60 Tommy Caldwell Quotes from the American Rock Climber

Tommy Caldwell a professional rock climber demonstrates heroism through his perseverance and bravery.

Despite facing extreme challenges like being kidnapped by terrorists and having to push one off a cliff and accidentally severing a finger which threatened his climbing career Caldwell never gave up.

He embodies determination tackling the near-impossible Dawn Wall ascent and climbing with just nine fingers.

Tommy Caldwell Quotes

His actions including risking his life to save friends and relentlessly pursuing his climbing dreams showcase his extraordinary character and resilience.

Caldwell’s story inspires others to overcome obstacles and pursue their passions.

I have made a list of the top quotes by Tommy Caldwell.


Best Tommy Caldwell Quotes

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I’m always climbing. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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I’ve always been really curious about the limits of human capability. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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I feel this heavyweight to be a good ambassador for the sport. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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I feel very lucky to be able to call my hobby my job, yet it doesn’t feel like one. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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For me, I love to dream big, and I love to find ways to be a bit of an explorer. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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Climbs like the Dawn Wall don’t come around every day. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I love that idea of mastery. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Life is all about risk and reward. Better to have struggled, to have tried, than to not have seized an opportunity at all. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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I crave time in Yosemite like I crave food and water. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I pretty much bailed on high school. I mean, I graduated, but I wasn’t even there for my own graduation. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I’ve been climbing my whole life, so I know a lot of the feelings, the smells; these memories are pretty distinct in my mind still. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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If you don’t own your grunt work, can you really say you’ve done the climb? ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Inspiring Tommy Caldwell Quotes

My wife always says that I function better up on a big wall than I do anywhere else in life. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

A great adventure without success is far superior to a climb where everything goes as planned. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Every climb is different. The Dawn Wall was so dry and aggressive that my fingers would dry out to the point where they would crack. So I actually had to add as much moisture as possible. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

How do we build grit in our children? For my dad and me, it was a combination of bribery and exposure to minor traumatic experiences. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

While climbing, Kevin and I were like brothers. We laughed, encouraged each other, pushed each other. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

In rock climbing, people get strong enough, and then they pick goals they can do with their strengths at that moment. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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If you don’t have to worry about socializing because you don’t like it, you can more fully immerse yourself in climbing. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Climbing a big wall over several days is like running a giant construction project: constantly making lists, rigging ropes, organising food, figuring out camera angles – but you’re in this crazy place with your best friends, and it does take on a party atmosphere sometimes, like a big dudes’ camping trip. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

As I get more experienced, I love the idea of going into big mountains and doing big climbs. But the problem is, it’s getting more dangerous, especially alpine climbing. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Dad’s parents wanted their kids to be strong and independent. My dad told me stories of the kayak he built for himself and the adventures he had with it. His parents encouraged his curiosity. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Top Tommy Caldwell Quotes

I am at a climbing area called the Wendenstock in Switzerland. This area has some of the best quality multi-pitch climbing I have seen on limestone. There is about a two-hour approach on one of the steepest grass slopes I have ever seen. The setting is amazing. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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My natural abilities weren’t necessarily brute power and strength. They were more about the ability to endure and not give up. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

El Capitan is the most chapping environment in the world: windy, cold, super dry. I wake up twice a night and reapply lotion to my hands. We sand our fingertips to keep them smooth. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

One of the nice things about indoor training is you can make holds that are better on your skin, so you can train more before your fingers wear out. You can get stronger faster climbing inside. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I don’t journal that much, honestly. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Our relationship as being like a climb, the way we would navigate challenges as they arose, both those expected and those unforeseen, through times easy and hard, remaining independent and connected as we strove together toward the highest expression of ourselves. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I read all the Krakauer books. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

There are specific things in our world that are incredibly dangerous. Wingsuit BASE jumping is the very, very top of that. Big alpine climbing objectives are maybe right below that. I’ve probably had 20 friends die – people who were pretty close to me. I would say about 18 of them were because of snow. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Famous Tommy Caldwell Quotes

When I was super young, we were hiking to the top of the 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado. You know, when I was in my early teens, we went to Bolivia and climbed to the tops of the highest mountains in the Alps. You know, those experiences were so exciting that when I came back to school, I was actually quite bored. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Stand at the base and look up at 3,000 feet of blankness. It just looks like there’s no way you can climb it. That’s what you seek as a climber. You want to find something that looks absurd and figure out how to do it. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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My motivation is internal. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I have been to Switzerland a handful of times, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to climb. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I found myself thinking more deeply about my own motivations and intentions. I had now been working on the Dawn Wall for parts of three years. It had become my touchstone, my opportunity for self-expression. The way it started – alone – empowered me in my quest for independence. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I tend to walk through life sort of looking through a pair of binoculars, and I focus on certain things and push out the rest. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

One of the reasons the Dawn Wall climb went so viral is that you get great Internet access on El Cap. It’s like the best Internet access in all of Yosemite, so we had our phones with us. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Popular Tommy Caldwell Quotes

The Dawn Wall and the Fitz Traverse were super-satisfying climbs. But I will always be searching for the next thing – the need to accomplish and explore are just woven into the fabric of who I am. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

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I have a very distinct goal all the time that I’m working toward, and I love the way it makes me live. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I believe human relationships can and should follow the mind-set of adventure, defined not by climbing but by its greater meaning: embracing the unknown. In remaining open to others, you gain knowledge, and your perspective of life and of the world expands. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I’ve climbed in a lot of places, but only once in the U.K., at Stanage Edge in the Peak District. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

For me, I love to dream big, and I love to find ways to be a bit of an explorer. These days, it seems like everything is padded and comes with warning labels. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I feel a hint of pity for those who don’t get to experience the crisp air and excitement of mountain climbing. Are they ever really awake? ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I think retirement is a little bit like death. I want to always be incredibly engaged and challenged, but in climbing, you do have to be realistic that your body won’t be able to keep up forever. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I grew up a clumsy kid with bad hand-eye coordination. Yet here on El Cap, I felt as though I had stumbled into a world where I thrived. Being up on those steep walls demanded the right amount of climbing skill, pain tolerance, and sheer bull-headedness that came naturally to me. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

In some ways, climbing in the clouds is comforting. You can no longer see how high off the ground you are. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Great Tommy Caldwell Quotes

I have different shoes for different types of climbing, six or seven different shoes that I alternate. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I travel and climb about eight months a year. That’s pretty great training in itself. When I am home, I do a lot of bouldering, gym climbing, and specific strength training in an effort to get stronger for climbing. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I was drawn to Becca’s independence. She cherished her time alone and supported my desire to go on climbing trips. That absence of pressure led to a feeling of freedom. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

She encouraged him in her sweetest voice. “Stick with it, you can do it. You got it, push hard. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Through climbing, I’ve learned to find goals and work toward them. That’s just the way I love to live. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

I have always let my motivation guide me, and that has served me well. Climbing has taught me how to thrive and created a life that I feel incredibly lucky to have. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Inspirational Tommy Caldwell Quotes

The types of climbing that I choose to do I’m good at justifying. I do really try and pick things that I’m going to live through. I don’t want to die, and I’m relatively cautious. I play with that line all the time. I want things that are very exciting, so much so that they can feel almost spiritual. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

From an early age, Yosemite became the centre of my universe. I’ve been going every summer since I was a child. I love everything about that place: waterfalls, high-quality rock, history. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

Dad always taught me that it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you deal with it. ~ Tommy Caldwell.

My earliest memory is being in a snow hole, aged two-and-a-half, with my dad somewhere up a mountain in a blizzard. I don’t know what my dad saw in me – I was a geeky kid – but he had that philosophy: prepare the kid for the road, not the road for the kid. ~ Tommy Caldwell.


So these were the 60 inspiring Tommy Caldwell quotes and sayings on rock climbing.

If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Caster Semenya quotes and Paula Radcliffe quotes.

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Chandan Negi
Chandan Negi

I’m the Founder of Internet Pillar - I love sharing quotes and motivational content to inspire and motivate people - #quotes #motivation #internetpillar