Tommy Caldwell
American rock climber / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tommy Caldwell (born August 11, 1978) is an American rock climber who has set records in sport climbing, traditional climbing, and in big-wall climbing. Caldwell made the first free ascents of several major routes on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.[1]
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Born | (1978-08-11) August 11, 1978 (age 45) Estes Park, Colorado, U.S. |
Occupation | Professional rock climber |
Website | tommycaldwell |
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He made the first ascents of some of the hardest sport climbing routes in the U.S., including Kryptonite at 5.14d (9a) in 1999, and Flex Luthor at 9a+ (5.15a) in 2003, both at the Fortress of Solitude in Colorado. In January 2015, Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson over 19-days made the first free ascent of The Dawn Wall on El Capitan, which was the first-ever big wall free climb at 9a (5.14d) in history.[2]
In 2015, National Geographic called Caldwell "arguably the best all-around rock climber on the planet",[3] and he is an important figure in the history of the sport.[1]