Packer half way up El Capitan

Injured Iraq war veteran Major Phil Packer has passed the halfway point in his latest gruelling charity challenge - to conquer the 3,000ft El Capitan. The former soldier, 36, was told he would never walk again after suffering a spinal injury in a rocket attack in Basra in February last year. But since then he has completed a series of inspirational fundraising challenges, including walking the London Marathon on crutches. His attempt on El Capitan, a sheer rock formation in the Yosemite National Park in California, is the equivalent of approximately 4,250 pull-ups. After three days of climbing Maj Packer and his climbing team have spent their third night on a portaledge attached to the side of the mountain. Maj Packer said the first day was "really tough" but he had since worked out a good technique for pulling himself up. "Waking up on the portaledge and looking down at the valley below and seeing where we are - it's awesome," he said. "The team morale is great, and I'm grateful to have some of the UK's top climbers supporting me and teaching me so much." Maj Packer, of the Royal Military Police, rowed across the Channel in February, almost a year to the day after he was wounded in Iraq. He has already surpassed his target of raising £1 million for the charity Help For Heroes.

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ITN | June 10, 2009

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