How did the Dawn Wall become Big Big News

It doesn't matter if the story is gone in a week... it had its moment in the sun and the world got to watch something uplifting and wonderful for a time, in a world covered in blood and death. We all needed a breather from all that horror.

For me it was very difficult for a time, due to continuous demands made on me, coupled with a terrible diet, little sleep, and the photographic demands. Most of the time I was shooting it was really cold and I had lost my tolerance for it in the Alps in 69, when caught in a terrible storm. Most evenings I had a hard exhaustion buzzzz going and felt sick to my stomach. I just hoped I would get up in the morning and go again.

I worked hard because I felt an obligation to Adidas, who were paying my expenses and because of Tommy and Kevin... I wanted to give them the best I had in explaining the story, as I knew and admired both of them. I also wanted ElCap to get the respect that I have always felt it deserved in the history of the sport. This was not like my regular spring and fall gigs where we hang at the Bridge or in the meadow and mostly talk sh#t and lay around with a Cobra or two.

Also I had just been taken on by Adidas Outdoor and I didn't want to let them down or have them think poorly of me. I had not signed up for any of this media stuff... just to take some shots and a few videos of the climb. That would turn out to be the easy part!

Now I must admit to feeling a deep sense of pride as a result of the experience... like the climbers themselves... I had manned up and gotten the job done... not as a young man full of energy, but a geezer at 70. And I had spent 20 years out there shooting and learning about ElCap and here I was given this one last chance to show what I was made of... Our little team of 4 or so people had gotten out ahead of the story and made a big impact on the direction it went. We ended up being the "mouse that roared!!"

My aim was to show the world that the character, integrity , and tenacity of the men was, as, or more important than, the numbers on each pitch. That is what turned the story for me and I told that to every interviewer I spoke to. My emphasis on these characteristics was I believe what elevated the story to a higher level as opposed to just stating the numbers and climbing ability of the men. In the ECR I could get in the details that climbers wanted to read about with the shots I took. Probably, more than anything I have ever done in this sport, I will be remembered for these 19 days, and I didn't want anything to go wrong. I was never anything more than an average climber with more tenacity than skill, a fact that my detractors like to throw in my face from time to time. I never claimed to be anything but an average climber.

Blah, blah, blah... and that is the way it was... the inside story ... they say we all are tested in life, but not at the time or in the way we expect. I was tested and I came through... it doesn't get any better than that for me.