Kevin Jorgeson, 30 and Tommy Caldwell, 36, have reached the mid-point on their attempt to free climb El Capitan, the world's largest granite monolith located in California's Yosemite National Park. While many have climbed El Capital before, if successful, the pair would be the first to free climb the second of the monolith known as the Dawn Wall. The climbers could reach the top of El Capitan as early as Friday or Saturday.
Two men are roughly halfway through what has been called the hardest rock climb in the world: a free climb of a half-mile section of exposed granite in California's Yosemite National Park.
Tom Evans, a climber and photographer, has been chronicling Kevin Jorgeson, 30, of Santa Rosa, California, and Tommy Caldwell, 36, of Estes Park, Colorado, as they scale their way using only their hands and feet.
El Capitan, the largest monolith of granite in the world, rises more than 3,000 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor.
Don't look down: Jorgeson calculates his next move up the mountain in this photo posted on Instagram on Sunday
Time to relax: On Monday, the pair took a rest day to heal their hands in preparation for another day up the mountain on Tuesday. Above, Jorgeson relaxes in his tent hooked on a tail on the side of the mountain
Daring: Free climbing involves using ropes to protect from falls, but not to aid in the ascent. Above, Caldwell makes his way up El Capitan using a headlamp on Sunday night
Up they go: Kevin Jorgeson, 30 (left), and Tommy Caldwell, 36 (right), have reached the halfway point on their attempt to free climb Yosemite's El Capitan
Record breakers: If they are successful, Jorgeson and Caldwell will be the first team to free climb El Capitan's Dawn Wall
Rock face life: On the left, Caldwell is seen on Day 9 of the climb, manicuring his hands. The razor-sharp rock on the wall tears up the skin on the climbers hands and they use sanding blocks to keep them smooth. On the right, one of the meals the climbers have eaten on El Capitan. The pair keep fueled with sandwiches like this one, and the upside to climbing in winter means their produce is practically refrigerated
The men eat, stretch and sleep in hanging tents suspended to El Capitan's Dawn Wall. They don't have the creature comforts of home, but they have kept in touch with the outside world thanks to social media - tweeting, posting on Facebook, feeding information for blogs and keeping in touch with a bevy of supporters on the ground.
'The guys are doing great,' said Josh Lowell with Big Up Productions, which has been chronicling their climbs for the last six years. '(Monday) they are resting and trying to grow skin back on their fingertips so they can continue to do battle with the hardest climbing sections, which involve grabbing tiny, razor-sharp edges of rock,' Lowell said.
If all goes as planned, the duo could be at the top as soon as Friday or Saturday, Lowell said.
'But that's best-case scenario. It could take several more days just to get through the difficult section where they currently are. If any weather moves in, that could also delay things, but the forecast is looking good for now,' he said.
Many have climbed Dawn Wall but the pair would be the first to 'free climb' the section using ropes only as a safeguard against falls. Previous ascensionist have used ropes and metal pitons to help pull themselves upwards, as well as to stop them plummeting to the ground if they fall.
Caldwell and Jorgenson are pulling themselves up the route using only the tiny holds they can find on the rock.
The first climber reached El Capitan's summit in 1958, and there are roughly 100 routes up to the top.
Evans said the two have a cellphone on their ascent, but they weren't taking calls Monday because they were resting and 'want no distractions while on the cliff.' The two also weren't answering emails from roughly 1,500 feet above the ground.
These practices may not seem unusual, but the climbers have relied heavily on social media to document their adventure. Both update their Facebook pages regularly and tweet from the Dawn Wall, which has been called 'as smooth as alabaster, as steep as the bedroom wall.'
Last Friday, Jorgeson hosted a live question-and-answer session from the wall.
Progress: If all goes well, the pair could reach the summit of El Capitan as early as Friday or Saturday. Above, Caldwell makes his way up the rock face on Sunday
Daunting: At 3,000-feet-tall, El Capitan is the largest monolith of granite in the world and one of the most difficult climbs
Not out of the loop: The pair keep in touch with the outside world using a cellphone they brought with them on the climb. However, on Monday they stayed off the device to focus on resting
Mountaineers: The first climber reached El Capitan's summit in 1958, and there are roughly 100 routes up to the top
Live from El Capitan: On Friday, Jorgeson hosted a question and answer session from the wall. Seen climbing El Capitan, above
Worst is over: There are 32 sections of El Capitan to climb, but the pair have already finished the three hardest parts
Caldwell's wife', Becca, has also been blogging about their trip daily and wrote this post last weekend:
'Being up on the wall for over a week and the hard climbing Tommy and Kevin have done up until now adds an element of difficulty on top of the hard climbing they have to do,' she wrote. 'Imagine performing your very best after not walking for one week. I know Tommy has made an effort to try and do stretching, pushups, (and) yoga in the (hanging tent) hoping this might combat the unusual circumstances of living like veal between their climbing. So let's hope for big things today. This climb definitely won't be over until it's over, but I believe it's possible. Let's go boys!!!'
Jorgeson tweeted late Saturday about his difficulty scaling one section: 'Battling. #dawnwall.'
There are 32 sections of the climb. On Sunday night, Lowell said Caldwell, climbing in the dark, completed the last of the three hardest sections of climbing, which was a major breakthrough, Lowell said.
'He still has 1,500 feet of hard, scary climbing ahead, but mentally he is feeling really confident right now, and incredibly excited. (Jorgeson) is extremely close to completing pitch 15, one of the hardest. (Tuesday) he will try to complete it and catch up to Tommy so they can continue forging ahead.'
In 1970, Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell (no relation to Tommy Caldwell) climbed Dawn Wall using ropes and countless rivets over 27 days.
The duo prepared for at least six years for the climb, according to friends and their personal websites. John Long, the first person to climb El Capitan in one day in 1975, said he speaks to the climbers several times a day.
'It's almost inconceivable that anyone could do something that continuously difficult,' he said Monday, adding that he believes they spent the equivalent of a year's time on the wall in preparation for the climb.
To follow Jorgeson and Caldwell on their journey, follow them on Instagram. Big UP Productions and photographer Corey Rich are also capturing the two as they ascend the monolith, and both have been posting pictures of the monumental climb on Instagram as well.
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