text: 1970: Warren Harding wrestles the Dawn Wall Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell (no relation to Tommy Caldwell) were the first to climb the Dawn Wall in 1970. At the time, the route was called Wall of the Early Morning Light. The team heavily relied on ropes and bolts, yet still the climb was a struggle because vast swaths of the route are very sheer and very steep. To boot, the team’s progress was stymied for several days by a severe storm. Park rangers attempted a rescue mission but Harding, determined to make it to the top, shooed them away.