1 00:00:55,939 --> 00:00:58,191 [cellphone rings] 2 00:01:00,277 --> 00:01:01,567 TOMMY: Hello? 3 00:01:01,570 --> 00:01:03,902 BRANCH: Hey, guys. This is John Branch from the New York Times. 4 00:01:03,905 --> 00:01:05,157 How's it going up there? 5 00:01:05,449 --> 00:01:06,617 TOMMY: Good, John. 6 00:01:07,242 --> 00:01:08,962 BRANCH: How high up are you guys right now? 7 00:01:09,870 --> 00:01:13,498 TOMMY: We are about 1,200 feet up the wall at our base camp. 8 00:01:13,623 --> 00:01:15,292 This has been our home for nine days now. 9 00:01:16,460 --> 00:01:19,629 BRANCH: Tommy, I guess the bottom line question here, 10 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:21,590 why are you doing this? 11 00:01:21,798 --> 00:01:24,134 What's the point of all this for you? 12 00:01:29,556 --> 00:01:30,679 PRESENTER 1: On the air tonight 13 00:01:30,682 --> 00:01:32,351 with a story of two men 14 00:01:32,517 --> 00:01:35,437 attempting to free climb the famously steep face 15 00:01:35,562 --> 00:01:37,981 of El Capitan in Yosemite. 16 00:01:42,277 --> 00:01:44,488 PRESENTER 2: Inch by nerve-racking inch, 17 00:01:44,738 --> 00:01:48,825 using only their fingertips to grasp razor sharp edges... 18 00:01:49,409 --> 00:01:51,283 PRESENTER 3: Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson 19 00:01:51,286 --> 00:01:53,580 attempt the hardest climb in the world. 20 00:01:53,914 --> 00:01:56,958 PRESENTER 4: No one has ever free-climbed the Dawn Wall. 21 00:01:57,209 --> 00:02:00,212 PRESENTER 5: Three-thousand feet of straight-up granite. 22 00:02:08,845 --> 00:02:10,847 PRESENTER 6: A climb watched by the world. 23 00:02:10,972 --> 00:02:12,054 PRESENTER 7: These guys have captured the world's attention. 24 00:02:12,057 --> 00:02:14,267 [presenters speaking in foreign language] 25 00:02:16,144 --> 00:02:17,904 PRESENTER 8: They're trying to make history. 26 00:02:18,855 --> 00:02:22,401 PRESENTER 9: El Capitan's infamous Dawn Wall. 27 00:02:36,957 --> 00:02:39,543 TERRY CALDWELL: As a kid, Tommy was slow at everything. 28 00:02:44,089 --> 00:02:46,508 He had a lot of difficulty in school. 29 00:02:46,758 --> 00:02:49,216 The teachers actually at one point told us 30 00:02:49,219 --> 00:02:51,555 that he was mentally retarded and would never learn. 31 00:02:52,264 --> 00:02:57,352 I was developmentally delayed through... Probably still. 32 00:02:57,519 --> 00:02:58,645 [laughs] 33 00:03:00,605 --> 00:03:02,649 I was this very fragile little kid, 34 00:03:03,191 --> 00:03:04,401 incredibly shy. 35 00:03:05,110 --> 00:03:09,614 But meanwhile, my dad was, like, the symbol of a man. 36 00:03:12,534 --> 00:03:16,496 He was this big bodybuilder dude and mountain climber. 37 00:03:16,913 --> 00:03:17,913 Larger than life. 38 00:03:18,331 --> 00:03:20,000 MIKE CALDWELL: Tommy was small. 39 00:03:20,333 --> 00:03:21,960 He was way behind. 40 00:03:22,878 --> 00:03:24,921 Didn't crawl until he was over two. 41 00:03:25,255 --> 00:03:27,004 TOMMY: I think my dad felt 42 00:03:27,007 --> 00:03:29,256 the best way to prepare this fragile little kid for the world 43 00:03:29,259 --> 00:03:30,619 was to toughen him up a little bit. 44 00:03:34,139 --> 00:03:36,221 So he took me on all these adventures. 45 00:03:36,224 --> 00:03:38,265 MIKE: Three years old, strap on the skis. 46 00:03:38,268 --> 00:03:40,312 TOMMY: Camping in a snow cave during a blizzard. 47 00:03:41,021 --> 00:03:43,482 Every summer, we'd go to Yosemite with my family, 48 00:03:44,232 --> 00:03:46,485 and my dad would take me climbing on these giant walls. 49 00:03:47,652 --> 00:03:50,739 Some of the craziest climbing stunts you could ever do, 50 00:03:51,740 --> 00:03:53,241 and he did it with a six-year-old. 51 00:03:56,077 --> 00:03:58,497 KELLY CORDES: The things that Tommy's dad took him on, 52 00:03:59,164 --> 00:04:01,538 today you would have Child Protective Services 53 00:04:01,541 --> 00:04:02,542 coming after you. 54 00:04:02,667 --> 00:04:07,255 He basically took hardship and rephrased it as growth. 55 00:04:07,547 --> 00:04:10,634 TOMMY: He was loving, but he definitely let me suffer. 56 00:04:11,676 --> 00:04:13,804 The word that was in my mind was resilience. 57 00:04:15,263 --> 00:04:17,682 It seems to me one of the best gifts you can give your kid 58 00:04:18,058 --> 00:04:20,310 is an ability to deal with adversity. 59 00:04:24,147 --> 00:04:26,688 TOMMY: By the time I was 14 or 15, 60 00:04:26,691 --> 00:04:29,027 there was climbs that I could do that my dad couldn't. 61 00:04:30,779 --> 00:04:32,072 MIKE: Tommy's strong. 62 00:04:32,405 --> 00:04:33,946 TOMMY: Climbing was the first thing in my life 63 00:04:33,949 --> 00:04:35,948 where I could stand out a little bit. 64 00:04:35,951 --> 00:04:37,577 TERRY: All right. Woo! 65 00:04:40,413 --> 00:04:41,540 MIKE: So Tommy was 16, 66 00:04:41,706 --> 00:04:44,706 and Snowbird held the Snowbird Invitational that year. 67 00:04:44,709 --> 00:04:46,503 TOMMY: This big climbing competition. 68 00:04:46,628 --> 00:04:49,419 We thought we'd drive over there and watch the comp 69 00:04:49,422 --> 00:04:50,674 and get some autographs. 70 00:04:50,841 --> 00:04:53,009 TOMMY: We just went there to be fans, really. 71 00:04:53,176 --> 00:04:55,133 MIKE: And the day before the big competition, 72 00:04:55,136 --> 00:04:57,806 they had a Citizens' Comp that anybody who shows up can enter. 73 00:04:58,390 --> 00:05:00,851 TOMMY: So I entered that, my first competition ever. 74 00:05:01,393 --> 00:05:02,978 MIKE: Well, Tommy won. 75 00:05:04,104 --> 00:05:06,395 And I don't know if this was an official policy 76 00:05:06,398 --> 00:05:08,689 or just something they dreamt up on the spot, 77 00:05:08,692 --> 00:05:10,023 but they asked Tommy 78 00:05:10,026 --> 00:05:13,277 if he wanted to enter the World Invitational the next day. [laughs] 79 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:14,820 Hello, everyone. I'm James Brown, 80 00:05:14,823 --> 00:05:16,405 and welcome to Snowbird, Utah, 81 00:05:16,408 --> 00:05:18,657 for the International Sport Climbing Championship. 82 00:05:18,660 --> 00:05:20,742 PRESENTER: Expert climbers will test their skills 83 00:05:20,745 --> 00:05:23,623 against a man-made 120-foot wall. 84 00:05:24,541 --> 00:05:26,001 MIKE: There were 12 competitors. 85 00:05:26,126 --> 00:05:29,251 TOMMY: The icons of climbing. And it was so intimidating. 86 00:05:29,254 --> 00:05:31,965 MIKE: This will be a very challenging field. 87 00:05:32,090 --> 00:05:34,840 Looks like Tommy's the only one in there that we haven't heard of before. 88 00:05:34,843 --> 00:05:36,133 TOMMY: Nobody had ever heard of me. 89 00:05:36,136 --> 00:05:37,971 I was just this scrawny little kid. 90 00:05:38,096 --> 00:05:40,432 I was videoing Tommy as he goes climbing up this thing. 91 00:05:40,765 --> 00:05:42,892 PRESENTER: Let's hear it for the 16-year-old. 92 00:05:45,812 --> 00:05:46,855 MIKE: Come on, Tommy. 93 00:05:47,397 --> 00:05:49,858 Nobody has made it past that roof. 94 00:05:50,942 --> 00:05:52,944 MIKE: He got past the final roof. 95 00:05:54,487 --> 00:05:56,239 So Tommy's winning. 96 00:05:56,531 --> 00:05:58,408 [all cheering] 97 00:05:58,783 --> 00:06:00,449 MAN: All right, Tommy! 98 00:06:00,452 --> 00:06:02,162 [laughing] And I started shaking. 99 00:06:03,163 --> 00:06:04,706 I can't hold the camera. 100 00:06:06,875 --> 00:06:08,540 [laughs] I just dropped the camera. 101 00:06:08,543 --> 00:06:10,378 I mean, I completely lost it. 102 00:06:11,671 --> 00:06:13,131 MIKE: Tommy got to the top. 103 00:06:14,174 --> 00:06:16,718 The only climber to complete this climb. 104 00:06:17,469 --> 00:06:20,969 So all of a sudden, Tommy went from nobody at all 105 00:06:20,972 --> 00:06:22,641 to winner of Snowbird. 106 00:06:23,224 --> 00:06:25,268 TERRY: I mean, that was just unbelievable. 107 00:06:25,435 --> 00:06:26,978 It changed his whole life. 108 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:29,645 KELLY: Tommy became known 109 00:06:29,648 --> 00:06:31,605 as one of the best young climbers. 110 00:06:31,608 --> 00:06:32,776 But he didn't grow up 111 00:06:32,901 --> 00:06:34,399 the way most of us do. 112 00:06:34,402 --> 00:06:36,360 Through high school, he didn't have girlfriends. 113 00:06:36,363 --> 00:06:39,115 He didn't have a social life. He just went climbing. 114 00:06:39,824 --> 00:06:42,327 [indistinct chatter] 115 00:06:43,703 --> 00:06:45,789 TOMMY: I was doing this series of competitions, 116 00:06:46,414 --> 00:06:47,916 and I met this girl, Beth. 117 00:06:49,334 --> 00:06:51,753 She just caught my attention totally. I was like, "Whoa!" 118 00:06:52,295 --> 00:06:55,799 Tommy just had this really big, goofy, endearing grin. 119 00:06:56,967 --> 00:07:00,178 We both lived and breathed climbing. 120 00:07:00,762 --> 00:07:02,844 KELLY: Tommy's this climbing savant, 121 00:07:02,847 --> 00:07:06,643 and then he meets Beth, the female version of himself. 122 00:07:07,602 --> 00:07:09,226 He's head over heels. 123 00:07:09,229 --> 00:07:11,731 TOMMY: I just found ways to go wherever she was. 124 00:07:11,940 --> 00:07:13,149 Okay? Yeah. 125 00:07:14,150 --> 00:07:16,236 TOMMY: I found out she was going to Yosemite, 126 00:07:17,112 --> 00:07:18,405 so I followed her out there. 127 00:07:19,489 --> 00:07:21,783 We ended up climbing a big wall together. 128 00:07:23,076 --> 00:07:25,286 You know, we were next to each other all the time. 129 00:07:25,704 --> 00:07:27,414 Twenty-four hours a day together. 130 00:07:27,872 --> 00:07:30,664 BETH: Sleeping 1,000 feet off the ground on this portaledge, 131 00:07:30,667 --> 00:07:32,210 which is like a hanging cot. 132 00:07:33,503 --> 00:07:36,089 TOMMY: You sleep head to toe. There's just more room that way. 133 00:07:37,048 --> 00:07:38,171 So I laid down, 134 00:07:38,174 --> 00:07:40,215 and then, she laid down the same way that I was, 135 00:07:40,218 --> 00:07:42,217 with her head at the same end. 136 00:07:42,220 --> 00:07:43,844 And I was pretty excited by this. 137 00:07:43,847 --> 00:07:46,850 I was like, "Ooh, goodness. This is getting exciting." 138 00:07:49,477 --> 00:07:50,854 I just hadn't been in love before, 139 00:07:50,979 --> 00:07:54,065 and I just fell hardcore, right off the bat. 140 00:07:56,359 --> 00:07:57,610 BETH: We just clicked. 141 00:07:58,194 --> 00:08:01,698 We had so many dreams of traveling and climbing together. 142 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,495 And then, we got invited to go on a big adventure trip. 143 00:08:07,620 --> 00:08:09,247 An expedition to Kyrgyzstan. 144 00:08:10,665 --> 00:08:13,081 Kyrgyzstan is this beautiful, mountainous country 145 00:08:13,084 --> 00:08:14,335 in Central Asia. 146 00:08:14,502 --> 00:08:17,505 We'd seen pictures from friends that had been there, 147 00:08:18,173 --> 00:08:19,924 and it looked like a paradise for climbers. 148 00:08:20,091 --> 00:08:23,050 I was a photographer working in the outdoor industry. 149 00:08:23,053 --> 00:08:26,178 And this amazing opportunity came about for me 150 00:08:26,181 --> 00:08:29,347 to shoot an expedition with Beth and Tommy and Jason. 151 00:08:29,350 --> 00:08:31,978 We were just four young climbers looking for a big adventure 152 00:08:32,103 --> 00:08:34,606 in a new and unusual part of the world. 153 00:08:35,565 --> 00:08:38,818 TOMMY: We charter a helicopter into the Kara-Su Valley. 154 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:40,695 Unbelievably beautiful. 155 00:08:41,613 --> 00:08:43,823 Just felt like kind of a dream come true, 156 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:45,909 out in the middle of this adventure 157 00:08:46,034 --> 00:08:48,161 with this girl that I was totally in love with. 158 00:08:49,913 --> 00:08:51,536 A week-and-a-half into our trip, 159 00:08:51,539 --> 00:08:53,455 the four of us were sleeping in portaledges, 160 00:08:53,458 --> 00:08:54,876 a 1,000 feet up the wall, 161 00:08:55,251 --> 00:08:58,877 and we wake up to gunshots, [gunshot], 162 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:00,673 these piercing, close gunshots. 163 00:09:00,799 --> 00:09:01,713 [gunshots] 164 00:09:01,716 --> 00:09:04,427 The bullets hitting the wall right between our portaledges. 165 00:09:04,844 --> 00:09:06,051 We're sitting there like, 166 00:09:06,054 --> 00:09:07,803 "Oh, my God, we're getting shot at." 167 00:09:07,806 --> 00:09:09,513 And you can't run away. You can't do anything. 168 00:09:09,516 --> 00:09:11,559 We're just sitting ducks up here. 169 00:09:11,684 --> 00:09:14,354 We look down, and you could see these figures. 170 00:09:15,230 --> 00:09:17,440 TOMMY: These guys waving at us to come down. 171 00:09:18,108 --> 00:09:20,107 BETH: We rappelled down to the ground. 172 00:09:20,110 --> 00:09:23,696 TOMMY: We're encountered by four guys, heavily armed. 173 00:09:24,489 --> 00:09:26,074 JOHN: They took us to our base camp. 174 00:09:26,407 --> 00:09:27,781 JASON: All of our tents were cut open. 175 00:09:27,784 --> 00:09:29,699 A lot of our food was splayed around the meadow. 176 00:09:29,702 --> 00:09:31,621 They had us start hiding our camp. 177 00:09:31,746 --> 00:09:35,708 And so suddenly, it hits us, we're hostages right now. 178 00:09:45,343 --> 00:09:46,967 BETH: Later, we learned that these guys 179 00:09:46,970 --> 00:09:49,845 were part of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, 180 00:09:49,848 --> 00:09:52,764 these rebels that wanted to overthrow the government. 181 00:09:52,767 --> 00:09:55,019 [indistinct shouting] 182 00:09:55,228 --> 00:09:57,352 JOHN: We were caught up in this battle 183 00:09:57,355 --> 00:10:00,150 between these rebels and the Kyrgyz military. 184 00:10:01,651 --> 00:10:02,649 TOMMY: All of a sudden, 185 00:10:02,652 --> 00:10:04,654 Kyrgyz military helicopters started to fly over, 186 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:07,157 soldiers show up on the hillside, 187 00:10:07,615 --> 00:10:10,031 and this battle breaks out. [gunfire] 188 00:10:10,034 --> 00:10:13,034 The rebels start pointing their guns at us, yelling, "Hide!" 189 00:10:13,037 --> 00:10:14,995 Then we dive in these trees. 190 00:10:14,998 --> 00:10:17,667 JOHN: The rebels had taken a Kyrgyz soldier hostage. 191 00:10:17,792 --> 00:10:19,169 They took the other captive. 192 00:10:19,294 --> 00:10:21,004 And they just shot him in the head. 193 00:10:21,129 --> 00:10:22,463 [gunshot] 194 00:10:23,673 --> 00:10:25,463 I just remember shaking uncontrollably 195 00:10:25,466 --> 00:10:27,886 and Tommy just holding me as tight as he could. 196 00:10:28,011 --> 00:10:29,512 Are they just going to kill us next? 197 00:10:30,847 --> 00:10:33,180 [distant gunfire] 198 00:10:33,183 --> 00:10:36,057 TOMMY: Once it's dark, the gunfire dies down. 199 00:10:36,060 --> 00:10:39,022 And the rebels start marching us through the mountains. 200 00:10:43,943 --> 00:10:47,030 It's four rebels, the four of us. 201 00:10:48,406 --> 00:10:51,156 It's really cold. We're 11,000 feet in elevation. 202 00:10:51,159 --> 00:10:52,741 We don't have warm clothes. 203 00:10:52,744 --> 00:10:54,078 We don't have any food. 204 00:10:54,537 --> 00:10:56,539 BETH: We had no idea where we were going. 205 00:10:57,874 --> 00:10:59,667 JOHN: We would hike through the night, 206 00:11:01,669 --> 00:11:04,714 and then during the day, they would hide us. 207 00:11:06,007 --> 00:11:08,176 BETH: They hid us in the craziest spots. 208 00:11:09,093 --> 00:11:11,176 TOMMY: Burying us in holes in the ground 209 00:11:11,179 --> 00:11:13,473 so that we wouldn't be seen by the military. 210 00:11:14,849 --> 00:11:16,473 JOHN: This went on for six days. 211 00:11:16,476 --> 00:11:19,479 BETH: Day two or three, hunger really started to set in. 212 00:11:20,813 --> 00:11:23,271 TOMMY: You know, we're sort of just wasting away. 213 00:11:23,274 --> 00:11:25,774 BETH: At first, I thought they're taking us back to their base, 214 00:11:25,777 --> 00:11:28,529 or they're taking us somewhere, there's a purpose to this. 215 00:11:28,655 --> 00:11:30,156 JOHN: Finally, we realized 216 00:11:30,490 --> 00:11:32,867 they were leading us in a giant circle. 217 00:11:33,117 --> 00:11:35,036 Like, these guys clearly don't have a plan. 218 00:11:36,579 --> 00:11:40,246 Jason and John started to scheme about how we could get away. 219 00:11:40,249 --> 00:11:42,082 I mean, things were getting super desperate. 220 00:11:42,085 --> 00:11:44,212 They were ready to take matters into their own hands. 221 00:11:45,004 --> 00:11:47,545 At one point, two of our captors left. 222 00:11:47,548 --> 00:11:49,068 We never saw them again. [gunshots] 223 00:11:49,676 --> 00:11:51,427 We found out later that they got killed. 224 00:11:53,221 --> 00:11:56,057 On our sixth night of captivity, 225 00:11:56,849 --> 00:11:58,723 the two captors that were remaining with us 226 00:11:58,726 --> 00:12:00,976 decided that one of them would go in one direction 227 00:12:00,979 --> 00:12:02,352 to try and get some food 228 00:12:02,355 --> 00:12:04,190 and then we would head off with the other one. 229 00:12:09,696 --> 00:12:12,237 JOHN: So we get left alone with the one rebel, 230 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:13,992 climbing up this cliff side. 231 00:12:14,492 --> 00:12:17,161 We were comfortable on the terrain, and he was not. 232 00:12:17,912 --> 00:12:20,623 If we're going to escape, this is the opportunity. 233 00:12:21,624 --> 00:12:23,456 TOMMY: Jason and John decided 234 00:12:23,459 --> 00:12:27,377 they would try and push our remaining captor off this cliff 235 00:12:27,380 --> 00:12:28,589 and then run away. 236 00:12:29,173 --> 00:12:30,797 JASON: John and I were trying to look for a point 237 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:31,926 that we could throw him off. 238 00:12:32,051 --> 00:12:35,051 JOHN: But we kept going and kept going, and... You know? 239 00:12:35,054 --> 00:12:36,848 We just couldn't quite push him. 240 00:12:39,017 --> 00:12:40,098 TOMMY: As we got to the top, 241 00:12:40,101 --> 00:12:42,687 I realized that our opportunity was going to be over. 242 00:12:49,694 --> 00:12:53,903 And I decided that this was what I had to do. 243 00:12:53,906 --> 00:12:57,782 I had to go and I needed to push this guy off this cliff 244 00:12:57,785 --> 00:12:59,245 in order to save our lives. 245 00:12:59,787 --> 00:13:01,831 Tommy came over to me at this point, and he said, 246 00:13:02,415 --> 00:13:04,167 "Do you think I should do this?" 247 00:13:04,459 --> 00:13:06,458 I was thinking, "Yes, no, yes, no." 248 00:13:06,461 --> 00:13:07,670 So I just didn't say anything. 249 00:13:08,629 --> 00:13:11,883 TOMMY: I took that as that she would be okay with it. 250 00:13:15,386 --> 00:13:19,095 So I just ran up behind him 251 00:13:19,098 --> 00:13:24,062 and I put one hand on his back and grabbed his gun strap. 252 00:13:24,395 --> 00:13:27,774 And my other hand went on his chest 253 00:13:28,024 --> 00:13:29,942 and I just gave a push... 254 00:13:34,197 --> 00:13:36,407 to send him flying off this cliff. 255 00:13:43,122 --> 00:13:44,540 We saw him hit a ledge, 256 00:13:44,916 --> 00:13:47,919 bounce off of it, and just fall out of sight into the darkness. 257 00:13:51,547 --> 00:13:53,129 BETH: Tommy completely broke down, 258 00:13:53,132 --> 00:13:55,259 had his head in his arms and he was crying. 259 00:13:55,760 --> 00:13:57,640 TOMMY: I couldn't believe what I had just done. 260 00:13:57,762 --> 00:13:59,055 I had just killed somebody. 261 00:13:59,722 --> 00:14:02,183 The whole world came crashing down on me all at once. 262 00:14:04,143 --> 00:14:07,102 BETH: We were all trying to reassure him and say that, 263 00:14:07,105 --> 00:14:09,854 "You're not a bad person, you just saved our lives." 264 00:14:09,857 --> 00:14:11,314 TOMMY: They really tried to comfort me. 265 00:14:11,317 --> 00:14:13,858 But there was a sense of urgency that we better get going, 266 00:14:13,861 --> 00:14:16,697 because we didn't know if the other captor was gonna show up. 267 00:14:17,573 --> 00:14:20,031 JOHN: We knew from hiking in earlier 268 00:14:20,034 --> 00:14:23,079 where there was a military outpost that we could try and run to. 269 00:14:23,413 --> 00:14:26,082 BETH: So even on almost no food for six days, 270 00:14:26,290 --> 00:14:27,455 adrenaline kicked in. 271 00:14:27,458 --> 00:14:29,207 JASON: So we ran for four hours. 272 00:14:29,210 --> 00:14:30,962 Through the darkness down this valley. 273 00:14:31,212 --> 00:14:33,962 BETH: We were greeted by this man yelling at us with this gun. 274 00:14:33,965 --> 00:14:37,006 JOHN: Throw up our hands, start yelling that we're Americans. 275 00:14:37,009 --> 00:14:38,689 BETH: And luckily, it was the Kyrgyz army. 276 00:14:39,345 --> 00:14:42,011 This huge wave of relief came over us. 277 00:14:42,014 --> 00:14:46,894 I mean, this horrible situation that we had been in was over. 278 00:14:48,521 --> 00:14:51,691 They gave us food and water, military fatigues. 279 00:14:52,567 --> 00:14:54,402 And then we got helicoptered out from there. 280 00:15:00,700 --> 00:15:03,783 PRESENTER: From our studios in New York, here is Jane Pauley. 281 00:15:03,786 --> 00:15:06,581 JANE: Four young Americans face a life or death choice, 282 00:15:07,039 --> 00:15:10,585 with the ultimate question, to kill or be killed? 283 00:15:11,419 --> 00:15:14,964 TOMMY: When we got home, there was this crazy media circus. 284 00:15:15,089 --> 00:15:17,216 You guys are walking with this captor 285 00:15:18,009 --> 00:15:19,802 on a very rocky cliff. 286 00:15:20,261 --> 00:15:21,468 Tell me what you did, Tommy. 287 00:15:21,471 --> 00:15:24,182 We just ended up pushing the guy. 288 00:15:24,682 --> 00:15:26,347 You pushed him over the cliff. Yeah. 289 00:15:26,350 --> 00:15:28,433 What happened at that moment when you realized, 290 00:15:28,436 --> 00:15:30,563 I've actually done this, I've killed somebody? 291 00:15:31,022 --> 00:15:34,022 You know, I thought that I was an evil person. I said to Beth, 292 00:15:34,025 --> 00:15:36,611 "How can you love me after I did something like this?" 293 00:15:37,737 --> 00:15:38,905 And, uh... 294 00:15:41,824 --> 00:15:43,075 MIKE: After Kyrgyzstan, 295 00:15:43,367 --> 00:15:45,661 Tommy had tremendous personality changes. 296 00:15:45,912 --> 00:15:47,827 Speaking so softly. 297 00:15:47,830 --> 00:15:50,791 I was like, what is inside me that allowed me to do this? 298 00:15:53,669 --> 00:15:55,963 I mean, just an entirely different person. 299 00:16:38,005 --> 00:16:41,092 JOHN LONG: Yosemite is known as the Mecca of world rock climbing. 300 00:16:44,845 --> 00:16:48,349 And the crown jewel of this Mecca is El Capitan. 301 00:16:50,142 --> 00:16:54,105 It's just this iconic 3,000-foot high monolith. 302 00:16:55,398 --> 00:16:57,105 When you see that thing for the first time, 303 00:16:57,108 --> 00:16:58,651 it takes your breath away. 304 00:17:00,069 --> 00:17:04,862 The steepest, blankest, most forlorn... 305 00:17:04,865 --> 00:17:06,826 impressive part of El Cap 306 00:17:07,118 --> 00:17:08,536 is the Dawn Wall. 307 00:17:11,372 --> 00:17:14,372 People have done a handful of free climbs up El Cap 308 00:17:14,375 --> 00:17:15,876 to the right and to the left. 309 00:17:17,587 --> 00:17:20,548 But the Dawn Wall has never been climbed. 310 00:17:21,882 --> 00:17:25,344 Just the sheer magnitude of blank rock on the thing... 311 00:17:25,845 --> 00:17:27,680 I mean, it just looks impossible. 312 00:17:29,390 --> 00:17:31,767 Until Tommy Caldwell came along, 313 00:17:32,184 --> 00:17:34,437 nobody had actually considered trying it. 314 00:17:36,272 --> 00:17:39,525 If Tommy and his partner Kevin can actually do this, 315 00:17:40,610 --> 00:17:45,114 it will be the most continuously difficult rock climb ever done. 316 00:17:47,700 --> 00:17:49,869 Nothing else is even close to it. 317 00:17:52,580 --> 00:17:54,165 TOMMY: It's December 27th, 318 00:17:54,707 --> 00:17:58,377 and we're planning on heading up for like two weeks plus. 319 00:17:59,253 --> 00:18:00,463 We'll see. 320 00:18:01,297 --> 00:18:04,425 The goal is climb it in a single push, 321 00:18:04,884 --> 00:18:06,636 which means we're going to leave the ground, 322 00:18:07,053 --> 00:18:08,846 live on the wall, 323 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:12,350 and not come down until we're done. 324 00:18:16,479 --> 00:18:17,647 KEVIN: We're going for it. 325 00:18:18,105 --> 00:18:19,398 I'm nervous. 326 00:18:20,066 --> 00:18:23,611 We've put in so much work leading up to this moment. 327 00:18:24,654 --> 00:18:28,029 There's nothing left to do but take a couple deep breaths 328 00:18:28,032 --> 00:18:29,158 and start climbing. 329 00:18:29,909 --> 00:18:30,951 Day one. 330 00:18:32,620 --> 00:18:33,620 Yep. 331 00:18:36,165 --> 00:18:37,375 This is going to be awesome. 332 00:18:40,503 --> 00:18:43,422 LONG: The Dawn Wall itself is 3,000 feet tall. 333 00:18:44,965 --> 00:18:47,635 The route that they think they have figured out 334 00:18:47,927 --> 00:18:50,971 is comprised of 32 individual pitches. 335 00:18:51,931 --> 00:18:54,558 Each pitch is its own challenge, 336 00:18:55,059 --> 00:18:56,852 like the stages of a race. 337 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,564 A pitch is a rope-length long, about 150 feet or so. 338 00:19:03,567 --> 00:19:04,982 And ends of the ledge 339 00:19:04,985 --> 00:19:06,987 are a natural resting place on the rock. 340 00:19:07,780 --> 00:19:08,736 [exhales] 341 00:19:08,739 --> 00:19:09,907 TOMMY: Yeah, man. Good work. 342 00:19:10,616 --> 00:19:11,823 LONG: When you end the pitch, 343 00:19:11,826 --> 00:19:13,744 you anchor yourself to the wall... 344 00:19:14,453 --> 00:19:16,539 KEVIN: One down, thirty-something to go. 345 00:19:17,998 --> 00:19:21,293 LONG: ...and hold the rope or belay as your partner comes up. 346 00:19:22,753 --> 00:19:24,961 Once you've both done that pitch without falling, 347 00:19:24,964 --> 00:19:26,424 you can move on to the next pitch. 348 00:19:29,885 --> 00:19:31,467 When you're free-climbing, 349 00:19:31,470 --> 00:19:33,428 you're using your hands and feet 350 00:19:33,431 --> 00:19:35,725 to climb the natural features on the rock 351 00:19:35,891 --> 00:19:38,185 without any assistance from the rope. 352 00:19:39,854 --> 00:19:41,644 KEVIN: Good job. TOMMY: Yeah, man. 353 00:19:41,647 --> 00:19:44,439 LONG: You take turns leading each pitch, 354 00:19:44,442 --> 00:19:48,112 placing protection in the cracks to catch you in case you fall. 355 00:19:49,363 --> 00:19:51,157 TOMMY: Yeah, come on. You got it. 356 00:19:51,782 --> 00:19:53,367 Ugh! Oh! 357 00:19:56,746 --> 00:19:57,872 TOMMY: If you fall, 358 00:19:59,081 --> 00:20:01,917 you just go back down to the beginning of that pitch, 359 00:20:03,419 --> 00:20:04,962 and then the other guy tries it. 360 00:20:06,589 --> 00:20:08,004 LONG: They have a certain number of pitches 361 00:20:08,007 --> 00:20:09,967 they're trying to get through each day 362 00:20:10,176 --> 00:20:12,344 to stay on track to finish this climb. 363 00:20:13,053 --> 00:20:15,473 The first few pitches are relatively easy. 364 00:20:16,891 --> 00:20:18,476 But as you get higher on the wall, 365 00:20:22,354 --> 00:20:23,647 the wall gets steeper, 366 00:20:24,774 --> 00:20:25,855 [pants] 367 00:20:25,858 --> 00:20:27,193 The holes get smaller, 368 00:20:29,069 --> 00:20:31,030 and the climbing gets way more difficult. 369 00:20:32,031 --> 00:20:33,032 [grunts] 370 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:38,788 KEVIN: It's hard to articulate 371 00:20:39,580 --> 00:20:41,624 the level of detail that's required. 372 00:20:44,627 --> 00:20:48,503 You can't make any mistake in where you grab the hold 373 00:20:48,506 --> 00:20:50,216 and how you place your toe. 374 00:20:51,175 --> 00:20:54,094 You're pushing and pulling as hard as you possibly can, 375 00:20:55,513 --> 00:20:57,431 always on the verge of slipping off. 376 00:21:02,269 --> 00:21:03,813 [screams] 377 00:21:04,188 --> 00:21:05,439 TOMMY: Oh, no! 378 00:21:05,689 --> 00:21:08,400 Oh! Oh, foot slip. 379 00:21:10,444 --> 00:21:13,113 KEVIN: We climb all day into the night, 380 00:21:13,364 --> 00:21:17,326 trying the same pitch until we both do it. 381 00:21:24,416 --> 00:21:25,501 KEVIN: Come on, Tommy! 382 00:21:28,045 --> 00:21:29,547 Come on! [screams] 383 00:21:31,715 --> 00:21:33,175 TOMMY: Man, I'm getting tired. 384 00:21:34,301 --> 00:21:36,509 KEVIN: Tommy is just a man possessed. 385 00:21:36,512 --> 00:21:38,764 Come on. Finish this. 386 00:21:39,348 --> 00:21:40,304 [grunts] 387 00:21:40,307 --> 00:21:41,307 Yeah, come on. 388 00:21:42,142 --> 00:21:43,099 [grunts] 389 00:21:43,102 --> 00:21:44,311 Yeah, man. 390 00:21:44,562 --> 00:21:46,146 Yee-hoo! 391 00:21:47,648 --> 00:21:48,938 KEVIN: And I'm just trying to keep up. 392 00:21:48,941 --> 00:21:50,734 TOMMY: You got it, Kevin. Come on! 393 00:21:50,901 --> 00:21:54,235 Come on! Come on! Come on! [groans] 394 00:21:54,238 --> 00:21:56,195 Yeah, that was awesome, dude. 395 00:21:56,198 --> 00:21:57,783 KEVIN: Thank God I didn't fall. 396 00:21:59,034 --> 00:22:00,286 TOMMY: Nice, man. 397 00:22:00,619 --> 00:22:02,451 LONG: When you're trying a big wall like this, 398 00:22:02,454 --> 00:22:04,039 the work does not end 399 00:22:04,164 --> 00:22:06,044 once the climbing is done at the end of the day. 400 00:22:06,959 --> 00:22:09,712 You've got to haul up hundreds of pounds of gear, 401 00:22:10,546 --> 00:22:12,128 set up portaledges... 402 00:22:12,131 --> 00:22:13,421 TOMMY: This seems pretty good. 403 00:22:13,424 --> 00:22:15,009 Pretty flat, even, I would say. 404 00:22:16,635 --> 00:22:18,426 LONG: ...and gag down some food. 405 00:22:18,429 --> 00:22:21,515 TOMMY: I actually brought a bag of kale on the wall 406 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,226 to put it in our burritos. Mm! 407 00:22:30,149 --> 00:22:33,024 This is the hardest thing you could ever do on your fingers, 408 00:22:33,027 --> 00:22:34,445 climbing this route. 409 00:22:34,778 --> 00:22:36,777 It's just grabbing razor blades. 410 00:22:36,780 --> 00:22:39,947 I tape up any wounds with Neosporin for healing. 411 00:22:39,950 --> 00:22:43,034 Then I wake up probably twice in the night and reapply. 412 00:22:43,037 --> 00:22:45,539 Getting pretty obsessed with my lips. 413 00:22:46,624 --> 00:22:49,040 LONG: Then you've got to hope you can get a little sleep. 414 00:22:49,043 --> 00:22:52,671 The next day is going to be more of the same, but harder. 415 00:22:53,005 --> 00:22:55,296 And it's going to go on day after day, 416 00:22:55,299 --> 00:22:58,177 two weeks, three weeks. Nobody knows. 417 00:23:10,773 --> 00:23:12,149 TOMMY: After Kyrgyzstan, 418 00:23:13,901 --> 00:23:16,487 we're trying to absorb what had happened. 419 00:23:19,073 --> 00:23:21,617 Beth is really traumatized. 420 00:23:21,950 --> 00:23:24,578 BETH: I started to have nightmares and couldn't sleep. 421 00:23:25,287 --> 00:23:27,487 I did not want to be separated from Tommy at that point. 422 00:23:28,290 --> 00:23:31,335 TOMMY: Beth and I are bonded like, at the hip. I'm sort of her rock. 423 00:23:31,627 --> 00:23:34,627 We go to church a few times. We hadn't been to church in ten years. 424 00:23:34,630 --> 00:23:36,965 We're just searching. We're like, what does this mean? 425 00:23:37,257 --> 00:23:38,506 We go to a therapist. 426 00:23:38,509 --> 00:23:40,886 It's like nobody knows how to deal with this situation. 427 00:23:42,930 --> 00:23:44,595 I think my way of dealing with it 428 00:23:44,598 --> 00:23:47,976 was you just get back on that horse and go climb again. 429 00:23:51,271 --> 00:23:53,482 This has always been my safe place, 430 00:23:53,732 --> 00:23:55,442 my way to deal with life. 431 00:23:59,863 --> 00:24:02,449 I didn't know what to think about Kyrgyzstan. 432 00:24:03,909 --> 00:24:05,825 Part of me was feeling kind of empowered. 433 00:24:05,828 --> 00:24:08,160 I was like, when the shit really hit the fan, 434 00:24:08,163 --> 00:24:10,496 I was able to do what needed to be done 435 00:24:10,499 --> 00:24:11,499 to get us out of there. 436 00:24:12,543 --> 00:24:14,545 BETH: Tommy jumped right back into climbing, 437 00:24:14,753 --> 00:24:17,297 and slowly we got back into our groove. 438 00:24:18,298 --> 00:24:20,426 TOMMY: We're both professional rock climbers, 439 00:24:20,884 --> 00:24:23,345 doing these really cool climbs all over the place. 440 00:24:24,430 --> 00:24:26,887 BETH: He started setting these lofty goals. 441 00:24:26,890 --> 00:24:29,017 TOMMY: Trying to climb harder and harder routes. 442 00:24:30,185 --> 00:24:32,643 And then, about a year after Kyrgyzstan, 443 00:24:32,646 --> 00:24:34,732 we were remodeling this tiny little cabin. 444 00:24:37,109 --> 00:24:41,697 And Tommy was using his parent's old table saw. 445 00:24:42,656 --> 00:24:44,867 MIKE: Tommy did something that you should never do, 446 00:24:44,992 --> 00:24:47,327 which is he tried to pull a small piece of wood 447 00:24:47,536 --> 00:24:48,620 through the table saw. 448 00:24:49,663 --> 00:24:51,078 If the blade catches on the wood, 449 00:24:51,081 --> 00:24:52,841 it sucks your hand right back into the blade. 450 00:24:54,460 --> 00:24:55,583 I heard Tommy scream, 451 00:24:55,586 --> 00:24:57,501 "I fucking cut off my finger, I cut off my finger." 452 00:24:57,504 --> 00:24:59,503 Completely cut his finger off instantly. 453 00:24:59,506 --> 00:25:00,796 It was over in the bushes. 454 00:25:00,799 --> 00:25:03,340 Beth finds the finger laying in this pile of sawdust. 455 00:25:03,343 --> 00:25:05,885 We throw it on ice, drive to the hospital. 456 00:25:05,888 --> 00:25:08,807 My dad comes in, and he's like, "You have to fix his finger." 457 00:25:09,433 --> 00:25:11,766 BETH: And so for two weeks, they tried to reattach it. 458 00:25:11,769 --> 00:25:12,933 TOMMY: Three different surgeries. 459 00:25:12,936 --> 00:25:16,023 But it became apparent that the finger wasn't going to survive. 460 00:25:19,485 --> 00:25:21,650 This one doctor who was a climber 461 00:25:21,653 --> 00:25:24,236 came in and told Tommy that he was going to have to 462 00:25:24,239 --> 00:25:25,905 come up with a new career now. 463 00:25:25,908 --> 00:25:29,328 There's no way he was going to make it as a climber any longer. 464 00:25:30,621 --> 00:25:31,872 Oh, that was... 465 00:25:33,165 --> 00:25:35,706 either the wrong thing or the right thing to say, 466 00:25:35,709 --> 00:25:37,586 because it sure fired him up. 467 00:25:37,711 --> 00:25:39,293 I was like, "Fuck that guy! 468 00:25:39,296 --> 00:25:40,923 He doesn't know what I'm capable of." 469 00:25:41,882 --> 00:25:43,882 BETH: I remember the first time he tried to climb. 470 00:25:44,843 --> 00:25:45,844 Good, Tommy. 471 00:25:48,764 --> 00:25:50,349 He was like, "Whoa!" 472 00:25:51,558 --> 00:25:52,807 You know, it's going to be hard. 473 00:25:52,810 --> 00:25:54,102 Good job, sweetie. 474 00:25:54,228 --> 00:25:56,108 LONG: When I heard he cut his finger off, I go, 475 00:25:56,230 --> 00:25:58,357 "Well, so much for Tommy Caldwell." 476 00:25:58,690 --> 00:26:00,064 The grip in climbing is, 477 00:26:00,067 --> 00:26:02,566 you wrap your thumb over your finger like that 478 00:26:02,569 --> 00:26:04,276 and pull down on the little edges, 479 00:26:04,279 --> 00:26:07,741 and if there's no finger there, the physics are all wrong. 480 00:26:11,537 --> 00:26:12,663 I don't know about that. 481 00:26:13,747 --> 00:26:16,205 TOMMY: Everybody around me, except for Beth and my parents, 482 00:26:16,208 --> 00:26:19,044 looked at me, and they're like, "He's done. That's so sad." 483 00:26:20,379 --> 00:26:22,169 I knew it wasn't going to be easy. 484 00:26:22,172 --> 00:26:24,383 But ever since Kyrgyzstan, 485 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:26,257 I just have this fire in me 486 00:26:26,260 --> 00:26:29,137 that is different than anything I've had before. 487 00:26:31,265 --> 00:26:34,974 MIKE: He had all these jars of rice and beans and gravel. 488 00:26:34,977 --> 00:26:37,393 He's supposed to jam that nub of a finger in there. 489 00:26:37,396 --> 00:26:39,311 TOMMY: I just abused the thing 490 00:26:39,314 --> 00:26:41,400 to retrain the nerves, to toughen them up. 491 00:26:44,069 --> 00:26:46,738 Those six days of captivity in Kyrgyzstan 492 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,952 were so profoundly painful. 493 00:26:54,913 --> 00:26:57,249 At first, I felt overwhelmed 494 00:26:57,374 --> 00:27:01,128 with fear and fatigue and hunger. 495 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,299 But at some point, I felt something come over me, 496 00:27:05,841 --> 00:27:07,926 this reserve of energy, 497 00:27:09,261 --> 00:27:10,262 this confidence. 498 00:27:11,013 --> 00:27:13,178 I knew I was cold, I knew I was hungry, 499 00:27:13,181 --> 00:27:14,933 but those things didn't matter anymore. 500 00:27:16,393 --> 00:27:17,477 [groans] 501 00:27:21,940 --> 00:27:26,653 I think we all have this idea of where our limits lie. 502 00:27:27,779 --> 00:27:28,819 If you're hurting really bad, 503 00:27:28,822 --> 00:27:31,408 you get to a point where you're like, "I can't endure any more." 504 00:27:32,242 --> 00:27:35,537 And it takes something to force you past that. 505 00:27:36,830 --> 00:27:41,043 In Kyrgyzstan, I realized that my preconceived limits 506 00:27:41,543 --> 00:27:43,712 were totally off base, 507 00:27:45,797 --> 00:27:47,630 that we're capable of so much more 508 00:27:47,633 --> 00:27:50,052 than we really could ever imagine. 509 00:27:56,183 --> 00:27:58,182 BETH: There was this really hard climb nobody had done 510 00:27:58,185 --> 00:28:00,434 that he tried the year before he cut off his finger, 511 00:28:00,437 --> 00:28:02,105 and he couldn't do it. Come on, Tommy. 512 00:28:02,731 --> 00:28:04,939 A year later, he came back without the finger 513 00:28:04,942 --> 00:28:06,401 and he did it. 514 00:28:06,985 --> 00:28:08,904 KELLY: He cuts off his finger. 515 00:28:09,029 --> 00:28:11,487 "Oh, no big deal. I'll just get better after that." 516 00:28:11,490 --> 00:28:13,450 I have no idea how that's possible. 517 00:28:15,994 --> 00:28:19,078 MIKE: That's when Tommy took his game 518 00:28:19,081 --> 00:28:21,458 to the biggest stage on Earth, which is El Cap. 519 00:28:22,584 --> 00:28:23,582 LONG: At that time, 520 00:28:23,585 --> 00:28:26,752 there were only a few free climbs that went up El Cap. 521 00:28:26,755 --> 00:28:29,424 JOHN: Some of the hardest, big wall climbs ever done. 522 00:28:29,967 --> 00:28:32,091 Just to climb one of these routes 523 00:28:32,094 --> 00:28:35,219 would have been a monumental achievement 524 00:28:35,222 --> 00:28:37,015 for the best climbers in the world. 525 00:28:37,599 --> 00:28:39,640 And then Tommy walks into the Valley, 526 00:28:39,643 --> 00:28:41,144 missing a finger, 527 00:28:42,437 --> 00:28:45,274 and just started knocking them down, one after the other. 528 00:28:45,899 --> 00:28:49,069 LONG: Over the next five years, he went on a rampage. 529 00:28:49,653 --> 00:28:52,319 TOMMY: I did basically all the existing routes on El Cap. 530 00:28:52,322 --> 00:28:54,071 LONG: Salathe Wall. BETH: The Zodiac. 531 00:28:54,074 --> 00:28:55,030 MIKE: El Corazon. 532 00:28:55,033 --> 00:28:56,240 BETH: Golden Gate. MIKE: The Nose. 533 00:28:56,243 --> 00:28:58,575 JOHN: Then he starts speed climbing these routes, 534 00:28:58,578 --> 00:28:59,997 linking one into the other. 535 00:29:00,414 --> 00:29:02,291 JASON: Two El Cap routes in a day. 536 00:29:03,208 --> 00:29:05,043 6,000 feet of climbing. 537 00:29:05,460 --> 00:29:06,834 LONG: That was unheard-of. 538 00:29:06,837 --> 00:29:09,044 BETH: You did it! TOMMY: Oh, my goodness. 539 00:29:09,047 --> 00:29:11,588 And then I started looking for new routes. 540 00:29:11,591 --> 00:29:15,175 JOHN: Tommy started looking between the lines 541 00:29:15,178 --> 00:29:16,927 for his own first ascents. 542 00:29:16,930 --> 00:29:19,388 TOMMY: It added that element of the unknown, 543 00:29:19,391 --> 00:29:22,602 this what-if, like, maybe that could be climbed. 544 00:29:24,104 --> 00:29:26,353 LONG: I think Tommy had become hypnotized 545 00:29:26,356 --> 00:29:29,523 trying to figure out, where is the ultimate limit? 546 00:29:29,526 --> 00:29:30,777 BRETT: Oh, shit. 547 00:29:32,571 --> 00:29:35,404 TOMMY: I did the first ascent of the Muir Wall. 548 00:29:35,407 --> 00:29:37,656 BETH: The West Buttress. KELLY: Dihedral Wall. 549 00:29:37,659 --> 00:29:38,866 MIKE: Magic Mushroom. 550 00:29:38,869 --> 00:29:41,413 LONG: Anybody that does a first ascent on El Capitan 551 00:29:41,580 --> 00:29:43,040 has their place in history forever. 552 00:29:43,623 --> 00:29:45,083 Tommy did five of them. 553 00:29:45,584 --> 00:29:48,250 BETH: Anything he could dream up, he did it. 554 00:29:48,253 --> 00:29:51,423 And everyone in the climbing world is like, "What the hell?" 555 00:29:53,425 --> 00:29:54,923 LONG: He's Mr. El Cap. 556 00:29:54,926 --> 00:29:57,429 JOHN: The best big wall climber ever. 557 00:29:59,431 --> 00:30:01,975 KELLY: And Beth was with him all the time, 558 00:30:02,642 --> 00:30:04,978 climbing all of these routes together. 559 00:30:05,479 --> 00:30:07,394 BETH: We just poured our hearts into climbing 560 00:30:07,397 --> 00:30:10,397 and supporting each other on these goals. 561 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:11,860 LONG: It was quite a team. 562 00:30:13,403 --> 00:30:16,198 KELLY: They were known as the first couple of climbing. 563 00:30:17,282 --> 00:30:19,368 There was one word, Beth and Tommy. 564 00:30:22,829 --> 00:30:24,081 TOMMY: We get married. 565 00:30:24,414 --> 00:30:27,793 We ended up buying property like 20 minutes from El Capitan 566 00:30:28,001 --> 00:30:29,378 and building a house there. 567 00:30:30,212 --> 00:30:31,254 We're nearly there! 568 00:30:32,214 --> 00:30:33,796 TOMMY: We were just going to live in Yosemite 569 00:30:33,799 --> 00:30:35,926 and raise our kids there and keep climbing. 570 00:30:36,468 --> 00:30:39,009 I was good friends with them both, 571 00:30:39,012 --> 00:30:40,844 and we were next-door neighbors. 572 00:30:40,847 --> 00:30:42,304 They seemed so happy. 573 00:30:42,307 --> 00:30:43,931 TOMMY: I'm like, wow, this life 574 00:30:43,934 --> 00:30:46,392 that I never even saw coming in the first place 575 00:30:46,395 --> 00:30:48,480 is starting to just magically appear. 576 00:30:50,690 --> 00:30:54,483 Things are going seemingly really well, 577 00:30:54,486 --> 00:30:56,738 at least from my mind. 578 00:30:58,281 --> 00:31:02,661 But I'm noticing, over time, little cracks started to form. 579 00:31:04,037 --> 00:31:07,874 The first inklings of almost hostility towards me. 580 00:31:08,375 --> 00:31:09,960 There was all this weird tension. 581 00:31:10,710 --> 00:31:11,708 And I was just like, 582 00:31:11,711 --> 00:31:14,420 well, we've been together for eight years now. 583 00:31:14,423 --> 00:31:16,422 Marriages go through troubling times. 584 00:31:16,425 --> 00:31:20,637 We'll get through this and just keep climbing. 585 00:31:22,514 --> 00:31:24,850 BETH: I think there was a natural growing apart, 586 00:31:25,725 --> 00:31:28,353 desires we had outside of climbing. 587 00:31:30,313 --> 00:31:33,063 I think going through a super intense experience 588 00:31:33,066 --> 00:31:34,234 like Kyrgyzstan... 589 00:31:36,361 --> 00:31:37,654 I mean, we were so young. 590 00:31:38,363 --> 00:31:41,280 Years later, there's probably a lot that started to come out, 591 00:31:41,283 --> 00:31:42,701 healing that I hadn't done. 592 00:31:43,034 --> 00:31:47,703 And at some point, the climbing we had 593 00:31:47,706 --> 00:31:49,791 wasn't enough give to hold it together anymore. 594 00:31:51,334 --> 00:31:52,624 KELLY: In Kyrgyzstan, 595 00:31:52,627 --> 00:31:56,506 Beth was extremely traumatized by those six days, 596 00:31:56,756 --> 00:31:58,925 and Tommy was the person who saved them. 597 00:31:59,426 --> 00:32:01,341 And so from that, I think 598 00:32:01,344 --> 00:32:04,598 a sort of dependency probably developed 599 00:32:04,806 --> 00:32:09,186 that isn't necessarily the same thing as true love. 600 00:32:10,604 --> 00:32:11,768 TOMMY: Eventually, 601 00:32:11,771 --> 00:32:14,441 she started feeling something for somebody else. 602 00:32:15,859 --> 00:32:16,943 And... 603 00:32:19,571 --> 00:32:21,653 I don't know how to summarize this. 604 00:32:21,656 --> 00:32:24,409 This is kind of a hard thing to talk about, but... 605 00:32:24,951 --> 00:32:27,826 that relationship with her and this other man just solidified 606 00:32:27,829 --> 00:32:29,828 in a way that she couldn't walk away from that anymore. 607 00:32:29,831 --> 00:32:31,551 And she wanted that more than she wanted me. 608 00:32:36,630 --> 00:32:39,841 Once the divorce fully happened, I... 609 00:32:42,302 --> 00:32:44,638 Yeah, I was just crushed. 610 00:32:46,389 --> 00:32:48,850 I drove to the rim of Yosemite Valley 611 00:32:49,392 --> 00:32:51,728 and was looking across at El Capitan. 612 00:32:53,897 --> 00:32:57,150 It felt like El Cap was all I had. 613 00:33:02,531 --> 00:33:03,695 Early in the morning, 614 00:33:03,698 --> 00:33:07,244 there's this one panel of the Wall that illuminates first. 615 00:33:14,292 --> 00:33:16,545 That's why it's called the Dawn Wall. 616 00:33:19,756 --> 00:33:22,425 The last unclimbed big swath of stone. 617 00:33:23,635 --> 00:33:25,926 I had looked at it a little bit before and knew 618 00:33:25,929 --> 00:33:28,598 that it was way too hard, I'd never be able to do it. 619 00:33:30,559 --> 00:33:32,432 But I was just hurting so bad 620 00:33:32,435 --> 00:33:34,275 that I had to figure out a distraction in life. 621 00:33:34,396 --> 00:33:37,983 I couldn't just sit there and feel the pain. 622 00:33:39,568 --> 00:33:40,524 [grunts] 623 00:33:40,527 --> 00:33:43,443 I decided to go up there alone 624 00:33:43,446 --> 00:33:46,825 and beat myself up on the Wall as just a way to cope. 625 00:33:51,997 --> 00:33:54,416 I walked around the back to the top of El Cap. 626 00:33:57,460 --> 00:33:59,504 I started rappelling down from above. 627 00:33:59,879 --> 00:34:02,215 And I put in a camp so I could stay up there. 628 00:34:03,883 --> 00:34:06,258 And I started going through this process 629 00:34:06,261 --> 00:34:10,056 of searching for a way to climb this section of the Wall. 630 00:34:13,768 --> 00:34:16,479 The specific path was totally unknown. 631 00:34:18,523 --> 00:34:20,525 You look for weaknesses in the rock. 632 00:34:21,818 --> 00:34:24,362 Corners that you can wedge your body into. 633 00:34:25,030 --> 00:34:27,032 Cracks for your hands and toes. 634 00:34:27,699 --> 00:34:29,492 Little edges for your fingertips. 635 00:34:30,452 --> 00:34:32,659 Anything that you could possibly grab onto 636 00:34:32,662 --> 00:34:34,497 that would make this wall climbable. 637 00:34:39,919 --> 00:34:41,671 At first, it was just hanging on the rope, 638 00:34:43,798 --> 00:34:45,380 analyzing the surface of the rock 639 00:34:45,383 --> 00:34:46,760 to see if there was holds. 640 00:34:51,848 --> 00:34:54,389 Just finding something to obsess about 641 00:34:54,392 --> 00:34:56,853 so I wouldn't obsess about my divorce. 642 00:34:57,979 --> 00:34:59,728 KELLY: I think it's probably important 643 00:34:59,731 --> 00:35:03,109 that it was an impossible level of rock climbing. 644 00:35:03,818 --> 00:35:07,653 When you absorb yourself in some magnificent challenge, 645 00:35:07,656 --> 00:35:11,034 there is no space to be thinking about anything else. 646 00:35:14,245 --> 00:35:15,622 You know, if you're heartbroken, 647 00:35:15,830 --> 00:35:18,375 just throw yourself into an impossible wall. 648 00:35:20,251 --> 00:35:22,292 TOMMY: So I was sitting up there through this storm. 649 00:35:22,295 --> 00:35:24,047 My wife has left me. 650 00:35:24,589 --> 00:35:26,713 She was the only person I had climbed with 651 00:35:26,716 --> 00:35:29,344 for, like, ten years. 652 00:35:30,595 --> 00:35:32,177 In my portaledge at night, 653 00:35:32,180 --> 00:35:34,933 weeping and really feeling sorry for myself, 654 00:35:35,767 --> 00:35:37,766 trying to find this elusive thing 655 00:35:37,769 --> 00:35:39,437 that probably didn't even exist. 656 00:35:42,232 --> 00:35:43,441 MIKE: I was concerned. 657 00:35:43,566 --> 00:35:45,941 He just seemed to be suffering at that point. 658 00:35:45,944 --> 00:35:48,193 And I wanted to see what this was all about, 659 00:35:48,196 --> 00:35:51,324 so early on in the game I went up there with him. 660 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,577 TOMMY: I convinced my dad to come up there and belay me, 661 00:35:55,745 --> 00:35:58,623 so I could start actually trying to climb sections of the route. 662 00:36:01,501 --> 00:36:03,586 [groans] What the heck? 663 00:36:04,629 --> 00:36:07,421 MIKE: I really had my doubts as to whether it was going to be 664 00:36:07,424 --> 00:36:08,550 a viable climb. 665 00:36:09,426 --> 00:36:10,799 MIKE: Be safe. TOMMY: I will. 666 00:36:10,802 --> 00:36:12,676 MIKE: Get strong. TOMMY: Yep. 667 00:36:12,679 --> 00:36:14,347 But during that period of time, 668 00:36:14,806 --> 00:36:17,559 he became convinced that it was somehow possible. 669 00:36:20,562 --> 00:36:22,477 LONG: Tommy spent an entire year 670 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,650 swinging around looking for a route up the Dawn Wall, 671 00:36:28,570 --> 00:36:30,363 trying to connect the dots 672 00:36:30,572 --> 00:36:33,029 from the bottom all the way to the top 673 00:36:33,032 --> 00:36:36,286 so you can someday hope to free climb the whole thing. 674 00:36:37,495 --> 00:36:40,078 TOMMY: Eventually, I found a route 675 00:36:40,081 --> 00:36:42,417 that seemed like it was theoretically possible, 676 00:36:43,334 --> 00:36:45,587 like I found the path through the maze maybe. 677 00:36:46,921 --> 00:36:47,878 But I realized 678 00:36:47,881 --> 00:36:50,383 there was no way I was going to be able to do this alone. 679 00:36:51,134 --> 00:36:53,762 It's just a monumental project. 680 00:36:55,305 --> 00:36:58,391 Without Beth, I needed to find a partner, 681 00:37:01,102 --> 00:37:02,979 somebody that I could rely on 682 00:37:04,856 --> 00:37:06,524 to help me solve this puzzle. 683 00:37:18,161 --> 00:37:20,705 [wind blowing] 684 00:37:32,133 --> 00:37:34,219 TOMMY: I should wake Kevin up with some coffee. 685 00:37:38,389 --> 00:37:39,474 Just stretching. 686 00:37:40,225 --> 00:37:41,392 TOMMY: That's a good idea. 687 00:37:42,143 --> 00:37:44,684 I felt a little rugged when I first woke up. 688 00:37:44,687 --> 00:37:45,730 But how are you feeling? 689 00:37:46,022 --> 00:37:48,522 Still stuffy and sore throat. Kind of achy. 690 00:37:48,525 --> 00:37:50,285 TOMMY: Yeah. I think I got whatever you got. 691 00:37:56,741 --> 00:37:59,699 LONG: After the first couple of days on the Wall, 692 00:37:59,702 --> 00:38:02,285 there's a small little cadre of people down in the meadow 693 00:38:02,288 --> 00:38:03,706 following their progress. 694 00:38:04,457 --> 00:38:06,748 You can get a telescope or a pair of binoculars, 695 00:38:06,751 --> 00:38:08,583 look up at this spectacle happening. 696 00:38:08,586 --> 00:38:10,126 Oh, my God. 697 00:38:10,129 --> 00:38:12,173 Is he naked or what? [laughing] 698 00:38:14,717 --> 00:38:15,966 My name is Tom Evans. 699 00:38:15,969 --> 00:38:18,513 I've been for many years photographing climbers on El Cap. 700 00:38:19,180 --> 00:38:20,428 I usually don't come in the winter, 701 00:38:20,431 --> 00:38:22,392 but this is big news in climbing. 702 00:38:22,767 --> 00:38:24,894 And we've all been pulling for him for many years. 703 00:38:25,395 --> 00:38:26,768 MATT: I was on a little vacation from work, 704 00:38:26,771 --> 00:38:28,645 and I decided to come out from Sacramento 705 00:38:28,648 --> 00:38:30,942 to watch these guys climb the Dawn Wall. 706 00:38:31,192 --> 00:38:32,902 It's definitely a moment in history. 707 00:38:33,695 --> 00:38:35,485 To be able to be a part of that and witness it 708 00:38:35,488 --> 00:38:36,781 is pretty phenomenal. 709 00:38:39,784 --> 00:38:41,035 TOMMY: Pushing forward. 710 00:38:42,412 --> 00:38:46,916 From here on up, every pitch is pretty legit. [laughs] 711 00:38:48,835 --> 00:38:50,628 We've got to pace ourselves. 712 00:38:51,462 --> 00:38:53,548 Maybe one or two pitches a day. 713 00:38:55,133 --> 00:38:56,133 KEVIN: Come on, Tommy. 714 00:38:59,512 --> 00:39:00,512 Good. 715 00:39:01,389 --> 00:39:02,640 Good, Tommy. Come on. 716 00:39:05,184 --> 00:39:06,227 BRETT: Nice. 717 00:39:06,811 --> 00:39:07,854 TOMMY: Yeah. 718 00:39:12,859 --> 00:39:13,902 Come on. 719 00:39:14,485 --> 00:39:15,485 You got it. 720 00:39:16,195 --> 00:39:17,864 Yeah. Yeah, Kevin. 721 00:39:18,197 --> 00:39:19,240 Nice, dude. 722 00:39:20,617 --> 00:39:22,493 Cool. Dude, that was sick. 723 00:39:22,827 --> 00:39:27,206 It's day three on the Wall, and we sent pitch 10. 724 00:39:28,124 --> 00:39:29,539 Yeah! 725 00:39:29,542 --> 00:39:31,124 Yeah. Boom. 726 00:39:31,127 --> 00:39:33,087 Things are going good. Things are going good. 727 00:39:34,797 --> 00:39:36,922 KEVIN: And the forecast is calling 728 00:39:36,925 --> 00:39:39,758 for super cold windy temps tomorrow, 729 00:39:39,761 --> 00:39:40,929 so we're going to rest. 730 00:39:43,389 --> 00:39:45,141 TOMMY: Urgent weather message. 731 00:39:45,892 --> 00:39:49,812 Winds, 50 miles per hour with gusts 75 or higher. 732 00:39:50,271 --> 00:39:53,191 Impact... downed trees, downed power lines, 733 00:39:53,483 --> 00:39:56,110 flying portaledges. [both laughing] 734 00:39:58,696 --> 00:40:00,987 LONG: These guys are up there in the middle of winter, 735 00:40:00,990 --> 00:40:02,367 which is almost unheard-of. 736 00:40:02,867 --> 00:40:05,075 But they need it to be as cold as possible 737 00:40:05,078 --> 00:40:07,121 so they can stick to the tiny holds 738 00:40:07,997 --> 00:40:09,540 There's nobody else on the Wall. 739 00:40:10,124 --> 00:40:13,002 Last night, the temperature dropped 30 degrees. 740 00:40:14,003 --> 00:40:16,419 To be up there under these conditions, 741 00:40:16,422 --> 00:40:18,466 it's horrendous. I don't know how they do it. 742 00:40:23,262 --> 00:40:24,844 Carabiners, locked. 743 00:40:24,847 --> 00:40:28,142 The windchill's like negative 20 or something. 744 00:40:28,518 --> 00:40:30,311 How you feeling over there, KJ? 745 00:40:33,064 --> 00:40:34,732 It's getting pretty rowdy. 746 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:38,027 KEVIN: On El Cap, the wind blows straight up the wall. 747 00:40:38,277 --> 00:40:41,739 The ledge would float up and, bang, back into the wall. 748 00:40:44,993 --> 00:40:46,035 Oh, boy. 749 00:40:46,995 --> 00:40:48,746 BRETT: Tommy feels right at home. 750 00:40:50,081 --> 00:40:52,542 [groans] [laughing] 751 00:40:55,211 --> 00:40:56,626 TOMMY: I don't know what's wrong with me, 752 00:40:56,629 --> 00:40:57,839 but I love this shit. 753 00:41:02,010 --> 00:41:04,130 BRETT: It might be smart to stay in the ledges today. 754 00:41:06,973 --> 00:41:09,684 KEVIN: Because of the windstorm the day before, 755 00:41:11,602 --> 00:41:13,354 all of this moisture froze, 756 00:41:13,479 --> 00:41:16,315 like salt on a Margarita glass on the top of El Cap. 757 00:41:17,275 --> 00:41:19,819 And as soon as the sun hit the top of the Wall, 758 00:41:20,403 --> 00:41:23,239 that ice just started to shower down 759 00:41:25,867 --> 00:41:26,867 on top of us. 760 00:41:31,664 --> 00:41:34,375 These missiles flying by our camp. 761 00:41:34,584 --> 00:41:36,419 You hear it before you see it. 762 00:41:37,587 --> 00:41:39,964 I'm like, this is kind of like a deadly situation. 763 00:41:42,341 --> 00:41:44,924 KEVIN: That was fucked up. BRETT: Did you get hit by any big ones? 764 00:41:44,927 --> 00:41:46,763 KEVIN: No, but that was just pure luck. 765 00:41:47,180 --> 00:41:48,264 [groans] 766 00:41:48,473 --> 00:41:49,557 That was scary. 767 00:41:49,807 --> 00:41:51,097 KEVIN: I hate that shit. 768 00:41:51,100 --> 00:41:53,728 BRETT: Here come some more big chunks. Tommy forgot his helmet. 769 00:41:54,604 --> 00:41:55,897 KEVIN: Heads up, Tommy. 770 00:41:58,441 --> 00:42:01,816 BRETT: Tommy doesn't seem too concerned. [laughs] What the fuck? 771 00:42:01,819 --> 00:42:02,820 KEVIN: What's new? 772 00:42:03,696 --> 00:42:06,699 Tommy, he was made for something like this. 773 00:42:07,033 --> 00:42:09,324 But for me, it took a long time 774 00:42:09,327 --> 00:42:11,662 to get comfortable on the Wall. 775 00:42:12,789 --> 00:42:15,458 LONG: You can understand, Tommy grew up in the mountains. 776 00:42:15,750 --> 00:42:18,416 He'd spent the better part of his adult life 777 00:42:18,419 --> 00:42:20,421 on El Capitan trying to do free climbs. 778 00:42:21,422 --> 00:42:25,384 But this guy Kevin, was raised in Santa Rosa, I think. 779 00:42:25,802 --> 00:42:27,136 You know, wine country. 780 00:42:28,513 --> 00:42:31,971 KEVIN: There's not a lot of rock climbing in Santa Rosa, California. 781 00:42:31,974 --> 00:42:34,102 ERIC: First ascent. KEVIN: Yeah! 782 00:42:34,477 --> 00:42:35,895 ERIC: Don't fall on the Camaro. 783 00:42:37,605 --> 00:42:40,024 KEVIN: I found climbing through the local gym. 784 00:42:42,110 --> 00:42:44,442 GAIL: Bye, honey. Have fun. KEVIN: Bye, Mom. 785 00:42:44,445 --> 00:42:45,568 ERIC: Drive careful. 786 00:42:45,571 --> 00:42:48,279 KEVIN: I got really into this particular form of climbing 787 00:42:48,282 --> 00:42:49,282 called bouldering. 788 00:42:50,159 --> 00:42:52,578 It's typically 30 feet or less. 789 00:42:53,454 --> 00:42:54,914 Doesn't require any gear. 790 00:42:55,998 --> 00:42:58,126 Bouldering's just about athleticism 791 00:42:58,709 --> 00:43:00,795 and difficulty in its purest form. 792 00:43:04,632 --> 00:43:05,839 LONG: Bouldering is all about 793 00:43:05,842 --> 00:43:07,969 trying the hardest individual moves. 794 00:43:08,469 --> 00:43:09,512 [groans] 795 00:43:10,930 --> 00:43:13,808 And Kevin quickly became very, very talented. 796 00:43:15,518 --> 00:43:17,311 He was one of the best in the world. 797 00:43:20,189 --> 00:43:21,941 But only up to about 30 feet. 798 00:43:24,443 --> 00:43:28,739 KEVIN: In 2009, I was at the top of my game in bouldering 799 00:43:29,448 --> 00:43:32,326 and looking for something new. 800 00:43:34,328 --> 00:43:38,288 I kept hearing about this futuristic thing 801 00:43:38,291 --> 00:43:39,331 that Tommy was working on. 802 00:43:40,334 --> 00:43:42,667 I had zero big wall experience. 803 00:43:42,670 --> 00:43:44,544 Tommy and I didn't know each other at all. 804 00:43:44,547 --> 00:43:47,005 But I just sent him a message out of the blue. 805 00:43:47,008 --> 00:43:48,168 "Hey, do you need a partner?" 806 00:43:48,467 --> 00:43:52,263 And to my utter shock, he said, "Meet me in Yosemite in October." 807 00:43:53,973 --> 00:43:55,683 TOMMY: I knew Kevin by reputation. 808 00:43:55,933 --> 00:43:58,352 He was this amazingly strong bouldering kid. 809 00:43:58,603 --> 00:44:00,163 And I thought to myself, "What the heck? 810 00:44:00,438 --> 00:44:02,148 Maybe he could be an asset." 811 00:44:02,982 --> 00:44:04,692 Plus, he was the only one interested. 812 00:44:04,901 --> 00:44:07,653 Everybody else thought I was crazy. [laughs] 813 00:44:09,655 --> 00:44:10,570 KEVIN: Show up. 814 00:44:10,573 --> 00:44:12,488 I remember standing there with Tommy, 815 00:44:12,491 --> 00:44:14,157 who's a legend figure in my life. 816 00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:15,953 I feel like such a fucking dork. 817 00:44:16,913 --> 00:44:18,915 Who am I? I've never climbed El Cap. 818 00:44:19,290 --> 00:44:20,333 What a noob. 819 00:44:20,917 --> 00:44:22,290 Fiddling around on boulders, 820 00:44:22,293 --> 00:44:24,459 that's a far cry from being on El Capitan. 821 00:44:24,462 --> 00:44:26,672 TOMMY: First thing I had to do was test him. 822 00:44:28,507 --> 00:44:30,840 I gave him like an 80 pound haul bag. 823 00:44:30,843 --> 00:44:32,345 KEVIN: A soul crushing load. 824 00:44:32,762 --> 00:44:34,552 TOMMY: We hiked to the top of El Cap. 825 00:44:34,555 --> 00:44:36,098 KEVIN: We spent the night on top. 826 00:44:36,682 --> 00:44:38,100 Woke up early the next day... 827 00:44:38,309 --> 00:44:40,311 TOMMY: It's 3:15 in the morning. 828 00:44:40,645 --> 00:44:42,268 Cooking up a little breakfast. 829 00:44:42,271 --> 00:44:44,312 You never get up at 3:00 in the morning to go bouldering. 830 00:44:44,315 --> 00:44:45,608 [both chuckle] 831 00:44:45,733 --> 00:44:47,533 KEVIN: ...and start rappelling down the face. 832 00:44:51,781 --> 00:44:53,574 You start walking backwards. 833 00:44:55,034 --> 00:44:57,870 It's like stepping off the edge of the Earth. 834 00:45:06,003 --> 00:45:09,298 You instantly have 3,000 feet of exposure under your butt. 835 00:45:09,924 --> 00:45:12,343 [howling and laughing] 836 00:45:12,969 --> 00:45:14,011 Oh, my God! 837 00:45:16,472 --> 00:45:18,262 TOMMY: How's it going up there, Kev? 838 00:45:18,265 --> 00:45:20,351 KEVIN: Good, I got the bag. And my shoes? 839 00:45:20,601 --> 00:45:22,645 KEVIN: And your shoes. Cool, thank you. 840 00:45:24,063 --> 00:45:26,899 It's scary to be a total beginner again. 841 00:45:27,441 --> 00:45:28,681 I don't know any of this stuff. 842 00:45:30,194 --> 00:45:32,905 Trying to figure out how to jumar a fixed line. 843 00:45:33,739 --> 00:45:34,824 [groans] 844 00:45:35,741 --> 00:45:37,410 How to set up a portaledge. 845 00:45:39,328 --> 00:45:40,913 [clanging] 846 00:45:45,584 --> 00:45:47,041 [laughs] Sorry, Kevin. 847 00:45:47,044 --> 00:45:49,005 KEVIN: I'll just hold this quarter in. It's cool. 848 00:45:50,548 --> 00:45:53,342 How to take a dump on the side of the Wall. 849 00:45:53,843 --> 00:45:55,886 TOMMY: They get every moment. JOSH: Close up. 850 00:45:59,265 --> 00:46:01,976 KEVIN: At this point, I have no idea what I'm getting into, 851 00:46:04,061 --> 00:46:06,981 no idea that it's about to consume six years of my life. 852 00:46:09,150 --> 00:46:11,861 KELLY: When Kevin joined on with Tommy, 853 00:46:13,195 --> 00:46:15,489 it was the first time since getting divorced 854 00:46:15,906 --> 00:46:17,533 that Tommy had a partner. 855 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:21,117 There's two bolts and then an old bolt. 856 00:46:21,120 --> 00:46:24,165 KEVIN: I didn't know what we were up against, 857 00:46:24,874 --> 00:46:27,918 but I was going on faith that this is Tommy's world. 858 00:46:28,502 --> 00:46:31,714 He's got the clear vision of what this could be. 859 00:46:32,256 --> 00:46:33,924 And I'm just going to trust that. 860 00:46:37,386 --> 00:46:39,135 TOMMY: The basic strategy early on 861 00:46:39,138 --> 00:46:41,262 was not to climb the route from the bottom. 862 00:46:41,265 --> 00:46:43,931 It was to identify the hardest sections 863 00:46:43,934 --> 00:46:45,600 and focus on those first. 864 00:46:45,603 --> 00:46:48,269 KEVIN: There were all these question marks. 865 00:46:48,272 --> 00:46:49,272 Come on, Tommy. 866 00:46:49,899 --> 00:46:51,108 TOMMY: Okay, take it there. 867 00:46:51,609 --> 00:46:54,150 Oh, I got the pinch with my right hand instead of my left. 868 00:46:54,153 --> 00:46:55,154 KEVIN: Working it out. 869 00:46:55,821 --> 00:46:56,989 Constantly working it out. 870 00:46:58,616 --> 00:47:01,952 Early on, most of it was figuring out what didn't work. 871 00:47:08,209 --> 00:47:09,499 Right in the middle of the Wall, 872 00:47:09,502 --> 00:47:11,212 we were gonna have to traverse it sideways. 873 00:47:12,004 --> 00:47:13,089 Come on. 874 00:47:16,801 --> 00:47:18,135 Come on. [groans] 875 00:47:18,803 --> 00:47:20,221 I don't see any holds, 876 00:47:20,638 --> 00:47:23,224 but I try to harness some of Tommy's optimism. 877 00:47:23,933 --> 00:47:25,392 [groans] 878 00:47:26,060 --> 00:47:27,225 TOMMY: After the traverse, 879 00:47:27,228 --> 00:47:30,189 there's this eight and a half foot blank section. 880 00:47:30,648 --> 00:47:32,066 Completely smooth. 881 00:47:32,191 --> 00:47:34,610 Nothing that you could even get your fingernails behind. 882 00:47:35,236 --> 00:47:37,446 The only way was to just leap. 883 00:47:38,948 --> 00:47:40,574 This crazy dynamic move. 884 00:47:41,117 --> 00:47:42,118 The Dyno. 885 00:47:42,409 --> 00:47:44,117 I didn't really believe it would be possible 886 00:47:44,120 --> 00:47:45,830 until I saw Kevin try it. 887 00:47:47,123 --> 00:47:49,542 [groans] Yeah, man. It was close. 888 00:47:49,708 --> 00:47:51,085 He showed me that it was. 889 00:47:51,585 --> 00:47:53,045 KEVIN: Come on. All you got. 890 00:47:54,588 --> 00:47:57,338 Above the Dyno, you have pitch after pitch 891 00:47:57,341 --> 00:47:59,093 of have super smooth granite, 892 00:47:59,635 --> 00:48:01,178 extremely polished. 893 00:48:02,096 --> 00:48:04,220 Because of Tommy's missing index finger, 894 00:48:04,223 --> 00:48:07,518 he's using his thumbs in crazy ways. 895 00:48:11,772 --> 00:48:12,815 TOMMY: Shit. 896 00:48:13,691 --> 00:48:14,859 [screams] 897 00:48:16,402 --> 00:48:18,401 Holy crap, that is hard. 898 00:48:18,404 --> 00:48:20,531 13B. 13D. 899 00:48:21,574 --> 00:48:23,865 13C. 14A. 900 00:48:23,868 --> 00:48:26,868 LONG: To understand the difficulty of this route, 901 00:48:26,871 --> 00:48:30,499 you have to understand climbing grades. 902 00:48:31,458 --> 00:48:33,541 Climbers use a numerical system 903 00:48:33,544 --> 00:48:35,960 to rate the difficulty of each pitch. 904 00:48:35,963 --> 00:48:38,838 The higher the number, the harder the pitch. 905 00:48:38,841 --> 00:48:41,719 Once you get into 513 and 514 level, 906 00:48:42,094 --> 00:48:43,888 that's virtuoso territory. 907 00:48:45,806 --> 00:48:48,222 The Dawn Wall has more hard pitches 908 00:48:48,225 --> 00:48:51,854 than every other route on El Cap combined. 909 00:49:00,321 --> 00:49:01,569 I always thought it was futile 910 00:49:01,572 --> 00:49:03,237 in terms of doing the whole thing. 911 00:49:03,240 --> 00:49:04,742 [blows raspberry] 912 00:49:05,326 --> 00:49:07,328 This is a pipe dream, man. Come on. 913 00:49:08,537 --> 00:49:10,581 KEVIN: The next few years were a grind. 914 00:49:11,457 --> 00:49:16,545 Coming back every spring and every fall, for months at a time. 915 00:49:19,757 --> 00:49:22,218 TOMMY: Come on. [thunderclap] 916 00:49:22,551 --> 00:49:23,594 Whoa! 917 00:49:23,886 --> 00:49:26,263 KEVIN: Living on the Wall takes a huge toll. 918 00:49:27,514 --> 00:49:29,391 TOMMY: This is what El Cap does to your feet. 919 00:49:29,934 --> 00:49:32,099 KEVIN: We'd stay up there a few days... 920 00:49:32,102 --> 00:49:34,897 BRETT: Oh, my God. That's a lot of air time. 921 00:49:36,065 --> 00:49:38,150 KEVIN: ...go down, rest, 922 00:49:38,776 --> 00:49:39,774 try again. 923 00:49:39,777 --> 00:49:42,777 There were always new problems to face. 924 00:49:42,780 --> 00:49:43,781 TOMMY: Get out of here! 925 00:49:46,408 --> 00:49:48,410 Come on, Kevin. Do it, man. 926 00:49:48,911 --> 00:49:49,911 [groans] 927 00:49:50,162 --> 00:49:52,036 Really close. Oh, I sprained my ankle. 928 00:49:52,039 --> 00:49:53,624 Are you okay, man? Oh, shit. 929 00:49:54,124 --> 00:49:56,085 KEVIN: So many reasons to give up. 930 00:49:57,628 --> 00:49:59,168 BRETT: Oh, shit. 931 00:49:59,171 --> 00:50:01,799 TOMMY: Man, I think I have broke or dislocated ribs. 932 00:50:02,591 --> 00:50:04,051 We're heading to the clinic. 933 00:50:04,176 --> 00:50:05,466 Maybe they'll just pop it back in. 934 00:50:05,469 --> 00:50:07,972 KEVIN: They will, and we'll go back up later tonight. 935 00:50:09,181 --> 00:50:10,474 But Tommy was committed. 936 00:50:12,977 --> 00:50:14,684 TOMMY: Come on, Kevin! Come on! 937 00:50:14,687 --> 00:50:17,478 KEVIN: There were times I thought he was totally crazy. 938 00:50:17,481 --> 00:50:18,481 Come on! 939 00:50:19,066 --> 00:50:20,442 [screams and groans] 940 00:50:21,652 --> 00:50:23,192 Yee-hoo! 941 00:50:23,195 --> 00:50:25,322 Whoo! Ow-ow! 942 00:50:30,411 --> 00:50:32,171 KEVIN: When we weren't together on the Wall, 943 00:50:33,330 --> 00:50:35,791 we would go home to our own worlds, 944 00:50:36,625 --> 00:50:38,294 check in on loved ones. 945 00:50:41,005 --> 00:50:43,674 It's gross. I can see the oil on your hair. 946 00:50:45,384 --> 00:50:48,053 Okay, I'm just totally being a mom. 947 00:50:50,222 --> 00:50:52,016 KEVIN: Try to get some good rest 948 00:50:52,850 --> 00:50:57,062 and find motivation for the next round of attempts. 949 00:51:01,108 --> 00:51:02,648 TOMMY: When I wasn't on the Dawn Wall, 950 00:51:02,651 --> 00:51:04,820 I was living by myself in Colorado, 951 00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:08,032 training and obsessing. 952 00:51:08,449 --> 00:51:09,867 I was really lonely, honestly. 953 00:51:11,493 --> 00:51:13,203 I met this girl named Becca. 954 00:51:13,954 --> 00:51:15,286 BECCA: We started dating. 955 00:51:15,289 --> 00:51:17,791 He was thoughtful and considerate, 956 00:51:18,208 --> 00:51:21,292 but from the beginning, it was pretty obvious 957 00:51:21,295 --> 00:51:24,965 his mind was completely occupied by the Dawn Wall. 958 00:51:26,008 --> 00:51:27,301 It wasn't just a climb. 959 00:51:29,011 --> 00:51:30,846 It was all consuming. 960 00:51:32,931 --> 00:51:34,767 We were trying to build a relationship. 961 00:51:36,143 --> 00:51:39,063 But he would go out to Yosemite for months at a time, 962 00:51:39,730 --> 00:51:41,398 giving everything to the Dawn Wall. 963 00:51:44,902 --> 00:51:47,613 LONG: For years, Tommy put his whole life on hold 964 00:51:48,822 --> 00:51:52,659 so he could give every last ounce of his body and soul 965 00:51:55,120 --> 00:51:56,997 to this impossible quest. 966 00:51:58,499 --> 00:52:01,210 KEVIN: I could never tell if we were wasting our time 967 00:52:01,668 --> 00:52:04,463 or we were in pursuit of something grand. 968 00:52:05,089 --> 00:52:06,173 Come on! 969 00:52:08,801 --> 00:52:09,885 [groans] 970 00:52:10,135 --> 00:52:11,509 BECCA: I'd go out to Yosemite 971 00:52:11,512 --> 00:52:13,260 and I'd watch him from the meadow. 972 00:52:13,263 --> 00:52:15,096 It looked completely ridiculous. 973 00:52:15,099 --> 00:52:16,683 Ah, shoot. 974 00:52:17,017 --> 00:52:20,062 I think we all admire people who are dedicated. 975 00:52:20,687 --> 00:52:23,232 But at some point, you start to wonder, 976 00:52:23,649 --> 00:52:27,152 where are the lines between dedication and obsession? 977 00:52:30,989 --> 00:52:33,617 MIKE: He was going through emotional agony. 978 00:52:34,535 --> 00:52:36,703 This climb has been gut wrenching. 979 00:52:37,704 --> 00:52:39,498 I want this for him so badly. 980 00:52:39,998 --> 00:52:42,251 [tommy screaming] 981 00:52:42,584 --> 00:52:44,336 TERRY: Oh, he fell off. Oh. 982 00:52:44,670 --> 00:52:48,215 KELLY: Man. I mean, you've failed on this thing 800 times. 983 00:52:48,841 --> 00:52:51,552 How can you continue to beat your head against this wall? 984 00:52:51,885 --> 00:52:53,509 KEVIN: After years of effort, 985 00:52:53,512 --> 00:52:56,306 it didn't feel like we were any closer to our dream. 986 00:52:57,516 --> 00:52:59,101 BECCA: He's worked so hard. 987 00:52:59,977 --> 00:53:01,770 Why am I crying right now? 988 00:53:02,396 --> 00:53:03,480 This project! Argh! 989 00:53:04,314 --> 00:53:05,354 MIKE: This makes me wonder 990 00:53:05,357 --> 00:53:06,856 if he bit off more than he could chew. 991 00:53:06,859 --> 00:53:08,861 Oh, it's so good to have you down. 992 00:53:12,030 --> 00:53:14,780 TOMMY: After all this failure, I started to wonder 993 00:53:14,783 --> 00:53:17,202 if maybe this climb really was impossible. 994 00:53:19,204 --> 00:53:20,706 Maybe I wasn't good enough. 995 00:53:38,974 --> 00:53:40,601 KEVIN: Morning. TOMMY: Morning. 996 00:53:45,397 --> 00:53:48,314 TOM: Tommy and Kevin have been up there, this is their eighth day. 997 00:53:48,317 --> 00:53:50,068 They're halfway up the Wall. 998 00:53:50,444 --> 00:53:53,655 They got past 70 mile an hour winds, the ice falls. 999 00:53:53,989 --> 00:53:55,782 They climbed a lot of difficult rock. 1000 00:53:56,158 --> 00:53:59,119 Now they've got today a very hard section to do. 1001 00:53:59,244 --> 00:54:01,914 They're here. They've got to go across this traverse. 1002 00:54:02,456 --> 00:54:04,038 14D, I think it is. 1003 00:54:04,041 --> 00:54:08,128 If they can get that done, uh, [exhales] they're well on their way. 1004 00:54:11,173 --> 00:54:15,382 LONG: The hardest individual part of this 3,000-foot puzzle 1005 00:54:15,385 --> 00:54:16,762 is the traverse. 1006 00:54:18,096 --> 00:54:19,470 The bottom section of the route 1007 00:54:19,473 --> 00:54:23,477 follows a vague series of cracks and corners in the rock. 1008 00:54:24,394 --> 00:54:27,564 But after 1,000 feet, those cracks and corners dead end. 1009 00:54:29,066 --> 00:54:32,399 300 feet to the left, there's another series of features 1010 00:54:32,402 --> 00:54:34,112 that angles up to the top. 1011 00:54:35,822 --> 00:54:36,737 The trick is, 1012 00:54:36,740 --> 00:54:39,532 how do you traverse this 300-foot blank section 1013 00:54:39,535 --> 00:54:40,994 right in the middle of the Wall? 1014 00:54:41,745 --> 00:54:43,953 KEVIN: There's this band of rock 1015 00:54:43,956 --> 00:54:46,038 that's a slightly different color and texture. 1016 00:54:46,041 --> 00:54:47,790 LONG: Everything above and below it 1017 00:54:47,793 --> 00:54:49,500 is impossible to free climb. 1018 00:54:49,503 --> 00:54:51,835 But the composition of that band 1019 00:54:51,838 --> 00:54:54,132 is such that it has a few holds on it. 1020 00:54:55,384 --> 00:54:59,263 KEVIN: Over the last six years, we spent over 100 days 1021 00:54:59,930 --> 00:55:02,096 trying to get across this traverse. 1022 00:55:02,099 --> 00:55:04,518 TOMMY: Thousands of tries on that single pitch. 1023 00:55:04,726 --> 00:55:05,811 [groaning] 1024 00:55:05,936 --> 00:55:07,104 I've never done it. 1025 00:55:08,897 --> 00:55:10,729 Now we have to do it for the very first time... 1026 00:55:10,732 --> 00:55:12,252 TOM: Looks like Tommy's getting ready. 1027 00:55:14,111 --> 00:55:16,196 KEVIN: ...in the moment, on the push. 1028 00:55:17,656 --> 00:55:18,699 Go get it. 1029 00:55:28,709 --> 00:55:30,002 TOMMY: It's really unnerving. 1030 00:55:30,586 --> 00:55:32,629 You're just waiting to slip off at any moment. 1031 00:55:42,264 --> 00:55:43,387 KELLY: It's kind of funny. 1032 00:55:43,390 --> 00:55:47,349 This 3,000-foot wall, and it's coming down to millimeters 1033 00:55:47,352 --> 00:55:49,980 of skin contact on your fingertips. 1034 00:55:50,522 --> 00:55:53,275 It becomes such a zoomed-in world. 1035 00:55:53,984 --> 00:55:56,403 KEVIN: There's one way to get across, 1036 00:55:56,820 --> 00:55:59,406 and it is made up of all these little sequences 1037 00:55:59,573 --> 00:56:01,491 that have to be done perfectly. 1038 00:56:02,326 --> 00:56:04,158 You miss a hold, it's impossible. 1039 00:56:04,161 --> 00:56:05,161 TOMMY: Yeah, dude. 1040 00:56:06,204 --> 00:56:08,206 KEVIN: You grab it wrong, it's impossible. 1041 00:56:08,415 --> 00:56:09,708 TOMMY: Nice. 1042 00:56:10,917 --> 00:56:11,960 [groans] 1043 00:56:13,003 --> 00:56:14,963 KEVIN: We're trading attempts. 1044 00:56:16,506 --> 00:56:19,551 Tommy ties in and just flips that switch. 1045 00:56:20,010 --> 00:56:21,678 All right. Go get it, Tommy. 1046 00:57:11,687 --> 00:57:13,811 TOMMY: You grab these sharp holds, 1047 00:57:13,814 --> 00:57:15,440 like razor blades. 1048 00:57:20,362 --> 00:57:21,362 KEVIN: Come on! 1049 00:57:23,365 --> 00:57:25,325 TOMMY: Span as far as you can. 1050 00:57:27,661 --> 00:57:28,661 KEVIN: Come on! 1051 00:57:30,789 --> 00:57:32,165 TOMMY: So stretched out. 1052 00:57:46,638 --> 00:57:49,224 I suddenly felt this confidence. 1053 00:57:53,979 --> 00:57:57,607 I knew exactly how each finger was going onto each hold, 1054 00:57:58,525 --> 00:58:01,903 where the little ripples on the rock were digging into my shoes. 1055 00:58:14,708 --> 00:58:16,752 After years of working on that pitch, 1056 00:58:17,753 --> 00:58:20,753 it just came together in this amazing, magical way. 1057 00:58:20,756 --> 00:58:21,840 KEVIN: Yes, come on! 1058 00:58:22,340 --> 00:58:23,383 Come on! 1059 00:58:25,802 --> 00:58:27,137 Whoa! 1060 00:58:27,637 --> 00:58:29,306 CROWD: Whoo! 1061 00:58:34,686 --> 00:58:36,313 Ow-ow-ow-ow! 1062 00:58:36,688 --> 00:58:38,815 LONG: When I heard that Tommy had done pitch 15, 1063 00:58:39,149 --> 00:58:41,860 that was like, "You've got to be kidding me!" 1064 00:58:44,404 --> 00:58:45,405 For the first time, 1065 00:58:45,572 --> 00:58:49,117 these guys actually have a shot at maybe doing this thing. 1066 00:58:51,578 --> 00:58:53,038 KEVIN: When Tommy got across, 1067 00:58:53,830 --> 00:58:55,624 it was a big moment. 1068 00:58:56,208 --> 00:58:59,377 Everything was rolling, and now it was my turn. 1069 00:59:08,887 --> 00:59:10,928 Over the years, we realized 1070 00:59:10,931 --> 00:59:14,101 sometimes the best conditions are at night. 1071 00:59:16,186 --> 00:59:17,979 It's colder. It's drier. 1072 00:59:18,438 --> 00:59:20,524 So there's better friction on the rock. 1073 00:59:22,275 --> 00:59:23,985 At first, it's scary. 1074 00:59:25,070 --> 00:59:28,695 But after a while, you forget how high off the ground you are 1075 00:59:28,698 --> 00:59:31,785 and you can focus just on the climbing. 1076 00:59:36,706 --> 00:59:39,251 [breathing heavily] 1077 00:59:45,966 --> 00:59:47,843 [groaning] 1078 00:59:51,221 --> 00:59:52,681 Tried it a few times. 1079 00:59:53,515 --> 00:59:54,808 I wasn't that close. 1080 00:59:56,810 --> 00:59:59,938 We rappelled back to our camp below the traverse. 1081 01:00:01,648 --> 01:00:05,277 I was stoked for Tommy, a little stressed for myself. 1082 01:00:08,530 --> 01:00:10,699 LONG: So Tommy's made it through the traverse. 1083 01:00:11,658 --> 01:00:13,910 He still has to get past the Dyno 1084 01:00:14,286 --> 01:00:16,621 and the Long Run to Wino Tower. 1085 01:00:22,294 --> 01:00:25,130 But first, he has to wait for Kevin to catch up. 1086 01:00:36,766 --> 01:00:38,351 [cell phone rings] 1087 01:00:39,477 --> 01:00:40,645 TOMMY: Hello? 1088 01:00:40,854 --> 01:00:42,769 BRANCH: Hey, guys. This is John Branch from the New York Times. 1089 01:00:42,772 --> 01:00:45,022 How's it going up there? TOMMY: Good, John. 1090 01:00:45,025 --> 01:00:47,733 BRANCH: Tommy, I know that you made it to 15 last night. 1091 01:00:47,736 --> 01:00:48,734 It's very exciting, 1092 01:00:48,737 --> 01:00:51,057 so I appreciate you guys taking just a few minutes to talk. 1093 01:00:51,198 --> 01:00:53,530 We're always looking for stories that are a little bit 1094 01:00:53,533 --> 01:00:55,199 out of the mainstream sports realm. 1095 01:00:55,202 --> 01:00:56,950 Every time we start a hard pitch... 1096 01:00:56,953 --> 01:01:00,537 BRANCH: I knew about the Dawn Wall and Tommy Caldwell's quest. 1097 01:01:00,540 --> 01:01:03,832 And when I heard that Tommy did pitch 15, I thought, 1098 01:01:03,835 --> 01:01:06,210 if it was ever going to happen, this might be the time. 1099 01:01:06,213 --> 01:01:07,377 We recognized 1100 01:01:07,380 --> 01:01:09,213 this is not only the best climbing story of the year, 1101 01:01:09,216 --> 01:01:11,051 but maybe of our generation. 1102 01:01:11,343 --> 01:01:12,802 We talked about follow-up stories. 1103 01:01:13,303 --> 01:01:14,468 Quickly typed up a story. 1104 01:01:14,471 --> 01:01:15,847 The next day, it ran in the paper. 1105 01:01:17,933 --> 01:01:19,973 KEVIN: It was on the front page of The New York Times, 1106 01:01:19,976 --> 01:01:21,516 and it just exploded. 1107 01:01:21,519 --> 01:01:24,937 BRANCH: It was the most viewed story at nytimes.com. 1108 01:01:24,940 --> 01:01:26,340 Tons of comments. Lots of questions. 1109 01:01:26,483 --> 01:01:27,483 People care about this. 1110 01:01:27,651 --> 01:01:28,857 LONG: When John Branch, 1111 01:01:28,860 --> 01:01:31,693 the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, got a hold of it, 1112 01:01:31,696 --> 01:01:33,990 it just got its own momentum. 1113 01:01:34,574 --> 01:01:36,409 And it just got bigger and bigger from there. 1114 01:01:36,993 --> 01:01:38,870 KEVIN: There was follow-up stories 1115 01:01:39,204 --> 01:01:40,953 and a flood of media requests 1116 01:01:40,956 --> 01:01:43,500 from every major news outlet in the world. 1117 01:01:44,209 --> 01:01:46,833 PRESENTER: Picture this. Our next guests talk to us 1118 01:01:46,836 --> 01:01:49,670 as they were suspended high up in mid-air. 1119 01:01:49,673 --> 01:01:52,506 TOMMY: We're sitting in a portaledge, which is basically 1120 01:01:52,509 --> 01:01:54,970 a hanging cot with an aluminum frame. 1121 01:01:55,136 --> 01:01:57,469 PRESENTER: That's professional climber Tommy Caldwell 1122 01:01:57,472 --> 01:01:59,471 ten days into what's considered 1123 01:01:59,474 --> 01:02:02,099 one of the world's most daunting climbing challenges. 1124 01:02:02,102 --> 01:02:03,478 This is crazy. 1125 01:02:04,104 --> 01:02:05,269 PRESENTER: Best of luck. 1126 01:02:05,272 --> 01:02:06,439 Great. Thank you so much. 1127 01:02:08,483 --> 01:02:10,110 Guess we hang up. I don't really know. 1128 01:02:10,694 --> 01:02:11,820 [laughs] 1129 01:02:13,238 --> 01:02:15,699 They don't tell us what to do when it's over. [laughs] 1130 01:02:16,908 --> 01:02:18,365 [car horn blares] 1131 01:02:18,368 --> 01:02:19,452 WOMAN: Oh, my God! 1132 01:02:20,578 --> 01:02:22,286 How many days does it take? 1133 01:02:22,289 --> 01:02:25,625 TOMMY: All of a sudden, there are crowds of people congregating in the Valley. 1134 01:02:25,792 --> 01:02:29,129 Let's turn now to this incredible and historic feat by two American climbers. 1135 01:02:29,254 --> 01:02:31,172 Perched on a cliff above Yosemite. 1136 01:02:31,298 --> 01:02:33,925 The famously steep face of El Capitan. 1137 01:02:34,217 --> 01:02:37,551 The whole media thing was very strange for me. 1138 01:02:37,554 --> 01:02:39,094 PRESENTER: The climb of the century. 1139 01:02:39,097 --> 01:02:40,387 It's just been extraordinary. 1140 01:02:40,390 --> 01:02:42,597 A real cliffhanger. Did I just say that? 1141 01:02:42,600 --> 01:02:44,725 They were just saying these ludicrous things. 1142 01:02:44,728 --> 01:02:46,351 Two American hikers. Daredevils. 1143 01:02:46,354 --> 01:02:47,769 Thrill seekers. Adrenaline junkies. 1144 01:02:47,772 --> 01:02:49,896 Scaling the cliff known as El Capitan. 1145 01:02:49,899 --> 01:02:51,276 TOMMY: That's not even El Cap. 1146 01:02:51,568 --> 01:02:53,984 Inching up without any climbing tools. 1147 01:02:53,987 --> 01:02:57,029 I'm wearing pretty much the same gear as the guys up in Yosemite are wearing. 1148 01:02:57,032 --> 01:02:59,826 I like the second picture, so we'll hover here. [laughs] 1149 01:03:00,869 --> 01:03:03,580 TOMMY: The Dawn Wall was always this personal journey. 1150 01:03:03,955 --> 01:03:05,707 PRESENTER: This was a bad idea. 1151 01:03:06,166 --> 01:03:07,164 And obviously, 1152 01:03:07,167 --> 01:03:10,125 this turned into something very different from that. 1153 01:03:10,128 --> 01:03:11,793 So don't understand how they could possibly do it. 1154 01:03:11,796 --> 01:03:13,879 I hope they make it, but I don't understand it. 1155 01:03:13,882 --> 01:03:14,880 It's the challenge. 1156 01:03:14,883 --> 01:03:16,760 Yeah, the challenge of it. No, thanks. 1157 01:03:18,011 --> 01:03:21,261 TOMMY: Suddenly, the whole world was watching this climb. 1158 01:03:21,264 --> 01:03:24,642 KEVIN: Which wasn't the best timing for me personally, 1159 01:03:27,270 --> 01:03:29,272 because I still had to do pitch 15. 1160 01:03:31,649 --> 01:03:34,608 LONG: At this point, they've established a base camp 1161 01:03:34,611 --> 01:03:36,654 a couple of hundred feet below the traverse. 1162 01:03:37,030 --> 01:03:38,570 So when Kevin's ready to climb, 1163 01:03:38,573 --> 01:03:41,284 they go up the fixed ropes to the start of pitch 15. 1164 01:03:44,371 --> 01:03:46,122 Tommy sets up his belay, 1165 01:03:46,956 --> 01:03:49,292 and Kevin tries to get across this thing. 1166 01:03:50,335 --> 01:03:52,918 Here would be actually a big moment on the climb. 1167 01:03:52,921 --> 01:03:54,923 Drove all the way out here today just to see this. 1168 01:03:57,008 --> 01:03:59,928 KEVIN: It was important to get through pitch 15 1169 01:04:00,178 --> 01:04:02,222 and catch up to Tommy's high point 1170 01:04:02,430 --> 01:04:03,681 as soon as possible. 1171 01:04:11,481 --> 01:04:12,941 Come on, Kev. You got it. 1172 01:04:19,447 --> 01:04:20,782 ALL: Oh! 1173 01:04:21,574 --> 01:04:24,825 KEVIN: Every fall, you go back to the start of the pitch, 1174 01:04:24,828 --> 01:04:26,663 rest for at least an hour, 1175 01:04:29,499 --> 01:04:30,625 try again. 1176 01:04:33,920 --> 01:04:36,464 Every attempt, you wear off more skin. 1177 01:04:37,048 --> 01:04:38,448 You run out of a little more energy. 1178 01:04:40,218 --> 01:04:41,925 REPORTER 1: Everything was going smoothly 1179 01:04:41,928 --> 01:04:44,928 until Jorgeson couldn't grasp pitch 15. 1180 01:04:44,931 --> 01:04:46,680 REPORTER 2: Stopped by the sheer difficulty of the climb. 1181 01:04:46,683 --> 01:04:48,598 REPORTER 3: As the razor-sharp handholds 1182 01:04:48,601 --> 01:04:50,016 tore the skin off his fingertips. 1183 01:04:50,019 --> 01:04:51,393 KEVIN: So everyone's tuning in 1184 01:04:51,396 --> 01:04:53,687 in the middle of guys living on the side of the Wall... 1185 01:04:53,690 --> 01:04:56,356 REPORTER 4: History is on hold right now in Yosemite National Park. 1186 01:04:56,359 --> 01:04:57,719 KEVIN: ...and one of them's stuck. 1187 01:04:58,194 --> 01:04:59,526 [screams] 1188 01:04:59,529 --> 01:05:01,448 REPORTER 5: Kevin Jorgeson is stuck. 1189 01:05:01,990 --> 01:05:04,239 TOMMY: That was close, dude. KEVIN: I know. 1190 01:05:04,242 --> 01:05:06,523 TOMMY: You just started to fall apart a little bit there. 1191 01:05:07,412 --> 01:05:08,972 BRANCH: It's a pretty fascinating drama 1192 01:05:09,706 --> 01:05:12,542 unfolding in real time, literally in front of our eyes. 1193 01:05:13,501 --> 01:05:15,503 People who I'm sure had no idea what a pitch was 1194 01:05:16,337 --> 01:05:18,756 were now going, "Pitch 15! Come on, Kevin! You can do it!" 1195 01:05:19,382 --> 01:05:20,884 [groans] 1196 01:05:21,509 --> 01:05:23,592 You'll get it, dude. That was really close. 1197 01:05:23,595 --> 01:05:25,638 TOMMY: I spent a few days not climbing, 1198 01:05:26,389 --> 01:05:29,642 just belaying Kevin over and over again on pitch 15. 1199 01:05:32,187 --> 01:05:33,271 [groans] 1200 01:05:35,773 --> 01:05:38,693 It was harder than any pitch of climbing he'd ever done. 1201 01:05:38,943 --> 01:05:39,943 KEVIN: Fucker! 1202 01:05:40,737 --> 01:05:42,489 TOMMY: He just kept falling and falling. 1203 01:05:43,698 --> 01:05:46,618 I had honestly started to lose hope that he was going to do it. 1204 01:05:47,202 --> 01:05:49,787 KEVIN: Last night was my third day 1205 01:05:50,205 --> 01:05:52,996 of battle with pitch 15. 1206 01:05:52,999 --> 01:05:55,793 Still didn't do it. 1207 01:05:57,212 --> 01:06:01,132 After trying so many times, I've destroyed my fingers. 1208 01:06:02,008 --> 01:06:04,761 So I decided to take a rest day 1209 01:06:06,054 --> 01:06:07,263 and let my fingers heal. 1210 01:06:12,810 --> 01:06:16,523 LONG: Meanwhile, Tommy hasn't climbed for days. 1211 01:06:17,607 --> 01:06:19,105 And he has to be thinking, 1212 01:06:19,108 --> 01:06:21,945 I can't stay up here indefinitely waiting for Kevin. 1213 01:06:22,529 --> 01:06:24,736 I mean, there's very few people in the world 1214 01:06:24,739 --> 01:06:26,950 that have ever even spent that much time on a wall. 1215 01:06:27,867 --> 01:06:30,453 TOMMY: Living on the Wall just wears you down. 1216 01:06:30,912 --> 01:06:32,080 It's just harsh up there. 1217 01:06:32,497 --> 01:06:33,831 You can't even walk. 1218 01:06:34,249 --> 01:06:36,206 You're not sleeping great at night. 1219 01:06:36,209 --> 01:06:39,420 You're not eating normal foods, drinking enough water. 1220 01:06:40,338 --> 01:06:43,550 It's hard to climb your best under those conditions. 1221 01:06:44,342 --> 01:06:47,425 BRANCH: Every day that goes by, maybe Tommy suddenly gets sick. 1222 01:06:47,428 --> 01:06:48,885 Maybe the weather changes. 1223 01:06:48,888 --> 01:06:51,099 TOMMY: I felt like I had to continue. 1224 01:06:52,183 --> 01:06:53,726 LONG: So they devised a plan. 1225 01:06:54,727 --> 01:06:57,519 Tommy's going to press on and try the Dyno pitch, 1226 01:06:57,522 --> 01:07:00,942 hoping that Kevin eventually will get across 15 1227 01:07:01,401 --> 01:07:02,402 and he can catch up. 1228 01:07:02,819 --> 01:07:05,029 KEVIN: That night, we go up our fixed lines 1229 01:07:05,572 --> 01:07:08,866 and I belay Tommy on pitch 16, the Dyno pitch. 1230 01:07:10,201 --> 01:07:11,533 TOMMY: I had tried the Dyno move 1231 01:07:11,536 --> 01:07:12,954 hundreds of times over the years. 1232 01:07:18,001 --> 01:07:18,957 Never done it. 1233 01:07:18,960 --> 01:07:21,713 I'd rebuilt it on the shed at my home, 1234 01:07:22,046 --> 01:07:25,550 so I could just practice this one stupid move. 1235 01:07:26,259 --> 01:07:28,008 Just before we went for our final push, 1236 01:07:28,011 --> 01:07:29,634 I was completely frustrated, 1237 01:07:29,637 --> 01:07:31,848 staring at these photos of the Wall. 1238 01:07:32,849 --> 01:07:36,603 I started to notice cracks and edges that go down and around. 1239 01:07:37,312 --> 01:07:39,603 So I came up with this idea 1240 01:07:39,606 --> 01:07:42,606 to do the most ridiculous pitch of climbing. 1241 01:07:42,609 --> 01:07:45,609 KEVIN: His idea was to just climb in a giant circle 1242 01:07:45,612 --> 01:07:47,986 around the Dyno. I was like, "Really?" 1243 01:07:47,989 --> 01:07:50,030 BRETT: So to get around about eight feet... 1244 01:07:50,033 --> 01:07:51,193 TOMMY: Yeah, climb like 200. 1245 01:07:52,744 --> 01:07:55,622 Tommy's currently working out the world's hardest down climb. 1246 01:07:56,914 --> 01:08:00,376 We do hard moves going straight up, hard moves going sideways. 1247 01:08:01,127 --> 01:08:02,125 I should add a down climb. 1248 01:08:02,128 --> 01:08:05,298 That way, we just get the full package. 1249 01:08:06,424 --> 01:08:09,049 Down climbing, it's so unnatural. 1250 01:08:09,052 --> 01:08:10,053 TOMMY: Falling. 1251 01:08:10,428 --> 01:08:12,305 KEVIN: It's like running backwards. 1252 01:08:15,558 --> 01:08:17,185 TOMMY: That felt horrible. 1253 01:08:34,202 --> 01:08:35,202 KEVIN: Good, Tommy. 1254 01:08:37,372 --> 01:08:38,414 Nice. 1255 01:08:45,672 --> 01:08:46,839 Come on. Focus. 1256 01:08:49,676 --> 01:08:50,676 Good. 1257 01:08:53,262 --> 01:08:54,639 KELLY: This loop pitch, 1258 01:08:54,931 --> 01:08:57,767 it's like walking around the block to cross the street. 1259 01:08:58,559 --> 01:09:00,687 [laughs] It is just a little bit ridiculous. 1260 01:09:02,271 --> 01:09:03,856 But it's also kind of brilliant. 1261 01:09:04,649 --> 01:09:05,689 KEVIN: Come on. 1262 01:09:05,692 --> 01:09:07,068 [panting] Come on. 1263 01:09:10,238 --> 01:09:11,986 KELLY: This thing that had been shutting him down 1264 01:09:11,989 --> 01:09:13,116 for all these years, 1265 01:09:13,533 --> 01:09:16,786 and then he just looks at it with a new set of eyes 1266 01:09:17,537 --> 01:09:19,288 and finds a new solution. 1267 01:09:19,872 --> 01:09:21,082 TOMMY: Yeah. 1268 01:09:21,874 --> 01:09:23,084 The Dyno! 1269 01:09:24,168 --> 01:09:25,712 Whoo! 1270 01:09:39,058 --> 01:09:40,309 TOMMY: How is the skin, dude? 1271 01:09:42,270 --> 01:09:44,272 It's not healing very quickly, 1272 01:09:45,481 --> 01:09:47,233 which is frustrating. 1273 01:09:48,693 --> 01:09:51,571 LONG: While Kevin's waiting for his fingers to heal, 1274 01:09:53,156 --> 01:09:55,616 Tommy continued pushing the route higher and higher. 1275 01:09:57,201 --> 01:09:58,786 What you do every day is, 1276 01:09:58,953 --> 01:10:01,244 you get to a high point, and then you leave fixed ropes 1277 01:10:01,247 --> 01:10:02,447 that go back down to the camp. 1278 01:10:03,124 --> 01:10:06,458 The next day, you motor back up the ropes to the high point 1279 01:10:06,461 --> 01:10:07,670 and then carry on. 1280 01:10:08,337 --> 01:10:10,044 So, even though they might be working 1281 01:10:10,047 --> 01:10:11,716 on different parts of the Wall, 1282 01:10:12,049 --> 01:10:14,591 they're doing it together. Kevin belays Tommy, 1283 01:10:14,594 --> 01:10:17,472 and once Tommy's done, they both go back down to the camp. 1284 01:10:21,392 --> 01:10:23,311 KEVIN: Tommy's just forging on. 1285 01:10:32,612 --> 01:10:36,783 Every pitch gets him further away from where I'm stuck. 1286 01:10:37,950 --> 01:10:39,160 TOMMY: One more down. 1287 01:10:39,494 --> 01:10:42,121 KEVIN: There's so much distance between our high points 1288 01:10:42,622 --> 01:10:44,462 that I'm not going to be able to close that gap 1289 01:10:44,624 --> 01:10:46,083 in a reasonable amount of time 1290 01:10:46,667 --> 01:10:47,877 unless I do this. 1291 01:10:48,461 --> 01:10:50,668 TOMMY: Every time I would look over in his portaledge, 1292 01:10:50,671 --> 01:10:52,754 he would just be following news updates, 1293 01:10:52,757 --> 01:10:54,467 staring at his fingertips, 1294 01:10:55,009 --> 01:10:56,508 mumbling to himself. 1295 01:10:56,511 --> 01:10:58,831 KEVIN: Trying to convince myself these actually look good. 1296 01:11:02,892 --> 01:11:04,602 Tommy, do you have the Ibuprofen? 1297 01:11:06,103 --> 01:11:07,438 Oh, yeah. 1298 01:11:08,064 --> 01:11:11,943 KEVIN: After two days resting, I felt resolved. 1299 01:11:13,194 --> 01:11:15,196 This was the day it had to happen. 1300 01:11:18,407 --> 01:11:19,739 It's still pretty warm out. 1301 01:11:19,742 --> 01:11:21,825 And so I'm going to wait a few more hours 1302 01:11:21,828 --> 01:11:23,660 for the temperatures to drop even more 1303 01:11:23,663 --> 01:11:26,040 to give myself every bit of friction you can. 1304 01:11:27,250 --> 01:11:28,414 TOMMY: You ready? 1305 01:11:28,417 --> 01:11:30,044 KEVIN: Ready as I'm ever going to be. 1306 01:11:52,441 --> 01:11:55,987 I've been waiting for days for the skin to heal, 1307 01:11:57,572 --> 01:11:58,990 for this moment to come. 1308 01:12:07,957 --> 01:12:10,334 There's a nice cold breeze blowing up the wall. 1309 01:12:11,669 --> 01:12:12,962 I felt weightless. 1310 01:12:14,255 --> 01:12:17,633 I was just floating across the pitch. 1311 01:12:25,892 --> 01:12:28,144 [breathing heavily] 1312 01:12:32,106 --> 01:12:33,190 TOMMY: Hold it together. 1313 01:12:40,823 --> 01:12:41,949 [groans] 1314 01:12:44,660 --> 01:12:46,245 Come on, Kevin. Do it, man. 1315 01:12:46,662 --> 01:12:47,662 You got it. 1316 01:12:48,789 --> 01:12:49,789 Come on. 1317 01:12:50,458 --> 01:12:51,458 You got it. 1318 01:12:52,501 --> 01:12:53,836 Come on. Find it. 1319 01:12:54,128 --> 01:12:55,713 Good. Come on. 1320 01:12:56,547 --> 01:12:58,215 [screams] 1321 01:13:00,259 --> 01:13:02,345 TOMMY: Oh, that was so good, dude. 1322 01:13:04,430 --> 01:13:08,935 KEVIN: Everything was perfect, and I still didn't do it. 1323 01:13:10,436 --> 01:13:11,436 MATT: Come on, Kevin. 1324 01:13:11,646 --> 01:13:13,940 KEVIN: I tried four times that night. 1325 01:13:15,191 --> 01:13:16,317 Fucker! 1326 01:13:16,651 --> 01:13:17,693 MAN: He's off. 1327 01:13:18,319 --> 01:13:19,904 KEVIN: I just kept falling. 1328 01:13:24,867 --> 01:13:25,952 Shit! 1329 01:13:26,786 --> 01:13:27,995 Tonight 1330 01:13:30,998 --> 01:13:32,249 didn't go so well. 1331 01:13:35,127 --> 01:13:37,046 It was a battle, and I didn't win. 1332 01:13:38,297 --> 01:13:39,966 It was pretty clear that that was it. 1333 01:13:40,633 --> 01:13:42,301 Like, you had your chance. 1334 01:13:43,177 --> 01:13:44,261 You weren't good enough. 1335 01:13:45,262 --> 01:13:46,514 Yeah, it's pretty fucked. 1336 01:13:49,934 --> 01:13:52,019 Now you're the guy that almost climbed the Dawn Wall. 1337 01:13:53,813 --> 01:13:55,770 So how much did you enjoy that process? 1338 01:13:55,773 --> 01:13:57,441 Because that's all you get. 1339 01:14:04,865 --> 01:14:06,385 BRANCH: Editors and I started talking. 1340 01:14:06,617 --> 01:14:08,700 Is it now time to do a story about what happens 1341 01:14:08,703 --> 01:14:09,742 if he doesn't make it? 1342 01:14:09,745 --> 01:14:11,995 We all want happy endings, but as a journalist, you're like, 1343 01:14:11,998 --> 01:14:13,207 "That's an incredible story." 1344 01:14:14,000 --> 01:14:15,876 What's the ethos in climbing? 1345 01:14:16,877 --> 01:14:18,629 Do you say, you go ahead without me? 1346 01:14:19,422 --> 01:14:20,631 Do you leave a guy behind? 1347 01:14:21,257 --> 01:14:22,537 Are they having this conversation 1348 01:14:22,717 --> 01:14:23,926 in the portaledge at night? 1349 01:14:26,512 --> 01:14:28,180 [rain pattering] 1350 01:14:38,024 --> 01:14:39,900 This would be nice to check the radar. 1351 01:14:43,612 --> 01:14:46,115 KEVIN: The next day, the weather was starting to get bad. 1352 01:14:49,035 --> 01:14:50,661 And I knew what I needed to do. 1353 01:14:51,912 --> 01:14:52,955 TOMMY: Twenty percent. 1354 01:14:53,497 --> 01:14:54,497 Today? 1355 01:14:54,957 --> 01:14:56,167 Next like four days. 1356 01:14:57,960 --> 01:14:59,667 I'm just going to throw in the towel 1357 01:14:59,670 --> 01:15:01,756 and support Tommy to the top. 1358 01:15:06,052 --> 01:15:07,133 LONG: From here on out, 1359 01:15:07,136 --> 01:15:08,509 Kevin's just going to belay Tommy 1360 01:15:08,512 --> 01:15:10,181 and follow him up the ropes. 1361 01:15:12,558 --> 01:15:14,515 So they go up to Tommy's high point, 1362 01:15:14,518 --> 01:15:16,729 where he starts up the last hard pitches 1363 01:15:17,063 --> 01:15:19,106 of the long run to Wino Tower. 1364 01:15:25,780 --> 01:15:27,948 KEVIN: There I was, watching Tommy 1365 01:15:28,532 --> 01:15:30,409 climb with so much confidence 1366 01:15:30,951 --> 01:15:33,245 toward the completion of this dream. 1367 01:15:37,333 --> 01:15:40,628 Even if I can't do this, I was really happy for Tommy. 1368 01:15:44,673 --> 01:15:46,258 What a special moment 1369 01:15:46,550 --> 01:15:48,552 to witness this piece of history. 1370 01:15:54,433 --> 01:15:57,186 And I was there to help Tommy realize this vision. 1371 01:16:05,277 --> 01:16:07,321 After everything he went through, 1372 01:16:10,574 --> 01:16:11,992 so much struggle, 1373 01:16:13,494 --> 01:16:15,454 the injuries, the doubts. 1374 01:16:17,581 --> 01:16:19,834 For Tommy, it was like, "This is it." 1375 01:16:25,965 --> 01:16:27,049 Come on, Tommy. 1376 01:16:29,802 --> 01:16:30,886 TOMMY: Boom! 1377 01:16:31,303 --> 01:16:32,596 [crowd cheers] 1378 01:16:33,264 --> 01:16:35,391 KEVIN: Woo-hoo! Ah, feels good. 1379 01:16:37,351 --> 01:16:38,474 LONG: I'm down in the meadow 1380 01:16:38,477 --> 01:16:41,063 watching Tommy trying to get to Wino Tower, 1381 01:16:41,188 --> 01:16:42,982 which is the next big feature above them. 1382 01:16:43,983 --> 01:16:45,898 It's this mythical landmark 1383 01:16:45,901 --> 01:16:48,279 about two-thirds of the way up El Capitan. 1384 01:16:49,321 --> 01:16:52,867 KELLY: This three-foot pedestal 2,000 feet up the Wall. 1385 01:16:53,284 --> 01:16:55,533 LONG: The first horizontal ledge 1386 01:16:55,536 --> 01:16:58,581 where you can stand up, sit down, lie down 1387 01:16:58,956 --> 01:17:00,332 on the entire route. 1388 01:17:01,000 --> 01:17:03,919 KELLY: And it signifies the end of the hardest climbing. 1389 01:17:06,672 --> 01:17:08,592 TOMMY: One more hard pitch to get to Wino Tower. 1390 01:17:08,966 --> 01:17:09,967 That's crazy! 1391 01:17:10,342 --> 01:17:14,013 For years, I'd envisioned this moment of getting to Wino Tower. 1392 01:17:14,597 --> 01:17:16,304 So I'm freaking out inside. 1393 01:17:16,307 --> 01:17:17,641 KEVIN: Good, Tommy. Come on. 1394 01:17:18,100 --> 01:17:21,061 TOMMY: Climbing really tense and kind of shaking nervous. 1395 01:17:21,520 --> 01:17:22,680 KEVIN: Keep breathing, dude. 1396 01:17:28,986 --> 01:17:30,779 Come on. [panting] 1397 01:17:32,239 --> 01:17:33,239 Good. 1398 01:17:37,328 --> 01:17:39,371 TOMMY: Just trying to calm myself down enough 1399 01:17:40,122 --> 01:17:42,625 to make it through the final last little bit. 1400 01:17:47,463 --> 01:17:49,882 [exclaims triumphantly] KEVIN: Yeah! 1401 01:18:00,059 --> 01:18:02,937 [panting] 1402 01:18:06,315 --> 01:18:08,317 [howls] 1403 01:18:17,785 --> 01:18:18,911 [sighs] 1404 01:18:20,913 --> 01:18:22,665 [laughs] 1405 01:18:22,915 --> 01:18:24,875 Oh! I feel a little shaky. 1406 01:18:25,584 --> 01:18:26,835 Yeah, I might pass out. 1407 01:18:32,132 --> 01:18:33,759 I can't believe I'm here right now. 1408 01:18:44,019 --> 01:18:48,482 I know it's not over yet, but that's like, big. [laughs] 1409 01:18:49,024 --> 01:18:50,150 I'm at Wino Tower. 1410 01:18:53,737 --> 01:18:54,905 [exhales] 1411 01:18:59,285 --> 01:19:01,203 BRETT: What are you feeling? [sniffles] 1412 01:19:01,996 --> 01:19:04,832 I want Kevin to experience this, too, for sure. 1413 01:19:05,207 --> 01:19:06,292 [clears throat] 1414 01:19:09,503 --> 01:19:10,879 TOMMY: It was this huge victory. 1415 01:19:11,255 --> 01:19:12,920 But it's totally trumped by the fact that 1416 01:19:12,923 --> 01:19:14,842 Kevin wasn't going to do it with me. 1417 01:19:15,801 --> 01:19:17,177 Suddenly, I just felt alone. 1418 01:19:18,929 --> 01:19:21,432 I think Kevin probably did, too. 1419 01:19:25,811 --> 01:19:28,063 What a crazy experience this has been. 1420 01:19:29,815 --> 01:19:31,400 It crashed down on me 1421 01:19:31,734 --> 01:19:34,862 that going to the top without Kevin was gonna be devastating. 1422 01:19:36,071 --> 01:19:37,698 Just got to get KJ up here now. 1423 01:19:38,907 --> 01:19:40,364 So I decided in that moment 1424 01:19:40,367 --> 01:19:42,167 that we were going to get to the top together. 1425 01:19:43,537 --> 01:19:45,857 BRETT: What will you do? Everything I can to help him. 1426 01:19:46,707 --> 01:19:47,707 Yeah. 1427 01:19:48,167 --> 01:19:50,252 I'm going to go into full-on support mode. 1428 01:19:54,715 --> 01:19:58,135 KEVIN: That night, we both go back down to the camp. 1429 01:20:02,348 --> 01:20:03,640 We were cooking dinner. 1430 01:20:03,766 --> 01:20:04,975 It was real quiet. 1431 01:20:06,810 --> 01:20:09,897 And I knew it was this emotional moment for Tommy. 1432 01:20:11,857 --> 01:20:14,401 But he's not very good at verbalizing. 1433 01:20:15,861 --> 01:20:18,614 I wanna do this thing with you, and I would love for... 1434 01:20:19,865 --> 01:20:20,866 [clears throat] 1435 01:20:22,117 --> 01:20:25,245 Yeah, it was cool, but... 1436 01:20:30,667 --> 01:20:32,127 I mean, it's awesome. 1437 01:20:32,294 --> 01:20:33,504 But when I take... 1438 01:20:34,004 --> 01:20:36,212 I just really want you to be with me, you know? 1439 01:20:36,215 --> 01:20:37,338 Yeah, dude. 1440 01:20:37,341 --> 01:20:38,550 [laughs] Yeah. 1441 01:20:40,094 --> 01:20:42,971 KEVIN: Tommy just told me, in classic Tommy style, 1442 01:20:43,806 --> 01:20:48,310 I don't care how long it takes for you to get through pitch 15, 1443 01:20:48,685 --> 01:20:50,896 because I can't imagine a worse outcome 1444 01:20:51,563 --> 01:20:52,815 than doing this alone. 1445 01:20:55,025 --> 01:20:56,941 I don't want to hold you back, is the thing. 1446 01:20:56,944 --> 01:20:59,988 You're three days from the top now or some shit. 1447 01:21:00,239 --> 01:21:01,490 Yeah, but I am... 1448 01:21:01,615 --> 01:21:03,325 'Cause I really wanna go with you. 1449 01:21:03,659 --> 01:21:04,659 Okay. 1450 01:21:04,993 --> 01:21:06,433 KEVIN: It's a pretty special moment. 1451 01:21:09,415 --> 01:21:10,621 I know I can do that pitch. 1452 01:21:10,624 --> 01:21:12,209 Yeah, for sure. 1453 01:21:13,085 --> 01:21:16,377 And I feel like if I can do that pitch, I'd be so fucking psyched 1454 01:21:16,380 --> 01:21:17,878 that there's nothing 1455 01:21:17,881 --> 01:21:19,880 that's going to stop me between there and the top. 1456 01:21:19,883 --> 01:21:22,261 Yeah, I think that's true. 1457 01:21:22,845 --> 01:21:24,388 Just keep stretching. Make sure... 1458 01:21:24,847 --> 01:21:27,641 I think I need to do some arm lengthening stretches. 1459 01:21:28,058 --> 01:21:31,520 KEVIN: So we decided that I would rest two consecutive days 1460 01:21:31,937 --> 01:21:33,230 so that my skin could heal, 1461 01:21:33,772 --> 01:21:34,940 and try again. 1462 01:21:37,443 --> 01:21:39,111 LONG: The idea of Tommy waiting, 1463 01:21:39,528 --> 01:21:41,405 to risk your own success 1464 01:21:41,822 --> 01:21:44,783 in the hopes that maybe by some miracle Kevin can do it, 1465 01:21:45,701 --> 01:21:46,861 that's a partner right there. 1466 01:21:47,911 --> 01:21:49,371 Coffee for KJ. 1467 01:21:50,914 --> 01:21:53,459 LONG: But there's no guarantee that Kevin's ever gonna make it. 1468 01:21:53,876 --> 01:21:57,629 I mean, I thought that Kevin was maybe not going to make it. 1469 01:21:58,213 --> 01:22:00,254 And I was hoping that, 1470 01:22:00,257 --> 01:22:02,256 since this had been a dream of Tommy's 1471 01:22:02,259 --> 01:22:04,179 a lot longer than it had been a dream of Kevin's, 1472 01:22:04,470 --> 01:22:08,307 that Tommy would find a way to complete this climb. 1473 01:22:08,515 --> 01:22:11,056 As Tommy's friend, selfishly, 1474 01:22:11,059 --> 01:22:12,561 I'm thinking to myself, like, 1475 01:22:13,187 --> 01:22:15,564 "Kevin, dude, time to throw in the towel and support Tommy." 1476 01:22:16,148 --> 01:22:18,901 Somebody less gracious than Tommy Caldwell might have said, 1477 01:22:19,401 --> 01:22:20,641 "I've got to go on without you." 1478 01:22:21,153 --> 01:22:22,821 MIKE: But he was committed to Kevin. 1479 01:22:23,780 --> 01:22:24,948 "We're doing this together." 1480 01:22:25,365 --> 01:22:28,827 And he wouldn't have been Tommy if he'd done it any other way. 1481 01:22:30,454 --> 01:22:32,870 REPORTER 1: This just in. Those two American climbers... 1482 01:22:32,873 --> 01:22:35,206 REPORTER 2: Kevin Jorgeson. REPORTER 3: Kevin Jorgeson. 1483 01:22:35,209 --> 01:22:37,500 REPORTER 4: Stuck for seven straight days. 1484 01:22:37,503 --> 01:22:38,959 REPORTER 5: Caldwell determined to wait... 1485 01:22:38,962 --> 01:22:40,169 REPORTER 6: One of them refusing to move higher 1486 01:22:40,172 --> 01:22:42,132 without his partner stuck below. 1487 01:22:42,508 --> 01:22:43,589 So will they make it? 1488 01:22:43,592 --> 01:22:45,508 Can you imagine? This really is no joke. 1489 01:22:45,511 --> 01:22:47,343 KELLY: The media started to sound like a tabloid. 1490 01:22:47,346 --> 01:22:49,598 "Is Jorgeson spoiling Tommy's dreams?" 1491 01:22:50,182 --> 01:22:52,976 REPORTER 7: Down below, the crowd is waiting and watching. 1492 01:22:56,188 --> 01:22:58,108 KEVIN: Hey, Tommy, what's the weather look like? 1493 01:22:58,649 --> 01:23:01,610 Oh, wait. That's right, you dropped your phone. 1494 01:23:01,735 --> 01:23:03,442 Dropped my phone last night. 1495 01:23:03,445 --> 01:23:06,031 I had my chest pocket unzipped. It just fell out. 1496 01:23:06,949 --> 01:23:09,240 Hopefully, I didn't kill anybody down there. [kevin laughing] 1497 01:23:09,243 --> 01:23:11,075 I'd heard that Tommy dropped his phone, and I said, 1498 01:23:11,078 --> 01:23:12,746 "Did he really drop his phone?" [laughing] 1499 01:23:13,080 --> 01:23:15,290 Or is he just saying, "Don't call me anymore"? You know? 1500 01:23:15,541 --> 01:23:18,335 So fed up with the media circus. 1501 01:23:18,752 --> 01:23:20,084 I think he didn't drop it. 1502 01:23:20,087 --> 01:23:21,630 [laughing] He threw it off. 1503 01:23:22,839 --> 01:23:25,551 Yep. Guess we've got to just enjoy the view now. 1504 01:23:26,552 --> 01:23:27,803 [laughs] 1505 01:23:29,888 --> 01:23:31,223 KEVIN: Over the next few days, 1506 01:23:31,515 --> 01:23:34,977 Tommy was content right where we were, 1507 01:23:35,477 --> 01:23:37,271 for however long it was going to be. 1508 01:23:37,896 --> 01:23:38,811 [whistling] 1509 01:23:38,814 --> 01:23:40,646 KEVIN: He's just stoked to be up there, 1510 01:23:40,649 --> 01:23:43,524 and it's no big deal if it takes another rest day or two 1511 01:23:43,527 --> 01:23:45,237 or three or five or whatever. 1512 01:23:45,904 --> 01:23:48,696 TOMMY: Yeah, I feel like I've just been appreciating things 1513 01:23:48,699 --> 01:23:50,534 a little bit more [laughs] the last few days. 1514 01:23:52,327 --> 01:23:53,579 Ah, sun. 1515 01:23:54,746 --> 01:23:57,457 BRANCH: Tommy basically said, "No hurry. I'm patient. 1516 01:23:57,791 --> 01:23:59,671 You're going to get through it. Don't freak out. 1517 01:24:00,669 --> 01:24:02,668 Don't worry about the rest of the world that's watching right now. 1518 01:24:02,671 --> 01:24:04,351 Let's tune them out. It's just you and me." 1519 01:24:04,673 --> 01:24:05,841 It became the two of them. 1520 01:24:06,425 --> 01:24:08,927 I think I have to try to front-step more, 1521 01:24:09,469 --> 01:24:12,014 because when it comes time to step on that middle foot, 1522 01:24:12,681 --> 01:24:15,139 I can't front-step it or in-step it 'cause this foot's in the way. 1523 01:24:15,142 --> 01:24:16,348 A couple of your falls last time 1524 01:24:16,351 --> 01:24:18,892 were just 'cause you couldn't find that right foot. 1525 01:24:18,895 --> 01:24:20,978 So even if it's a little bit harder, it's going to be better. 1526 01:24:20,981 --> 01:24:24,151 KEVIN: Tommy's attitude helped take a bit of the pressure off. 1527 01:24:26,361 --> 01:24:30,407 But I was still gonna have to do the hardest thing I've ever done 1528 01:24:31,033 --> 01:24:32,200 for this to end well. 1529 01:24:36,079 --> 01:24:37,411 MAN: [on tv] Trying to make history 1530 01:24:37,414 --> 01:24:39,747 on one of the hardest climbs in the world. 1531 01:24:39,750 --> 01:24:41,165 TJ, what's the story? 1532 01:24:41,168 --> 01:24:42,833 TJ: Here's the story. 1533 01:24:42,836 --> 01:24:46,006 I'm only about 30 feet up, and I've called my momma twice. 1534 01:24:46,131 --> 01:24:47,296 All right? Can you imagine? 1535 01:24:47,299 --> 01:24:49,506 I'm on what's called a portaledge 1536 01:24:49,509 --> 01:24:50,719 that's secured to this wall. 1537 01:24:51,053 --> 01:24:53,302 These two climbers are using one of these 1538 01:24:53,305 --> 01:24:56,263 secured to a flat surface, all right? 1539 01:24:56,266 --> 01:24:58,106 They're having to sleep on one of these things, 1540 01:24:58,352 --> 01:25:00,559 for weeks possibly, trying to make an impossible climb. 1541 01:25:00,562 --> 01:25:03,854 And me? I have holds here I can use to climb the wall. 1542 01:25:03,857 --> 01:25:06,732 REPORTER: Scaling the jagged cliff known as El Capitan... 1543 01:25:06,735 --> 01:25:07,903 BECCA: Who is that, Fitz? 1544 01:25:08,820 --> 01:25:10,489 Daddy. Daddy. 1545 01:25:10,614 --> 01:25:12,574 Getting on the airplane. 1546 01:25:15,744 --> 01:25:17,201 Fitz and I have been home 1547 01:25:17,204 --> 01:25:20,791 waiting for our moment to get on a plane and get out here. 1548 01:25:21,166 --> 01:25:23,335 And it's finally come. We're here. 1549 01:25:24,670 --> 01:25:27,089 Hey, Fitz, do you see way up high on El Cap? 1550 01:25:27,547 --> 01:25:29,424 Yeah. Yeah? Can you see Daddy? 1551 01:25:29,758 --> 01:25:31,423 TOMMY: After failing for so many years, 1552 01:25:31,426 --> 01:25:34,221 there were times when I definitely felt like giving up. 1553 01:25:34,638 --> 01:25:37,683 But it was actually Becca who helped me to keep going. 1554 01:25:38,266 --> 01:25:39,935 BECCA: Seeing him in his element, 1555 01:25:40,310 --> 01:25:43,605 I saw this focus and this purpose. 1556 01:25:43,814 --> 01:25:45,771 I just really respected him. 1557 01:25:45,774 --> 01:25:48,235 And we fell in love. 1558 01:25:48,652 --> 01:25:51,405 TOMMY: Becca became my biggest supporter. 1559 01:25:52,197 --> 01:25:53,153 BECCA: We got married. 1560 01:25:53,156 --> 01:25:56,034 And then, we got pregnant shortly after. 1561 01:25:57,869 --> 01:25:58,867 Hi. 1562 01:25:58,870 --> 01:26:01,453 TOMMY: We had a little boy named Fitz. 1563 01:26:01,456 --> 01:26:02,582 BECCA: Hi, Fitz. 1564 01:26:04,126 --> 01:26:07,376 TOMMY: The first day that I had this little baby in my arms, 1565 01:26:07,379 --> 01:26:08,964 I was overcome with the emotion. 1566 01:26:09,798 --> 01:26:13,427 I thought, how am I going to be a good example to Fitz? 1567 01:26:13,802 --> 01:26:16,343 How great it is to be a Caldwell boy. 1568 01:26:16,346 --> 01:26:17,346 [cooing] 1569 01:26:18,724 --> 01:26:21,309 BECCA: Tommy had always viewed his dad as a superhero, 1570 01:26:21,768 --> 01:26:24,855 and he wanted to be a superhero for Fitz. 1571 01:26:26,148 --> 01:26:29,067 TOMMY: I wanted Fitz to look at me with that same sort of awe. 1572 01:26:31,445 --> 01:26:32,654 [exhaling] 1573 01:26:34,656 --> 01:26:37,784 I wanted to show Fitz how to be passionate... 1574 01:26:38,201 --> 01:26:39,201 Boom! 1575 01:26:39,411 --> 01:26:41,326 ...and how to dream big. 1576 01:26:41,329 --> 01:26:42,661 He already does. 1577 01:26:42,664 --> 01:26:44,329 TOMMY: The Dawn Wall embodied that. 1578 01:26:44,332 --> 01:26:46,543 And so it made me want it even more. 1579 01:26:47,419 --> 01:26:49,755 BECCA: I told him, you can't stop now. 1580 01:26:50,213 --> 01:26:52,549 You have to do everything to make this happen. 1581 01:26:58,930 --> 01:27:03,351 TOMMY: One, two, three, four, five. 1582 01:27:12,152 --> 01:27:13,442 KEVIN: Sometimes you zoom out 1583 01:27:13,445 --> 01:27:16,323 and you think about what a process it's been, 1584 01:27:17,282 --> 01:27:20,407 this wild six-year journey with Tommy. 1585 01:27:20,410 --> 01:27:21,787 BECCA: Did Kevin start already? 1586 01:27:22,287 --> 01:27:24,122 KEVIN: And now here we are 1587 01:27:25,707 --> 01:27:27,209 at the moment of truth. 1588 01:27:27,667 --> 01:27:29,586 GAIL: And we've just been mesmerized. 1589 01:27:30,629 --> 01:27:33,295 Hard to put into words something so big. 1590 01:27:33,298 --> 01:27:34,841 He's not going to give up. 1591 01:27:38,678 --> 01:27:39,721 [exhales] 1592 01:27:58,031 --> 01:27:59,196 TOMMY: I couldn't imagine 1593 01:27:59,199 --> 01:28:01,535 what he must have been going through at that moment. 1594 01:28:06,581 --> 01:28:07,749 [shudders] 1595 01:28:33,733 --> 01:28:36,236 KEVIN: I don't remember the first 50 feet of that pitch. 1596 01:28:42,951 --> 01:28:44,616 TOMMY: I watched him go into the section 1597 01:28:44,619 --> 01:28:46,204 where he had fallen so many times. 1598 01:28:47,205 --> 01:28:48,582 I just hold my breath. 1599 01:29:02,554 --> 01:29:05,015 KEVIN: You pull as hard as you can. 1600 01:29:08,101 --> 01:29:09,185 Move your feet. 1601 01:29:13,899 --> 01:29:15,191 [groans] 1602 01:29:17,027 --> 01:29:18,787 You're just trying not to tip over backwards. 1603 01:29:24,242 --> 01:29:25,493 Put the heel on. 1604 01:29:26,786 --> 01:29:27,954 Slide the hand up. 1605 01:29:28,747 --> 01:29:29,998 Take the heel off. 1606 01:29:30,874 --> 01:29:32,292 Drop the right hand in. 1607 01:29:33,460 --> 01:29:34,586 Heel back on. 1608 01:29:35,462 --> 01:29:36,504 Left hand down. 1609 01:29:41,760 --> 01:29:43,386 Heart rate starts to go up. 1610 01:29:46,598 --> 01:29:48,889 TOMMY: My adrenaline starts going, 'cause he's still hanging on 1611 01:29:48,892 --> 01:29:50,732 in this place that he had fallen so many times. 1612 01:30:32,519 --> 01:30:34,062 TOMMY: Yeah, Kevin! 1613 01:30:36,398 --> 01:30:38,692 Yeah! 1614 01:30:39,567 --> 01:30:40,607 Yes! 1615 01:30:40,610 --> 01:30:42,362 [crowd cheering] 1616 01:30:46,658 --> 01:30:49,700 TOMMY: Watching him do it, I was just awestruck. 1617 01:30:49,703 --> 01:30:52,288 I was like, "I can't believe that just happened." 1618 01:30:54,249 --> 01:30:55,249 He did it. 1619 01:30:55,750 --> 01:30:58,253 Freaking guy actually did this thing, right? 1620 01:30:58,503 --> 01:31:00,338 You're like, [laughs] "What?" 1621 01:31:00,880 --> 01:31:02,257 [exclaiming excitedly] 1622 01:31:02,757 --> 01:31:03,922 REPORTER 1: After seven days, 1623 01:31:03,925 --> 01:31:06,386 Jorgeson got past the most difficult... 1624 01:31:06,594 --> 01:31:08,805 REPORTER 2: ...past the toughest section of the climb. 1625 01:31:09,556 --> 01:31:10,849 BRANCH: Yes, he made it. 1626 01:31:10,974 --> 01:31:12,225 And now it's upward. 1627 01:31:12,350 --> 01:31:15,812 And you start thinking, "Are his fingers okay? Can he do 16, 17? 1628 01:31:16,020 --> 01:31:17,105 Is this over yet?" 1629 01:31:17,397 --> 01:31:20,272 KEVIN: I had just finished the hardest pitch of my life, 1630 01:31:20,275 --> 01:31:21,609 and I couldn't even celebrate. 1631 01:31:22,110 --> 01:31:23,778 I just need to catch up. 1632 01:31:24,654 --> 01:31:26,528 LONG: The next pitch is this big Dyno 1633 01:31:26,531 --> 01:31:28,196 that's so hard that Tommy can't do it, 1634 01:31:28,199 --> 01:31:29,531 he's got to climb around it. 1635 01:31:29,534 --> 01:31:30,949 KEVIN: There's no way in hell 1636 01:31:30,952 --> 01:31:33,705 that I'm going to try Tommy's crazy loop pitch. 1637 01:31:34,038 --> 01:31:38,585 So that same night, I start trying the eight and a half foot Dyno. 1638 01:31:39,169 --> 01:31:40,169 [groans] 1639 01:31:41,171 --> 01:31:42,672 [groaning] 1640 01:31:48,386 --> 01:31:49,554 [grunting] 1641 01:31:50,513 --> 01:31:51,514 Yeah! 1642 01:31:51,639 --> 01:31:54,726 LONG: Kevin, through some kind of magic or levitation, 1643 01:31:55,935 --> 01:31:59,606 actually does this Dyno that Tommy was never able to do. 1644 01:31:59,898 --> 01:32:01,941 TOMMY: So good. REPORTER 1: Tonight, Kevin... 1645 01:32:02,233 --> 01:32:04,652 REPORTER 2: ...now just a few hundred feet behind Caldwell. 1646 01:32:04,903 --> 01:32:06,821 KEVIN: All these hard pitches just keep coming. 1647 01:32:07,447 --> 01:32:09,196 Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. 1648 01:32:09,199 --> 01:32:10,617 [groans] 1649 01:32:10,909 --> 01:32:12,702 TOMMY: It was like a fight to the death. 1650 01:32:14,788 --> 01:32:16,289 KEVIN: Oh, no. BRETT: Rock! 1651 01:32:16,456 --> 01:32:18,121 That is a bad hold to rip off. 1652 01:32:18,124 --> 01:32:19,247 Oh, man. 1653 01:32:19,250 --> 01:32:20,730 TOMMY: I think it's a lot harder now. 1654 01:32:21,002 --> 01:32:22,667 [groaning] 1655 01:32:22,670 --> 01:32:24,419 That didn't take him too long to figure it out. 1656 01:32:24,422 --> 01:32:26,004 BRETT: Nice, KJ! 1657 01:32:26,007 --> 01:32:27,567 TOMMY: It's just a little more tension. 1658 01:32:28,092 --> 01:32:30,220 Like we need more of that on this route. [chuckles] 1659 01:32:31,930 --> 01:32:33,723 KEVIN: The last pitch getting to Wino Tower, 1660 01:32:34,265 --> 01:32:36,643 this crazy fog came in. 1661 01:32:38,019 --> 01:32:39,434 TOMMY: Kevin sends this pitch right now, 1662 01:32:39,437 --> 01:32:40,814 he's going to be caught up with me. 1663 01:32:49,572 --> 01:32:50,779 KEVIN: Yes! 1664 01:32:50,782 --> 01:32:52,280 TOMMY: Nice one, Kevin. 1665 01:32:52,283 --> 01:32:54,744 KEVIN: I just remember seeing Tommy at the anchor 1666 01:32:55,119 --> 01:32:59,037 and having such a huge wash of gratefulness. 1667 01:32:59,040 --> 01:33:01,835 TOMMY: Oh! I can't believe we're here. 1668 01:33:03,586 --> 01:33:04,963 So good, man. 1669 01:33:06,631 --> 01:33:09,297 KEVIN: We're reunited at our high points now. 1670 01:33:09,300 --> 01:33:10,593 I can't believe we did it. 1671 01:33:11,427 --> 01:33:14,848 Going up from there on out together to the top. 1672 01:33:19,352 --> 01:33:20,562 [kevin grunting] 1673 01:33:22,272 --> 01:33:24,855 TOMMY: Come on, Jorgeson. Come on. 1674 01:33:24,858 --> 01:33:27,218 KEVIN: He was sitting on five days' rest while I caught up. 1675 01:33:27,610 --> 01:33:30,071 Pretty sure he's going to pull me up the wall today. 1676 01:33:30,905 --> 01:33:33,241 TOMMY: From here on it's just a matter of grinding it out. 1677 01:33:35,201 --> 01:33:38,496 So we get up and we stay 300 feet from the top. 1678 01:33:43,751 --> 01:33:45,879 We wake up this last morning. 1679 01:33:46,462 --> 01:33:48,464 The sun comes on the Dawn Wall. 1680 01:33:51,551 --> 01:33:52,841 It hits the top of the Wall first, 1681 01:33:52,844 --> 01:33:55,388 and we're the only thing in Yosemite actually in the sun. 1682 01:33:56,598 --> 01:33:59,183 KEVIN: So happy. [both laughing] 1683 01:33:59,309 --> 01:34:01,144 TOMMY: This is a good moment right here. 1684 01:34:01,811 --> 01:34:03,813 Oh, my God. This is definitely a good moment. 1685 01:34:04,188 --> 01:34:06,691 [music plays] 1686 01:34:07,817 --> 01:34:09,694 Does it get any better than this? 1687 01:34:10,153 --> 01:34:12,614 TOMMY: I'm just enjoying my last day 1688 01:34:12,864 --> 01:34:14,574 being up here with my friend. 1689 01:34:14,908 --> 01:34:16,784 I think we should just stay. [both laugh] 1690 01:34:18,536 --> 01:34:19,993 Just cancel the whole thing. 1691 01:34:19,996 --> 01:34:21,664 We're going to camp here for another day. 1692 01:34:23,666 --> 01:34:26,333 KEVIN: Living on a wall where everything is so simple 1693 01:34:26,336 --> 01:34:27,462 for 19 days, 1694 01:34:27,754 --> 01:34:29,339 we were going to miss that experience. 1695 01:34:30,173 --> 01:34:31,533 MARK: Good morning to our viewers. 1696 01:34:31,716 --> 01:34:34,132 It's been an exciting 24 hours here in Yosemite. 1697 01:34:34,135 --> 01:34:35,967 RANGER: Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson 1698 01:34:35,970 --> 01:34:37,385 spent 19 days on the Wall. 1699 01:34:37,388 --> 01:34:40,350 There were 15 TV trucks, reporters from all over. 1700 01:34:40,934 --> 01:34:42,057 There was a webcam. 1701 01:34:42,060 --> 01:34:44,100 Millions of people were actually watching this live. 1702 01:34:44,395 --> 01:34:45,688 Like a moon landing or something. 1703 01:34:48,274 --> 01:34:50,114 A lot of their friends and family had come out. 1704 01:34:52,403 --> 01:34:55,156 A number of people hiked up El Cap the back way, 1705 01:34:55,907 --> 01:34:58,067 and you could watch these guys go up the final pitches. 1706 01:34:58,868 --> 01:35:00,028 And they're cheering them on. 1707 01:35:00,703 --> 01:35:02,664 BECCA: I love you! Whoo! 1708 01:35:04,582 --> 01:35:05,667 It's gonna be awesome. 1709 01:35:07,877 --> 01:35:09,629 BETH: Seeing Tommy do the Dawn Wall, 1710 01:35:10,046 --> 01:35:11,506 I was super happy for him. 1711 01:35:12,215 --> 01:35:14,839 Just knowing how much was emotionally wrapped up 1712 01:35:14,842 --> 01:35:16,469 in the route for him, 1713 01:35:17,637 --> 01:35:19,597 I was really proud of him. 1714 01:35:21,432 --> 01:35:24,227 MIKE: Actually seeing he was going to complete this climb, 1715 01:35:24,978 --> 01:35:27,563 it was just, wow. 1716 01:35:30,400 --> 01:35:31,901 REPORTER 1: After 19 days, 1717 01:35:32,026 --> 01:35:35,485 Tommy Caldwell pulling himself over the edge of the Dawn Wall. 1718 01:35:35,488 --> 01:35:36,739 [grunts] 1719 01:35:40,702 --> 01:35:43,454 Followed minutes later by climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson. 1720 01:35:59,262 --> 01:36:00,510 REPORTER 2: And the crowd cheered 1721 01:36:00,513 --> 01:36:04,681 as the two men accomplished a feat many said was impossible. 1722 01:36:04,684 --> 01:36:07,145 [all cheering] 1723 01:36:18,489 --> 01:36:20,649 BRANCH: There aren't a lot of moments that choke me up 1724 01:36:21,075 --> 01:36:22,995 in sports anymore. I've been doing this too long. 1725 01:36:23,453 --> 01:36:26,497 I'll never forget a scene of them rejoicing. 1726 01:36:32,503 --> 01:36:35,754 This is the moment that's been so many years in the making. 1727 01:36:35,757 --> 01:36:37,881 Now forever enshrined in history. 1728 01:36:37,884 --> 01:36:39,761 REPORTER: Inspiring millions around the world, 1729 01:36:39,886 --> 01:36:41,054 even at the White House, 1730 01:36:41,220 --> 01:36:43,139 where President Obama gave a thumbs up. 1731 01:36:47,185 --> 01:36:48,644 It's done. It's done. 1732 01:36:48,936 --> 01:36:50,060 You are shaking like a leaf. 1733 01:36:50,063 --> 01:36:51,770 Are you cold or are you emotional? 1734 01:36:51,773 --> 01:36:53,441 I'm emotional. Okay. [laughing] 1735 01:36:54,025 --> 01:36:55,465 TERRY: He's worked so hard for this. 1736 01:36:56,486 --> 01:36:59,655 KEVIN: That moment he describes as "bittersweet." 1737 01:37:01,157 --> 01:37:05,828 This whole experience that drove him for so long, 1738 01:37:06,746 --> 01:37:07,746 it was over. 1739 01:37:10,083 --> 01:37:12,877 Anything that you'd like to say about El Cap? 1740 01:37:13,503 --> 01:37:16,089 I've totally fallen in love with that piece of rock. 1741 01:37:16,506 --> 01:37:18,508 It's been a big centerpiece of my life. 1742 01:37:19,092 --> 01:37:21,511 And I just feel so thankful every day. 1743 01:37:29,811 --> 01:37:32,688 ["i have been to the mountain" playing] 1744 01:37:38,194 --> 01:37:40,985 REPORTER 1: Tommy and Kevin join us now on SportsCenter. 1745 01:37:40,988 --> 01:37:43,404 I know Tommy's lost his voice a little bit. 1746 01:37:43,407 --> 01:37:45,535 [hoarse voice] It drove me every day for seven years. 1747 01:37:46,410 --> 01:37:47,410 Sorry. 1748 01:37:47,537 --> 01:37:48,538 [all laughing] 1749 01:37:48,913 --> 01:37:52,750 What did your first real shower in 19 days feel like? 1750 01:37:53,543 --> 01:37:54,585 [all laugh] 1751 01:37:55,211 --> 01:37:58,256 I, like the entire world, was watching you. 1752 01:37:58,673 --> 01:38:00,842 And I just thought, "Why?" 1753 01:38:03,427 --> 01:38:07,140 WOMAN ON P.A.: Throwing out today's first pitch, Kevin Jorgeson. 1754 01:38:11,727 --> 01:38:15,145 REPORTER 2: Tommy Caldwell's new autobiography, The Push. 1755 01:38:15,148 --> 01:38:18,860 You were captured by militants in Kyrgyzstan? 1756 01:38:21,070 --> 01:38:22,110 REPORTER 3: Turns out 1757 01:38:22,113 --> 01:38:24,532 the militant actually survived the fall. 1758 01:38:25,491 --> 01:38:27,240 REPORTER 4: The rebel was put on trial 1759 01:38:27,243 --> 01:38:30,746 and found guilty of terrorism, murder, and kidnapping. 1760 01:38:32,081 --> 01:38:34,709 ♪ I have been to the mountain ♪ 1761 01:38:37,003 --> 01:38:39,505 ♪ And I have walked on his shore ♪ 1762 01:38:42,091 --> 01:38:46,012 ♪ I have seen ♪ 1763 01:38:46,929 --> 01:38:49,140 ♪ But I can't see him no more ♪ 1764 01:38:58,608 --> 01:39:01,277 ♪ I have been to the valley ♪ 1765 01:39:03,571 --> 01:39:05,862 ♪ And I have sung all her songs ♪ 1766 01:39:05,865 --> 01:39:06,866 BECCA: You can do it. 1767 01:39:08,951 --> 01:39:13,164 ♪ Watch me sing ♪ 1768 01:39:13,581 --> 01:39:14,624 Look... 1769 01:39:15,082 --> 01:39:16,082 BECCA: Mantle. 1770 01:39:16,959 --> 01:39:18,711 Mantle. Come on, try hard. 1771 01:39:19,337 --> 01:39:21,339 You've got to work hard and focus. 1772 01:39:23,799 --> 01:39:25,673 ♪ And I have walked on his shore... ♪ 1773 01:39:25,676 --> 01:39:28,012 BECCA: You can do it. You're working really hard. 1774 01:39:29,513 --> 01:39:30,803 Focus. 1775 01:39:30,806 --> 01:39:33,226 Come on, Fitz. You got it. You can do it. Come on, buddy. 1776 01:39:33,851 --> 01:39:34,974 Come on. 1777 01:39:34,977 --> 01:39:36,896 Remember, push up strong. 1778 01:39:37,355 --> 01:39:39,232 Yeah. [exhales] 1779 01:39:39,690 --> 01:39:40,858 Don't forget to breathe. 1780 01:39:44,820 --> 01:39:47,531 Come on. Yeah. Try hard. Try hard. 1781 01:39:47,823 --> 01:39:50,701 Come on, Fitz. You got it. Yeah. 1782 01:39:51,535 --> 01:39:54,080 Way to focus in. 1783 01:39:54,413 --> 01:39:56,290 Good perseverance. 1784 01:39:57,541 --> 01:40:00,086 Whoo! 1785 01:40:01,379 --> 01:40:03,089 Nice mantle, buddy. 1786 01:40:03,756 --> 01:40:04,966 High five. 1787 01:40:06,050 --> 01:40:07,093 Boom!