‘It Looked Impossible’: New Film Follows Free Climbers Up The 'Dawn Wall’
In California’s Yosemite National Park, the summit of the iconic El Capitan rock formation looms 3,000 feet above its base. Though El Capitan’s vertical granite has always presented a challenge for climbers, its southeastern face, known as the Dawn Wall, is thought to be the most punishing.
And yet, for several days in January 2015, national media crews and a growing crowd of people stood at the base of the rock, craning their necks as they watched free climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson slowly make their way up the Dawn Wall. Free climbers can use ropes to catch them from falls, but not to help them climb.
Jorgeson and Caldwell spent years planning their 19-day climb. “You could compare it to choreographing a gymnastics routine or a dance,” Jorgeson says of the preparation. “It’s highly precise.”
Part of the planning involved figuring out where in the rock’s seemingly impenetrable surface they might find a small grip on which to rest a toe, plant a finger or anchor a portaledge-style tent.
“These little tiny razorblade edges sometimes form [in the rock], and if you train yourself properly, you can learn to support your body weight,” Caldwell explains. “Then, if you practice it enough, you can learn to move from one edge to the next.”
Caldwell and Jorgeson’s historic climb is captured in a new documentary The Dawn Wall.
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