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myNotes

5 The Dawn Wall is a mostly smooth granite face. Experts rank
it as the most challenging free climb in the world. In 2005, an
expert climber named Tommy Caldwell rappelled down the Dawn
Wall. He spent time studying the wall, trying to figure out if it

could be free climbed successfully.

6 What is a “free climb”? It’s a style of climbing in which
climbers use only their hands, feet, and body for support and
climbing. A rope can be attached to a free climber, but it isn’t used

to help the climber up the wall. The rope is strictly for safety, to
catch the climber if he or she slips or falls.

7 When using a rope for safety on a climb, the rope must be
continually untied and re-secured as the climbers move up the

wall. The length of the rope—which limits how far a climber may
move without stopping to untie and re-secure—is called a pitch. A
long climb with a safety rope is called a “multi-pitch” climb.

Jorgeson and Caldwell

8 In 2009, Tommy Caldwell teamed up with climber Kevin Jorgeson
to plan their climb of the Dawn Wall. After working on an analysis
of the wall for almost five years, the athletes began their climb on

December 27, 2014. They would stay on the wall for 19 days,
relying on a few key tools and plans to keep them alive.

9 The infographics on the preceding pages and the photo essay
that follow show what it took for these men to accomplish their
wildly ambitious goal.

rank If you rank something, you give it a position or grade in relation to others
of its type.
analysis An analysis is a detailed study of something.

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