THE PUSH: A CLIMBER’S JOURNEY OF ENDURANCE, RISK, AND GOING BEYOND LIMITS Tommy Caldwell
There are a number of reasons you might know Tommy Caldwell’s name. The first is because he’s one of the most proficient rock climbers in the world. In 2015, he and Kevin Jorgeson completed the first free climb of Yosemite’s Dawn Wall – covering 915 vertical metres of near-featureless rock without aid. Then, there are the things that could have got in the way of this level of achievement, but didn’t. He’s missing most of his left index finger, cut off in a domestic accident, and in 2000 he, then-wife Beth Rodden and two climbing partners were kidnapped in Kyrgyzstan. After days of freezing and starving conditions, Tommy stole a chance, pushed one of their captors off a cliff and they escaped. Either of these incidents could have ended his career, but neither did.
In The Push, he describes why this might be. How a slight, bespectacled, sensitive kid with a “real-life comic book character as a father” became one of the world’s best climbers. It’s about grit, dedication, commitment to a vision and hours of training, but that’s just a small part. The Push starts with his birth, peaks with the Dawn Wall ascent, and ends with an impromptu, off-radar, big wall trip with a mate. In that final scene, he reflects on everything that brings value, love and contentment into his life. And on how climbing might not be the bright light of meaning but rather the lens through which it is focused. This kind of honesty, introspection and thoughtfulness runs throughout the book, he seems to be untangling a natural curiosity as he writes.
The answers, insofar as they’re found, seem to be in his relationships. How his dad tied him into his first rope, securing him to the wall and to something that would become a guiding principle. How his partnership and marriage to Beth Rodden shaped his young adulthood. How falling in love with his current wife Becca affected the next part. The Push touches on many small, private moments and yet some of the incidents recounted are worthy of a blockbusting thriller. But this is real life. The authenticity is compelling, the stories inspiring and I found it impossible to put down.