Two Yosemite climbers are finally just steps closer to accomplishing an impossible feat Monday morning. After more than two weeks, Yosemite climbers Tommy Caldwell, 36, and Kevin Jorgeson, 30, have been working their way up a 3,000-foot wall of granite at Yosemite National Park's El Capitan.
Now, these Yosemite climbers have made it past the most difficult part of the climb, according to CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. They are nearing the top of the 900m unconquered side of El Captain in Yosemite National Park and could possibly become the first Yosemite climbers to "free climb" the Dawn Wall.
According to the BBC, climb media manager John Long told Today about a "huge crunch" as network television around the world began "pouring in" to Yosemite National Park.
The persistent Yosemite climbers have propelled themselves using only fingers and toes, wedging them into the granite's tiniest cracks and indentations. The ropes they use only to catch themselves if they fall.
Only 13 have reportedly been free climbed of the 100 routes up El Capitan, and the Dawn Wall, pursued now by the Yosemite climbers, is harder than the others. The challenge is known to be the hardest in the rock-climbing world. Even those unacquainted with the sport, the quest of these two Yosemite climbers are about to finish is what many thought was impossible.
"You contrast it with the killings in Paris, with the darkness in the world," said 51-year-old Tim Fulkerson of Portola Valley, Calif. as he watched in the meadow Sunday. Fulkerson was at the foot of El Capitan with his 13-year-old rock-climber son Ross.
"You look up and you see the possibility of doing something almost insurmountable with optimism, creativity, perseverance, friendship. You see two guys holding on with bleeding fingers," he added.
Caldwell, one of the Yosemite climbers, now lives in Estes Park, Colo. He reportedly grew up climbing in Yosemite and has thus become a familiar and welcome face in the park. He conceived the idea of free climbing the wall about eight years ago. Since then, it has become an obsession for him.
As for Jorgeson, who is from Santa Rosa, Calif., he said he heard of the quest and simply offered Caldwell his expertise in bouldering.
After that, the now pretty famous Yosemite climbers, Caldwell and Jorgeson, have trained for five years. Two previous attempts were rendered failures because of a a storm, a broken ankle and exhaustion. However, that didn't stop them.
Another climber by the name of Ross Fulkerson, who made it to the nationals in competitive rock climbing, said that he has already seen these two Yosemite climbers on the wall in other years. He recognized Jorgeson by the climber's black Ford truck parked at the side of the meadow and waited for his friend's return.
"The most exciting part for me is that they're going to do it after trying for so long," Fulkerson said of the Yosemite climbers. The reen also dreams of traveling the world and free climbing unknown routes.
On Sunday, it had been Day 16 for Caldwell and Jorgeson, and it appears that the worst point is behind them already.
With each segment of the climb called a pitch, where climbers have to go back to the beginning of that section when they fall, Jorgeson was tested by Pitch 15. He reportedly fell 11 times already in over seven days, thus scraping the skin off his fingers. At some point, it may be possible that he may have to tell his partner to go on without him.
The 30-year-old eventually conquered Pitch 15 over the weekend, which is considered one of the toughest sections of the climb.
"Over the course of seven days, I made 11 tries and finally did it, and this is a view I will always remember, but I'm not sad to be moving past," said Jorgensen of the feat.
Meanwhile, his partner Caldwell, has already made it past Pitch 15 last weekend. He has been waiting for Jorgensen to catch up with him at a section of the climb called Wino Tower.
Caldwell has been climbing with a missing finger, which he accidentally cut it off with a saw. Once during a rock-climbing expedition in Kyrgyzstan, he was also kidnapped.
The Yosemite climbers rested Sunday morning, and technology has allowed for onlookers and other enthusiasts to take on a whole new level of intimacy unseen before.
The Yosemite climbers have reportedly been able to use social media from the wall. Photographers are also climbing with them whilst sending out images to the world, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Becca, Caldwell's wife, is a climber and photographer herself. Throughout the journey of the two Yosemite climbers, she has been keeping a blog chronicling how closely she and Caldwell's courtship intertwined with his Dawn Wall quest. Recently, she even posted photos of their toddler, Fritz, talking to his Caldwell from the wall.
A tweet by Jorgeson has already made it to some phones as well, which has been passed around.
His words began: "Momentum is a powerful force."
He is now close to reuniting with Caldwell at Wino Tower, described as a rare ledge on the Dawn Wall.
The most daunting parts of the climb are now behind the Yosemite climbers, and all that remains is for the partners to reunite and finish the climb together. Meanwhile, the world is watching from screens and a meadow in Yosemite. If everything turns out fine and the Yosemite climbers are reunited, they could be reaching the summit as well as history books by Wednesday night, according to CBS News.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
