Tomorrow I Will Be Gone

Bouldering in Africa de Sud

Tommy Caldwell Climbing Pitch 15 | The Dawn Wall

On January 14, 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson made the first free ascent of The Dawn Wall on Yosemite s El Capitan. Watch Tommy climb pitch 15 (5.14c) in this first footage released by the film crew on the wall. “The crux holds of pitch 15 are some of the smallest and sharpest holds I have ever attempted to hold onto,” Tommy wrote on his Facebook page. Four unique camera angles reveal those minuscule holds and the 1,300 feet of exposure under Tommy’s precarious foot placements. While multiple pitches of extremely difficult climbing remained above, the completion of pitch 15 was considered the last major hurdle to the eventual success of this seven-year project. Note: Pitch 15 was originally rated 5.14d, but was downgraded slightly after the completion of the route.

Flashback: When two men climbed El Capitan in 1970

In this 1970 CBS Evening News report, climbers Dean Caldwell and Warren Harding make history as the first to climb El Capitan s Wall of Early Morning Light. Now known as Dawn Wall, it s the same cliff face that Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell free-climbed in an equally historic feat. While both had their challenges, the 1970 climb would prove to be more controversial thanks to a spat between the climbers and the National Park Service.