Book, gift of Tommy Caldwell. , Tommy Caldwell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 8/14/19
Tommy Caldwell (born August 11, 1978) is an American rock climber accomplished in sport climbing, hard traditional climbing, big-wall speed climbing, and big-wall free climbing. Caldwell made the first free ascents of several El Capitan routes in Yosemite National Park.
He made the first ascents of some of the hardest sport routes in the U.S., including Kryptonite with grade of 5.14c/d and Flex Luthor with a grade of 5.15a, at the Fortress of Solitude, Colorado. In January 2015, Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson completed the first free climb of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. At the time, their 19-day ascent was considered by some as the hardest successful rock climb in history.
Caldwell grew up in Loveland, Colorado. In 2015, National Geographic called Caldwell "arguably the best all-around rock climber on the planet."
In May 2004 he completed the first free ascent (FFA) of Dihedral Wall. In 2005, he and Beth Rodden—swapping leads—made the third and fourth free ascents of The Nose. Two days later, on October 16, Caldwell free-climbed The Nose in less than 12 hours. A few days later, Caldwell climbed The Nose in 11 hours, descended the East Ledges, and then climbed Freerider, topping out 12 hours later – the first ascent of two El Capitan free climbs in 24 hours. On El Capitan, Caldwell has also free-climbed: Lurking Fear, Muir Wall, West Buttress, Salathé, Zodiac and Magic Mushroom.