I've been following Tommy and Kevin's progress closely on www.elcapreport.com, and one thing that fascinates me is how much travelling up and down the wall the

I've been following Tommy and Kevin's progress closely on www.elcapreport.com, and one thing that fascinates me is how much travelling up and down the wall the two climbers make beyond the scope of the actual ascent. For example, before attempting a single pitch, Kevin has been moving up the pitch on a rope in order to tic the holds (place small chalk marks beside them to make them visible). Also, having successfully climbed a pitch, they might abseil back down to the camp from the previous night to rest before moving up again the next day. Or Tommy might go up to help a cameraman get set up in a position before going back down and attempting a pitch. In order words, their progress is not necessarily measured by their position on the wall, but rather the sequential 'freeing' of each pitch in turn with all kinds of logistics involved in between. It's very different from say mountain climbing, but of course at this level, there is probably no other way that it can be done.