Mike Caldwell - Climbing Legend and Extraordinary Outdoorsman

In 1968, Mike Caldwell did the 19th ascent of The Nose, a 3,000 foot climbing route on El Capitan.

El Capitan is one of the most highly sought after climbing destinations. The towering monolith, in the middle of Yosemite National Park, is the largest granite rock face in the world. The Nose, widely considered El Capitan’s most classic climb, is 31 pitches long. The lengthy climbing route usually takes two to three days to complete.

“I had this friend named Fred Miles, who was in the Cal Hiking Club. We said okay we’re ready for the mountains. So we went and did it. Considering we were pounding pitons the whole time, we did it in three and a half days,” Caldwell said.

Mike Caldwell’s ascent of The Nose was the just beginning.

“One of my early goals was to do a big route on every Yosemite major formation,” Caldwell said. By 1972, Caldwell had fulfilled this ambitious goal.

Throughout his life, Mike Caldwell has pushed boundaries and accomplished new feats. Caldwell is considered a legend, in the Estes Park climbing community. He has inspired many climbers over the years, and has had a huge influence in the climbing community. His son, Tommy Caldwell, is widely considered one of the greatest rock climbers in the world.

Growing up, Mike Caldwell spent a lot of time in the outdoors. His family frequently went camping and waterskiing. But Caldwell’s parents weren’t climbers. In fact, they opposed the sport, mainly because it was dangerous.

“It was not passed on by my parents. They were mildly horrified,” Caldwell said.

But this didn’t stop Mike from continuing to pursue his passion. Throughout high school, Caldwell went rock climbing every chance he could get.

“There was a little climbing area up at the top of Mount Diablo, which is the closest place we could get to. But then we would find ways to get to Yosemite. A lot of them by hitchhiking, and things you wouldn’t be safe doing today,” Caldwell said.

During his sophomore year of high school, Caldwell embarked on his first big climbing trip. Mike and his friends traveled to Yosemite National Park. Their goal was to climb the Lost Arrow, a massive rock spire.

“We only owned one rope between the two of us. So we concocted this scheme where we repelled (descending, using the rope) from the rim down to the notch. We left a piece of packing twine from the rim to the notch. Then we climbed the spire and got back down to the notch. Getting out of there was really epic,” Caldwell said.

Outside of climbing, Mike Caldwell did other outdoor sports — bicycling and kayaking.

“My dad and I built a canvas-sided two-man kayak. And so we did some river trips. Not whitewater river trips, cause it wasn’t the kind of kayak you could do barrel rolls in. But long slow river trips, like the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers,” Caldwell said.

While attending the University of California in Berkeley, Mike continued to rock climb. He joined the college gymnastics team, which was key in furthering Caldwell’s climbing abilities.

“I spent a lot of time in the gym. A lot of the other gymnasts had rock climbing as their background. Gymnasts tend to be well-suited to rock climbing, so the climbing gymnasts that I met in college kind of accelerated my climbing,” Caldwell said.

Mike Caldwell also joined the Cal Hiking Club, which was truly instrumental in furthering his love for rock climbing.

“Royal Robbins (American rock climbing pioneer) and Yvon Chouinard who started Patagonia, and all kinds of people who became famous climbers, you could find there frequently,” Caldwell said, on the people who attended the club.

Throughout his college years, Mike was surrounded by rock climbers and people who loved the sport.

“Early in college I got a job at the Ski Hut, which was one of the only places you could buy climbing gear. I worked for Allen Steck there, who was a famous rock climber,” Caldwell said.

In a way, climbing seemed to follow Mike Caldwell wherever he went. “Every time I turned around there was climbing in front of me,” Caldwell said.

It was also during his college years that Mike got into bodybuilding. One year, he met the bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger. This had a profound impact on Mike’s life.

“I found myself in Venice, California, and I said, you know I got this paper coming up, but there’s the original Gold’s Gym. Maybe I’ll go in there and see who’s in there. I go in there, and there was Arnold working away, by himself. I sat down with him, and his English wasn’t very good. One of the things he said to me was, ‘you should be a bodybuilder, you have the structure for it,’ ” Caldwell said.

Caldwell’s meeting with Arnold was key in getting him into competitive bodybuilding. Mike would go on to win 26 bodybuilding titles, from 1977-1982. One of his biggest achievements was winning Mr. Mid-America in 1980.

While attending the University of California in Berkeley, Mike met his wife, Terry Caldwell. After college, Mike and Terry moved to Loveland, Colorado.

“We were looking for a place to go that was affordable and he could get a teaching job, because it was a time in history when teaching jobs were really hard to find. He applied to five locations in Colorado, and we came out here on a trip, so he could go to all five interviews. The last one was in Loveland, and he accepted the job,” said Terry Caldwell.

For 10 years, Mike was a teacher in Loveland. In his free time, he frequently traveled to Estes Park to go climbing. In 1983, Mike and Terry moved to Estes Park.

Mike’s son, Tommy, grew up in Estes Park. Mike mentored his son in climbing from the age of three, when Tommy completed his first climb. They were constant climbing companions, and Tommy learned everything from his dad.

“Tommy got older and really into climbing. He and Mike went to climbing areas all over the west. They’d do it every chance they got. They traveled a lot together,” Terry Caldwell said.

After retiring from his teaching job, Mike began to work as a guide for Kirk’s Fly Shop. He frequently took people out on fly-fishing trips.

Mike now works for the Estes Park Mountain Shop. His boss, Dave Watosky, considers him to be one of his best guides. Mike is very personable and friendly.

“He’s like no other employee I have. I’ve had good greetings from other guides, and I’ve had poor greetings. I’ve actually had guides listen to Mike say hi when the clients come in, just to show how I like to have it done,” Watosky said.

Mike’s knowledge of the outdoors is quite multifaceted.

Mike Caldwell guides everything from fly-fishing and rock climbing to cross country skiing and hiking. His love for climbing and outdoor sports is infectious.

“His personality is so strong and so gracious that it can’t help but be infectious, and make a big profound impact on a person,” Watosky said.

Mike Caldwell is a climbing legend. Considering his numerous previous feats, it’ll be interesting to see what Caldwell achieves in his future.

Sources:

1) Dave Watosky - Mike’s Boss at Estes Park Mountain Shop

Cell Number: 970-227-9177

2) Terry Caldwell - Mike’s Wife

Cell Number: 970-227-8101

Home Number: 970-586-8107

3) Mike Caldwell - Legendary Climber

Home Number: 970-586-8107