01 The ill-fated rock climbing star Tommy was born in 1978, and he has been hit hard since he was a child. The school teacher had told Tommy's parents that he was mentally retarded and would never be able to learn. Tommy is shy and stunted. I never knew what I had to say about myself. His dad took him through a lot of field training, which gave Tommy the only thing he was more confident about: rock climbing. At the age of seventeen, in an accidental competition, Tommy, who was originally a spectator, won the championship as a dark horse and became famous in the first battle. Later, he and female rock climber Beth came together. They organized a team of four to go on an adventure to Kyrgyzstan, but were hijacked by local civilian armed forces and nearly lost their lives. In a critical moment, Tommy pushed the last gangster off a cliff after a tangled psychological struggle. They were all saved.
However, the "killing" incident has since become an insurmountable psychological trauma for Tommy and Beth. Misfortunes don't come singly, they've just gotten back to their normal life by returning to rock climbing. Tommy accidentally cut off the index finger of his left hand while renovating the house. The doctor said: Tommy has to take up a new career, it is impossible to climb again.
However, such adversity has inspired Tommy's greater fighting spirit. "We all know where our limits are," he said. "If you're seriously injured, you get to a point where you say to yourself: 'I can't take it any longer. But at a certain point, you'll feel a reserve. The energy, the confidence it brings will force you to take that step." He found that what he used to think of as his limits was completely wrong. He went to challenge a mountain he hadn't climbed before. After losing his finger, he conquered it instead. In 2002, Tommy, a 24-year-old with a severed finger, and Beth lived near the top of the rock climbing holy land, Chieftain. They completed many exciting challenges together over the next few years. However, Beth was still unable to resist the heavy psychological burden of the past, and they divorced. Tommy was heartbroken. But he "had to find a way to relax in life, not just sit and feel the pain." In 2008, Tommy decided to challenge the Dawn Wall.
02 Sweaty Dawn Wall
Yosemite National Park, also known as "Yosemite". Along with Yellowstone Park and Grand Canyon Park, it is one of the three most beautiful national parks in the United States. This is a mecca for rock climbing. Chieftain Peak with a vertical height of 900 meters is here. This massive rock is rarely conquered. There are only a few climbing routes, and any successful ascent has gone down in history. Every morning, the side of the El Capitan is illuminated first, and this rock is called the "Wall of Dawn". Never climbed by any rock climber before. Tommy and Beth have conquered Chieftain five times in the past five years, and they have climbed all the conquered routes without missing a single one. After the divorce, Tommy set his sights on the Dawn Wall that had never been conquered. He began to survey the road, and lived alone in a tent on the cliff at night. He often took pity on himself and wept silently. His father accompanied him through this difficult time. And after a year of surveying, he found a possible route from the bare dawn wall, like walking a maze. There is a set of numerical difficulty indicators in the field of rock climbing, and a difficulty exceeding 5.13B is already a difficulty that few people can complete. More than half of the 32 individual pitches on this route are above this level of difficulty.
Especially about 300 meters above the ground, there is a 90-meter-long rock band that must complete an almost impossible cross-cut climbing. There is another place that requires a horizontal jump to pass. Just looking at it makes my hands and feet sweat. Tommy also found that he couldn't do the climb alone and needed a partner.
03 The Impossible Pursuit Kevin is a bouldering master who has always wanted a bigger challenge. Tommy and Kevin hit it off and start preparing for the Dawn Wall challenge. Next, although Tommy fell in love again, he put almost everything else in his life on hold and devoted himself to this seemingly impossible pursuit. They work very hard, but the harder they work, the more they doubt the boundaries of devotion and obsession. Kevin said: "I can't tell if we're wasting our time or going after something big. Tommy also began to doubt that the climb was impossible after more than 1,000 failures, and doubted his ability. They spent six years preparing, practicing and trying. In January 2015, they started the official ascent.
04Turnback before the summit Tommy's side progressed smoothly, and soon completed the 90-meter rock belt cross-cutting climb. At this time, the media coverage made them the object of national attention. But Kevin ran into difficulties. After many days of battles and defeats in front of the rock belt, the wounds on his fingers became difficult to heal. Kevin chose to give up his climb and fully supported Tommy to reach the summit. Tommy took a long detour and passed the extremely difficult jumping point. On the night of the 12th day of departure, Tommy successfully arrived at "Winnota", where he screamed.
Winnow Tower is a virtual landmark, a rare bulging plane on the Dawn Wall. Climbing to Winnota means that the difficult climb is over, and the summit is in sight. But he suddenly felt alone, aware of one more important thing than his summit. He decided to turn back and fully supported Kevin to tide over the difficulties, and the two of them reached the summit together. Although before that, Kevin had never managed to overcome that annoying rock band. But they still agreed to take a good rest for two days, wait until the wound recovers a little more, and then challenge again. For the next two days, they spent the next two days watching the scenery, enjoying the breeze and sunshine, and discussing technical details. Kevin's mood relaxed a lot, and the next day, he not only completed the crosscut challenge in one go. In the place where Tommy took a detour, he completed a precise horizontal jump. Although it was "delayed" for seven days, when they boarded Winnota together, both of them were happy from the bottom of their hearts.
Isn't 05 just climbing the wall?
Sports movies have always been one of my favorite genres. A few years ago, a student said that he didn't understand the beauty of sports at all. Isn't that just grabbing the ball? Isn't it just climbing the wall? Here's my answer: Every sport is a test of human potential to see someone who can "higher, faster, stronger" and accomplish these incredible challenges. As a human being, I would feel honored. Because of this, I will feel that my power seems to be a little stronger. I once watched "168 Hours of Ice Peak" with the campers at the Keyplay Winter Camp, which is also a touching wall-climbing movie. Compared with last year's widely discussed rock climbing movie "Free Solo", I prefer this "Wall of Dawn". In addition to the courage and persistence in the process of deliberate practice, there is also the superhuman perseverance of rebirth from adversity, as well as the support and trust of friends at critical moments. And the many Easter eggs at the end of the "Wall of Dawn" film also make people feel good. Our digestion of suffering and struggle is the enlightenment of wisdom and perseverance. Let me end this article with Goethe's poem "A Miracle That Can't Be Realized Without This". ( Watch link: Follow the official account (ID: troublecx) to reply to "Dawn" to get it )
No miracle is possible without this
Goethe
Before committing, it is inevitable to hesitate.
Consider holding back, staying out of the way,
Yet all aggressive and creative action entails a fundamental fact,
Ignoring this fact will stifle countless ideas and ambitions:
Once you decide to devote yourself to it, the will of God will follow,
All sorts of occasions accompany them to bring about miracles that would not have been possible without them.
A chain of events begins with this decision, like a godsend,
All kinds of unforeseen events, coincidences, material assistance, etc., which no one can dream of, appear in the blink of an eye.
As long as you can, or even dream, start implementing it!
In courage there is talent, strength, and divine power.
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