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. He graduated from
Maria Carrillo High School in 2003, and has returned to speak there various times. Jorgeson and his climbing partner
Tommy Caldwell were the first two climbers to successfully complete a free climb of
The Dawn Wall on the southeast face 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. 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. == See also ==