Adam Ondra cheered after his success

What a hotshot! The 23-year-old Czech Adam Ondra succeeded his free climb through the mostly vertical, partly overhanging “Dawn Wall” in the granite of El Capitan within only eight days. It was the only second free ascent of the rock route, which is regarded as the most difficult in the world. At the beginning of 2015, the Americans Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson had “freed” the “Dawn Wall” after 19 days in the approximately 900-meter-high wall, a milestone of climbing history. They had been preparing for it for more than seven years. Ondra spent just two and a half weeks on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Kevin Jorgeson finds the success of the young Czech “totally badass”, as he wrote to the magazine “Rock and Ice”: “For Tommy and I, the question was whether it was even possible. We left lots of room to improve the style and Adam did just that! Super impressive that he was able to adapt to the Dawn Wall’s unique style and sort out so many complex sequences so quickly.” The German climbing scene is also thrilled.

“As if Bolt had won the marathon”

Climbing also in the night

Alexander Huber, aged 47, the younger of the Huber brothers, writes to me, that Ondra’s performance “equates to his ability: masterly, brilliant”. Alexander’s older brother values Adam’s success in a similar way. “This is the statement of the new generation per se,” tells me Thomas Huber (who, by the way, celebrated his 50th birthday on Friday last week): “For me it is the greatest achievement in climbing of our times. Now the bar is high!” Stefan Glowacz is also blown away. “I’ve been climbing for more than 40 years, but this performance is simply unbelievable,” writes the 51-year-old on Facebook. “It is amazing to see how the young generation catapult climbing into ever new dimensions that were hardly thought possible hitherto.” Ondra’s performance is “a kind of fusion of passion, obsession and extraordinary ability, but above all, an unprecedented mental performance,” says Glowacz, pointing out that it was Adam Ondra’s first big wall experience: “Somewhere I read this comparison: It is as if Usain Bolt had won the marathon race too.”

“Dawn Wall” within in 24 hours?

For years already, experts believe Adam Ondra to be the world’s best sports climber. During his climb of the “Dawn Wall” on El Capitan, he was accompanied by his countryman Pavel Blazek and the Austrian photographer Heinz Zak. Ondra led all 32 pitches ofthe route. “The first two days I was as nervous as a cat,” Adam said in an interview with the Czech climbing website emontana. In his words climbing the two key pitches (No. 14 and 15) was “like holding razor blades. But apart from them there are the pitches which I consider to belong among the best ones I have ever climbed.” It is quite possible that Ondra will soon be back on the route. “I would love to climb it a lot faster than this time”, says Adam, putting the bar high: “I think climbing ‘Dawn Wall’ in 24 hours is a nice challenge. It won´t be my ambition for the next year, that´s what I am sure of. I would like to take a mental rest for a few seasons but it would be interesting as a dream for life.” As absurd as this dream may sound, this hotshot could really do it.

Tommy Caldwell in Chamonix

Tommy Caldwell is on a roll. The 36-year-old American and his compatriot Alex Honnold won this year’s Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar for climbers”, for their success in completing the so called “Fitz Traverse” in Patagonia, a more than five kilometers long climbing route over seven summits and some razor sharp ridges. And Tommy is a prime candidate for next year’s award too. Last January he and Kevin Jorgeson free-climbed for the first time the extremely difficult about 900-meter-high route Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite – a real milestone in big wall climbing. I talked to Tommy about both climbs.

Tommy, you and Alex Honnold were awarded the Piolet d’Or for succeeding the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia. How did you experience this outstanding climb?

It was definitely a hard climb for me. It was so outside of everyday life. So if you look back at it, it doesn’t seem real. It wasn’t something I had planned. We went to Patagonia not knowing what we were going to climb. That was one idea, but I thought it was too big, I never thought we could do it. But then there was a big weather window and we decided to just go big.

For Alex, it was the first time that he was on expedition in Patagonia. What was it like for you to climb with him the Fitz Traverse?

It was amazing. He is the ultimate climbing partner. I knew that his skills would transfer from Yosemite to Patagonia really well. He doesn’t like being cold, I was a little worried about that. But since the experience was so intense and amazing, he was okay dealing with the cold a few days.  Sometimes we were going a mile and not even seeing each other because we were on opposite sides of the rope. Our systems are so dialed that we don’t have to say a word to each other.

Tommy and Alex on the Fitz Traverse

Is it possible to compare the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia and the Dawn Wall in Yosemite that you free-climbed in team with Kevin Jorgeson at the turn of the year?

They are so different in style. I trained very hard for the Dawn Wall. For seven years it was on the top of my mind the whole time. That training prepared me for Patagonia well, but the style of climbing was so different. The Fitz Traverse just happened, it wasn’t really a plan. The Dawn Wall was very planned, I focused all my energy into that. There we had people bringing us food and tons of gear when we were up there for all this time. The Fitz Traverse was completely the opposite. We had one 25 liter and one 335 liter backpack, just barely enough food, only one sleeping bag.

Caldwell: So different in style

What does it mean to you to have succeeded free-climbing the Dawn Wall?

It means that this relationship that I have had for seven years is ending. It’s hard actually. A lot of people would think that the end of this goal is a great moment. For me it was good because I reached my goal, but this life driving force that I had for so long is no longer there.

So, are you now going through a valley?

(He laughs) Yeah, probably. I’m working on writing a book now. So I have something to focus my energy into. That’s how I am, I always find a goal and I very intensely pursue that. So right now I have to write a book, but I’m expecting at some point to go through a bit of a valley. I’m sure.

Tommy Caldwell (l.) in the Dawn Wall

You were 19 days in the wall. What was the hardest during this climb?

The hardest part of the Dawn Wall for me was actually the preparation before the climb: trying to figure out ways to better climbing, sometimes feeling like it wasn’t working. Once we got on the wall for that 19-day-push, things went really well for me. My partner on the other hand struggled; he wasn’t nearly as prepared as I was. He struggled pretty hard, so I waited around. I had to become very good support for him, which was fun for me too. I wouldn’t say it was a hard experience, but there were moments where we worried about whether we were going to make it together.

Caldwell: The hardest part was the preparation

When Kevin had problems, did you think for a moment that you would have to do it alone?

Luckily I never had to come to that. I didn’t want to top out without Kevin. I don’t know honestly whether I would have done it if he had given up completely. He might have told me that I have to continue.

If two climbers have done such an amazing thing together, does it change the attitude between them? Are you now another kind of friends?

Every climbing relationship is different. Alex Honnold is the kind of person I would call if I was having a hard time in life. He is like a really close friend. Kevin is also a close friend but in a very different way. We pretty much only talk when we are climbing together. But when we are climbing together, it works so well and it’s so amazing.  I admire Kevin so much, but it’s almost more like a business relationship whereas most of my other climbing partners, it’s like deep friendship, almost like family.

Caldwell about climbing relationships

There was a little bit of criticism about the great media coverage of your climb. Cameramen were hanging in the wall. There was a video live stream during the last days. What would you answer to these critics?

I would say that this media coverage was not something that we sought out at all, it just happened. We were open to it, we allowed it to happen, but it was not by design at all. It was purely because so many people were interested. There was a point when they said: There are going to be a lot of reporters on top when you get up there. And I said: I don’t really want that. But you can’t control it. Yosemite is a public place. People can come if they want.

They did it: Caldwell (l.) and Jorgeson

What do you answer people who say: This man is crazy doing such things?

Nobody says that. (He laughs) The whole process of climbing the Dawn Wall was such a life driving force for me that I think, if you were in my head the whole time you would totally understand it. But most people won’t, so I don’t expect them to understand it.

Did you close the chapter Yosemite after having finished your Dawn Wall project?

Yosemite always has been and will be part of my life. I don’t know if I pursue giant projects like the Dawn Wall anymore, but I am going to continue to go to Yosemite. I live in Colorado physically, but my heart is in Yosemite.

You lost one finger in an accident with a table saw in 2001. How is it possible to do such extreme climbs with only nine fingers?

When I chopped off my finger, I was already a quite serious climber. I didn’t want to lose professionally climbing as my way to live, and so I became very focused and dedicated at a kind of overcoming that injury. It made me mentally stronger. The biggest growth in my climbing I think was right after chopping off my finger. I was a sport climber and a boulderer before and I started to gravitate more towards big wall and mountains, because I knew that I could never be the best competition climber with nine fingers. Big wall climbing is a bit less finger strength intense.

You have also been on expedition to high mountains. In 2000, in Kirghizstan you were kidnapped. Was this an experience that made you avoid expeditions to high mountains?

No. What happened in Kirghizstan had nothing to do with the fact that we were even in the mountains. We got into the middle of a political struggle.

Tommy with his wife Rebecca and son Fitz

But it was very narrow for you.

Yes, but I am still going to save high mountains in the world. I think I don’t go to very high mountains because of avalanche danger. I have 25 friends in my life that have died in high mountains. I am a dad. I want to live a long time. So I pick climbs that I feel that the danger is more controllable.

So, no 8000 meter peaks?

I don’t have it in my plans. But if I find a beautiful route on a 8000 meter peak that I felt like was not in danger of rock fall, big avalanches, big crevasse danger, I would climb it.

You are a husband and father. Has this made you more cautious?

I think I view my life through a lens of having people who rely on me. I feel a lot of responsibility to be there for them. So, as I said, I pick climbs where I feel like the objective hazards are manageable. I don’t want to die in the mountains.

Caldwell:I don’t want to die in the mountains

P.S. I made this interview with Tommy already in April, at the Piolet d’Or celebrations in Chamonix. But when I actually wanted to publish it, the strong earthquake hit Nepal and I had to cover this tragedy…

They did it: Caldwell (l.) and Jorgeson

A milestone in the granite of El Capitan in Yosemite! After 19 days the US climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson reached the top of the extremely difficult, about 900-meter-high Dawn Wall after having climbed it free for the first time. They made climbing history. “I hope it inspires people to find their own Dawn Wall, if you will. We’ve been working on this thing a long time, slowly and surely”, 30-year-old Jorgesan said according to the New York Times. “I think everyone has their own secret Dawn Wall to complete one day, and maybe they can put this project in their own context.” As reported, it had taken Kevin seven days alone to master the extremely difficult 15th of 32 pitches of the route. “I think the larger audience’s conception is that we’re thrill seekers out there for an adrenaline rush. We really aren’t at all. It’s about spending our lives in these beautiful places and forming these incredible bonds”, 36-year-old Caldwell said. “For me, I love to dream big, and I love to find ways to be a bit of an explorer.” Tommy is climbing with only nine full fingers. In 2001 while working with a table saw, he accidentally cut off a part of his left index finger.

Alexander Huber: “Great performance!”

Alexander Huber

“The press tends to use terms like ‘the climb of the century’”, the German top climber Alexander Huber points out, whom I asked to assess the performance of the two US climbers in the Dawn Wall. “Of course we can not know what else will happen in the remaining 85 years of the century. So, if you look at it objectively, the term is exaggerated.” Nevertheless, the younger of the two Huber brothers is delighted. “The route is definitely the most difficult alpine rock climbing route in the world. In this regard, all I can say is: Hats off! Great performance!”, says the 46-year-old.

In 1970, the legendary Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell (no relation to Tommy) had opened the route via the Dawn Wall in 27 days. They used more than 300 bolts, what led to some criticism in the climbing community at that time.

Tommy Caldwell (l.) in the Dawn Wall

It’s easy to jump on a train that is already standing in the station. However, the climbing train of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson is still rolling. Pull by pull by pull towards the summit of the legendary granite rock El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. Since 27 December, for two weeks and a half now, the two Americans climb and hang in the 900-meter-high, mostly vertical, partly overhanging “Dawn Wall” – so named, because the South-East face of El Cap catches the first sunrays in the morning. Caldwell and Jorgeson are well on the way to free climbing the extremely challenging big wall for the first time. Means: They only use ropes, bolts, nuts or friends to avoid falling, not for climbing. Actually, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. But in this special case I do it and and take my hat off to Tommy and Kevin by now.

Without falling after eleven attempts

Most experts indicate that 36-year-old Caldwell and 30-year-old Jorgeson overcame the biggest difficulties of the wall. It took Jorgeson seven days alone to get past the challenges of pitch 15 (of 32) of the route. After eleven attempts he was finally able to climb that passage without falling. Caldwell had done it a few days earlier and waited patiently until his buddy mastered the extremely challenging part of the route too.

“It was such an intense and incredible thing to witness”, Tommy wrote on Facebook. Kevin was on the limit: “It took everything in my power to stay positive and resolved that I would succeed.” Now the happy end is within reach: Caldwell and Jorgeson are expected to climb up to the top of the wall at some point between Thursday and Sunday.

Thomas Huber:  “Crazy”

Thomas Huber

“I hope they are lucky with the weather”, German top climber Thomas Huber writes to me. He and his brother Alexander added many highlights to climbing in Yosemite. Thomas is following enthusiastically the progress of the two Americans: “Really crazy! I would be so pleased if they are able to complete their life project. Eight years!!!!! This is motivation!” That is how long Caldwell and Jorgeson worked for their dream to “free” the Dawn Wall. It was first climbed in 1970: The legendary Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell (no relation to Tommy) needed 28 days to succeed by aid climbing. It says everything about the difficulty of the route.

User joins climbing

Kevin Jorgeson (l.) is happy – and is filmed

This act of pioneering work on El Capitan already caused a sensation in the USA at that time, not only in the climbing scene. Today the whole world can visit Yosemite digitally. Almost daily Caldwell and Jorgeson post pictures and short texts on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, in addition videos of their climb (see above) are published on YouTube. “That’s up to you”, Thomas Huber replies to my question, what he thinks about the intense media coverage of the project. “I’m on Facebook too, but I wouldn’t blog continually during an adventure such as this. In this regard I prefer old fashion.  I think, for marketing  it is even better to make people curious and to edit everything perfectly when it’s done. And then … Boooom!”

P.S.: If you want to follow the Dawn Wall Live Stream of gripped.com, here is the link.