
Alex Honnold Scales El Capitan Without Ropes, and the Climbing World Reels - merraksh
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/05/531584651/alex-honnold-scales-el-capitan-without-ropes-and-the-climbing-world-reels?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social
======
patejam
By far the best article I've seen to supplement this:
[https://www.outsideonline.com/2190306/why-alex-honnolds-
free...](https://www.outsideonline.com/2190306/why-alex-honnolds-free-solo-
scared-me)

As a climber, there are very few people that I trust to have a more useful
opinion on all this than Tommy Caldwell, a close friend and long time climbing
partner of Honnold. It's so out there for most people that most jump to
conclusions without proper knowledge of the subject.

Caldwell is in an interesting position of having to balance supporting his
friend, and trying to get over the fact that he very well could die doing
these attempts. His article does a great job expressing this.

~~~
kbenson
_It’s all too easy for headlines about climbing to lean on clichés about the
climbers themselves—that these people are daredevils, thrill seekers,
adrenaline junkies. But to most climbers, nothing is quicker to trigger the
gag reflex. Climbing is an intimate relationship with our world’s most
dramatic landscapes, not a self-boasting fight against them. I don’t claim to
understand the inner workings of Alex’s mind, but I know one thing for
certain: Alex climbs to live, not to cheat death._

Can someone help me understand this? How is doing something without safety
equipment that you can do with with safety equipment climbing to live, but
_not_ about cheating death? What is the point of foregoing safety if not to
somehow eke something out of the increased danger, whether it be adrenaline,
or a period of increased focus, or fame?

If it's not about someone being addicted to adrenaline or looking for fame,
then I just don't understand it. At all. As in it's so foreign to me that I
can't even _begin_ to understand it.

~~~
hluska
I have a couple of things that might help you a bit:

1\. Alex Honnold's brain is atypical. His amygdala simply does not respond to
stimuli the way that it does in most people. To learn more, read this
(excellent) article:

[http://nautil.us/issue/39/sport/the-strange-brain-of-the-
wor...](http://nautil.us/issue/39/sport/the-strange-brain-of-the-worlds-
greatest-solo-climber)

2\. While I am (at best) a mediocre climber, the section you quoted rings true
to me, particularly this section - "Climbing is an intimate relationship with
our world’s most dramatic landscapes, not a self-boasting fight against them."
There is something incredibly natural and sensual about climbing on rock that
I can't describe without sounding like I'm talking about sex. And...that's
traditionally where people tell me to give them my keys because I've had too
much to drink. :)

3\. Climbing is a deeply meditative activity, particularly when you get into a
place where each movement flows into the next. When I am there, my mind shuts
down and it is just a rock and me doing the most natural thing that I have
ever found (see #2). That flow is deeply beautiful, but when you climb with
ropes, you have to be in near constant contact with your belay partner. When I
am with my regular belay partner, it interrupts that flow. When I am with a
new belay partner, I never get close to it.

I suspect that if my amygdala worked like his, I would free solo simply to
avoid having to communicate with a belay partner.

~~~
bigato
What is the personality test that this article about Alex mentions? The one
that generated that bar graph. I'd like to take it myself.

~~~
zzalpha
Something like this:

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/sensatio...](http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/sensation/)

~~~
bigato
Well thank you, but the test in that link doesn't work. Anyway, I searched for
some high sensation seekers tests, but the graph in the article has far more
detailed results than any test I could find. It measures several interesting
personality traits.

~~~
gaia
link worked for me.
[https://i.imgur.com/I7RKlW5.png](https://i.imgur.com/I7RKlW5.png)

~~~
bigato
The test doesn't

~~~
gaia
You're right. I found the full test and scoring table at
[http://wsm.wsu.edu/s/we.php?id=200](http://wsm.wsu.edu/s/we.php?id=200)

------
lflux
Some great pictures from the climb: [http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-
report-6317-special-edi...](http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-
report-6317-special-edition-honnold-free-solo-elcap)

~~~
vanderZwan
I'd love to see a picture of the entire wall, with rectangles showing which
tiny part of it we're looking at for each photo, just to get a better feeling
for how high the climb is.

~~~
burkaman
Not exactly what you asked for, but this is pretty good:
[http://imgur.com/a/c74MY](http://imgur.com/a/c74MY)

------
bogomipz
If you are interested in this or the history of climbing in Yosemite and and
El Capitan I highly recommend the documentary "Valley Uprising." Even if you
aren't necessarily interested in climbing its a beautiful documentary. It's
available on Netflix.

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3784160/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3784160/)

~~~
mikepurvis
I'll just second this as someone not previously interested in climbing who was
really drawn into Valley Uprising. From a purely technical point of view, it
does some fascinating stuff bringing decades-old photographs and video clips
to life on the rock face.

You can get a taste of it from a number of clips that are in the trailer:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o86TpaSBcWw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o86TpaSBcWw)

------
ChicagoBoy11
The thing that I've most loved while following Alex's exploits over the past
few year is how he talks about his mental preparation. He always seems very
well prepared for whatever route that he is climbing. To me, the biggest
evidence of that is the fact that he quit doing this exact climb a few weeks
ago because he felt conditions weren't right. That's really hard to do with
media, etc. on your tail, even IF your life is literally at stake.

It would be one thing if he were just incredibly bold and daring and were
getting away with it; instead, its clear that his method is a very slow,
methodical process in which he manages to practically guarantee that he will
have a safe and effortless climb. Even in the interviews after this, it is
clear that he is committed to his routine and managed to set-up this climb in
such a way that it simply represented a comfortable, natural step in his
evolution as a climber. He talks about it almost matter-of-factly.

Truly awe-inspiring.

~~~
jeffdavis
How do you quit a free climb?

~~~
eigenvector
1\. Someone climbs to your location from the ground, or descends from the top
of the route, hauling a sufficient amount of gear for you to rappel or be
lowered to the ground. Obviously impractical on massive routes like El Cap.

2\. A rescuer is slung onto the route near the incapacitated climber's
location using a helicopter long-line. They prepare the climber for extraction
and then they are both slung off by the helicopter at one time.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_Flight_Rescue_Syste...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_Flight_Rescue_System)

~~~
jojoo
in this case he could just wait on a ledge until other climbers went by and
ascended with them.

~~~
BHSPitMonkey
You can't just insert yourself into someone else's big wall party if they
weren't planning on it; those other climbers would be spending multiple days
on the route and would almost certainly not have food, water, and portaledge
space for you (not to mention how profoundly rude that would be...). If you
were indeed at the mercy of needing strangers to rescue you, a passing party
or a rescue party would need to change their plans and retreat with you, which
would only really be a good call if your life were at risk otherwise.

The more realistic plan would be to have some friends ready and willing to
come retrieve him if needed, and to potentially stash some gear/supplies at
the larger belay ledges a few days prior.

~~~
jojoo
> You can't just insert yourself into someone else's big wall party if they
> weren't planning on it; those other climbers would be spending multiple days
> on the route and would almost certainly not have food, water, and portaledge
> space for you (not to mention how profoundly rude that would be...). If you
> were indeed at the mercy of needing strangers to rescue you, a passing party
> or a rescue party would need to change their plans and retreat with you,
> which would only really be a good call if your life were at risk otherwise.

yeah, you can, it's called hitchhiking. it's not very common; but it has be
done, Lynn Hill talks about it in her autobiography. if the climber
hitchhiking is good enough, the new party will be faster in the end.

------
vkou
As a climber, I wish this were less widely publicized. Free soloing is
extremely dangerous, and dozens of climbers - including experienced ones die
doing it every year.

~~~
Fricken
Amongst the legendary free soloist rock climbers, here's the spread:

John Gill, alive at 80

Peter Croft, alive at 60

Alain Robert, alive at 54

Catherine Destiville, alive at 53

Steph Davis, alive at 43

Alex Honnold, alive at 31

Dan Osmond, died at 45, not free soloing

Dean Potter, died at 43, not free soloing

Michael Reardon, died at 43, not free soloing

John Bachar died free soloing at 52

It's a very small field, not many people make a discipline of it.

~~~
gnarcoregrizz
Dan Osman still died by falling off a cliff.. equipment failure though
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6YsM5Rh0Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY6YsM5Rh0Y)

~~~
japhyr
It's worth noting that both Dan Osman and Dean Potter died in part due to park
service policies.

The park service allows all kinds of activities that cater to motorized
tourists, but bans specialized activities like base jumping. Yosemite is one
of the best places in the world to base jump, not just because of its beauty
but because the cliffs are oriented well for base jumping. The ban pushes
jumpers to fly at dawn or dusk, and hide their activities, in a way that
pushes the safety margins.

~~~
2muchcoffeeman
A ban doesn't force anyone to do anything to break the ban.

The correct response to the ban is to respect the parks wishes and stop BASE
jumping.

If you want to push the limits that's on you. You should know the risks and
act accordingly.

~~~
BHSPitMonkey
This starts to resemble something like abstinence-only education in schools,
though, where a hard-line stance of "just don't do the risky thing we've told
you not to do and you'll be fine" leads to less successful real-world results
than embracing the complex realities of human behavior.

~~~
2muchcoffeeman
No it doesn't. There are other places and countries where you can BASE jump.
They chose to do it where it was banned and selected times where they would
evade authorities.

This sort of entitled attitude doesn't help IMO. Breaking local laws just
confirms that you can't trust these communities and you give everyone a bad
name.

~~~
Fricken
Do you honestly think anyone who BASE jumps gives a fuck what you think? Why
even waste your time saying it? They're obviously not here to obey the rules.
Like, really obviously.

~~~
2muchcoffeeman
I'm not really sure I understand the point of this comment.

Of course they don't have to listen to me. But people express their opinions
all the time.

Of course they should follow local access rules, local ethics and etiquette.

Most outdoor communities I've seen try and keep good relationships with local
authorities. We want to maintain areas as much as they do so we can keep using
them.

------
DarkTree
> "I woke up one guy and he sort of said, 'Oh, hey.' Then when I went by, I
> think he discreetly woke up his buddies because when I looked down they were
> all three standing there like 'What the f __*? ' "

What an awesome story for a climber: "I was woken up on the wall by the first
guy to free solo El Cap"

~~~
goshx
"Dressed in a chicken suit"

Check #6 here: [http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-
edi...](http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-edition-
honnold-free-solo-elcap)

~~~
rconti
This needs to be higher up. A great read. I was going to post it up top in
reply to the person who posted the NatGeo link saying it was the best
description of it, until I found it mentioned all the way down here :)

------
jabl
A couple of years ago it was in the news that a couple a blokes (Caldwell &
Jorgeson) had freeclimbed El Capitan.

So for those of us who know next to nothing about rock climbing, what's the
difference here? Apparently Caldwell & Jorgeson were using ropes for safety
although not for the climbing per se (hence why it was freeclimbing?) So this
guy does it all alone, without any safety ropes, and in frickin 4 hours?
Waaaat?

Or was it a different route? The Caldwell & Jorgeson stories mention "Dawn
Wall", is that something else than Honnold climbed now?

~~~
ejvincent
> So for those of us who know next to nothing about rock climbing, what's the
> difference here? Apparently Caldwell & Jorgeson were using ropes for safety
> although not for the climbing per se (hence why it was freeclimbing?)

Aid Climbing = using ropes to assist with going up

Free Climbing = only using yourself to climb up, but still using ropes to
catch your fall

Free soloing = climbing with no protection or assistance

> Or was it a different route?

Different route on the same mountain. They did the 'Dawn Wall' (which Honnold
has also done), and his recent record was on 'Freerider'.

Here's the dawn wall: [http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-
topo](http://www.rockandice.com/dawn-wall-el-cap-yosemite-topo). Don't see a
good topo for Freerider yet.

Edit: Turns out I was mis-remembering on the dawn wall.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Honnold#Selected_notable_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Honnold#Selected_notable_climbs)
has a list of his notable climbs.

~~~
takk309
Honnold has not free climbed the Dawn Wall. Adam Ondra did last year for the
second free accent.

[edit: fixed Adam's name]

~~~
FrojoS
Correct. The hardest pitch on the Dawn Wall is rated 9a and in addition the
climbing is of a very particular style (slabs) that does not suite most 9a
climbers. It is quite possible that the Dawn Wall won't be repeated for a long
time. Alex Honnold has never free climbed any 9a but recently stated that this
is one of his next goals.

------
raygelogic
achievements in climbing can be kind of difficult for non-climbers to see the
relevancy of, since the conventions of success seem a little arbitrary until
you put some time into it. it was interesting to see the news cycle pick up
tommy caldwell and kevin jorgeson's ascent of the dawn wall in yosemite in
january 2015. it was certainly the biggest thing to happen in yosemite at the
time, but no bigger in terms of its relevancy to climbing than a handful of
other ascents that happened in the few years surrounding. it was a huge climb,
and worthy of all the attention it got, but it was a little peculiar to see it
get more airtime than any climb since maybe the original dawn wall ascent by
warren harding in 1970.

before alex's climb this week, it would be totally reasonable to make the
claim that el cap will never get free-soloed. it's too sustained, the only
feasible routes are too insecure. no one, expert or not, would ever get
shouted down for making that claim, even among a cohort of dreamers who all
want to live the impossible. among that cohort, free solo climbing isn't all
that common; maybe one in a hundred climbers have ever climbed a difficult
route taller than 100 feet without a rope. which makes him alien even within
his sport.

honnold just landed on the moon. what he did doesn't require any of the qwerks
of convention that accompany most big-wall free climbs. everyone immediately
understands the idea of scaling a cliff without a rope. everyone can even try
it. el cap is a ten minute walk from the car. but in case the context of the
climb is unclear, this is the kind of feat that only comes along every few
generations.

maybe I'm overstating it. from one perspective, this climb was another
incremental step on honnold's journey. all of his previous ascents were mind-
bending as well: moonlight buttress in zion, the regular northwest face of
half dome, el sendero luminoso in el potrero chico, mexico. besides, technical
rock climbing as we understand it today is only two or three generations old
at most, and it's already produced this monster of an achievement. we may see
more in our lifetime. I just wouldn't bet on it.

~~~
irrational
Looking at the pictures El Capitan seems really tall and flat/sheer. Are there
other cliffs in the world that are even taller or more sheer? I'm just
wondering since I've seen comments from people saying something to the affect
that they can't imagine what could top this. There are thousands of mountains
around the world. Surely El Capitan isn't the Mt Everest of climbing.

~~~
raygelogic
there are more sheer cliffs, there are taller mountains, and there are harder
routes, for sure. but what makes a cliff, a mountain, or a specific route
inspiring is harder to define than its physical countours. there's a mountain
in Argentina called Cerro Torre that is seen my many alpinists as the holy
grail of mountaineering. it's about 11,000 feet tall, and has a neighbor to
the north called Fitz Roy that is even taller and has more terrain on it. but
Cerro Torre is steeped in history of climbers making their own attempts on it,
and has features peculiar to it that make it seem impossible.

on the other hand, within the alpinism/rock climbing community, Everest isn't
actually even seen as the Mt Everest of climbing. if you read Jon Krakauer's
"Into Thin Air", he elaborates on this. the commercialism associated with the
mountain, the way it is treated by guided parties, and the way it is seen as a
bucket list item that anyone with the means to hire guides can haul themselves
up, all serve to detract from the appeal of the mountain to the "true"
adventure mountaineer. I say that a little toungue-in-cheek, though. if any
alpinist had the opportunity to climb everest far from the crowds and without
the $50k price tag, they would probably leap at it immediately. the point is,
even Everest's stature has fallen in prominence among many alpinists, in favor
of more technical peaks (though exceptions are readily available). it's been
this way since the 60's and 70's.

the 60's and 70's were the time that yosemite climbing began to really take
off. warren harding climbed the nose (the most prominent and popular route on
el capitan) in 1958, royal robbins climbed the sheer northwest face of half
dome in 1957. from then on, legends like chuck pratt, yvon chouinard, john
long, jim bridwell, john bachar, peter croft, ron kauk, and lynn hill, all
made their impact on the cliffs of yosemite. many of them went on to climb in
the greater ranges of the world. yosemite for a time was a melting pot of the
finest pratitioners of the sport--until you could no longer spend an entire
summer in camp 4 because of overcrowding.

fast forward to modern day, it's still the proving ground for so many rock
climbers and alpinists around the world. to climb the most prominent cliff in
the most historically meaningful place still has power that captivates. some
of it is its accessibility, some of it is the beauty of the mountain, and some
of it is the difficulty, but much of it is simply legend.

~~~
irrational
In your opinion, what cliff in the world would be most impressive if someone
free soloed it? That is, there is no way someone could top free soloing X
since there simply isn't any other cliff/route on the face of the earth that
could compare.

------
justinator
Proper Planning and Practice Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

and DEATH.

In all seriousness, Alex's mental and physical conditioning to achieve this
goal should be lauded, examined, written about, and taught.

~~~
tuna-piano
Alex is famous because he does "free soloing" \- which doesn't use any ropes
or safety at all. More people do "free climbing" which uses ropes just in case
of fall.

Anyone have any idea how often free climbers end up falling and needing their
ropes? Could many good free climbers do what Honnold did, but just like the
added bits of safety?

~~~
takk309
I climb but not at anywhere near the level of Honnold. That being said, free
climbers fall quite a bit. Sport climbing, that is using bolts that are pre-
placed as protection, often involves pushing to one's limit which of course
means falling. Traditional climbing, using special gear and features in the
rock for protection, does not involve as much falling since there is a higher
risk of your gear popping out of its placement.

Honnold has climbed this route with ropes many times and no doubt fell while
doing it. He was well aware that he was capable of completing the climb
without a fall.

~~~
tuna-piano
Any idea of how many people have free climbed this route? I'm really curious
to know if Honnold is a one-of-a-kind climber or there are similar skill level
climbers who just aren't willing to risk it without ropes?

Either way he's amazing, but I'm curious to know how amazing.

~~~
takk309
This route, called the Freerider, has been free climbed by a lot of people. It
is arguably the easiest free climb on El Cap. That being said it is out of the
range of most climbers. I will assume you are not familiar with climbing
grades, here is an overview:

[http://www.coloradomountaineering.com/2012/01/guide-to-
yosem...](http://www.coloradomountaineering.com/2012/01/guide-to-yosemite-
decimal-system.html)

The Freerider is rated at 5.12d. This is a grade that most people will
struggle to attain without a huge amount of training and effort.

Also, keep in mind that the route is very long and takes most people multiple
days to complete. Honnold did it in under 4 hours.

~~~
rgzn
Honnold climbed the boulder problem variation, which is 13a. The Teflon Corner
at 12d is slightly easier but less secure, so worse for soloing.

------
skim-
Check these awesome photos of the feat: [http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-
report-6317-special-edi...](http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-
report-6317-special-edition-honnold-free-solo-elcap)

------
twoodfin
There's a great documentary on the climbing culture of Yosemite and its
evolution (including the equilibrium-punctuating arrival of Alex Honnold)
available at least on Netflix: _Valley Uprising_.

Worth a watch.

~~~
Lordarminius
_equilibrium-punctuating arrival of Alex Honnold..._

Yeah, I guess that just about describes the guys career.

Fun question: which people in other disciplines have had the same shattering
effect in their field ? I can think of Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov in
Chess.

~~~
SamReidHughes
Tiger Woods, Old Tom Morris, a whole crapton of scientists and musicians.

------
irln
First clip of Honnold's climb: [https://goo.gl/LZ1jcq](https://goo.gl/LZ1jcq)

~~~
prodikl
palms literally raining phew

------
andyjohnson0
On a message board I use there has been some interesting discussion [1] of
whether elite climbers are being subject to pressure to take unreasonable
risks due to the need to stay visible on social media, the commercial
requirements of sponsors, and increasing interest in climbing by media orgs
like Nat Geographic. I climb at a very modest level and don't feel qualified
to judge in this case, and I certainly don't want to imply that Alex isn't
making informed judgements about what he does, but I suspect these concerns
may have some validity.

But an awesome achievement, nevertheless.

[1]
[https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=665201&v=1](https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?n=665201&v=1)

~~~
sleepychu
Interesting, I feel pretty confident that this was a personal goal for him
though, since he first mentioned it in 2009.

~~~
andyjohnson0
I agree about it likely being a personal goal.

But when Dawn Wall was freed a couple of years ago it got a lot of coverage in
the mainstream media [1]. I wonder whether that would be the case if, instead,
it was done a year or so from now. Or would the fact that Caldwell and
Jorgeson used ropes and protection mean that it was no longer extreme enough
to be considered remarkable. Even though it was the outcome of a long-term
project, would they have to solo it to get the same level of mainstream
attention now?

[1] [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/sports/el-capitans-
dawn-w...](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/15/sports/el-capitans-dawn-wall-
climbers-reach-top.html)

------
gerbilly
I see a lot of comments wondering why someone would take such risks, why it's
irresponsible etc...

It makes me wonder how responsible it is to sit in a chair and program all
day, distorting your body into a twisted fat shadow of itself.

I think our profession also comes with physical risks, and they sure aren't as
rewarding as rock-climbing is.

------
24gttghh
It's things like this that make me ask myself, "Why don't I climb rocks more?"

Then I remember I have a fear of falling to my death. It's a vicious cycle.

~~~
legohead
Fear of falling is natural, and good. If yours is a bonafide phobia, that will
be a challenge of course, but some people climb in order to fight their
phobia.

There's an interesting progression with regard to fear in rock climbing.
Bouldering is fairly limited, fear-wise (if you don't count highballs). It's a
great way for anyone to get into climbing, and just have fun.

Top-roping a wall is pretty benign as well, since if you fall it's usually
just a couple feet. But the height can will still cause beginners to pause,
but you should get over it fairly quickly. You will be too focused on the next
move to think about the height, most of the time.

Then you progress to lead climbing, where you pull the rope up with you
(attached to your harness), and clip into quickdraws. Lead falls are much
farther than top rope, in general, and you have the added physical challenge
of finding a good position to do the clipping. This added physical challenge
leads to mental drain as you have to gauge "can I make it to the next
quickdraw and have enough energy to find a position to clip without falling?"
The more you move up, the farther you're going to fall..

Then you have traditional (trad) climbing, where you place protection into the
rock, in the form of cams and nuts and what not, and you clip into those. The
physical challenge with finding a position to put protection is similar to
lead, but now you have to hold the position longer, and after it's placed, you
have the added mental strain of "will that piece of gear actually hold if I
fall on it?"

And then, you have Honnold here, with free soloing. You fall you die (or get
super messed up).

When I went from top roping to lead, it was like starting over again. The
level I was climbing at plummeted (on lead), due to the mental game. Nowadays
when I top rope, it's almost a joke (fear-wise). I can fly up a route on top
rope, and then struggle up the same route on lead.

\--

One of the most interesting things about the sport, to me, is the whole mental
challenge, and any climber will tell you the same. You are not just
challenging yourself physically, but mentally. We all have to fight the fear,
our weakness of mind.

~~~
fvdessen
Some people don't have any fear; Sometimes I forget to clip when I'm lead
climbing.

------
jron
Interview:
[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athlete...](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athletes/alex-
honnold/interview-rope-free-solo-climb-yosemite-el-capitan/)

Pictures: [http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-
edi...](http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-edition-
honnold-free-solo-elcap)

------
gaia
To me this quote is the best gauge of how incredible of a human feat this was.

"One way to measure the greatness of any sporting achievement might be to
consider the amount of time that passes before it’s achieved again. New world
records are set in virtually every single Olympics. Every year brings new
sports stars who stand on the shoulders of those who came before them. Look at
someone like Usain Bolt, who has a dominant record in the 100-meter dash that
might last for generations. The difference is, lots of people can run the 100
meters (albeit not quite as fast as Bolt).

Honnold, meanwhile, is performing in an event that no one else is even
qualified, much less willing, to participate."

[http://eveningsends.com/is-alex-honnolds-el-cap-free-solo-
th...](http://eveningsends.com/is-alex-honnolds-el-cap-free-solo-the-greatest-
individual-sports-achievementever/)

------
gesman
Sincerely, even thinking about it - feels scary! :)

These are great pictures indeed:

[http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-
edi...](http://elcapreport.com/content/elcap-report-6317-special-edition-
honnold-free-solo-elcap)

------
jondubois
I would not do a climb like this even if the fate of the universe depended on
it.

------
skookum
Obligatory related entertainment:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MubrSXdjjQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MubrSXdjjQ)

------
davidparks21
Tommy Caldwell is the most qualified person in the world to write this story.
A famous name in climbing himself, having written many of the books, and
having climbed and prepared with Alex.

[https://www.outsideonline.com/2190306/why-alex-honnolds-
free...](https://www.outsideonline.com/2190306/why-alex-honnolds-free-solo-
scared-me)

------
Radim
There was a very good interview with Alex on Joe Rogan a few years back:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusYaNWBy08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusYaNWBy08)

In a typical Rogan style, it's a pretty relaxed and "real" chat, about girls,
shitting your pants etc. Gives a little more insight into how top athletes
like Alex think and approach their craft.

------
Darthy
How did he get back down? With Ropes? Then who brought them up? Or did he do a
BASE jump? Catch a ride on a Helicopter?

~~~
remus
You can walk off the back.

------
ChuckMcM
I find it interesting that I feel some of the same physical symptoms of fear
when I look at clips of this guy 1000' off the ground, climbing the rock.

Alex has a such a unique set of skills, which he has not only identified but
honed to their best level of execution. It is hard for me to now
simultaneously feel awe and disbelief.

------
matt-attack
Something I've always wondered about stuff like this: How can someone get so
good at a craft that seemingly allows for zero mistakes? How do you practice
and develop your skills when there's no margin for error?

(Note: I'm assuming he'd have died if he ever made a mistake on this climb)

~~~
adbachman
There are lots of small mistakes you can make while climbing that don't result
in a fall. Poor route selection, bad hand placement, sketchy foot holds, etc.
The sport is choices leading to choices. Small bad choices can be corrected,
for the most part.

For example, in the National Geographic[1] story it mentions that he attempted
the climb in November but "but backed off after less than an hour of
climbing". I assume he hit some threshold of small mistakes, bad conditions,
and negative vibes that added up to, "not today." But he got down and lived to
climb another day.

The interview with Tommy Caldwell linked elsewhere in the comments mentions
that he even fell once while practicing for this climb, "he had taken a fall
on a practice lap of the Freerider and badly sprained his ankle."

So probably less that he makes NO mistakes, and more that none of his mistakes
have meant a deadly fall yet.

[1]:
[http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athlete...](http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athletes/alex-
honnold/most-dangerous-free-solo-climb-yosemite-national-park-el-capitan/)

------
shriphani
About Alex Honnold, there's just one thing that comes to mind - Unbridled
Ambition.

That same spirit that Caesar's men harnessed to build a bridge across the
Rhine in 10 days, that led NASA to get to the moon in a decade, that led to
the empire state building being erected in slightly over a year.

------
takk309
Here is a post-climb interview with Alex Honnold:
[http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/alex-honnold-el-
cap-...](http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/alex-honnold-el-cap-free-
solo-interview)

------
brahmwg
Explore El Capitan via Google street view

[https://www.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-
scenes/streetvi...](https://www.google.com/maps/about/behind-the-
scenes/streetview/treks/yosemite/#trek)

------
cbtacy
One of the best pieces written to date about this.

[http://eveningsends.com/is-alex-honnolds-el-cap-free-solo-
th...](http://eveningsends.com/is-alex-honnolds-el-cap-free-solo-the-greatest-
individual-sports-achievementever/)

------
sizzzzlerz
It would be well to remember the old adage that there are two kinds of rock
climbers: those that have fallen and those that will fall. As spectacular a
feat as this was, even for someone as skilled as Honnold, he does this often
enough, in the end, it will kill him.

~~~
cynicalbastard
i used to think that, but now i'm not so sure. his free climbs are basically
choreographed down to the inch, well ahead of time.

that is a completely different thing than just going up because he's in a good
mood and thinks he can do it.

~~~
sizzzzlerz
That is like saying you can flip 50 coins and have them come up heads every
time because your flips were choreographed. Every single move he makes, every
fingerhold, every foot placement, everything, must be perfect every time. The
rock can't crumble unexpectedly,the sun can't momentarily blind him, hell, a
butterfly in the Peruvian Andes can't flap its wings just so. There must be
thousands of such points in his climbs, any one of which could kill him. He
does it often enough, someday, they will.

~~~
carsonbaker
Your comment doesn't make sense. You can't choreograph the result of coin
flip, but you can definitely rehearse a rock climbing sequence so that you
always nail it. I can promise you there weren't thousands of moments on this
climb where chossy rock, the sun, or chaos theory had anything to do with his
success or failure.

------
revanx_
I'm curious , if he is free climbing this large peaks, wouldn't it make sense
to wear one of em lightweight parachutes, I'm sure for someone like Alex an
extra 800g wouldn't be much of an issue would it?

------
tshadley
Assuming Honnold has perfect ability, what are the risks of the route itself?
I assume these routes are kept clean of loose rock, holds are inspected
constantly and anything showing wear is communicated to the climber community.

~~~
raygelogic
hey, actually no one maintains the routes in an official capacity. there are
groups of climbers who voluntarily will upgrade fixed protection, or
individuals who do the same, but certainly no governing body. it's not like a
hiking trail, for example. it's pretty wild west, but generally people work
together.

as far as the objective risks, they include loose rock, broken holds, wet
rock, birds spooking you, base jumpers spooking you, hornets, climbers
dropping things by accident on you.

~~~
takk309
On the subject of maintaining a route like this, it is dangerous to remove
loose rocks since there is a reasonable chance that there is someone below
you. As a result, some loose rock is still present on these routes.

------
imron
> I hope others are inspired by Alex’s dedication to excellence and ability to
> live without fear

What he did was impressive to be sure, but I wonder how many people inspired
by it will attempt it themselves, only to fall to their deaths.

------
chris_overseas
There's some National Geographic video footage of the climb here:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HoUDDetAg0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HoUDDetAg0)

------
TheMagicHorsey
Why is this celebrated? The man could die. Is it for our amusement? You take
someone, you give him sponsors, you make him think risking his life to make a
living this way is his own choice? Between fame and money, and a life working
as a clerk in some office ... what choice could there be.

I imagine it's like the choice for slaves in ancient Rome between being a
house slave or becoming a gladiator. Fame and riches maybe ... death maybe.

Why does society accept this behavior as normal?

The welfare state will bear the cost if he lands hard and is paralyzed. If he
dies, his loved ones will bear the cost.

For all this, what do we get in concrete terms? The knowledge that a human has
risked his life for something so meaningless? Some "sweet photos, dude".

Madness really. How does everyone accept this as normal?

~~~
jraby3
You could die doing anything. It's his life to live and he shouldn't be
restricted in how he wishes to live or die. And it's celebrated because it's a
form of bravery not all of us have but many of us respect.

~~~
TheMagicHorsey
It's also brave to play Russian Roulette. Should that be celebrated?

You have to distinguish between brave acts which have a moral purpose. And
brave acts which are just displays of bravado.

Bravery to save a person from a fire ... that is worthy of celebration.

Bravery to jump between two tall buildings to impress your bozo friends below
... impressive ... but any society that makes a point celebrating this in its
culture might see some problematic developments in how its youth view risk.

------
holmberd
It is a remarkable feat, but still in the realm, evidently, of what is humanly
possible. Risk is always relative to the activity in which you spend your
time.

------
wedesoft
Just reminds me of Ueli Steck who climbed the Eiger within a few hours. Sadly
he had a fatal accident in the Himalayas just recently.

------
matt-attack
I find it annoying that clicking on the first image takes you to Instagram
which displays the linked image smaller than the original article.

------
whistlerbrk
More more detail I'd read the National Geographic article linked in this NPR
article, it has a very good history/background worth reading.

------
hoodoof
I know a neuropsychologist who believes that certain people are simply missing
certain personality traits that other have, such as fear.

------
mooreds
Yes, this was amazing and, as I shared with a friend, bone chilling. I don't
know if this feat will ever be repeated.

------
tmsldd
"...he passed some climbers who had spent the night on a ledge. He did his
best not to wake them ..."

------
sn9
Honnold's interview on Tim Ferriss's podcast is fascinating, for anyone who's
interested.

------
skookumchuck
I wouldn't even stand with my back to the precipice, as he does in a photo in
the article.

------
geoka9
How does one get back down from one of those climbs?

~~~
wayn3
there is usually an easy way down the other side.

or you have to abseil.

------
justswim
So crazy, my palms are sweaty just thinking about it

------
hbk1966
It's Alex Honnold I'm not shocked.

------
SeeDave
Absolutely incredible.

------
altvali
And why is this hacker news material?

~~~
Lordarminius
> And why is this hacker news material?

Because _" a person who is a hacker , only a hacker, and nothing but a hacker,
cannot be much of a hacker."_

~~~
altvali
Yes, but not all hackers that aren't just hackers love climbing. And if I
interpret that quote correctly, is there even a remote connection between the
article and the kind of social news that are a good fit for this site? I
though this site is about computer science and entrepreneurship. And for
hackers who love climbing there are online climbing magazine sites, the same
for gardening, formula 1 etc.

What would happen if people would start posting here unrelated sports news, or
pop music, or motivational quotes, in the name of the quote you mention? Or is
it okay if it's only from time to time? What's the ratio?

~~~
dguaraglia
There's a huge difference between an article about the latest soccer match and
an article like this: [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-
impossi...](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lionel-messi-is-impossible/)

I feel this article exposes a monumental achievement that it warrants being of
interest. I mean, the proof is in the pudding: it's gotten more comments and
discussion going than 95% of the "Version X of [Piece of Software] released"
articles (and I consider those to be semi-useful.)

~~~
altvali
Very interesting point, I haven't thought about it that way, thank you.

