SOME CLIMBING WITH HIM. SHE'S BRAVE, TOO.
>> I PUSH MY OWN LIMITS THIS MORNING.
IN THE WORLD OF ROCK CLIMBING, TOMMY CALDWELL IS A TRUE LEGEND,
SCALING MOUNTAINS WITH JUST HIS HANDS AND FEET.
HE'S ACHIEVED WHAT MANY THOUGHT WAS IMPOSSIBLE, FREE CLIMBING
YOSEMITE'S DAWN WALL. >> MY WHOLE LIFE IS ABOUT
PUSHING MYSELF. >> Reporter: COMBINING A
MASTERFUL GRIP WITH HIS INNATE GRIT, TOMMY CALDWELL TRANSFORMS
THE UNTHINKABLE INTO THE INCREDIBLE.
>> YOU FEEL THE POWER OF MOTHER NATURE.
>> Reporter: TOMMY'S RECORD ON THE ROCKS BEGAN WHEN HE WAS A
ROCKY MOUNTAIN PARK. >> DID YOU HAVE FEAR?
>> I WAS ALMOST ADDICTED TO IT. >> Reporter: THAT AVERSION TO
FEAR BECAME TOMMY'S SECRET WEAPON.
>> I WOULD CLIMB SIX DAYS A WEEK.
WE STARTED TO TRAVELING ALL OVER THE WORLD.
>> Reporter: AT 16 YEARS OLD, HE ENTERED HIS FIRST INTERNATIONAL
CLIMBING COMPETITION AND HE WON IT.
MOUNTAINS BECAME TOMMY'S QUEST. BUT AT THE AGE OF 21, A
HARROWING EVENT NEARLY ENDED IT ALL.
TOMMY WAS WITH A SMALL EXPEDITION GROUP IN KYRGYSTAN
AND THEY WERE CAPTURED BY REBEL FIGHTERS THERE FOR SIX
TERRIFYING DAYS. >> WE WERE PROGRESSIVELY GETTING
CLOSER AND CLOSER TO DEATH. >> Reporter: HE SAW HIS CAPTOR
ALONE AND VULNERABLE, TOMMY POUNCED, PUSHING THE ARMED
MILITANT OVER A CLIFF. INCREDIBLY, THEY ALL MANAGED TO
ESCAPE.PE. HOW DID THAT CHANGE YOU?
>> IT MADE ME WANT TO LIVE EVERY DAY TO ITS FULLEST.
THAT'S WHEN MY CLIMBING STARTED TO SKYROCKET, IN A WAY THE.
>> Reporter: DID IT EVER. FROM PATAGONIA'S FITTS TRAVERSE,
TO YOSEMITE'S MAGIC MUSHROOM, ALMOST NOTHING COULD STOP TOMMY.
EVEN LOSING PART OF A FINGER COULDN'T HOLD HIM BACK.
THEN, THE BIGGIE. HE SET HIS SIGHTS ON SOMETHING
NOBODY HAS DONE BEFORE. EL CAPITAN'S DAWN WALL,
CONSIDERED ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST DRAMATIC ROCK FACES.
>> WE STUDIED THE WALL. WE FAILED A TON.
>> Reporter: HIS TRAINING GRUELING, FOR SEVEN YEARS HE
PRACTICED THE MOVES. HE PARTNERED WITH KEVIN
JORGENSON. AND IN 2015, THE TWO SET UP TO
CLIMB THEIR WAY UP THE WALL AND INTO HISTORY.
CONSIDERED THE MOST DIFFICULT CLIMB IN THE WORLD.
>> Reporter: USING ROPES ONLY TO CATCH THEIR FALLS, THEY PULLED
THEMSELVES UP INCH BY INCH, OVER 19 DAYS, UP THE DAWN WALL'S
3,000-FOOT ROCK FACE. >> THE ANCHORS ARE ALWAYS GOOD.
WE GET IN A SITUATION, WHERE WE CAN FALL 60 FEET.
>> Reporter: AS THE WORLD WATCHED, THEIR CLIMB BECAME AN
INTERNATIONAL SENSATION. >> INCREDIBLE AND HISTORIC FEAT
BY TWO AMERICAN CLIMBERS. >> Reporter: AFTER A LIFETIME OF
TRAINING, THAT IMPOSSIBLE DREAM BECAME REAL.
>> Reporter: MY FAMILY HAD SACRIFICED SO MUCH TO HELP ME DO
IT WAS REALLY A SHARED MOMENT. >> Reporter: A SHARED MOMENT
THAT HE DESCRIBED IN HIS NEW BOOK, "THE PUSH.
". >> IT TEACHES YOU HOW TO
NEGOTIATE THE RISK OF LIFE. >> Reporter: AS SOMEONE WHO
NEVER CLIMBED BEFORE, HE TOOK ME UP THE ROCKS NEAR HIS HOME.
>> I THINK THIS IS THE SCARIEST THING I'VE DONE IN MY LIFE.
THE THRILL IS REALLY REAL. MAYBE A LITTLE TOO REAL FOR ME.
OH, GOD. I DON'T LIKE THE WINDS.
I WOULD TAKE CHILDBIRTH TEN TIMES OVER AGAIN.
>> Reporter: BUT FOR TOMMY, IT'S WAY OF LIFE.
AND AT HOME IN COLORADO, THE
FATHER OF TWO TRAINS RELIGIOUSLY.
BY EMBRACING FEAR AND LEARNING FROM FAILURE, TOMMY IS LIVING
EVERY DAY TO THE EXTREME. WHAT PUSHES YOU TO THE LIMITS?
>> I THINK IT'S BUILT WITHIN ME, TO WANT TO PUSH MYSELF AS HARD
AS I CAN. I CAN'T IMAGINE A LIFE WITHOUT
THAT. >> Reporter: FOR NOW, TOMMY SAYS
HE IS FOCUSING ON HIS FAMILY, HE IS A DEVOTED FATHER OF TWO,
BEFORE DIVING BACK INTO ANOTHER ALL-CONSUMING GOAL.
BUT HE IS PLANNING SOME SMALLER CLIMBS NEAR HIS HOME, ALSO IN
NORTHERN CANADA AND GREENLAND. THAT WAS THE MOST SCARED I HAVE
EVER BEEN. THE WINDS WERE 40 MILES PER
HOUR. IT WAS SCARY.
>> THAT'S SOMETHING -- >> NATALIE'S LIMITS ARE THE SAME
AS OUR LIMITS. OUR LIMITS ARE WALKING FROM THE
COUCH TO THE REFRIGERATOR. BUT NATALIE IS AN ATHLETE.
>> THE
