Tommy Caldwell

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Quick Info

From: USA 🇺🇸
Date of birth: 11th August 1978
Age: 47 years old
Gender: Male
Hardest Boulder (Worked): 8A+
Hardest Sport (Worked): 9a+
Hardest Trad (Worked): E12
Notable Partnerships
Beth Rodden
Chris Sharma
Alex Honnold

A legendary figure in American climbing. As a youth he established himself as one of the new wave while repeating many of America's hardest climbs alongside Chris Sharma.

He went on to establish many of his own hard routes, notably Flex Luthor which some now consider to be the first 9b in America.

He has also contributed an astounding number of hard free climbs to Yosemite. The pinnacle of these efforts is The Dawn Wall which opened up a new level of difficulty in big wall free climbing.

Other notable achievements include the Fitz Traverse, a full traverse of the FItzroy range in patagonia, completed with Alex Honnold in 2014. Tommy has at at various points held many speed records for Yosemite big walls.

In August of 2000 Tommy was on a trip to Kyrgyzstan with fellow climbers Beth Rodden, John Dickey and Jason 'Singer' Smith. They were kidnapped and held hostage for 6 days, only escaping when Tommy pushed one of their captors over a cliff, believing he had killed them (though it subsequently emerged that the captor had survived the fall).

Interestingly Tommy only has 3 fingers on his left hand, having lost the index finger "in a home remodelling accident" in 2001.

References

[1] http://www.niallgrimes.com/jam-crack-climbing-podcast/2016/1/5/tommy-caldwell-dawn-wall-yawn-wall

[2] AMA on reddit.com/r/iama, September 2018 https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9fkki7/we_are_tommy_caldwell_a_climber_who_spent_6_years/

Contributors
83 contributions since 22nd December 2020.
42 contributions since 13th October 2025.

Quick Info

From: USA 🇺🇸
Date of birth: 11th August 1978
Age: 47 years old
Gender: Male
Hardest Boulder (Worked): 8A+
Hardest Sport (Worked): 9a+
Hardest Trad (Worked): E12
Notable Partnerships
Beth Rodden
Chris Sharma
Alex Honnold

A legendary figure in American climbing. As a youth he established himself as one of the new wave while repeating many of America's hardest climbs alongside Chris Sharma.

He went on to establish many of his own hard routes, notably Flex Luthor which some now consider to be the first 9b in America.

He has also contributed an astounding number of hard free climbs to Yosemite. The pinnacle of these efforts is The Dawn Wall which opened up a new level of difficulty in big wall free climbing.

Other notable achievements include the Fitz Traverse, a full traverse of the FItzroy range in patagonia, completed with Alex Honnold in 2014. Tommy has at at various points held many speed records for Yosemite big walls.

In August of 2000 Tommy was on a trip to Kyrgyzstan with fellow climbers Beth Rodden, John Dickey and Jason 'Singer' Smith. They were kidnapped and held hostage for 6 days, only escaping when Tommy pushed one of their captors over a cliff, believing he had killed them (though it subsequently emerged that the captor had survived the fall).

Interestingly Tommy only has 3 fingers on his left hand, having lost the index finger "in a home remodelling accident" in 2001.

References

[1] http://www.niallgrimes.com/jam-crack-climbing-podcast/2016/1/5/tommy-caldwell-dawn-wall-yawn-wall

[2] AMA on reddit.com/r/iama, September 2018 https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/9fkki7/we_are_tommy_caldwell_a_climber_who_spent_6_years/

Contributors
83 contributions since 22nd December 2020.
42 contributions since 13th October 2025.

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Ascents

22 recorded ascents.

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Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
First ascent.

The hardest route in the US before Chris Sharma established Jumbo Love to establish the first 9b in the US.
Kryptonite 9a Lead | worked 1999
First ascent.

Tommy suggested the route was significantly easier with a good sequence on jams.

I totally turned it into, like, an old-school trad route. [2]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/DJxZfqBhn9h/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqVwOZ6Y3Fk
Necessary Evil 8c+ Lead | worked 1998
Second ascent.

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlPfctHBgZ/
First ascent.

It was november and I was so psyched that my dad and I split early from a family obligation on thanksgiving day. It was 20-degrees with fog and i remember frost was forming on the quickdraws. I thought we were pushing it, but my dad is as tough as they come and stuck around so I could give it a few tries. it all worked out too as I surprised myself by sending pretty quickly.

It made me wonder if i should become an alpine climber?
To Bolt or Not to Be 8b+ Lead | worked Apr 1998
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
First ascent.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.de/news/caldwell-unties-42874.html
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
First ascent.

References

[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/tommy-caldwell-and-kevin-jorgeson-free-climb-the-dawn-wall-on-el-capitan.html

[2] The Dawn Wall (2017)
Magic Mushroom E10 Lead | worked May 2008
First ascent. With Justin Sjong. First free ascent.
Magic Mushroom E10 Lead | repeat Jun 2008
20hrs 02mins.
First ascent. With Beth Rodden. First free ascent.

On the second pitch:

No single move is crazy, but for thirty minutes your feet are just sliding off the holds, so it’s more of a mind test. [1]

And the crux seventh pitch:

It’s probably a 5.13a slab to a really hard three-move section. Finally one day my foot just didn’t slip. I got the body position just right and I got through it. [1]

and the grade:

At the time I’d never heard of a slab harder than 5.13c so we just rated it that, I think in modern grade it would be firmly into 5.14.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/places/how-hard-can-slab-climbs-actually-get/
Second ascent.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/news/caldwell-frees-izodiaci/
Dihedral Wall E9 Lead | worked May 2004
First ascent.
The Nose E9 Lead | worked 2005
With Beth Rodden.
The Path E9 Lead | worked Jul 2013
Passage to Freedom E9 Lead | worked Between 28th Oct 2019 and 31st Oct 2019
First ascent.
First ascent.

With Nick Sagar

References

[1] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200220000/
West Buttress E8 Lead | worked Jun 2003
First ascent.
Heart Route E8 Lead | worked Between 5th Nov 2024 and 7th Nov 2024
With Connor Herson.
The Direct Line E8 Lead | worked Nov 2025
Third ascent. With Alex Honnold.
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
With Alex Honnold. 01hrs 58mins.

A new speed record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOzbM_7GMI