2008 Golden Piton Awards

Big Wall

Tommy Caldwell

Tommy Caldwell’s already won the Big-Wall Free Climbing GP twice, in 2004 and 2006. But it would be criminal to pass him over in 2008, the year that saw his single-push redpoint (20:20; June 7-8) of Magic Mushroom (VI 5.14a), El Capitan’s most continuously difficult free climb, and a line he and Justen Sjong made the FFA of only one month earlier.

Caldwell’s mastery of the Big Stone is unrivalled: in 2005, he climbed the Nose (VI 5.14a) and Freerider (VI 5.12d/13a) in ca. 23 hours, and he’s freed 12 of the monolith’s major routes, many of those FFAs. "Tommy Caldwell is leaping…to levels no one else can, at least not yet,” says John Harlin III, editor of The American Alpine Journal. To prepare for Magic Mushroom , Caldwell punished himself with rigorous, multi-sport, all-day workouts; and painstakingly familiarized himself with its intricate Beta. That Caldwell came one pitch away from his goal on an attempt one week prior makes his victory more impressive yet, especially given the heavy toll El Cap’s taken on his body (hammered knees, swollen hands, neurological damage to the feet, etc.).

Honorable Mentions:

• Yuji Hirayama and Hans Florine, for smashing the Nose speed record twice in a year: first at 2:43:33 (July 2), and then at 2:37:05 (October 12).
• Nico Favresse and Sean Villanueva, for their October 6-10 FA of El Cap’s Secret Passage (5.13c R; 15 pitches), with nine 5.12/13 pitches in a row, three of those R-rated for runouts or poor protection (hooks, copperheads).