How a decade of preparation turned a death-defying climb into a feat of precision
In short: In November 2016, Alex Honnold faced a 3,000-foot granite wall with no rope to catch him. To many, it looked like reckless madness, but for the professional climber, it was the culmination of years of meticulous planning and a dream seven years in the making.
The ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park was not a spontaneous act of bravado, but a highly calculated endeavor. On a chilly morning at 4:54 a.m., Honnold began his climb of the Freerider route. The feat required navigating a sheer granite face where certain sections, such as the 'Freeblast,' offered almost no handholds. In these areas, climbers must rely on 'friction climbing,' a technique involving smearing the feet against the stone to maintain balance. Honnold himself described the sensation of navigating these smooth slabs as being 'like walking up glass.'
The physical and mental stakes were extreme. During the climb, Honnold had to contend with a stiff, swollen right ankle, the result of a severe sprain sustained two months prior during a practice fall while using a rope. In free soloing, the margin for error is non-existent; unlike other high-risk sports, there is no safety net once a climber is significantly above the ground. The difficulty of the route was compounded by sections of the wall that were entirely blank, devoid of any usable nubs or cracks, requiring absolute poise.
This style of climbing remains deeply controversial within the mountaineering community. Critics often dismiss free soloing as dangerous showmanship that tarnishes the reputation of the sport, pointing to the many climbers who have died attempting similar feats. However, others view it as the purest expression of climbing, a perspective shared by the Austrian alpinist Paul Preuss, who is historically regarded as the father of free ascending without ropes.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Alex Honnold: How I climbed a 3,000-foot vertical cliff — without ropes
- Also: How Alex Honnold free solo climbed Yosemite's El Capitan
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