Nationality: | US |
Date of birth: | 11th August 1978 |
Hardest Sport (Worked): | 9a+ |
Hardest Trad (Worked): | E10 |
Notable Partnerships | |
Beth Rodden | |
Chris Sharma | |
Social Media |
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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.
[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/
12 recorded ascents.
Year | Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | Super Tweak | 8c (Lead) | 1997 | |
1998 | Necessary Evil | 8c+ (Lead) | 1998 | |
Second ascent. |
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To Bolt or Not to Be | 8b+ (Lead) | April 1998 | ||
1999 | Kryptonite | 9a (Lead) | ✓ | 1999 |
2000 | Lurking Fear | 8a+ (Lead) | ✓ | June 2000 |
First free ascent. |
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2001 | ||||
2002 | ||||
2003 | Flex Luthor | 9a+ (Lead) | ✓ | 2003 |
The hardest route in the US at the time, then Chris Sharma established Jumbo Love to establish the first 9b in the US. |
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2004 | Dihedral Wall | 8b+ (Lead) | ✓ | May 2004 |
2005 | ||||
2006 | ||||
2007 | ||||
2008 | ||||
2009 | ||||
2010 | ||||
2011 | ||||
2012 | Magic Mushroom | E10 (Lead) | ✓ | 2012 |
First free ascent. |
||||
2013 | The Path | E9 (Lead) | July 2013 | |
2014 | The Dawn Wall | 9a (Lead) | ✓ | Between 27th Dec. 2014 and 14th Jan. 2015 |
2015 | ||||
2016 | ||||
2017 | ||||
2018 | The Nose | 8b+ (Simul) | 6th June 2018 | |
A new speed record of 1:58:07. |
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2019 | Passage to Freedom | 8b (Lead) | ✓ | Between 28th Oct. 2019 and 31st Oct. 2019 |
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|---|---|---|---|
Flex Luthor | 9a+ (Lead) | ✓ | 2003 | 9a+ |
The hardest route in the US at the time, then Chris Sharma established Jumbo Love to establish the first 9b in the US. |
||||
Kryptonite | 9a (Lead) | ✓ | 1999 | |
The Dawn Wall | 9a (Lead) | ✓ | Between 27th Dec. 2014 and 14th Jan. 2015 | |
Necessary Evil | 8c+ (Lead) | 1998 | ||
Second ascent. |
||||
Super Tweak | 8c (Lead) | 1997 | ||
Dihedral Wall | 8b+ (Lead) | ✓ | May 2004 | |
To Bolt or Not to Be | 8b+ (Lead) | April 1998 | ||
The Nose | 8b+ (Simul) | 6th June 2018 | ||
A new speed record of 1:58:07. |
||||
Passage to Freedom | 8b (Lead) | ✓ | Between 28th Oct. 2019 and 31st Oct. 2019 | |
Lurking Fear | 8a+ (Lead) | ✓ | June 2000 | |
First free ascent. |
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|---|---|---|---|
Magic Mushroom | E10 (Lead) | ✓ | 2012 | |
First free ascent. |
||||
The Path | E9 (Lead) | July 2013 |
Climb | Grade | FA | Ascent Date | Suggested Grade |
---|