Journey up 3,000-foot Dawn Wall goes beyond rock climbing

Tommy Caldwell’s most incredible ascents have been completed with nine fingers.

A table saw rendered the tenth — his left index finger — out of a service during a home renovation.

That could be career-ending for a rock climber.

But this man – who also was once kidnapped by militants while climbing in the Pamir-Alai range of Kyrgyzstan – defies odds.

He did it again this year, completing the first free climb of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park and capturing the nation’s attention with the feat. National Geographic recognized him as “arguably the best all-around rock climber on the planet.”

Now, that man is coming to Nashville for Reel Rock 10, a two-day film festival at the Belcourt Theatre Wednesday and Thursday. From big walls to big moves, these short adventure flicks feature some of the most daring athletes in Alex Honnold, Ashima Shiraishi, Daniel Woods, and Caldwall's co-Dawn Wall climber Kevin Jorgeson. Caldwell will introduce the films in Nashville, and he stars in two, including one that focuses on the momentous 19-day ascent in Yosemite.

"The beauty of the climb was really the pursuit of it," Caldwell said just minutes after landing in Nashville on Tuesday.

It really was a seven year journey.

But before the Dawn Wall, there were back-to-back years that rocked Caldwell to the core.

In 2000, gun fire splintered the rock from which Caldwell and three friends hung in Central Asia, two days into a planned four-day ascent of the 2,500-foot Yellow Wall. What ensued was a complicated tale of capture and escape, that involved six days on the run and ended when Caldwell shoved an armed guard over a cliff.

From that day, Caldwell has seen his life in two parts. Everything that happened before. And all that has happened after.

"It brought my values into focus and who I am," Caldwell said.

"It steered me in the right direction and lit that fire," Caldwell said.

Not too many years later, Caldwell repelled the Dawn Wall to see if it could be free climbed. Then he began charting the ascent. He spent a couple years drilling bolts into the cliff face in order to add protection points. Those bolts would hold the ropes that would break their fall and be used to secure their shelter in which they would dangle during the resting hours thousands of feet above the ground.

They began the final week of December. The fourth day of the 19-day voyage serves as one of the most memorable for Caldwell. A severe windstorm shut down most of the valley. All they could do was secure their gear and themselves to the wall and hunker down.

"You would think it would be an intense, scary moment," Caldwell said. "But we had everything strapped down, so we endured it and drank whiskey.

"It was this crazy sensory experience."

Hard core climbers will understand that the Dawn Wall is significant because it possesses more hard rock climbing pitches than any other established free climb. There are 17 pitches — half the route — rated 5.13 or harder, according to National Geographic. For the uninitiated, a 5.13 difficulty means places your fingertips can grab are nearly non-existent. It's basically like climbing up a glass window, where a fall without a rope would mean death.

They used only their hands and feet to pull themselves up — a venture long considered impossible because of how sheer and smooth the granite cliff face was. Ropes served only as safety devices to break falls.

At the top, hoards of national media were there to greet them, capturing the final chapter of the adventure that Caldwell and Jorgeson chronicled on social media. They hugged their loved ones and toasted sparkling wine.

Also there to congratulate them was a familiar face and good friend from Nashville. Lance Brock, ones of the owners of the indoor rock climbing gyms Climb Nashville, stood at the peak with a Tennessee gift box and a pair of vintage trophies. A bowling one for Jorgeson in honor of "the perfect game" on the Dawn Wall, Brock recalled.

And for Caldwell, a preaching trophy "for preaching the Dawn Wall gospel for years."

"The reporters thought it was crazy that we had preaching trophies in the South," Brock said.

"It was one of the most fun days ever."

Caldwell's favorite Tennessee climbing

All the climbing around Chattanooga is world renowned, Caldwell said. "The rock around Tennessee is not big, but the quality is great and tends to form in ways really great for climbers."

Here are his favorite spots:

Foster Falls in South Cumberland State Park (11745 US 41, Monteagle)

Tennessee Wall on River Canyon Road (aka Mullen's Cove Rd) just outside of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Stone Fort (aka Little Rock City) in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.

Reel Rock film tour in Nashville

This year’s Reel Rock Tour features a segment on Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson's ascent of the Dawn Wall in Yosemite National Park. It shows, for the first time, video footage captured during the historic climb — but it is only a short preview to a longer feature film still being created. Caldwell also stars in "A Line Across the Sky," which portrays his and Alex Honnold’s five-day excursion across the seven summits of the Fitz Roy range in Patagonia, Argentina.

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

Where: Belcourt Theatre (2102 Belcourt Ave., Nashville)

Tickets: $17, general addmission

More info: www.belcourt.org

Reach Jessica Bliss at 615-259-8253 and on Twitter @jlbliss.