Kevin Jorgeson brushes Super Glue onto one of his taped fingers. The glue helps keep the tape from separating at the overlaps while he climbs.
Chasing History, Yosemite Climbers Sand and Superglue Their Fingers
Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson take special care of their hands to help their fingertips hang on to a sheer vertical wall.
Soaking in hot tubs and doing dishes are to rock climbers what garlic is to vampires.
For all the courage and skill it takes to climb mountain walls, the thought of softened, pruney fingertips brings even the boldest free climbers to their knees.
Rock climbers such as Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson—who are attempting a first-of-its-kind free climb up the Dawn Wall of the giant rock formation known as El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, which many say is the world's hardest climb—go to painstaking lengths to keep their fingertips in good form. (Read about Jorgeson's attempts to catch up to Caldwell.)
After all, what they are doing is hanging on to a sheer vertical wall using just fingertips and feet.
