Tommy Caldwell

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. He made the first ascents of some of the hardest sport climbing routes in the U.S., including Kryptonite in 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. In 2015, National Geographic called Caldwell "arguably the best all-around rock climber on the planet", and he is an important figure in the history of the sport. ()