A Basecamp Podcast Conversation with Tommy Caldwell

Listen to a conversation with Tommy Caldwell and Gripped editor Brandon Pullan, which was recorded at The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in the fall of 2015.

Caldwell is one of the world’s leading climbers. Born in 1978, he became a well known climber in the early 2000s after his first ascents of routes like The Honeymoon is Over 5.13 on Longs Peak, Flex Luther 5.15 in Colorado, the first free ascent of the West Buttress 5.13c on El Cap and the first free ascent of Dihedral Wall 5.14 on El Cap.

In 2000, with Rodden, John Dickey and Jason Smith, Caldwell was held hostage by rebels in Kyrgyzstan. Caldwell pushed a captor off a steep cliff, which allowed them to escape.

A year later, he and Rodden made the third and fourth free ascents of The Nose. Caldwell returned two days later and sent The Nose in less than 12 hours. A few days after that, he climbed The Nose in 11 hours and then sent Freerider in 12 hours. It was the first time anyone had free climbed two El Cap routes in a push.

Caldwell’s fame jumped to the next level after his first free ascent of Dawn Wall 5.14 on El Cap in 2015 with Kevin Jorgeson. He then completed the first traverse of the Fitz Roy range with Alex Honnold, which earned them a Piolet d’Or.

Caldwell is currently working on a book, which will be available in 2017. The Dawn Wall movie by Sender Films will also debut in 2017.