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): E9
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
80 contributions since 22nd December 2020.
7 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): E9
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
80 contributions since 22nd December 2020.
7 contributions since 13th October 2025.

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Ascents

19 recorded ascents.

Sort
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Flex Luthor 9a+ Lead | worked 2003 9a+
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.
The Dawn Wall 9a Lead | worked Between 27th Dec 2014 and 14th Jan 2015
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)
Empath 9a Lead | worked 17th May 2025 8c

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.
Super Tweak 8c Lead | worked 1997

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlPfctHBgZ/
Vogue 8c Lead | worked Nov 1999
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
Lurking Fear 8b+ Lead | worked Jun 2000
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/
Dihedral Wall 8b+ Lead | worked May 2004
First ascent.
The Nose 8b+ Lead | worked 2005
With Beth Rodden.
Magic Mushroom 8b+ Lead | worked May 2008
First ascent. With Justin Sjong. First free ascent.
Magic Mushroom 8b+ Lead | repeat Jun 2008
20hrs 02mins.
Passage to Freedom 8b Lead | worked Between 28th Oct 2019 and 31st Oct 2019
First ascent.
The Shaft 8a+ Lead | worked 2001
First ascent.
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
Turn That Frown Upside Down 8A+ Boulder | worked 2001
First ascent.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.de/news/caldwell-unties-42874.html
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
The Path E9 Lead | worked Jul 2013
West Buttress E8 Lead | worked Jun 2003
First ascent.
Climb Grade Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade
The Nose A2 Simul | worked 6th Jun 2018
With Alex Honnold. 01hrs 58mins.

A new speed record.

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