As many of you may recall, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson鈥檚 2015 free-climbing ascent of El Capitan鈥檚 3,000-foot Dawn Wall nearly broke the Internet. Almost overnight, the world became transfixed by the story: after seven years of meticulous planning and months spent scouring the mostly blank cliff face to find barely-there cracks and edges, here were two dudes, in the middle of winter, living in a tiny hanging tent on the side of a sheer vertical cliff, attempting the most continuously difficult rock climb in the world. Camera crews flooded Yosemite Valley. Caldwell spoke to reporters mid-climb, from their perch on the wall.聽President Obama even got in on the action, tweeting words of encouragement to the duo.
It was a spectacle unlike anything the adventure world had ever known. In the end, it took Caldwell and Jorgenson 19 days to climb all 32 pitches. But here鈥檚 the really crazy thing: all of the above barely scratches the surface of what makes Red Bull Media House and聽Sender Film’s new feature-length film The Dawn Wall, which is available for pre-order , an instant classic.聽Yes, it鈥檚 a climbing movie, but it鈥檚 really a positive and uplifting film聽about聽overcoming life鈥檚 obstacles, whatever they may be, that will have you cheering throughout the film. Here are five reasons it鈥檚 worth a watch.
Big Wall, Big Screen
Even if you don鈥檛 care about the difference between free climbing (ropes so you don鈥檛 die) and free soloing (no ropes!), the film鈥檚 mix of the hardest rock climb on earth, Ansel Adams鈥檚 favorite Yosemite Valley landscape, and award-winning cinematography by Big UP Productions and Sender Films are reason enough to watch. The footage puts you right in the climbing shoes of a human attached to a sheer face with thousands of feet of air beneath their feet. If The Dawn Wall doesn’t make your heart soar, it鈥檒l certainly make your stomach drop.
The Backstory Involves International Terrorism, Household Accidents, and Divorce
Younger audiences might not recall that Caldwell and three climbing partners, including Beth Rodden, who he would later marry, were once kidnapped in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan by Islamist rebels with ties to Osama bin Laden. The whole ordeal鈥攁nd how the four young climbers eventually escaped鈥攊s practically worthy of its own film. Then, a聽year later, at home in Colorado, Caldwell had a potentially career-ending mishap with a table saw and聽he and Rodden’s marriage fell apart.
There鈥檚 an Underdog to Root For
Kevin Jorgeson had never climbed El Capitan before emailing Caldwell about partnering on the Dawn Wall. With a background in bouldering鈥攃limbing on boulders, typically 12 to 20 feet in height, sans ropes鈥擩orgeson was accustomed to pulling difficult moves just 15 feet above crash pads, not 1,500 feet above the ground. During the ascent, Jorgeson got hung up on pitch 15鈥攖he route鈥檚 crux, rated at 5.14d. Figuring it out鈥攐ver the course of a week, with the world watching online鈥攔equired him to summon聽the effort of his life.
Actually, the Entire Project Was an Underdog
The climbing world was familiar with Caldwell and Jorgeson鈥檚 seven-year Dawn Wall obsession. Given all the years that Caldwell鈥攃onsidered one of Yosemite鈥檚 most prolific climbers鈥攈ad come up short, many climbing enthusiasts were skeptical that the Dawn Wall would ever be free-climbed. It almost seemed as if climbers were tuning out on the Dawn Wall story just when mainstream media outlets and casual fans suddenly tuned in. It was a moment in time when the niche sport of rock climbing pierced the mainstream consciousness. It even inspired a meme: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 Your Dawn Wall?鈥
You Don鈥檛 Have to Just Take Our Word for It
The Dawn Wall has already racked up awards from festivals like SXSW (winner of the audience award) and San Francisco’s聽DocFest (the audience award again) and took three category wins at the Trento Film Festival, including Best Mountaineering Film. It was also a nominee at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.
The Dawn Wall is now available for 聽To learn more about the film, please visit聽.