Tommy Caldwell<137,2015/01/21,pmremote51>, left,<137> and Kevin Jorgeson toast their historic feat, which took 19 days to accomplish but was seven years in the making.MAX WHITTAKER/The New York Times
If you're finding it challenging to maintain your new year's resolutions, take inspiration and insight from a climbing expedition that demonstrates how far humans can push their performance, and the amazing feats we can achieve when we follow our dreams, prepare and stay focused.
Recently, climbers Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell finished their 19-day, 3,000-foot (915-metre) ascent of the Dawn Wall on El Capitan in California's Yosemite National Park. This is generally considered to be one of the toughest climbs yet completed. To add to the feat, Jorgeson and Caldwell performed the ascent by free climbing – that is, they only used their hands and feet to ascend, and used ropes only for protection from falls.
When Jorgeson was writing about the climb, he posted that "this is not an effort to 'conquer.' It's about realizing a dream."
I've written about the power of dreams in a previous column and this tweet by Jorgeson was a nice reminder that we need to set dreams and goals if we are going to reach our potential. What's your dream for 2015?
Once Jorgeson and Caldwell had set the dream of climbing the Dawn Wall on El Capitan, they began to prepare. They scouted the routes. They practised the different pitches repeatedly. They trained to build the strength and endurance that they would need.
The climb included seven pitches (about the length of a climbing rope, or 60-70 metres) that were rated 5.14 difficulty (on a scale from 5.5 to 5.15). A single 5.14 climb is a significant career accomplishment for most climbers, so completing seven such pitches in a single push up a route is one of the elements that makes this such a noteworthy event. Their preparation, therefore, also included not just strength and endurance training, but developing their skills to a point where they could complete these challenging climbs repeatedly.
The total challenge required that the climbers prepare for seven years.
This highlights the amount of time that is needed to build capacity, develop skills and become excellent at whatever it is that you are most passionate about.
We live in an age where we have almost immediate access to products, and we are constantly being sold on the latest quick fix. The fact that this expedition has captured the world's attention and brought inspiration to many is a testament to the power of long-term dreams. If we can all work on being a little bit better with our health, nutrition, exercise, work skills or other aspects of our lives each day, consistently over time, then we can accomplish incredible things as well.
The final element of the performance that caught my attention was when Jorgeson struggled to complete pitch 15 (of 32). This was a section of rock where he had to climb laterally between two vertical pitches. He failed 10 times before completing it on the 11th try. Completing the pitch took him seven days.
Keep in mind that, during the climb, he and Caldwell were sleeping in tents attached to the wall hundreds of metres off the ground. His determination to overcome this challenge was truly inspirational. It was interesting that the two climbers were putting as much attention and focus into their recovery and regeneration as they were into their climbing. Jorgeson was taking hours between attempts, in some cases even resting for an entire day before trying again.
We are so often faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges in our lives. In many cases it is these challenges that define us, and in order to overcome we may not need to try harder, but to step back, rest, recover, regenerate and respond to the challenge strategically rather than to react and charge ahead. Sleeping better, eating well and getting exercise on a daily basis can help all of us recover better and improve our performance and health, which is key to overcoming our big life challenges.
Although climbing El Capitan may not be on your to-do list, we can all still gain inspiration from this incredible accomplishment and learn insights that can help us live a better, higher performance and ultimately healthier life.
Health Advisor contributors share their knowledge in fields ranging from fitness to psychology, pediatrics to aging. Dr. Greg Wells is an assistant professor in the faculties of kinesiology and medicine at the University of Toronto and an associate scientist in physiology and experimental medicine at the Hospital for Sick Children.