The Dawn Wall Climbing Expedition PDF

# The Dawn Wall The Dawn Wall is a rock formation in Yosemite National Park in California. It is about 3000 feet high. ## The Challenge of El Capitan * You can walk up El Capitan on a route through the forests and meadows that ascends about 2000 feet with a 9% average grade. * You can also climb...

# The Dawn Wall The Dawn Wall is a rock formation in Yosemite National Park in California. It is about 3000 feet high. ## The Challenge of El Capitan * You can walk up El Capitan on a route through the forests and meadows that ascends about 2000 feet with a 9% average grade. * You can also climb straight up the shear rock face of El Capitan. * Climbers have been ascending the rock formations of Yosemite since the 1940s. * Warren Harding was the first to make it from the base to the top of El Capitan, taking 18 months. * Today, expert climbers can ascend that route in less than a day. ## The Dawn Wall * There are many routes for climbers to ascend El Capitan, including the Nose, the Snake Dike, the Astroman, the Southeast Buttress, and the Dawn Wall. * The Dawn Wall is a mostly smooth granite face. * Climbing it is considered the most challenging free climb in the world. ### What is a 'free climb'? * In a free climb, climbers only use their hands, feet, and body for support. * A rope can be attached to a free climber, but it is only used for safety. * The rope is used to catch the climber if they slip or fall. ### Jorgeson and Caldwell * In 2009, Tommy Caldwell teamed up with Kevin Jorgeson to plan their climb of the Dawn Wall. * They worked on an analysis of the wall for almost five years. * They began their climb on December 27, 2014. * They stayed on the wall for 19 days. * Their journey is documented through infographics and a photo essay. ### The Climb * Every afternoon, Caldwell and Jorgeson left their tents as the sun moved across the sky. * They climbed up a series of rigged ropes. * They then attempted the next pitch. * The climbers used ropes to go and from their tent and each section, or pitch, on the wall. * The texture of the Dawn Wall cliff compares to razor blades, thin and sharp. * Climbing it requires the athletes to support their entire body weight on these razor-thin edges of rock. * The athletes are only lightly dressed, but the temperatures fall to 30 degrees at night. * The climbers ascended later in the day and at night because they want to sweat as little as possible so that their hands stay dry. * The cold also helps the rubber on their shoes grip the wall. ### Resting * During the day, the climbers returned to their tents to eat, sleep, and recover. * Their hands are blistered and bruised from the climb. * They made coffee on a small stove. * They updated their social media accounts on their phones. * They accept food deliveries. ### Caldwell Overcomes the Toughest Stretch * Caldwell, the more experienced climber, got through the toughest stretch (pitches 15 and 16) ahead of Jorgeson, but it took Jorgeson many attempts over 7 days to make it across pitch 15. * His fingers cracked and bled during each nightly attempt so he had to go back to base camp and let his fingers recover. * On the seventh day, he succeeded in “sending” pitch 15, which means completing it successfully. ### Caldwell is the First to Reach The Top * After 19 days on the wall and completing 32 pitches, Caldwell was the first to reach the top of the Dawn Wall at 3pm on January 14, 2014. * Jorgeson joined him 10 minutes later. * Jorgeson sent out a tweet after the climb: “To anyone writing about #dawnwall, this is not an effort to conquer. It’s about realizing a dream.”