In mid-May, Tommy Caldwell and Justin Sjong spent five days on El Cap. Trading leads, they completed the first free ascent of Magic Mushroom (VI 5.14a), one of Yosemite's hardest routes. On June 7th, Tommy went back to the route with his wife Beth Rodden, and did it again. This time, Tommy wasted no time, leading all 28 pitches in just over 20 hours.
To shoot this feature for Outside, I spent the last week of April with Tommy and Justin as they prepared for their final push. Whether on the wall, committing every move to memory, or on the Valley floor, pairing their gear down to the bare minimum, I was there to document every step.
Check out all the details in the December issue of Outside. There, you can see more of my images, as well as read writer Matt Samet's description of this super-human feat.
