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Caldwell, Mills Climb First 5.14 On The Diamond
Tommy Caldwell and Joe Mills have redpointed the first 5.14 route up the Diamond on Longs Peak, the premier granite wall in Colorado's high mountains. The two free-climbed the full Dunn-Westbay aid line in four rope-stretching pitches, with an 80-meter crux second pitch (5.14a).
It's also worth giving credit to Caldwell and Jonathan Siegrist who gave up their efforts on the route last week to assist with a nearby rescue operation underway to help a badly inured climber.
3 comments
how much of a difference was this ascent versus http://climbingnarc.com/videos/a-day-on-the-diamond-with-josh-wharton/ this one? i wonder. great job to all climbers who free a line at that altitude and difficulty. doubt i could muster 5.8 at 14000 feet!
That is addressed in the Climbing article
Cedar Wright has a video of TC working the route last year:
http://vimeo.com/51980457
An 80 meter 5.14 pitch at 13k+ kinda blows me away. That's an impressive feat.