Before Free Solo | Edge of the Unknown on Disney+

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

MAN 1: Morocco, it's off the map. No one would know about it. This was a place where he could test himself, both physically and mentally with a massive amount of climbing. And then, he wanted to free solo one of the big walls at the end of the trip. He knew that the route that he'd chosen would be one of the greatest big wall free solos in history.

MAN 2: I can't wait to sign all of this stuff. I'm so curious if we can actually make these walls feel smaller, you know?

TOMMY CALDWELL: Yeah. There's baby goats halfway up the first pitch. That's really cute.

MAN 2: Tommy was really the only possible partner for the training that I was hoping to do in Morocco. We all just like to climb with somebody who climbs so fast. Like, so amazing. Tommy is one of the best in the world. When I started climbing, he was already a hero in the climbing world, and I looked up to him my entire life.

TOMMY CALDWELL: I think Alex and I just felt like if we got together and climbed, we could do stuff that we couldn't do on our own. And from there, it evolved into this very close friendship. They're only going to bring in 5.

MAN 2: And so knowing that he had this giant objective, my role just became to help him survive, essentially.

MAN 1: Tommy didn't want Alex to free solo, but he knew that Alex was going to go do it anyways. So Tommy decides that the best way that he can support his friend is to train with him.

TOMMY CALDWELL: Doing something that dangerous is really about having full confidence that you will be successful.

MAN 1: Alex wanted to push himself with a huge endurance challenge, a triple linkup. To climb 3 of the biggest walls in Tajia with Tommy in one day. It would be the equivalent of running three back-to-back marathons at a world record pace.

MAN 3: So what's your guess on time?

TOMMY CALDWELL: 22 hours.

MAN 3: 22.

MAN 2: I think like 5:00 AM. So that means that we'd be doing 21 hour link-up. That's my prediction.

MAN 3: All right. Let's see who's closest. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

MAN 2: OK, lav, good to go.

MAN 1: These big walls are extraordinarily technical. This is 512, 513 terrain. A rating of difficulty that really only a world class climber can climb.

MAN 2: I remember sort of not really loving this pitch.

TOMMY CALDWELL: I don't remember this pitch hardly at all. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] [BLEEP] My finger slipped. But it was a hard move. The hardest move of the route. I knew Alex was going to free solo one of the routes we were climbing together. Thinking about being up there, that high off the ground without a rope, that's a terrifying thought. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC] Oh, god.

MAN 2: Hey, dude.

TOMMY CALDWELL: Oh god. So fun climbing like that.

MAN 2: Pretty solid. We did 6 and 1/2.

TOMMY CALDWELL: 6 and 1/2. [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]