How to Get a Grip
On January 7, 2015, Kevin Jorgensen clung to the side El Capitan—a rock formation in Yosemite National Park. He and his climbing buddy Tommy Caldwell would go on to become the first people to free-climb Dawn Wall, but they didn't know it at the time. Instead, what Kevin knew was that he kept falling. Over, and over, and over again. He was stuck on Pitch 15, a treacherous sideways part of the climb that had only the tiniest of sharp handholds. He would fail to complete the pitch 11 times over seven days. Fast-forward two days. On January 9, Jorgensen slid along Pitch 15 with renewed determination. Put your foot here. Grab there. Shift foot there. Release and regrip. Every technical move had to be done exactly right. Finally, the magical moment came. Jorgensen clipped his tether into the carabiner, marking the completion of the pitch. He had done it! What made the difference? I wonder if part of his success came about because of two important practices Jorgensen did...