Extreme couple who pitch their tents off cliff - PHOTO

For most people, hanging off of a cliff in a tent might indicate that somewhere on a camping expedition, they had taken a wrong turn. But for a daredevil couple, scaling cliffs and pitching tents on the side of a 3,000ft cliff in the face of freezing temperatures and falling rocks is the perfect day at the office.Professional free climbers Tommy Caldwell, 35, and wife Becca, 27, of Estes Park Colorado, U.S. take on cliff faces on a daily basis, relying only on their hands, feet, and equipment to get them up the mountain.The climbs can last for weeks, with the couple setting up their tents on the sides of vertical cliff faces to get some sleep following a long days climb.The photos were taken by adventure photographer Corey Rich, 37, of South Lake Tahoe, California, who risked his own life to take the pictures during a climb on El Capitan in Yosemite National park.All three of them slept on portable ledges and inside hanging tents that were secured to the granite cliff face.In addition, the free-climbers endured freezing wind, rain, snowstorms and falling ice sheets, using ropes to secure themselves to each other (a technique called belaying) to keep themselves safe in case of a fall. Rich, who has been climbing since age 18, said: 'Staying on the cliff at night in a tent is fantastic because I finally get to stop working and lay down to rest. I get to stare at the stars and eat dinner.'I'm usually so tired by the time it happens that I don't get much joy, I just want to close my eyes as quickly as I can. 'Admittedly it is scary the first time you do it, but once you spend enough time doing it, it becomes second nature and then it feels like camping on the ground -minus the camp fire.'Because you're still wearing a harness when you go to sleep it's not nerve-wracking. There is a piece of webbing tied around waist and tied to the wall, so it's very safe.'The portable ledges we used as a base were seven feet long and three feet wide. I had my own tent, but Tommy and Becca slept head-to-toe, obviously, not side-by-side. Their tents protected them against the harsh weather, but after a freezing storm, ice sheets would from on the cliff face, and as the temperatures rose, they would shift and fall, exploding and hitting the tents and ledges while the trio were camping.Rich said: 'They'd bounce off the portaledge and always in the back of your mind was that some giant block will hit it just right and chop it in half.'Becca abandoned the feat after ten days, but Tommy continued to attempt to reach the top.After six days attempting to conquer one of the most difficult cliff faces, which hadn't been achieved by free-climbers before, Tommy was forced to give up as well, and head back down the mountain. Rich said: 'People are blown away by the sub culture of individuals on the planet who spend time living in the vertical world. It's the ultimate view and ultimate camping location.''The reason why we have to camp on the cliff is because the climbing is so difficult and sometimes have to spend more than a day on the wall.'Their tents protected them against the harsh weather, but after a freezing storm, ice sheets would from on the cliff face, and as the temperatures rose, they would shift and fall, exploding and hitting the tents and ledges while the trio were camping.Rich said: 'They'd bounce off the portaledge and always in the back of your mind was that some giant block will hit it just right and chop it in half.'Becca abandoned the feat after ten days, but Tommy continued to attempt to reach the top. But after six days attempting to conquer one of the most difficult cliff faces, which hadn't been achieved by free-climbers before, Tommy was forced to give up as well, and head back down the mountain. Rich said: 'People are blown away by the sub culture of individuals on the planet who spend time living in the vertical world. It's the ultimate view and ultimate camping location.''The reason why we have to camp on the cliff is because the climbing is so difficult and sometimes have to spend more than a day on the wall.'(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az