Tommy Caldwell and Kevin
Jorgeson completed the Dawn Wall Project in January, 2015. It was immediately
crowned "the hardest climb in the world." The climb received national
attention from all over the world. Spending 19 days on the wall to complete a 7
year long project, Caldwell put together a lifetime of climbing to set the new
standard of what can be accomplished in the climbing world.
This was without
adversity. What began as curiosity, a spark captured the attention and
imagination of the world. Why? Rock climbing, the sport, does not bring a ton
of inherit value as shall we say being a doctor or a teacher. But yet watching
someone overcome, to do the impossible, because it has never been done before
inspires each of us to find our own Dawn Wall and climb it.
Caldwell says his father
as a huge inspiration and taught him "Don't prepare the path for your
children. Prepare your children for the path."
While it may be easy
to say, "This guy is lucky to be blessed with such talent. I could never
do something like this." His "overnight success" is the sum of 7
hard years of determination and vision and a lifetime of discipline. All this
while losing a finger, being captured by terrorists, going through a divorce,
etc.
This guy is the real
deal when it comes to having the guts to say to the naysayers that anything is
possible when you put your heart and mind into it.
