26 May Caldwell near onsight on Mt Watkins

 

Tommy Caldwell  and Chris McNamara did an attempt to climb onsight and in one single day the south wall of Mt. Watkins, in East area of Yosemite.
 
The route is 19 pitches long, up to 5.13a (8a) and  was first ascended by Pratt, Harding and Chouinard in 1964 in a  5 days long  epic adventure.
Caldwell fell in the second of  5.13a pitches, 5 pitches lacking  to the exit of the route.
 
 Despite the abundant snow that has made difficult the downhill, the duo managed to complete the itinerary in one single day, reaching the camp in the middle of night.
 
In 2008, another  onsight-one day attempt  by British Leo Houlding and American Dean Potter failed by a whisker, having the duo fixed a rope the day before on the first 5.12a pitch.
 


Video  (SuperTopo Video) Tommy Caldwell on the crux
 

Source: Chris McNamara Supertopo.com, UKClimbing.com