The Push

The Push

A Climber's Journey of Endurance, Risk and Going Beyond Limits to Climb the Dawn Wall

Summary

THE STORY BEHIND THE HARDEST CLIMB IN HISTORY & ACCLAIMED DOCUMENTARY 'DAWN WALL'

'Heart-stopping, absorbing'
Daily Mail
'The most daring free climber on the planet' The Times
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In 2015, climber Tommy Caldwell took on the hardest challenge of his life, spending 19 days freeclimbing Yosemite's vertical, 3000-foot Dawn Wall - regarded as the most difficult climb in history and a route nobody had ever done before.

This odds-defying feat was the culmination of seven years planning and a lifetime of determination.

Here, he recounts how he got there, the falls and setbacks - being held hostage, losing his index finger, the break-up of his marriage - the summits conquered and the fears overcome.

Fans of Free Solo and Dawn Wall, and climbers and non-climbers alike, will be gripped by this story of drive, focus and achieving the impossible.
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'The Push is not simply a book about rock climbing' Guardian

'Probably the greatest living athlete most people have never heard of' Telegraph

'Arguably the best all-round rock climber on the planet' National Geographic

'A real page-turner . . . captivating and deeply moving' Climb magazine

'Captivating and unfailingly honest' Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air

Reviews

  • A genuine achievement in its own right . . . Caldwell's voice comes through clearly in passages of well crafted prose . . . The Push is not simply a book about rock climbing
    Guardian

About the author

Tommy Caldwell

Tommy Caldwell grew up in Colorado. He has made dozens of notable ascents, and many consider him the best all-around rock climber in the world. In 2014 he was chosen as one of National Geographic's Adventurers of the Year, and in 2015 the American Alpine Club awarded him Lifetime Honorary Membership, its highest honor. Caldwell, a frequent contributor to Alpinist, Climbing, and Rock and Ice magazines, lives in the town where he first learned to climb, Estes Park, Colorado, with his wife and their son and daughter.
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