“I fully realize that free climbing the Dawn Wall of El Capitan is improbable. Miles of blank steep granite—no true weaknesses to follow… I’ve spent parts of two years either rope soloing up or rapping down from the top, swinging around, searching and trying the moves. I’m trying to force a paradigm shift with this route, and the prospect of linking together at least seven pitches of 5.14 to 5.14+ and another ten in the 5.13 range is daunting,” Tommy Caldwell.
Fear and rock: Austrian climbers Andrea Maruna (beginning to climb again after a serious fall) and Angelika Rainer display their unbending will to battle the mountain’s mental and physical challenges.
“I think you have to listen to what you feel yourself in your own body and that is what gives you more strength than the doctors who say, ‘No, that won’t function anymore,’” Andrea Maruna.
“If you’re a boulderer and are drawn to the tall, proud lines, it’s not a matter of whether you’re going to get hurt or not, it’s a question of when…”
The Season | Episode 3: Boulderer Anya Miller battles ACL tears, nine separate surgeries on her left knee, and the mental “tendencies” that may have contributed to her injuries.
Boulder Canyon problem: Longmont, Colorado climber Daniel Woods tackling what may be the hardest bouldering problem in the country: “I called this problem The Game, because for me the climb was a game I had to play, I had to click into game mode, and really train myself for these moves. I had to grow mentally strong and also physically strong to be able to put it together.”
Boulder, Colorado climber Renan Ozturk “bagging” a backyard summit.
Renan’s life vision: “For most of the last 6 years I’ve been a traveling vagabond following my passion. This existence involved sleeping outside in wild places, hitching rides, having very little belongings, a drained bank account, and some gourmet dumpster diving for food. But I climbed everyday and lived my dream.”
