In that time span, he has become accustomed to managing the psychological terror, mainly by acknowledging it and then moving on. Honnold has been free soloing for a dozen years. Other zones required him to climb up stretches so flat that they offered no hand grip at all, 600 feet in the air, requiring foot smearing.Īs hard as it is physically to hold on, the mental fortitude requirement is even higher. At one point it features a tiny 1/8” hold followed by a karate kick maneuver. There, Honnold had to hold onto grips facing down and out – practically pushing him off the face. The crux – the climb-defining greatest challenge – came at around 1,700 feet above the valley floor. Freerider: one of the many challenging routes up the face of El Capitan (Source: .uk) Essentially, he had to exercise total control over the climb – or plummet to his death. Starting at dawn, he had to tackle lengthy reaches requiring strenuous and precise exertion. Other sections are basically sheer vertical assents, so flat that they appear smooth. Long stretches lean out over fatal drops, requiring unflinching grip to get up extended cracks. He now lives in Las Vegas, and runs a charitable foundation focused on solar energy.įreerider, considered the easiest route up the face of El Cap, is fearsome to say the least, not to mention far more difficult than any of the routes up the 2,000-foot-tall Half Dome just across the valley. His ability has also allowed him to travel and climb all over the world. Honnold’s free solo climbs have been featured in films and on television. Exercising finger strength in his converted van (Source: National Geographic) Living out of his van and driving to crags around the country, he simplified all aspects of his life in order to focus on climbing. Already an incredibly gifted climber, the California native dropped out of college at 19 to pursue his dream full-time. Gradually, he filled in the gaps in his ability to take on his dream climb. While not yet prepared to attempt a free solo ascent of El Capitan, a younger Honnold tackled several other impressive rock faces in Yosemite, always with his ultimate goal in sight. No one else alive today has the reputation in the climbing world of Alex Honnold, who was believed to be the only person capable of giving this climb a shot. Even with ropes, it is one of the most difficult climbs in the world and is considered the pinnacle of achievement for climbers. That means that up until now, El Capitan had not been climbed without the aid of safety ropes. It attracts rock climbers and BASE jumpers – crazy people of all sorts – although it has defied free solo climbing. It would be a meeting of an unstoppable force and an impassable wall.Įl Capitan is a gigantic granite monolith. El Capitan is a storied destination, having been the object of such icons as photographer Ansel Adams and naturalist John Muir. “It’s only hindering my performance, so I just set it aside and leave it be.At 31 years of age, Honnold is the most renowned climber in the world, having won the respect of his peers and admirers. “With free-soloing, obviously I know that I’m in danger, but feeling fearful while I’m up there is not helping me in any way,” he told National Geographic. Honnold has openly acknowledged that there are many climbers in the game that are more talented than him, but it’s his uncanny ability to handle the psychological stress of exposure that separates him from the pack, and make historical feats like Saturday’s possible. An intimate cohort of his most trusted climbing partners knew of the quest, but agreed to remain tight-lipped regarding the ongoing mission. In preparation for the climb, the 31-year-old trained for over a year in China, Morocco, Europe and the United States, and allegedly made an earlier attempt in November, but backed off due to unfavorable conditions. Feeling fearful while I’m up there is not helping me. Widely acclaimed as the best and most daring free soloist on the planet, Honnold is no stranger to climbing without ropes or protection - but sending Freerider with nothing but climbing shoes and chalk represents a quantum leap forward in the climbing world, and is likely to go unmatched for years, maybe even decades. In total, Honnold scaled roughly 3,000 vertical feet in just under four hours. and topped out 3 hours and 56 minutes later at 9:28 a.m., all without the protection of rope or pre-placed gear. YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - Climbing history was made early Saturday morning when 31-year-old pro climber Alex Honnold completed the first free solo of Yosemite’s El Capitan, scaling over a half mile of vertical rock without a rope.Īccording to an exclusive report by National Geographic, Honnold began climbing Freerider (5.13a) at approximately 5:32 a.m. Honnold made history Saturday free soloing El Capitan (left).
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