Sun August 16, 2015
Kevin Jorgeson & Tommy Caldwell Legendary Climbers of El Capitan
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Between December 17, 2014 and January 14, 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Santa Rosa native Kevin Jorgeson made the historic first free ascent of the El Capitan’s Dawn Wall, widely considered as the hardest climb in the world. Hear the pair share stories of their nineteen day climb that gained them international notoriety.
Kevin Jorgeson has been climbing since he was born. At first, it was fences, cupboards, ladders and trees. At age 14, Kevin stepped foot in Vertex Climbing Center and never looked back. "Climbing was always a very natural thing for me to do, so when I found rock climbing, it felt perfect. I can't imagine a sport that fits my personality any better."
Tommy Caldwell’s father, a bodybuilding mountain guide, set out to show him the wonder of their backyard, the Colorado Rockies. By age twelve Tommy knew the pungent smell of a building electrical storm and the deep-down contentment felt after a twenty-hour day spent engaged in the grandeur of the mountains.
Tommy rose to the top of the competition circuit quickly and started establishing the hardest roped climbs in the United States as a teenager. His childhood in the mountains beckoned him back to bigger climbing objective. On an expedition to southwest Kyrgyzstan in 2000 Tommy and three other climbers were taken hostage. For six days they survived on no food and little water and eventually escaped when Tommy pushed their remaining captor off of a cliff and they ran 10 miles to a military outpost. “That experience completely changed my view of the world. I was given a glimpse into the power of the human will. I knew that we are capable of so much more than most of us can imagine.”
After a seven-year quest of finding a way to free climb the steepest, blankest face of the monolithic El Capitan, Tommy Caldwell, and partner Kevin Jorgeson, stood atop The Dawn Wall with the world watching. Even President Barack Obama was moved by their nineteen-day climb stating, “You remind us that anything is possible.”
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Kevin Jorgeson has been climbing since he was born. At first, it was fences, cupboards, ladders and trees. At age 14, Kevin stepped foot in Vertex Climbing Center and never looked back. "Climbing was always a very natural thing for me to do, so when I found rock climbing, it felt perfect. I can't imagine a sport that fits my personality any better."
Tommy Caldwell’s father, a bodybuilding mountain guide, set out to show him the wonder of their backyard, the Colorado Rockies. By age twelve Tommy knew the pungent smell of a building electrical storm and the deep-down contentment felt after a twenty-hour day spent engaged in the grandeur of the mountains.
Tommy rose to the top of the competition circuit quickly and started establishing the hardest roped climbs in the United States as a teenager. His childhood in the mountains beckoned him back to bigger climbing objective. On an expedition to southwest Kyrgyzstan in 2000 Tommy and three other climbers were taken hostage. For six days they survived on no food and little water and eventually escaped when Tommy pushed their remaining captor off of a cliff and they ran 10 miles to a military outpost. “That experience completely changed my view of the world. I was given a glimpse into the power of the human will. I knew that we are capable of so much more than most of us can imagine.”
After a seven-year quest of finding a way to free climb the steepest, blankest face of the monolithic El Capitan, Tommy Caldwell, and partner Kevin Jorgeson, stood atop The Dawn Wall with the world watching. Even President Barack Obama was moved by their nineteen-day climb stating, “You remind us that anything is possible.”
Between December 17, 2014 and January 14, 2015, Tommy Caldwell and Santa Rosa native Kevin Jorgeson made the historic first free ascent of the El Capitan’s Dawn Wall, widely considered as the hardest climb in the world. Hear the pair share stories of their nineteen day climb that gained them international notoriety.
Kevin Jorgeson has been climbing since he was born. At first, it was fences, cupboards, ladders and trees. At age 14, Kevin stepped foot in Vertex Climbing Center and never looked back. "Climbing was always a very natural thing for me to do, so when I found rock climbing, it felt perfect. I can't imagine a sport that fits my personality any better."
Tommy Caldwell’s father, a bodybuilding mountain guide, set out to show him the wonder of their backyard, the Colorado Rockies. By age twelve Tommy knew the pungent smell of a building electrical storm and the deep-down contentment felt after a twenty-hour day spent engaged in the grandeur of the mountains.
Tommy rose to the top of the competition circuit quickly and started establishing the hardest roped climbs in the United States as a teenager. His childhood in the mountains beckoned him back to bigger climbing objective. On an expedition to southwest Kyrgyzstan in 2000 Tommy and three other climbers were taken hostage. For six days they survived on no food and little water and eventually escaped when Tommy pushed their remaining captor off of a cliff and they ran 10 miles to a military outpost. “That experience completely changed my view of the world. I was given a glimpse into the power of the human will. I knew that we are capable of so much more than most of us can imagine.”
After a seven-year quest of finding a way to free climb the steepest, blankest face of the monolithic El Capitan, Tommy Caldwell, and partner Kevin Jorgeson, stood atop The Dawn Wall with the world watching. Even President Barack Obama was moved by their nineteen-day climb stating, “You remind us that anything is possible.”
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Kevin Jorgeson has been climbing since he was born. At first, it was fences, cupboards, ladders and trees. At age 14, Kevin stepped foot in Vertex Climbing Center and never looked back. "Climbing was always a very natural thing for me to do, so when I found rock climbing, it felt perfect. I can't imagine a sport that fits my personality any better."
Tommy Caldwell’s father, a bodybuilding mountain guide, set out to show him the wonder of their backyard, the Colorado Rockies. By age twelve Tommy knew the pungent smell of a building electrical storm and the deep-down contentment felt after a twenty-hour day spent engaged in the grandeur of the mountains.
Tommy rose to the top of the competition circuit quickly and started establishing the hardest roped climbs in the United States as a teenager. His childhood in the mountains beckoned him back to bigger climbing objective. On an expedition to southwest Kyrgyzstan in 2000 Tommy and three other climbers were taken hostage. For six days they survived on no food and little water and eventually escaped when Tommy pushed their remaining captor off of a cliff and they ran 10 miles to a military outpost. “That experience completely changed my view of the world. I was given a glimpse into the power of the human will. I knew that we are capable of so much more than most of us can imagine.”
After a seven-year quest of finding a way to free climb the steepest, blankest face of the monolithic El Capitan, Tommy Caldwell, and partner Kevin Jorgeson, stood atop The Dawn Wall with the world watching. Even President Barack Obama was moved by their nineteen-day climb stating, “You remind us that anything is possible.”
show less
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50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
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