On Dec. 27, 2014, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson started one of the craziest climbs ever attempted before, scaling the granite slab that is the Dawn Wall which sits more than 3,000 feet above the Yosemite National Park in California with just their hands and feet.
The Dawn Wall is located on the El Capitan mountain and has been conquered several times before but gears have always been used. This time, Caldwell and Jorgeson only have ropes with them and these will only be used in the event they slip during the climb.
"If they can pull this off, it will be the hardest rock climb ever done and set a standard so high that it will most likely not be done again for decades," said Tom Evans, a photographer and an El Capitan veteran himself.
Hailing from Estes Park, Colorado and Santa Rosa, California, respectively, the 36-year-old Caldwell and 30-year-old Jorgeson decided to start their climb during winter to take advantage of less sweating in their hands. This would make it a bit easier to hold on to the thin and sharp edges of the Dawn Wall given they are using their bare hands.
To rest, Caldwell and Jorgeson are staying in sling-like tents clinging to the Dawn Wall. With next to nothing to protect their dwelling, the tents were one night swinging when an Arctic wind storm blew by. The two were able to document this with the help of some video equipment, sending the footage back to friends safely on solid ground.
What could have possibly driven the two to attempt this unbelievable feat?
"When you stand at the base and you look up, it just looks like 3,000 feet of blankness. It's steep. It's intimidating. That's what you seek as a climber: You find something that looks absurd and figure out how to do it," explained Caldwell.
The two took a break from their climb Monday but are back at it the very next day. At the rate they are going, they are on track to achieve the first free-climb of the Dawn Wall by Friday or Saturday.
Touted as one of the greatest cliffs for rock climbing in the world, the El Capitan mountain was first climbed in 1958. Today, however, it is just as popular a destination for BASE jumping. To reach the great mountain's Southwest and Southeast faces, the most popular route is The Nose, a massive prow jutting between the two faces.
