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Jason Singer-Smith struggles to find a grip with his right hand as he scrambles up the cliffside. Singer is a professional rock climber, and normally climbing up a rock face like this would be a piece of cake. But it's the middle of the night, and it's his turn to carry the group's only sleeping bag. It's not heavy, but it's unwieldy.
It's been six days since he and three fellow rock climbers were kidnapped by Kyrgyz rebels. Since then, they've been forced to traverse the endless Pamir-Alai mountain range in the dark to avoid detection from the Kyrgyzstan army. It's been almost a full week with barely any food or water. Singer is flagging.
The group of rock climbers were originally held captive by three men, but the ringleader, Abdul, has split off to look for food. Now, the four Americans are under the supervision of only one man, Sue, or Little Dog, as Singer calls him in a code language that the climbers have made up. Sue is armed, but he's young and inexperienced. Not a very good climber at all.
He constantly looks at Singer, trying to decide on a route up the sloping cliff face. "Alpinista!" Alpinista is Sue's nickname for Singer. The group has come to understand that it means "climber" in Kyrgyz. Sue waves up toward the peak, asking Singer's advice on which route to take.
For the last six days, Singer has been biding his time, trying to get Sue to trust him. And as of now, it seems to have worked. He listens without question when Singer suggests the best climbing route to take. The terrain here has begun to steepen from a hillside to a dangerous layered cake of cliffs and ledges. He and his fellow climber, John Dickey, have been waiting for the perfect moment to attack their captors and escape.
He quickly looks at John, then glances over the edge of a cliff. Would this be a good spot to push Sue? No. He wouldn't fall very far. Not yet. They need to climb higher, another level or two up where precipitous fall will kill. Singer knows that if they don't take advantage of having only one captor for the moment, they likely won't have the opportunity again.
Once the well-armed Abdul meets back up with them, escape might be impossible. But with each passing hour without food or water, Singer feels himself growing weaker and weaker. Will he have the strength to shove another man to his death? Singer gestures to Beth Rodden and Tommy Caldwell to scramble on ahead. They're not going to help Singer with what he's about to do.
Singer then indicates to Sue a path that leads straight up a 30-foot rock, angled at about 60 degrees. Sue balks, but Singer goes ahead to show him how, then helps guide him from above. He points out a slot in the rock for Sue to put his hand and a slight edge on which to put his foot. Sue's movements are shaky, but Singer walks him through it step by step, further gaining his trust.
Once he's at the top of the cliff, Singer considers his options as he watches Sue make his way up towards him. The gun is slung over Sue's shoulder, so Sue won't be able to get to it right away. This is probably the best place to shove him, Singer thinks. His heart beats loudly in his ears. He readies himself, bracing for contact.
One quick hip check, that's all it'll take to send Sue flying. But when Sue hoists himself up onto the ledge, instead of walking towards the waiting singer, he crawls toward a gently sloped rock where he sits to rest. From there, he grins at singer before speaking. "Good Alpnista," singer nods, deflated. He was so close, but now the moment has passed.
Should he just grab a rock off the ground and hit Sue with it? How else will this nightmare end? He waits for John Dickey to finish his climb up to them. But as soon as he appears, Sue is on the move up the steep hillside. Singer watches him as he moves towards the next set of cliffs. Singer hesitated last time, and he simply can't do that anymore. He knows that their time alone with Sue is running out.
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From Wondery, I'm Cassie DePeckel, and this is Against the Odds. In late July of 2000, four American rock climbers who arrived in the Karasu region of Kyrgyzstan were kidnapped by rebel militants from the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan. Given very little food or water, the climbers are forced by their captors to hide from the Kyrgyz military during the days and walk all night.
As they enter their sixth day of captivity, opportunities for escape are running out. But miraculously, the climbers are left alone with Sue, the weaker of their two kidnappers, and tasked to climb up the steep mountain where they will meet up with their other captor. If they don't take action when it's four on one, they might not have another chance to make it home alive. This is Episode 4, Breaking Free.
Tommy looks to the sky and watches as a gray haze falls over the moon. Beth, these clouds are coming in fast. After climbing all day, they're about 10,000 feet in the air on the side of the mountain. The air is thin and freezing cold. If they get wet, which surely they will without any rain gear, they'll get hypothermia. And then they'll all be finished. What a way to die.
Tommy eyes the last section of cliff above them. At the top is a ridge where Abdul is supposed to be meeting them. It can't be more than a couple hundred feet vertically, but the incline is so steep it'll take time to get there. He wonders if Abdul is waiting for them. Tommy has been a few paces ahead of everyone, leading the way. Beth has been following closely behind, with Singer and John a few feet below her.
Just above him, a gnarled tree is growing out of the side of the mountain. He climbs toward it and finds a small ledge to stand on. Beth joins him, and they watch as Sue climbs up from the cliff below, catching up with them. Tommy observes as Sue begins to walk across the ledge toward them. They're so close to the top of the ridge. He watches Sue trying to decide on the path to take among the last slabs of stone.
Tommy knows their time is running out. He turns to Beth and whispers, "Singer and John aren't gonna do it. I'm going to have to do this. It has to be me." Tommy sees Beth's lip tremble. He stares for a moment into her eyes, and then she looks down. But she doesn't say no. She doesn't stop him. He knows this is as close as she will come to giving him approval. Then something in Tommy shifts.
Yes, he is a gentle person, not somebody who would knowingly harm somebody else. And yet, there has been an energy growing in him. It's been building and building, a power that he has never felt before. In the shadows, Tommy silently begins his ascent, crossing a series of footholds towards Sue. He moves closer and closer, until he's just a few feet away.
Sue has started climbing and doesn't even hear him. Tommy holds his breath and notes the barrel of Sue's gun glint in the light of the moon.
And suddenly, a rock gives way under Tommy's foot, making a cracking sound as it tumbles and falls. Sue swings around to look at him, and before Tommy can stop himself, he lunges for the gun strap on Sue's shoulder to knock him off balance. Tommy pulls at the gun strap and then pushes Sue into the darkness below.
Sue's body arches as he falls backwards over the edge, yelling in surprise. His hands claw the air in front of him, but he finds nothing and continues to fall. It all happened so quickly. Below them, Tommy hears the thud of Sue's body on a ledge below, and then a quick sliding of the body as it tumbles over the next ledge and continues to fall.
For a moment, Tommy stands frozen. But then, a dizziness hits him so hard that he falls to his knees. Every muscle in his body contracts, and he squeezes his eyes shut so tight it feels like his skull will swallow them. Then sobs wrack his body. He's taken a life. The worst thing he can imagine.
His mind races. The slap of flesh on stone playing over and over again in his head. How can he continue on? He's a killer now. Beth runs to the ledge where Tommy is curled up in the fetal position. She can't believe he went through with it. Her gentle Tommy, the least likely one of all of them to have done it.
A cold wind blows over them and Beth shivers. The darkness that swallowed Sue surrounds them. She crouches over Tommy and wraps her arms around him as he cries. Beth knows she could have stopped him. One word from her and he would have stayed by her side. But instead, she didn't speak.
But without Tommy, without his strength, they would all still be captive. They'd be meeting back up with Abdul and likely marched to their death in another country. It's a miracle they're alive. Beth watches Singer and John on the ledge below her, throwing the sleeping bag and sack of yogurt balls over the cliff.
They're covering their tracks, not leaving anything behind for Abdul to find. She knows he's coming back for them, and who knows what he'll do if he finds Sue missing. They have to get out of here. Beth tries to pull Tommy up to his feet and whispers to him softly, "'Come on.'" Behind her, she hears Singer clamp her up to the ledge where they are. His eyes look wild. "'You did it, Tommy!'
Tommy doesn't even raise his head in reply. He only cries more and then asks Beth through his tears, "How can you love me after what I did, Beth?" She holds him close and assures him, "You're my hero." What else can she say? He saved her life. He saved all of them. She wishes it didn't have to be Tommy, but it did. Beth pulls him up to his feet and tries to keep a strong face.
Her assurances sound hollow, but it's the only thing she has to give. They have to keep moving. Singer's body is humming with adrenaline as he paces on the ledge. He watched Sue fall, a shadow in the moonlight. Then he heard the thud of the body hitting the ledge below. But he's still having a hard time believing that it's real.
He looks over at Tommy, weeping in Beth's arms, and wishes he had had the courage to do it himself. But Singer knows it's time to put on a brave face and get going. If Abdul finds them, they'll certainly all be killed. He reaches down and tries to shake Tommy out of his state of shock.
"Tommy, listen to me. We did nothing wrong. We saved our lives. You didn't do it alone, okay? We did it, understand? But right now, Tommy, we have to get out of here." Singer helps Tommy to his feet and then he takes the lead, running along the ridge crest. They have to put as much distance between themselves and Abdul as possible, and fast. No one knows when he'll reappear.
Suddenly, Singer spots a break in the stone, revealing a hill of broken shale and dirt leading back down to the valley floor. They have to get down to the river. He climbs down and begins to descend. He stumbles in the loose dirt, weaving around boulders, leaping off small, rocky outcroppings. Singer whispers to John as they descend the mountain. They have to make a plan.
Eventually, it's decided that once they get back down to the river, they'll run towards the army outpost they'd stumbled on all those days ago when they went in search of a phone. That feels like a different world to Singer, an entirely different trip. But he knows it's their only chance at making it home safely. The soldiers will protect them. They just have to make it upriver.
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Head over to Symbiotica.com and use code ODDS for 20% off and free shipping on your subscription order. Beth whispers nervously to John as they rush across the hillside and down the mountain in the dark. They're headed back down to the river they had crossed earlier. Her thoughts circle back in on themselves over and over again. She's already asked John this question, but she can't stop herself from asking once more.
She glances over her shoulder at Tommy, who is limping next to Singer. She turns back to John and waits for him to reassure her. She nods. Hearing John say that makes her feel better, for a little while at least.
She and John spent days next to each other in the cramped bivouacs that Abdul forced them into. And now she trusts him more than almost anyone. He reaches out to her. Everything is going to be okay, Beth. But right as he assures her, they both hear a clatter of shifting rocks. Something about the sound feels very wrong. Beth turns and squints into the dark night, trying to discern where the sound is coming from.
Maybe it's Sue chasing them. Or worse, Abdul with his gun aimed at her head. Beth and the others sprint off at once. She runs faster than she's ever run before, at ankle-breaking speed. Soon, they come to a sharp cliff, but the 10-foot drop barely registers to Beth as she leaps down. Luckily, Beth lands in dirt.
She's on her hands and knees, panting, staring at the ground. But only for a moment. John lands beside her with a thud, and Singer and Tommy join them at the bottom. John helps her up, and they keep running towards the sound of the river. And as they run, Beth starts singing Cat Stevens' Moonshadow, and soon the whole group joins in. Even Singer, who only listens to heavy metal.
Finally, they reach the riverbed. Standing among a cluster of juniper bushes, Beth looks over at John, Singer, and Tommy's moonlit faces. What now? Should they hide and wait until morning? Or should they keep going, risking Abdul or another rebel seeing them? Even if hiding would be smarter, it makes Beth feel like a trapped animal.
She wants to put as much distance between the group and Abdul as possible. They decide unanimously to keep going. John pauses to catch his breath. He's been running for hours. He and Singer have been leading the way. They've been here before. Eighteen days earlier, the two of them walked across the same hills, saw the same huts and bends in the river.
The two of them had been lost in this exact area, looking for a phone to track down their missing duffel bag. Now, that problem feels like a lifetime ago. John leads the group over a bridge made of three tied together logs. But suddenly, the hairs on John's neck start to prickle. He senses movement in the shadows. That's it. They're done for. He raises his arms as though to surrender, but then lets them drop by his side.
It's just a herd of cows. John laughs. John leads them across the footbridge. The air around them smells like apricots. They must be passing through the grove he remembers from their long walk almost three weeks ago. John looks to Singer, and the two quickly compare their recollection of the landscape. After the apricot grove, they remember there being one more bridge to cross, and then they should see a strange house with animal skulls outside.
It was a hard place to forget. Ian Singer had jokingly called it the Headchopper's Place. From there, the path to the soldiers' compound should be straightforward. John is so tired. He feels like he's in a dream. But sure enough, the third footbridge appears, just like he remembered. And then he sees the little hut and the goat skulls glowing eerily in the moonlight.
John crouches in a bush and waves for his friends to follow him. Tommy, Beth, and Singer's upturned faces look at him expectantly. It's his turn to take the lead. "Listen up. The army camp is less than a mile away. We're in the home stretch, but there might be someone in the hut. We have to move silently." John explains the plan. They'll run one at a time quickly along the trail.
He'll go first, then Beth will follow 10 feet behind. Then Tommy, then Singer. John's vision narrows like a tunnel as he moves down the path. Every so often, he glances back to make sure that Beth is following him. But then, a movement in the nearby bushes registers in his peripheral vision.
In an instant, the thunder of machined gunfire explodes over him. John dives for cover into a shrub next to Beth. Bullets bounce off the dirt and spark as they shatter rocks. John peeks his head out. The gunfire is coming from where Singer had just been. He looks around and doesn't see him anywhere. After all they've been through, how could they lose Singer so close to the end of their ordeal?
Has he been taken captive again? Singer sprints at top speed through the cold air, away from the gunfire. A bullet whizzes past him, hitting a rock just feet away. He hears three loud bursts of four rounds. It takes a moment for Singer's brain to catch up to his body. Nobody is in front of him. Where did everyone else go? Where is the rest of his group?
Singer turns and runs back in the direction he came from, backtracking towards the bushes along the trail. And then he sees three figures running towards him. For a moment, he panics. Gunfire echoes in his ears. And then he realizes it's his friends, all three of them. Everyone is safe for now.
Singer waits for Beth, Tommy, and John to catch up to him. And then they start running together again, moving as one organism. Then they take cover behind a stone wall surrounding the hut decorated with skulls. The sound of gunfire still rings in Singer's ears. Who's shooting at them? Soldiers or more rebels? Finally, they find a break in the wall.
Through the opening, Singer sees the hut and finds an outline of a figure crouching in the doorway. Singer squints into the darkness. The figure seems to be beckoning, waving their arms. Singer doesn't have time to think. He just hopes for the best. He runs towards the figure, away from the hail of bullets. Beth runs through the opening in the stone wall into a courtyard of the strange hut.
More gunshots ring out over her head. She can't tell where they're coming from, so she freezes in place, not knowing what to do. Then she sees shadowy figures of men with guns leaning over the walls of the compound. Beth and the others start to shout, "We're American! Amerikanski! Don't shoot!" The men train the guns on them as Beth scrambles toward the hut and follows the other climbers inside.
She sees Singer on the ground, his face being pressed into the dirt floor, a long barrel of a gun aimed at the back of his head. The men are shouting commands at them in a language Beth doesn't understand. No, no, no, Beth thinks. After all that, this is how it ends? She's shoved roughly down onto the floor. Somebody's strong hands are pulling apart her legs, groping and frisking her.
Dirt from the floor is in her mouth and eyes, but she doesn't dare move her hands to wipe it away. Her peripheral vision is full of the black eyes of gun barrels. At any moment now, Abdul is going to come through those doors, a smirk on his face. They're as good as dead. She knew that they shouldn't have tried to escape. Now they're being punished.
Suddenly, a man pulls up her shirt and gasps. He must have seen her bra. Oh, madame. He steps back from her almost apologetically. Beth catches Singer's eye across the dirt floor. We almost made it, Singer. Singer gives her a strange look. Beth, we did make it. She pulls down her shirt and squints at the men that surround her. They're all clean-shaven and in uniform.
Are these soldiers? Could Singer be right? Have they finally made it to safety? Singer inhales a cigarette and then immediately coughs. The soldiers offered it to him as a celebration for escaping, and it had seemed impolite to turn them down. Between coughing fits, he puts the cigarette out in the ashtray and chugs water from a canteen. Clean water with no silt in it.
And his stomach is full for the first time in a week. The soldiers had given them canned sardines to eat. The smell lingers on his fingers. Singer stretches out on his back on the dirt floor. The small worm hut goes blurry as his eyes fill with tears. He whispers to himself over and over, I can't believe we made it. I can't believe we made it.
Singer watches as Tommy, Beth, and John lie down next to him, everyone linking arms. Then he sits up, wiping his face. "'Tommy, I think we need to decide now. If you want, I'll take the rap for pushing Sue. Or we can say that we all did it together. You, me, and John. It's up to you.'" Tommy stares back at him, a hard-to-read storm of emotions on his sweet face.
Tommy saved their lives. Singer starts to cry. I love you like a brother, Tommy. Singer wishes he'd had the strength to do what Tommy did, but he'd been afraid. Tommy hadn't. Maybe it was as simple as that. Singer looks over to Beth, who is eyeing him seriously, but then she cracks a little smile. Singer, when we get home, let's all go to the happiest place in the world.
Singer smiles, not really following, but loving the idea of everyone together at home. "Where's that, Beth?" "Disneyland." Singer laughs. The idea of them dirty and starved like they are now, riding in shiny little teacups, cracks him up. He reaches over and ruffles Beth's hair. Slowly, their laughter settles down and eventually gives way to deep sighs of relief. Singer lies back down and stares up at the ceiling.
Then quietly, John leans over and whispers something in his ear. I wonder where Abdul is now. An involuntary shiver goes down Singer's spine. But he knows that Abdul is no longer a threat to them. His eyes well with tears. They don't have to worry anymore.
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John Dickey stares out the window from his comfy seat on the Kyrgyz presidential jet. Below him, he watches the dark river winding through the steep valley, an image he'll never forget, and a reminder of how quickly a life can change. He leans back in his seat, closes his eyes, and lets the hum of the plane's turbines fill his ears.
After two days spent being ferried from army base to a small town, a helicopter finally airlifted them out of the town of Kerbaka to an anti-terrorism base in Bakken. John and his fellow climbers were given fresh army fatigues to replace their ragged clothes and fed a meal of bread and condensed milk. Then they were all asked to write down their official statements of what happened.
John knew that Tommy didn't want to be singled out for killing Sue, so the boys had made a pact. They'd all share the responsibility. So John made sure to note in his official statement that it had been all three of them who surrounded Sue and forced him over the edge. John looks over at Singer, who is chatting with the government officials accompanying them on board.
He knows that Singer has a hunger to tell their story, but John doesn't share the desire. He'd prefer to keep it as quiet as possible for now. He has no doubt about the media frenzy awaiting them stateside. They're flying to the U.S. Embassy in the country's capital, Bishkek. There, they'll make plans to return home. John can't believe it. Finally,
John looks down at the Karasu Valley stretching out below him in a low-lying haze. He remembers all the kind people he and Singer encountered on their very long walk when they'd first arrived at base camp and realized that they were missing a bag of supplies. Their multi-day journey to find a phone had been a failure, but was a success in that they met so many generous people along the way.
They drank tea with hospitable locals and were offered a taste of a culture that was so warm and entirely different from his own. They met shepherds and soldiers and farmers, countless locals who had taken them in. John couldn't help but wonder how they were doing. Had they heard about the Americans and their escape? Or had they been touched by the rebel violence too?
Then John's stomach starts to turn with the realization that they can't get away on a presidential jet. They're not able to leave the violence behind. The rebels are still hidden in the valleys surrounding their homes. And who knows how long the battles will go on or how many others will lose their lives. John takes a deep breath and looks back at Tommy and Beth. They're lucky.
Tommy is banging on Singer's hotel room door while Beth stands beside him, holding a printout of the Salt Lake Tribune. He's furious. Tommy and his friends landed in Bishkek yesterday and were immediately ushered to the American embassy. They were finally given access to a phone, and Tommy was able to call his parents briefly before being taken to a hotel in the middle of town.
It was a shock to be back in a bustling city. After weeks spent in the remote wilderness of the Pamir Allai, Bishkek was like being on another planet. Singer finally answers the door. His hair a mess. He's clearly just waking up from a nap. He seems confused when Tommy storms in with Beth and slams the door.
Tommy's voice shakes with rage. You talked to the media behind our backs? You told everyone we killed a terrorist? You want everyone to think of us as killers? Tommy had not been expecting the embassy to produce a printout of a Utah newspaper explaining how they had shoved Sue off a cliff.
He hadn't even had the chance to tell his parents about it. Tommy knew right away who leaked it to the press. Only one of them was from Utah, and only one of them seemed to think the killing was some sort of badge of honor. Tommy has to stop himself from yelling when Singer lifts his arms defensively and denies talking to the press. "'Dude, chill out. It must have been my mom. I talked to her on the phone. But so what if it was her? It happened.'"
Tommy lets Singer pull the paper out of his hand and set it on his bed. Then he listens patiently as he apologizes and explains that no one is going to hate him for what they had to do. It was the only way to survive. Tommy takes a seat on the hotel bed next to Beth. He can feel his shoulders sag and he lets his head drop. He can barely look up. The exhaustion from the last week is catching up to him.
Maybe Singer is right, and they've been overthinking it. He just doesn't know what to believe anymore. Everything feels new and terrifying. Getting home is his last chance to find himself. Beth folds her napkin and tosses it lightly on the table. She can't believe Singer picked an Indian restaurant for their last meal together as a group. It's too spicy for her. She can't wait to get home and taste something familiar.
In fact, her ticket home was originally scheduled to leave in another week, but Beth had been able to convince the embassy to help her and Tommy fly out earlier from a different airport. It cost additional money, but she wanted to get home so bad she would have paid anything. She didn't understand why Singer and John wanted to stay. Are you sure you don't want to come with us, guys? There's still room on the plane. I'll pay for your ticket if you need me to.
But Singer and John shake their heads. They want to explore Bishkek. Plus, John tells her that he's hoping to go to the travel agency and figure out a refund on all of his expensive camera equipment that he had lost up on the yellow wall. He made a crack about kidnapping insurance. But Beth is pretty sure that's thousands of dollars of equipment and film he'll probably never get back. Beth looks down at the airplane ticket in her lap.
There was a sticker on the back that indicates that she's an emotionally disturbed passenger. It was so weird to see, but it was true, wasn't it? How could she not be after what they'd been through? She looks back up as the waiter starts to clear their table. Even a loud clink of glasses or silverware makes her jump. Will she ever feel normal again?
Beth can't help but remember what Singer told her during their helicopter ride out of the mountains. He'd said that if there were a single week of his life that he could experience all over again, this last week would be it. He told her that he experienced every human emotion in such a short time, and it was a gift. Beth would never understand how anyone could feel that way about such a tragedy.
She never wants to think about their week in the mountains again, but she knows she won't be able to escape it. Abdul will haunt her dreams for years to come. Beth stands awkwardly over the table after the check has been paid. Their flight is leaving soon, and it's time to leave Singer and John behind. She does her best to smile before speaking. "'Be careful, you two.'" Then she hugs them both goodbye before taking Tommy's hand in hers."
She doesn't want to seem too excited to leave, but she also doesn't want to show any desire to stay. If it were up to her, she would be able to disappear into thin air without any sort of fanfare. But she knows that's not an option. She has to stay tough for just a couple of more days. Then finally, she'll be home.
Jason Singer-Smith stands with John Dickey in a dimly lit corridor, listening to the clank of a steel door being unlocked. It's March 2001, less than a year after being taken hostage, and the two climbers have returned to Kyrgyzstan. And now they're about to come face to face with their captor, Sue. Singer was shocked to learn that Sue had survived his fall and had been captured by Kyrgyz soldiers.
Now they know his real name is Ravshan Sharapov. Sharapov's survival fueled wild speculation that the Americans were lying about pushing him off a cliff, and maybe that they were lying about the whole kidnapping. Singer and the rest of the climbers have felt haunted by skeptics trying to catch them in a lie. But now, Singer can ask Sharapov to confirm the story himself.
The prison cell door creaks open and Sharapov walks in. He locks eyes with Singer and breaks into a wide smile of recognition. Singer pauses, confused. Sharapov turns to the translator and asks Singer and Dickey how they are. Dickey almost laughs. Singer shifts his weight from foot to foot. He can feel his face twitching as he takes in the sight.
Sharapov has put on weight since they were out in the hills. Maybe prison life suits him. Singer turns to the translator. Will you ask him if he remembers the last night we were together? The translator talks to Sharapov for a moment and then tells Singer and Dickey that Sharapov remembers falling, but doesn't remember how he fell.
Sharapov tells them that he was alone on the mountain for eight days before Kurga's soldiers found him and that he never saw the other kidnappers again. After 10 minutes, the guards tell Singer and Dickey that their time is up. Singer reaches out and shakes Sharapov's hand. Good luck, Sue. I'm sorry that we pushed you. Later, Singer will explain that he didn't want Sharapov to die thinking that he hated him. The rest of Sharapov's life will be bad enough.
Singer can forgive him. Dickie, however, is more ambivalent.
He will later say that there were moments in the prison cell where he wanted to punch Sharapov, but the moments passed, and he could see Sharapov for what he was, a child. Eventually, they learn that their main captor, Abdul, whose real name is Sabir, died soon after he left the group. Sharapov faced trial in Kyrgyzstan in May 2001 and was sentenced to life in prison.
Back in the United States, the four young climbers embark on their adult lives. Beth Rodden returned to the United States to a media frenzy. The young climber was pulled from interview to interview and eventually removed herself from the limelight and climbing for over a year. But the mountains kept calling.
In 2001, after more than a year off the wall, Beth returned to Yosemite as a charity climber to raise money for the families of 9-11 rescue personnel. She continued to climb throughout the world with Tommy Caldwell, who she would eventually marry, only to split years later. Beth continues to climb to this day and is still the youngest woman to climb a 5.14 rated wall.
In 2008, Beth made the first ascent of the hardest-rated traditional climb in Yosemite Valley. She named the 70-foot ultra-thin crack Meltdown. She has since remarried and is now a mother.
John Dickey went back to Kyrgyzstan in 2011 to climb the Russian Tower and the Aksu Valley. When asked if he was scared to return, Dickey explains that no amount of preparation can keep you insulated from your personal fate. He is now a husband and father and works as an extreme sport photographer and documentarian.
Jason Singer-Smith worked for North Face immediately upon his return to the U.S., but after a little less than a year, he moved on from corporate life to make time for his rock climbing. He continues to travel around the world, ascending some of the world's toughest climbs. He also regularly lectures about his experiences abroad.
Since returning from Kyrgyzstan, Tommy Caldwell has become one of the best, if not the best, all-around rock climbers of all time. He made the first ascents of some of the hardest sport routines in the U.S., including a climb called Kryptonite with grade of 5.14 C.D.,
He also ascended the world's first 5.15b, 9b route, Flex Luther, at the Fortress of Solitude, Colorado, in 2003. In 2018, Tommy Caldwell traces his fingers along a cliff face, looking for a split in the stone to grip onto.
He's in Yosemite National Park, hanging from the side of El Capitan, one of the most iconic rock formations in the world. He's attempting to conquer the Dawn Wall, a pitch that no one has ever free climbed before. After 19 days, he and his new climbing partner, Kevin Georgeson, are the first people to complete the journey. And the rock climbing community goes on to call it perhaps the hardest rock climb in history.
Tommy will go on to write a memoir called The Push, where he comes to terms with a lifelong lesson of climbing. Perseverance in the face of what scares us most is the only way to reach the top.
On the next episode of Against the Odds, we'll be interviewing climber and author Greg Child. For his book, Over the Edge, the true story of the kidnap and escape of four climbers in Central Asia, Greg interviewed all four climbers. In 2001, he returned to Kyrgyzstan with two of them to face one of their captors in a local prison. ♪
This is episode four of our four-part series, Rock Climbers Abducted. A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on historical research. If you'd like to learn more about this event, we highly recommend the book Over the Edge by Greg Child. ♪
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Sound design is by Joe Richardson. Music by Isabel Hirschman. Our senior producer is Andy Herman. Our executive producers are Stephanie Jens and Marshall Louis. We're Wondery.