The Royal Family tree

As per tradition, wood from the fragrant but dead standing kalamet tree will be used in the funeral of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej

·         Published: 28/11/2016 at 04:30 AM

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The tree is about 15m-tall. It stands in the forest of Kui Buri National Park in Prachuap Khiri Khan, 280km south of Bangkok. Its branches spread out, but they do not have a single leaf.

The tree is dead, and it is one of 12 lifeless-yet-standing mai chan hom, known commonly as kalamet, a fragrant and auspicious tree to be cut and then used as a material in the royal funeral of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej which is expected to take place late next year.

"Mai chan hom is a royal tree," said Anandha Chuchoti, director-general of the Fine Arts Department. "It is our tradition to use the tree for making royal urns for kings or royal families. It is a custom that can be traced back to the Ayutthaya period."

Historical records show that kalamet -- which is sometimes confused with its relative sandalwood -- was first used for the cremation of King Naresuan in the 17th century. In addition to making royal urns, the wood from mai chan hom was also used throughout history for the construction of Phra Merumat, or the royal crematorium, the palace-like structure in which the royal urn is housed.

"The royal urn and Phra Merumat for His Majesty must be grand and majestic," said Anandha, adding that the design has been completed by its Office of Traditional Arts. The department expects to have kalamet boards delivered from Kui Buri National Park to the Office of Traditional Arts in Nakhon Pathom by December. The construction of the royal crematorium will begin in February, said the director-general.

Phra Merumat will be built on the grounds of Sanam Luang, a vast green field to the north of the Grand Palace. A spiritual as well as historical landmark of the city, Sanam Luang has been used as the funeral ground of kings, queens, princes and princesses since the beginning of the present Chakri dynasty of the Rattanakosin era. The last time Bangkok saw a royal funeral pyre was at the cremation of Her Royal Highness Princess Bejraratana Rajasuda in April 2012.

But the royal cremation of His Majesty the King will be a majestic farewell unprecedented in scale and historical gravity. The last time a Thai king was cremated was 66 years ago, when King Ananda Mahidol was cremated in March 1950 at Sanam Luang.

The exact spot will be announced within the second week of January, according to the Deputy Prime Minister Gen Tanasak Patimapragorn, the chairman of the committee supervising the construction.

The committee expects the construction to be completed by September 2017.

Kalamet, not sandalwood

On Nov 14, a Brahmin priest performed a blessing rite and Wud Sumitra, deputy secretary-general of The Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary, marked 12 kalamet trees at Kui Buri National Park, heralding the first step in the long preparation process of the royal cremation.

Kui Buri National Park Chief Kanjanapun Khamkhaeng said the park is home to high-quality kalamet trees, which have several Thai names including chan hom, chan chamot, chan khao and chan phama.

Because of the taxonomy, the kalamet is sometimes confused with the sandalwood tree. Both of them are known generally as mai chan in Thai.

But based on the botanical encyclopedia Thai Plant Names by the late Prof Tem Smitinand and published by the Royal Forest Department, kalamet is listed in the Sterculiaceae family and in the Mansonia genus. Its scientific name is mansonia gagei drumm.

Sandalwood, on the other hand, is in the Santalaceae family and in the genus of Santalum. The sandalwood tree is known as mai chan hom India in Thai.

"The wood for making the royal urn is always mai chan hom [kalamet tree]. We don't have mai chan hom India[sandalwood tree] in the park," said the park chief.

There's more arboreal confusion. Many people relate mai chan hom with another plant called kritsana, which is also known as mai hom, meaning fragrant wood. Kritsana's botanic name is agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis) and is listed in the Thymelaeaceae family. The tree produces fragrant resin caused by fungal invasion into its crevices. Agarwood oil is regarded as the king of perfumes.

Kalamet and sandalwood can also be extracted for fragrant oil. The oil is also used for producing perfumes, cosmetics and medicinal preparations. The high quality oil is found in the heartwood or the centre of slender trunks of mature trees aged at least 60. The fragrance of both kalamet and sandalwood can remain in the trees for years after they have died.

For centuries, the fragrant oil has made these trees valuable. While Thailand uses kalamet trees for making urns and royal palaces, the Burmese use them to carve Buddha images. The Chinese prefer to use sandalwood for producing luxury items such as inlaid boxes, combs, fans and incense sticks, and upper-class Indians often use sandalwood logs for building pyres.

The tree and the royal urns

In Thailand, the kalamet tree is protected by the Forest Act BE 2484. It is listed in a specially prohibited wood, meaning cutting or logging of the tree is prohibited unless permission is granted by the minister of the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

This means anyone can plant the tree, but they can't cut them down even if they are planted in the growers' properties, unless they obtain permission to do so.

Kalamet trees can be found in a number of national parks including Khao Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima, Kaeng Krachan in Phetchaburi, Sam Roi Yot, Kui Buri and Nam Tok Huai Yang in Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Kui Buri National Park chief Kanjanapun said dead-standing kalamet trees in the park have been used for making royal urns several times.

The first was for the late Princess Mother in 1996. The second time the trees were used was for making the royal urn for Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana in 2008. The third time three kalamet trees were cut for making dok mai chan, or artificial flowers used in cremation rites, and other items for the ceremony of the late Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Suvaddhana Mahathera in 2015.

"The trees used in those ceremonies were all older than 100-years-old," he said.

The royal urn of His Majesty will mark the fourth time the kalamet trees from Kui Buri have been used. The age of the trees will be verified by the Forestry Faculty of Kasetsart University later.

The park officers will cut and process the trees by next month. Based on the requirements of the Fine Arts Department, the national park chief believes that four out of 12 kalamet trees in the pre-cutting ceremony on Nov 14 will be enough for the royal ceremony. (During the pre-cutting ceremony, nine kalamet trees were planted in the park. Each tree is about five-years-old.)

The chief would not give the exact date of the tree-cutting event, explaining that the image of trees being cut down might look unbecoming for national park officers. In addition, he has a concern about safety when timber falls to the ground.

According to Charin Chayarun, chief of craftsmen of the Office of Traditional Arts, all wooden boards from the trees must be thoroughly dried otherwise the shapes of fretwork will be distorted.

The office asks the national park to process kalamet logs into thin boards with the thickness in the range of 2-6mm. Each board will be carved like a paper pattern in minute detail. For example, making a flower will require two layers of carved wooden petals and another two layers for round pollen. Each piece will be carefully glued together to be a complete flower before being attached to the metal frame of the royal urn.

The office says that it will also allow some members of the public who have skills in craftwork to participate in the process of making the urn for HM the King.

After the royal cremation, the royal urn is expected to be kept for an exhibition in the National Museum Bangkok like the previous royal urns of the late Princess Mother and Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana.

The kalamet tree is mai chan hom, a close relative but not the same as the sandalwood tree, which is in the family of mai chan hom India.

Kalamet wood from Kui Buri National Park will be used in the construction of Phra Merumat, or the royal pyre, for the cremation of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Construction will begin next February and finish in September. This is the fourth time kalamet trees from Kui Buri have been used for making royal urns and pyres.

The kalamet tree is protected by the Forest Act BE 2484. Anyone can plant it but cutting it down requires permission of the authorities.

The little boy who looks like one of China's richest men

By BBC TrendingWhat's popular and why

• 27 November 2016

Image copyrightZHANG CHENGLIANG/ GETTY IMAGES

Image captionFan Xiaoqin (left) and Jack Ma (right)

An eight-year-old boy in east China is getting visitors from across the country as people try to cash in on his looks - the child is a dead ringer for Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.

Up to 50 people a day have visited Fan Xiaoqin over the past two weeks. The boy looks remarkably like one of China's richest men, Jack Ma who founded the e-commerce company Alibaba, and rumours had been swirling on social media that the billionaire had promised to fund his education, right through to university.

The boy's family, who live in Jiangxi province, are poor and rely on government benefits. Xiaoqin's father Fan Jiafa is disabled - his right leg has been amputated - his mother has had polio, and his grandmother, who is in her 80s has Alzheimer's.

When journalists asked Alibaba if there was any truth to the gossip, they were told it was unfounded. The company issued a statement on Weibo: "All the news about Mini Jack Ma shouldn't be treated as a joke... To fund one child's education is easy, but in order to help millions of poor children, more resources need to be used."

Image copyrightZHANG CHENGLIANG

Image captionVisitors are keen to photograph Fan Xiaoqin

That hasn't dampened the public's interest, though. "Mini Jack Ma" as he is now known, first became an online sensation in 2015 then faded from public view, but with this month's new and unfounded rumours, people started contacting and visiting the family offering Xiaoqin starring roles in films and adverts.

"It's a good thing that my son looks like Jack Ma," Fan Jiafa told BBC Trending, but he has reservations about some of the offers they've received. "I don't want him to go into the film industry and make money now. I hope Xiaoqin can be independent one day and support himself but I believe only education can improve his life."

At the moment, Xiaoqin is struggling to keep up in school and can't write. "I just hope Xiaoqin can receive good education," says his dad. "I don't read and write much as I just spent two years in primary school. I think studying is the most important thing."

And the family has had plenty of moral support on social media. "How depressing! Some people are really opportunistic!" commented one angry Weibo user.

"Can we stop over commercialisation, he is only a child!" said another. One more added: "The whole thing is a mixture of cruelty and abuse with this boy. I just hope when he grows up, he can live like Jack Ma, not only look like him."

Image copyrightZHANG CHENGLIANG

Image captionZhang Chengliang has offered to send Xiaoqin and his brother to a boarding school in Hangzhou

Not everyone appears to be trying to make money out of the boy though. Zhang Chengliang drove for eight hours to reach the family and offered to support both Xiaoqin and his elder brother if they go to a primary school near his own home in a city about 800km away. Zhang has already sponsored about 200 other children in this way.

"I can provide a better education environment for Mini Jack Ma and his brother in Hangzhou," Zhang told BBC Trending. "When I first saw him I didn't think he wasn't bright, but he's not had the nutrition he needs. There isn't even a light or desk in his home. He needs a good place to study and I can help him."

Xiaoqin's father says he doesn't know who to trust and is worried about sending his sons away. Over the past 10 days, he's received more than 10,000 yuan ($1,500; £1,200) in cash donations, clothes, food and household items. What he wants now is for "the local government to help me and offer me some advice".

Blog by Ruhua Xianyu

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

 

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็Her unique spirit

All dressed up in modest lace, sensible shoes, and stockings, her graying, curly hair a haphazard puff atop her head, unknown and eccentric mezzo-soprano Susan Boyle, 47, stood in front of millions on the stage of Britain's Got Talent in 2009, announcing to host Simon Cowell, "I'm trying to be a professional singer." Defying every expectation, she proceeded to stun viewers with a voice no one saw coming, slaying "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables. On the heels of an audience-wide standing ovation, host Piers Morgan, just as gobsmacked as everyone else, bluntly declared, "When you stood there with that cheeky grin and said, 'I want to be like Elaine Paige,' everyone was laughing at you. No one is laughing now," The Guardian reported at the time. Once the awkward shadow of a woman, tottering around her hometown of Blackburn, West Lothian, Scotland, she was on the verge of a dazzling $7.1 million payout within the year, according to International Business Times. In the following months, she would sing for the Pope, the Queen, and President Obama.

So where is she now? With the voice of a hopeful, yet world-weary angel, a bursting bank account, internationally chart-topping hits, and a household name, where has this dark horse diva skittered off to? Well, you don't go viral and disappear for no reason. We've got a hunch it might have a little something to do with the following things.

In 2013, at the age of 52, and just four years after she stepped foot into the public eye, Boyle revealed a private struggle, one which manifested itself as a clinical diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. It was a relief for the singer, as it clarified a label she had been living with her entire life: "brain damaged." Nicknamed "Susie Simple" as a child, Boyle suffered severe bullying, as well as the social anxieties commonly associated with the syndrome, she shared with The Guardian. "It was the wrong diagnosis when I was a kid. I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong and I feel relieved and a bit more relaxed about myself."

Typically, those living with Asperger's suffer from the ability to form relationships, as well as judge normal social interactions against appropriate behavior. While Boyle is smarter than average, she also suffers from severe depression, mood swings, volatile behavior, and emotional outbursts, as reported in The Guardian. "It's just a condition that I have to live with and work through," she said.

In a candid interview with The Daily Mail, Boyle relayed more recent experiences, saying she feels safest on stage. But behind the scenes? "Off stage, [my bad behavior] happens lots. It always has. But I'm getting better at dealing with it because I know what it is. If I feel I'm going to take a mood swing, I get up and leave." She admitted she's "the only artist who needs a leash! I'm King Kong's mother!" And when she's asked about sharing this delicate news? "It's a very difficult subject to talk about because you always feel that eyes are on you, and people view you as different. I like to see myself as someone with a problem, but one I can solve."

Boyle's celebrity vocal coach, Yvie Burnette, shared her thoughts in a BBC interview: "It's interesting with Susan because I think she builds up in her head a fear of going out on the stage. And it's so ironic, because when she is out on the stage, she loves it. She always fears she's going to fail, she fears that people won't like her singing anymore, [she wants to] have everyone still love it, and love it forever." In the same BBC special, Boyle's childhood friend Lorraine Campbell revealed, "Susan still struggles today; trying to feel that she is accepted."

Long before she shot to stardom, Boyle spent her days unemployed, depressed, and single-handedly caring for her mother, Bridget, at the family home in Blackburn, Scotland. Having lost her father in 1997 and her sister Kathleen in 2000 to an asthma attack, Boyle remained devoted to her mother and their shared Roman Catholic faith. While it was her father who had wanted to become a singer himself, it had been the whole family's dream to become the real life version of the Von Trapps from The Sound of Music, she told The Guardian. One of nine children, Boyle says her mother never pushed her and "hoped I'd become a shorthand typist like her. I never really announced to my parents that I wanted to sing for a living. I sang at church and karaoke nights in local pubs but I was in my 30s before I found the courage to audition for a few things… Every time I auditioned, Dad would say: 'Sock it to them, girl, and do your best.'" Boyle's mother passed away at the age of 91, in 2007, just two years before Boyle took the stage for her legendary Britain's Got Talent audition. But her mother was never very far away. Boyle recalled in the same interview, "I felt a part of me had died with [my mother]… I was totally lost, but then I remembered how she always told me to follow what makes me happy. I so wanted to make her proud, so I found the strength to apply for Britain's Got Talent and I truly believe that she was the angel on my shoulder that day."

While Boyle fondly remembers her mother, it is the singer's older brother Gerry who made headlines with her in a rumored feud over money in 2013, according to The Mirror. How much? Reportedly more than $60,000. Although Boyle was estimated to be worth $27 million at the time, it was said that several family members claimed her brother forced her to hand over the cash by threatening suicide. True or false, it was radio silence for the sibs, lasting more than two years amidst an all-out family feud. It wasn't until the singer's well-publicized tantrum at Heathrow airport, The Telegraph reported, that the Boyle duo would reconnect. Mr. Boyle rang up his struggling sister, offered his support, and all was forgiven.

More recently, Boyle's older sister Brigid suddenly passed from cancer in 2015, which proved beyond devastating for the singer. Boyle shared with The Mirror, "[Brigid] was an amazing sister and a real rock. She was honest and helped me throughout my life and during my career… I miss her every day."

Who runs the world? Girls! And when you're a one-woman show, you gotta make that paper and answer to your fans! While she's been busy recording track upon track over the years, Boyle dropped the album A Wonderful World (Columbia) just in time for the 2016 holiday season. And with tracks like "When You Wish Upon A Star," "Somewhere Out There," and "Like a Prayer" — yes, the Madonna one — she's working hard to prove she's relevant and relatable, seven years into her career at age 55.

In an interview with Vents magazine, she gushed about being lucky enough to duet with Nat King Cole on "When I Fall In Love." "I have really enjoyed making this album. It was great to get back into the recording studio and do what I enjoy the most. There's been a lot of speculation over the past year but I'm great, back on track, and this album proves it. I wanted to create an album that families could enjoy, something for everyone, an album that can be played all year and evoke memories. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge Madonna fan and to be able to perform 'Like A Prayer' was a real highlight. As the first British artist to have been able to perform a duet with Nat King Cole's vocals, it's a real honor. Seven years on I still get to surprise people." Spoken like a true girlboss.

In 2014, Boyle finally opened up her heart to her first boyfriend ever — at the age of 53! It had been an admittedly steep learning curve for Boyle, as relationships have always been difficult for her because of her Asperger's. She told The Daily Mail, "People with Asperger's do put a barrier up because they don't know how to trust people. I try not to. I want to let people in." She went on to describe her perfect man: "I'd like someone who's a bit like my dad: a strong person, a fair person, probably a very kind person."

While she kept his name top secret, she told The Sun (via People), "I don't want to say any more about who he is right now as that would be unfair [to] him… All I'll say is we are around the same age and he was a very nice guy." The lovebirds met at a Florida hotel where both were staying, during her U.S. tour. They shared a romantic lunch together. She confided, "He was the perfect gentleman and even paid the bill… Afterwards we exchanged details. When we said goodbye he gave me a peck on the cheek." Swoon! Boyle, based in Scotland, struck up a long-distance relationship with "Mr. Right," who lived in Connecticut. We're guessing it takes some serious scheduling to squeeze in a saucy Skype sesh with that five-hour time difference. And as far as celebrity romance goes? Well, SuBo, we wish you the best of luck!

Ever since 2013, buzz had been circulating that multi-millionaire Boyle was thinking of adopting a child. "I want to give a youngster what I didn't have," the Scottish Sunday Mail reported (via The Daily Mail). She continued, "I have so much love to give. I want to adopt a child who doesn't have much, who I can really give something to. It's a way of giving back for me. I love children, I always have but I couldn't have them." At 55, the singer revealed other people don't always share her views on the matter. "We'll have to see what social services say, but it would make me so happy. I know I'm single and 50-odd. People don't think I'm serious when I say it; they have a giggle at me. Let's see."

The singer grew up in a large Roman Catholic family of nine children, so it's no surprise she's thinking of continuing the legacy and spreading the love!

If she were that kinda gal, Boyle could easily be cruising around town in a Bugatti, draped head to toe in diamonds, not blinking an eye. But that's not her style. Instead, according to Forbes, Boyle currently lives in her family's modest Scotland home with her cat, Pebbles. Her very first album, I Dreamed A Dream, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, and was the top-selling album worldwide in 2009, the New York Times published. It scored $8.3 million in sales, trouncing mega-acts the Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga.

Her sophomore release, The Gift, went Platinum in 2010 with $3.7 million in sales worldwide, making her the first female artist to have a No.1 album in the United Kingdom and the United States twice in less than a year simultaneously, according to The Guardian. Who else had done it before? Just a little band called the Beatles. She's been following up with an average of one album per year. As of 2014, Boyle's net worth was estimated at $33 million, and even now, she's constantly raking in royalties, thanks to being owner of her three music management firms. She'd never have to work another day in her life, if she didn't want to.

One-of-a-kind in personality and talent, Boyle is nothing if not incredibly courageous. Close friend Paul O'Grady said of her in a BBC interview, "She really has got an inner strength, Susan. And she's her own woman… she's determined, she's quite feisty… she's tough. You can't get Susan to do something she doesn't wanna do. She really is not delicate. She's a tough, old bird, Susan, and that's… one of the things I love about her." The humble, eccentric, brilliant Boyle finds strength and stability surrounded by familiar faces in her hometown of Blackburn, Scotland. It is in the time she takes off from touring, recording, and performing to spend there that she finds enough safety and comfort, to continue to record chart-topping albums, reaching adoring fans worldwide.

So, what's the secret to her success? Boyle's former singing teacher Fred O'Neil shared with the BBC, "A lot of older people can feel kind of disenfranchised by music. Their favorite stars who they've liked from when they were young, have grown older… and so by the time these [stars] are in their 50s, they're almost worn out. Whereas Susan is someone who is coming from their generation, but completely fresh." Boyle's friend Frank Quinn continued her praises: "She also has that capacity, coming from her compassion probably, to be able to reach into the pain of people who feel that they are broken, who feel that they're very vulnerable, and I think that's a tremendous gift."

She may prefer a private life over a public one and she may have her fair share of personal struggles to overcome, but Boyle continues to sing, despite great challenges, inspiring fans worldwide with her passionate voice. Maybe it's that underdog story that is so compelling to her audience. Because of that, we see Boyle returning to the spotlight with future albums — maybe even a hosting gig for a certain British talent competition! Always keeping her personal and spiritual life healthy and well, her voice will be heard for years to come.

How Adam Ondra Crushed Yosemite's Hardest Rock Climb

Adam Ondra, a world champion Czech climber, just achieved the second free ascent of Yosemite’s hardest big-wall free climb, the Dawn Wall—in record time.

Climber Adam Ondra on pitch 14 of the Dawn Wall on Yosemite's El Capitan, prior to his successful second free ascent this week.

By Andrew Bisharat
PUBLISHED November 21, 2016

On the afternoon of November 21, Adam Ondra, a 23-year-old world champion sport climber from Brno, Czech Republic, arrived on the summit of the 3,000-foot monolith in Yosemite National Park known as El Capitan. In doing so, he achieved an audacious goal of completing the second free ascent of the Dawn Wall, called the hardest, longest free climb in the world.

“It feels amazing right now,” said Ondra, minutes after arriving on the summit. “This is one of the best feelings I've ever had in climbing. Wow, so good. I think it'll be a long-lasting happiness and joy due to the length and effort of the route.”

Ondra’s success is noteworthy for many reasons, but perhaps most impressive is the speed with which he dispatched the Dawn Wall’s 32 incredibly difficult pitches. (A pitch is a rope-length of climbing, usually around 100 feet long. The goal of a free ascent is to climb each pitch without falling or resorting to hanging on gear; ropes and gear are used in free climbing, however, as a safety net in case of a fall. Free climbing is different than free soloing, which is climbing without any ropes at all.)

Ondra began his ground-up push last Monday, November 14, at 1:30 a.m. Pacific time. Just under eight days later, he reached the top, victorious.

“In the end it was just as hard as I expected, but it took more time than I expected, because I was a total beginner to this style of climbing in Yosemite,” says Ondra. “There’s no doubt this is the hardest big-wall rock climb in the world.”

The first free ascent of the Dawn Wall, meanwhile, took American climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson 19 days. Their historic ascent, which they completed in January 2015, became a media spectacle that was covered by virtually every major newspaper and cable television news station in the world. Even President Obama reached out to the two instant celebrities with a note of congratulations.

For Caldwell and Jorgeson, free climbing the Dawn Wall was a grueling, multi-season process that took them at least seven years. Much of this time was spent swinging around on ropes on the flanks of El Capitan, trying to find a continuous 3,200-foot path upward. Located just to the east of the Nose, the Dawn Wall is the tallest, steepest, and perhaps “blankest” (i.e., most devoid of handholds and footholds) section of the entire mile-wide granite monolith.

Caldwell spearheaded this multi-year process with the heedful decision-making demanded by any first-ascent process, including how to best break up the route into pitches and the prudent placement of mechanical expansion bolts. According to National Park Service rules, those bolts must be drilled into the dense stone by hand, rather than by a cordless hammer drill.

Caldwell and Jorgeson also invested a lot of time working on the actual climbing maneuvers demanded by each of the 32 pitches. This process involved discovering the precise sequence of hand and foot movements, as well as the precise body positions and balance, that ultimately resulted in their ability to climb an entire pitch without falling. This also meant memorizing the exact locations of every handhold, some of which are the size of a credit-card edge, and every foothold, most of which are less perceptible than a dimple of a well-worn golf ball.

For Ondra, this process of rehearsal was greatly accelerated when compared to Caldwell and Jorgeson’s experience. Whereas Jorgeson and Caldwell spent seven years working on the Dawn Wall, Ondra needed less than a month.

“It’s hugely impressive,” says Caldwell, who is widely considered to be the most prolific free climber of El Capitan of all time. “It was pretty surprising to see how quickly he adapted to El Cap. It just goes to show that if you have that Central European grit, and you try hard, you can make anything happen.”

Another way in which Ondra’s ascent stands out is that he is now the first person to “lead” each and every one of the Dawn Wall’s 32 pitches, meaning that he climbed each pitch trailing the rope beneath him as he climbed, risking potentially large and scary falls. Pavel Blazek, also Czech, accompanied Ondra as his belayer; he was not there to free climb, only to belay.

Since Caldwell and Jorgeson were free climbing together as a team, they used a common style in which only one of the two ever needed to “lead” a pitch; once a pitch was led, the other climber could enjoy the benefit of scaling the rock with the rope overhead, which is safer and easier than lead climbing.

Ondra’s speed, in some ways, is to be expected. Second ascents are almost achieved quicker than first ascents in part due to the advantage of knowing a pitch is possible as a free climb. First ascensionists don’t have that mental crutch, and must instead rely on their own self-belief that they can do something that’s never before been done by anyone.

In addition, first ascensionists often share with ensuing suitors what’s known in climbing jargon as “beta,” which is information about the climbing movement, from which handholds and footholds are used, to how they used, and so on. All of that knowledge speeds up the process.

Before arriving in Yosemite, Ondra spoke to Caldwell over Skype. Once in Yosemite, the two climbers met in person, in Yosemite Valley, and Caldwell shared helpful information with Ondra.

“What Tommy and Kevin did was even much more impressive than what I did,” says Ondra. “I arrived with all the information, they told me the beta, and all I had to do was climb.”

“It's been fun to live vicariously through Adam’s adventure,” says Caldwell. “As far as I can tell, I think it's been a pretty real-deal experience for him. It's been neat to remember our experience up there. Watching him up there makes me want to go back and climb on El Cap.”

Still, despite those significant advantages, Ondra’s rapid free ascent is easily one of the most impressive accomplishments in climbing ever. And it almost certainly earns him the title of being the best all-around rock climber in the world.

Becoming the Best

Adam Ondra climbs fast.

He started climbing at six years old and became an internationally recognized prodigy by the time he was 10. He says climbing fast is a matter of efficiency. The less time he spends hanging out on a steep cliff, the less tired his forearms get. The faster he goes, the harder he can climb.

His forte is ascending the overhanging limestone and granite outcrops in Europe. On many of these 100-foot bluffs, some of them overhanging by 45 degrees, Ondra has achieved numerous records—including first ascents of the three most difficult sport routes in the world, each one rated 5.15c on the open-ended Yosemite Decimal System. (Open-ended means that there’s no cap to how difficult a free climb could get; one day the next hardest notch in the difficulty scale, 5.15d, will be achieved. It just hasn’t been yet.)

Only one other person in the world, Chris Sharma, has reached the level of 5.15c, and in his case, it was only once.

Ondra is 5’11” and a rangy 150 pounds. On the rock, he moves like a panther, all slinky and mesmerizing. There’s a certain feral quality to the way he attacks a sport climb. One of his gifts seems to be climbing very difficult sport routes “onsight”—without any “beta” or rehearsal—on his very first try. He has onsighted more difficult sport climbs than anyone else in the world. To see Ondra climbing onsight, you’d think he had rehearsed it a thousand times, but in reality, his split-second decisiveness, calm, and grace, all while hanging from impossible-looking holds, speaks to his preternatural intuition for moving in a vertical realm.

The ability to do hard sport routes, however, rarely lends itself to success on the big walls of Yosemite Valley, where the climbing style is extremely idiosyncratic, much more intimidating, and logistically complicated.

“I didn’t really know what to expect,” says Caldwell. “Adam’s dominated every aspect of the sport.” But he had never been to Yosemite before this year’s trip.

Ondra’s inclination for speed, honed on the sport climbs of Europe, nearly ended up hindering his chances on the 90-degree vertical rock of El Capitan. The nature of the free climbing on El Capitan is rather unique, owing to the slippery geology of the glacier-polished granite cliff. Here, moving patiently, placing feet and grabbing holds precisely, and having extraordinary balance can be more conducive to success than trying to swing up the climb like monkey.

On November 17, Ondra had reached pitch 14 of the Dawn Wall, roughly 1,400 feet up the side of El Capitan. By all measures, he’d been charging up the wall. The first 13 pitches are brutal; some are downright dangerous in that Ondra faced the prospect of ankle-shattering falls of 30 or more feet. That Ondra free-climbed them all within two back-to-back days of climbing was incredible. Ondra appeared to be unstoppable.

Pitch 14, however, with a difficulty rating of 5.14d, is the toughest pitch of the entire route. After waiting in his portaledge camp till 3 p.m., when the sun finally ducked around the Nose of El Capitan, and the shady conditions began to cool the rock—cold rock is preferable for staving off excessive fingertip sweat, which reduces friction between the climber’s skin and the rock—Ondra charged into the opening difficulties of pitch 14.

He fell. He returned to the belay (the start of the pitch), pulled his rope, and tried again. Another fall. Frustrated, Ondra once again returned to the belay for another attempt.

“It was heartbreaking,” Ondra admitted later. “These moves, which never felt hard for me before, turned out to be really hard today.”

Six attempts later, Ondra still had not made it past that section of pitch 14. It appeared as if the Dawn Wall was finally putting up a fight for Ondra.

Caldwell had a similar experience on pitch 14—falling over and over again. “The style of climbing on the Dawn Wall is so much about belief—belief that your feet are going to stick to the wall,” says Caldwell. “When you lose that, everything unravels. The extraordinary thing to me is that Adam was able to get it back pretty quickly.”

“It’s really hard for me to get into this mindset,” a frustrated Ondra said. “Normally, it’s more efficient to climb fast. But here, you’re always on your feet, you’re not exerting full-body tension, and for me that’s when it gets hard to focus.”

The next day, Ondra returned with a fresh mindset. He’d go slow. He wouldn’t rush. He would match the pace of his climbing to the pace demanded by the rock.

On November 18, he succeeded on pitch 14. Then, he succeeded on pitch 15, which is the second most difficult pitch of the entire route. Pitches 14 and 15 are the two most difficult pitches not just on the Dawn Wall, but in all of Yosemite. That Ondra had succeeded on both of them, in one afternoon, on his fifth day of living on El Capitan, was a huge breakthrough.

“One thing that's pretty shocking to me is that he fell a lot throughout the route,” says Caldwell. “He had to re-climb pitches over and over and over again, and his [finger] skin somehow held up to that. He fell way more than I did, and I took three times as long, and my skin barely held up. And Kevin's didn't.”

For Ondra, only five more really tough pitches remained, pitches 16 to 20. If Ondra could surpass these, he’d reach Wino Tower, a ledge of rock as big as a couch. After Wino Tower, 12 pitches remained, but the difficulties eased significantly. If Ondra could reach Wino Tower, barring some unfortunate or unforeseen circumstance, the second ascent would be in the bag.

On November 19, Ondra did just that, reaching Wino Tower just as the first drops of a rainstorm began to fall.

“Hard to find the words to describe how I feel,” Ondra reported that evening. “We made it up to the Wino Tower and no more hard pitches guard my way to the top. I could not have asked for a better day.”

Ondra and Blazek rappelled to the shelter of their portaledge camp to wait out the storm. After 24 hours later, around 11 a.m. on November 21, Ondra, encouraged by an optimistic weather forecast, began climbing up the final 12 pitches of the Dawn Wall.

Due to the storm, the rock ended up being quite wet. Along with a dense fog and a brisk wind, the experience felt “quite adventurous and alpine,” says Ondra. Still he persevered, reaching the summit at 3:29 p.m. PST.

What’s Next

Rock climbing is a sport of progression. Achieving incremental improvements on speed, difficulty, and style are the pistons of the engine that drive all rock climbers, not just the world’s best.

In 1993, Lynn Hill became the first person (not just first woman) to free-climb the 2,900-foot Nose of El Capitan, perhaps the most famous rock climb in the world. Her monumental ascent took four days to complete. In 1994, she returned to the Nose and free climbed its entirety in a single day—technically, 23 hours.

With this historical precedent, a sub 24-hour all-free ascent of the Dawn Wall is the obvious next step. The questions are: Can it be done, and will Ondra be the one to do it?

“It would be really difficult,” says Caldwell, envisioning a 24-hour Dawn Wall free ascent. “But if anyone could do it, Adam would be the one.”

“I think it's possible to climb the Dawn Wall in a single day,” says Ondra. “No matter what, it would be really, really hard. I would have to invest so much more time into working out the route, and also training specifically to be able to climb at a top level for 24 hours.

“I am happy with what I have done right now,” he says, laughing while looking out at Yosemite Valley from the summit of the Dawn Wall, the sun setting behind a parting rain cloud. “But maybe in a couple of years I would start thinking about how to climb this route faster. Why not?”