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The Push

Tommy Caldwell

The Push

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On January 14th, 2015, Tommy Caldwell, along with his partner, Kevin Jorgeson, summited what is widely regarded as the hardest climb in history - Yosemite's nearly vertical 3,000 foot Dawn Wall - after a nineteen day ascent. Caldwell's odds-defying feat was the culmination of his entire climbing career having been built on pushing himself to his physical limits. This engrossing memoir tells the story of a boy with a fanatical mountain-guide father who was determined to make his son toughen up, to a teen whose obsessive nature drove him to the top of the sport-climbing circuit. Caldwell's affinity for adventure then led him to the vertigo-inducing and little understood world of big wall free climbing. His evolution as a climber was not without its challenges, however; in his early twenties, he was held hostage by militants in a harrowing ordeal in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Soon after, he lost his left index finger in an accident. Later, his wife, and main climbing partner, left him. Caldwell emerged from these hardships with a renewed sense of purpose and determination. He set his sights on free climbing El Capitan's biggest, steepest, blankest face--the Dawn Wall. This epic assault was over seven years in the making, during which time Caldwell redefined the sport, found love again, and became a father.

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Analysis and key concepts

01.

What makes Tommy Caldwell’s story so unique and what can we learn from it?

02.

Thanks to the encouragement of his father, Tommy Caldwell’s love of climbing began at an early age

03.

Climbing was another way for Tommy to learn about the world

04.

How to turn a traumatic experience into an opportunity to be reborn

05.

Stories and mountaineering have something in common: the importance of listening

06.

Success is the result of a series of unpredictable factors that slot together, controlled by the guidance of liberating and enthralling desire

07.

The preparation for the ascent along the Dawn Wall route took seven years

08.

The 19 days it took them to climb El Capitan were an ode to the ancestral relationship between human beings and the natural world

09.

Quotes

10.

Take-home message

01. What makes Tommy Caldwell’s story so unique and what can we learn from it?

Solid rock. Overhangs. Sweaty hands and pushing yourself to your physical and mental limits. For most people, these are the reasons why they choose to stay away from climbing, and why they seriously question the sanity of those who do it.

Climbing does indeed involve massive physical exertion, but it also comes with a great deal of risk. This is one factor which climbers need to make peace with right from the start, but that doesn’t mean just accepting the risk and carrying on climbing. No, climbers display almost obsessive levels of attention to detail when getting ready for even the most straightforward climb. Their approach on an indoor wall climb and an outdoor cliff face is always the same: proceed with caution. American climber Tommy Caldwell confirms this in the book, when describing his free climb of Mount El Capitan, which is also an ode to discipline.

For many, Tommy is a contemporary hero. He has broken several seemingly impossible records, and has lived an extreme, full life. The limits he talks about are not only physical, involving life-threatening peaks and dramatic drops, he also describes the emotional toll involved in pushing oneself beyond one’s limits. Climbing, as Caldwell puts it, is a struggle with oneself and with one’s place in the world. This is a man who managed to climb a completely flat wall with a severed index finger, the story of an athlete who dedicated seven years of hard work to preparing for his goal. If that wasn’t enough, this is also the story of an adventurer who, barely in his twenties, and having been kidnapped by Islamic extremists, managed to escape in one piece!

02. Thanks to the encouragement of his father, Tommy Caldwell’s love of climbing began at an early age

03. Climbing was another way for Tommy to learn about the world

04. How to turn a traumatic experience into an opportunity to be reborn

05. Stories and mountaineering have something in common: the importance of listening

06. Success is the result of a series of unpredictable factors that slot together, controlled by the guidance of liberating and enthralling desire

07. The preparation for the ascent along the Dawn Wall route took seven years

08. The 19 days it took them to climb El Capitan were an ode to the ancestral relationship between human beings and the natural world

09. Quotes

10. Take-home message

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Many useful tips to:

  • Find out more about the fascinating world of climbing.
  • Learn about the exploits of a world famous athlete.
  • Discover the ways in which you can build a strong mindset.

Tommy Caldwell is one of the biggest names in the history of climbing, and many consider him the best all-around rock climber in the world. Sponsored by some of the biggest mountaineering brands out there, from Patagonia to La Sportiva, he has broken numerous climbing records. One of his most noteworthy achievements was when he took on an extremely challenging free climb, scaling the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. That particular climb inspired a documentary, and the book upon which this summary is based, entitled The Push. In 2014, he was awarded the “Adventurer of the Year” prize by National Geographic.

Publishing house:

Penguin Books

Year:

2018

Pages:

352

ISBN:

978-0399562716