Tommy Caldwell

This article is about the American rock climber. For the musician, see Tommy Caldwell (musician). For the footballer, see Tommy Caldwell (footballer).

Tommy Caldwell
Caldwell in 2015
Personal information
Born (1978-08-11) August 11, 1978 (age 46)
Estes Park, Colorado, U.S.
OccupationProfessional rock climber
Websitetommycaldwell.com
Climbing career
Type of climber
Highest grade
Known for
First ascents

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]

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]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference OwenClarke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carpenter-2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Allen, Nick (January 11, 2015). "World's best climber only has nine fingers – the life and times of Tommy Caldwell". Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved March 15, 2019.