Chapter 23 of 24 · 3'32"
Becca and Fitz fly in to watch Tommy attempt the hardest part of the route. Becca talks about watching him "in his element," and Tommy explains what fatherhood changed: he wants to be a role model for his son. "And now here we are at the moment of truth," a voice says, as the final push begins.
Preparing for the Hardest Climb
Tommy Becomes a Father
The Moment of Truth Arrives
Tommy prepares for the hardest thing he has ever done, choosing his footwork carefully and letting the calm take some pressure off. Becca and Fitz fly in to watch from the meadow. Becca describes seeing him in his element, and explains how they fell in love, married and had Fitz — the son who gave Tommy a new reason to finish.
The chapter turns the climb into a family story. Becca and Fitz fly in to watch, and the film stays with what fatherhood did to Tommy's motivation: after years of failure, he thought about the example he wanted to set. "The first day that I had this little baby in my arms, I was overcome with the emotion," he says, and the sentence explains why the wall matters so much to him now. He talks about wanting Fitz to look at him with the same awe he felt for his own father, and about showing his son how to be passionate and how to dream big. Becca, meanwhile, is the reason he did not quit: after so many years of failing, he admits there were times he felt like giving up, and it was Becca who kept him going. The climb is no longer only his.
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“But I was still gonna have to do the hardest thing I've ever done for this to end well.”
It ties the best possible ending to the hardest possible act, leaving no shortcut.
Informal
“After failing for so many years, there was times when I definitely felt like giving up.”
Admitting the urge to quit after years of failure makes the eventual win believable.
Neutral
“But it was actually Becca who helped me to keep going.”
The emphatic frame hands the credit to someone else without sounding like a formality.
Neutral
“The first day that I had this little baby in my arms, I was overcome with the emotion.”
A concrete first day opens the line, then the emotion floods in and takes over.
Neutral
“And now here we are at the moment of truth.”
It presses years of preparation into one on-the-spot verdict moment.
Neutral
“Hard to put into words something so big.”
By admitting words fail, the line makes the feeling bigger than description.
Neutral
“I'm only about 30 feet up, and I've called my momma twice.”
The small height against two phone calls home makes the nerves funny and human.
Informal
Up next · 24no way in hellThe scene: Kevin Catches Tommy on the Dawn WallTo watch Tommy attempt the hardest part of the climb. They had been waiting at home for the right moment to fly out, and once it arrived they came to see him on the wall.
It gave him a new reason to finish. He thought about the example he wanted to set for Fitz, and about showing his son how to be passionate and how to dream big.
Fitz is Tommy and Becca's young son. Tommy talks about wanting Fitz to look at him with the same awe he felt for his own father, which is part of why the climb matters so much.
It is the point where the outcome is finally decided. After six years of work and many failures, Tommy is about to attempt the moves that will determine whether the climb succeeds.
