Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold have completed a huge linkup of peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Taking roughly a day and a half, the pair linked climbs from Mount Meeker to Mount Notchtop, naming the challenge the 'Continental Divide Ultimate Linkup' – or CDUL (pronounced cuddle).
The ground covered by Caldwell and Honnold was impressive – they were moving for around 36.5 hours and covered 35 miles, 20k feet of vertical ground, 65 pitches and 11 routes. They were supported by Adam Stack and Maury Birdwell, who provided food, essential gear and other resupplies.
By Caldwell's own admission, they made some 'rookie errors' from a runner's perspective, missing their pre-night support drop off which left them climbing in short shorts and without food at 13,000ft in howling winds. Their headlights ran out and he resorted to jamming his phone under his hat.
According to Stack, who 'rescued' them with food new head torches, the quote of the night from Alex was 'soloing by iPhone is not that sweet.' By mid-morning, the CDUL was taking its toll on Caldwell who began throwing up.
The pair had been preparing for the CDUL for a couple of weeks. On June 10th, they had scoped out half of the challenge - from Mount Meeker to Mount Alice – which Honnold described as a 'lovely day out' with his 'favourite mountain guide.'
Honnold provided a full list of the routes which they mainly simul-climbed:
- Flying Buttress on Meeker (5.9)
- Casual Route on Longs Peak (10-)
- Pagoda
- The Barb on Spearhead (5.10)
- Birds of Fire on Chiefshead (5.11-)
- Central Ramp on Mount Alice (5.8)
- Arrowplane on Arrowhead (5.11-?)
- McHenry
- Powell
- Taylor
- The Petit (5.8)
- SW Corner on Spearhead (5.10)
- Sharkstooth (5.6)
- Otis
- Culp-Bossier (5.8+) on Hallet Peak
- Flattop
- Ptarmigan
- 'The cool crack' on Notchtop (5.9)
This wasn't the first time the two climbers have teamed up for a massive enchainment. In February 2014, the pair made the first ascent of the Fitzroy Traverse in Patagonia, Argentina. The 5km ridge line covers huge granite spires, including Cerro Fitzroy at 3405m. With thousands of feet of abseils, loose rock, difficult route finding, heavy packs and despite only bringing enough food for 3 ½ days, it took them 5 days in total. The ascent was featured in the film 'A Line Across the Sky' by Reel Rock.
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