Kevin Jorgeson


Kevin Jorgeson is an American rock climber.

Biography

Jorgeson was born to Eric and Gaelena Jorgeson. His father was an employee of the Santa Rosa Parks and Recreation Department, and helped to instill Kevin and his younger brother Matt with a love of the outdoors, and encouraged an 11-year-old Kevin to pursue climbing when an indoor climbing facility opened in the city. He began competing in international climbing contests at 16. Jorgeson is known for being able to free climb, using no equipment other than gear to protect from falling, and is well known for being able to high ball large boulders.
Jorgeson and his climbing partner Tommy Caldwell were the first two climbers to successfully complete a free climb of the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, completing the 3,000 ft climb between December 28, 2014, and January 14, 2015. The Dawn Wall is one of the most difficult big-wall climbs in the world, with multiple pitches rated 5.14 in the Yosemite Decimal System. The climb had been planned since shortly after the release of the documentary film Progression in 2009, in which Caldwell, who had previously free climbed other, easier routes on El Capitan, surveyed the Dawn Wall to consider if it was possible to free climb. Jorgeson wrote to Caldwell after seeing the film, and the two men began to plan out and practice for the ascent.
The Dawn Wall, a documentary following Jorgeson and Caldwell on their free climb of the Dawn Wall, was released on September 19, 2018. The documentary was directed by Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer.
Kevin Jorgeson is sponsored by Adidas and Five Ten.
As of July 2019, Jorgeson was working toward opening a new climbing facility called Session, in Sonoma County, California. The project broke ground in 2018.
He is also a cofounder of 1Climb, an organization focused on introducing children to climbing.
In addition to climbing, Jorgeson performs as a keynote speaker for various corporate events, such as for The Gap, Samsung, and Alcon Laboratories.