Tommy Caldwell

Tommy Caldwell (born August 11, 1978 in Estes Park, Colorado) is an American rock climber. He is married to prominent American rock climber Beth Rodden.

Caldwell is accomplished in several types of climbing, including sport climbing, hard traditional climbing, big-wall speed climbing and big-wall free climbing. He made the first ascents (FA) of some of the United States' hardest sport routes (as of 2008) including "Kryptonite" (5.14c/d) and "Flex Luthor" (a possible 5.15a) at the Fortress of Solitude, Colorado.

Caldwell is a big wall climber, with the first free and free ascents of a handful of El Capitan routes to his credit. In May, 2004 he completed the first free ascent of "Dihedral Wall". In 2005, he and wife Beth Rodden (swapping leads) made the third and fourth free ascents of the "Nose". Two days later, on October 16, Caldwell free climbed the "Nose" in less than 12 hours. A few days later, Caldwell climbed the Nose in 11 hours, descended the East Ledges, and then climbed Freerider, topping out 12 hours later - the first ascent of two El Cap free climbs in 24 hours.

On El Capitan, Caldwell has also free climbed: "Lurking Fear", "Muir Wall", "West Buttress", "Salathé", "Zodiac" and "Magic Mushroom".

Caldwell, Beth Rodden, and fellow climbers John Dickey and Jason Smith were held hostage by rebels in Kyrgyzstan in 2000. [ [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0528_030528_rockclimbers.html Climbers Recount Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan ] ]

Caldwell accidentally sawed off much of his left index finger with a table saw in 2001. Doctors were able to reattach the severed portion, however Caldwell subsequently had it removed so as not to hinder his climbing career.Fact|date=May 2007

Notable ascents

* 2003: "Flex Luthor" (5.14d/15a?), Fortress of Solitude, Colorado, USA [cite web
last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors =
title = 2003 Golden Piton Awards - Sport Climbing
work = Climbing Magazine | publisher = Action Sports Group
date = | url = http://www.climbing.com/print/features/sport03/
format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-02 ]
* 2003: "West Buttress" (FFA) VI 5.13c, El Capitan, Yosemite, California, USA [cite web
last = Wright | first = Cedar | authorlink = | coauthors =
title = YOSEMITE VALLEY - Various Activity | work = Alpinist Magazine | publisher = Marc Ewing
year= 2004 | url = http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP05/climbing-note-wright
format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-02 ]
* 2004: "Dihedral Wall" (FFA) VI 5.14a, El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, California, USA [cite web
last = MacDonald | first = Dougald | authorlink = | coauthors =
title = Caldwell Frees Dihedral Wall | work = Climbing Magazine | publisher = Action Sports Group | date = | url = http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/caldwelldihedral/index.html
format = | doi = | accessdate = 2007-03-02 ]
* 2005: "The Nose" VI 5.13, 3rd/4th Free Ascent (with Beth Rodden), El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, California, USA [cite web | last = MacDonald | first = Dougald
authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Caldwell-Rodden Free the Nose
work = Climbing Magazine | publisher = Action Sports Group | date =
url = http://climbing.com/news/thenosefree/ | format = | doi =
accessdate = 2007-03-02 ]
* 2006: "Linea di Eleganza" VI 5.11b A3 90 degrees M7 Fitz Roy, Argentine Patagonia. FFA with Topher Donahue and Erik Roed. [cite journal | last = Caldwell | first = Tommy
authorlink = | coauthors = Topher Donahue | title = Scattered Ashes
journal = Alpinist | volume = 17 | issue = Autumn 2006 | pages = 50–57
publisher = Alpinist Magazine | location = Jackson, WY, USA | month = September | year = 2006
url = | doi = | id = ISSN 744705745080 ]
* 2008: "Magic Mushroom" (FFA) VI 5.14a with Justen Sjong, May 12-17, 2008, El Capitan, Yosemite, California, USA [cite web
last = Beckwith | first = Christian | authorlink = | coauthors =
title = More Details on Magic Mushroom | work = Alpinist Magazine | publisher = Marc Ewing
date= May 20, 2008 | url = http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08s/newswire-caldwell-magic-mushroom-details
format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-08-18 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.bethandtommy.com/ www.bethandtommy.com]
* [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/08/25/hostagesescape.ap/ Kidnapped mountain climbers recount dramatic escape]
* [http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/nosefreeride/index.html "The Nose" and "Freerider" at Climbing.com]