When you’re outdoors on a mission, your phone shouldn’t be a concern. Just take it from storied climber Tommy Caldwell.
Caldwell has pioneered several hard sport routes, including more than a dozen free-climbing routes on El Capitan. His Yosemite free climbs include a speed record on The Nose with Alex Honnold and the first free ascent of El Capitan’s Dawn Wall with Kevin Jorgeson, which took 19 days and is often cited as the hardest big-wall free climb in history.
Caldwell spoke about his ever-evolving relationship with climbing and filming his routes during a recent multi-pitch climbing day spent with his son, Fitz Caldwell. The duo tackled Lover’s Leap near South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
Famous climber or not, Caldwell carries a phone most of the day just like the rest of us. To protect his phone, he uses the TORRAS Ostand Q3 Air Pro Phone Case with industry-leading protective tech.
Learn More About the TORRAS Ostand Q3 Air ProCaldwell on Resilience
Tommy Caldwell has accepted career setbacks the way he sees big climbs: a challenge. There will be setbacks, new problems, lessons learned, and a way through.
“When I’m up on a mountain, and we’re in a storm, we’re super tired, and you can start making jokes. That’s almost when I feel like I thrive the most,” Caldwell said of his climbing mindset.
In his early 20s, he lost part of his left index finger in an accident. He chose not to have it reattached since it wouldn’t help his climbing. “It turned out that missing my finger affected me less, and maybe even redirected me into the style of climbing that suited me better.”
After 40 years of climbing, an Achilles injury kept him from his sport for nearly 2 years. “I was so pleasantly surprised to realize that I don’t need climbing to be happy. Actually, I found happiness in other things super easily, and that was kind of liberating,” he said.
He spent time away from climbing to be more present as a father during a crucial time in his young children’s lives, to tackle writing projects, and to immerse himself in environmental work.
Tommy initially wrestled with whether filming took away the personal experience of climbing. He came around to feeling that not sharing his experiences was selfish. The videos also help keep his family in the loop. It remains a balancing act.
“I would have people tell me that was the highlight of their day at work was learning what Kevin and I were doing on the Dawn Wall, and so I started to feel like sharing was really important,” Caldwell said. “I also had to learn when to put down the phone. I dropped my phone off the Dawn Wall at one point. And that turned out to be a pretty nice thing.”
Double-Airbag Protection
Caldwell continues to film and share his videos with a smartphone, which he often clips into his climbing harness. His on-the-go lifestyle requires a protective phone case without the bulk.
“At one point it was hard for me to say this, but the phone these days is the most useful thing that I own,” he said. The most useful material thing, at least.
That’s why Caldwell and TORRAS have officially partnered to promote the Ostand Air Pro phone case to climbers and anyone who takes their phone on rough-and-tumble adventures. It uses Air Duet technology to cushion critical corners and edges. The outer airbag intercepts impact while the inner airbag disperses the residual shock from drops up to 16 feet. It even has a multilayered coating to resist scratches.
From navigating a morning commute to filming climbing videos, Caldwell’s smartphone is a constant companion. Other days, it’s a training tool that operates a kilter board and lets him evaluate his training metrics. It’s also how he stays connected with family when he’s away on climbs.
The TORRAS approach continually rethinks the phone case to be more than just protection and an integral piece of gear for phone users with an outdoor lifestyle. You don’t have to be Tommy Caldwell to appreciate a case that keeps up with your pursuits, from everyday moments to grand adventures.
“The thing that really strikes me about this phone case is that with just a few features, you can do a lot of things,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell as a Climbing Dad
As a father, Tommy wants to give Fitz (the younger of two children) the freedom to develop confidence and discover his own relationship with climbing. Fitz has been on a few multi-pitch climbs already, but Lover’s Leap is his biggest challenge so far.
“I wanted to create an experience which would challenge him, but not so much that he wouldn’t want to do it again,” Tommy explained. “Sometimes we’ve gone a little too big, and the kids make them not want to come back, so I wanted to hit that sweet spot.”
In addition to the new route, this was the first time Fitz was filmed. Tommy felt he’d be up to the physical demands of the climb, but might get a little self-conscious about having to hang on the rope too much.
Both of Tommy’s children started climbing from a young age, and he’s confident in their safety protocol. But he’s also a dad, and was locked in on how Fitz tied in and what he clipped into. “I feel way more responsible for that with him than I do with my other climbing partner,” Tommy explained.
Tommy wants Fitz to be his own person, yet feels like climbing gives him confidence and opens his eyes to the beauty of the world and the diversity of the climbing community. Recording their shared adventures helps preserve family memories and share experiences with loved ones away from the walls.
An Easy Hold
Climbers love a good hold. The TORRAS Ostand Q3 Air Pro case is lightweight with grippy sides and textured buttons, giving it an intuitive feel. An 18N MagSafe hold lets you post it on metal surfaces, while the ring-shaped stand works from every direction. You can also hold the ring clip in for security.
“You can put your fingers through [the ring stand] to make it more secure when you’re up on a wall. It allows you to set it on top of tabletops, both vertically and horizontally. So you have this seemingly one piece that can do like 10 things,” Tommy said.
That streamlined design keeps things quick and simple, which matters in climbing, where reducing complexity can also improve safety. Caldwell’s phone often dangles from his harness, scrapes against rock, and ends up covered in dirt and chalk. With dual-airbag protection, TORRAS Air Pro helps absorb and disperse impact, protecting his phone through the demands of climbing.
For an admitted “plodder,” Caldwell sees the challenges of climbing as a way to absorb the experience, adapt, recover, and continue forward. These are the lessons he hopes to pass on to his children and video audience.
Learn More About the TORRAS Ostand Q3 Air ProTORRAS sponsored this article.
