just a few millimetres of your fingers and toes that are keeping you connected to the wall.'Mostly I just tried not to think about him soloing the route while I was up there because it was so terrifying.'Despite its difficulty, Mr Honnold said that, in the end, the climb felt 'pretty straight forward'.'Once I started up, I was like this is awesome. I didn’t blow a single foot - like a ballerina,' he said.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az