Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold
Alex J. Honnoldis an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. He has broken a number of speed records, most notably the only known solo climbof the Yosemite Triple crown, an 18-hour 50 minute link up of Mount Watkins, The Nose, and the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome. He and Hans Florine are the current record holders for the Nose with a climb time of 2:23:51. Honnold says that he likes tall, long...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Climber
Date of Birth17 August 1985
CountryUnited States of America
argued climbing equally gardening hobby inherently since sports understood virtually
I've never really understood the criticism that climbing is inherently selfish, since it could equally be argued about virtually any other hobby or sport. Is gardening selfish?
basically climbing committed embraced ethic means minimalist order rock term within
'Dirtbag' is just the term we use, like a 'gnarly dude' in surfing. Within the climbing culture, it means being a committed lifer: someone who has embraced a minimalist ethic in order to rock climb. It basically means you're a homeless person by choice.
accessible against amazing climbing degree granite historic history impressive large mecca rock routes test walls yosemite
Yosemite has the most impressive and accessible granite big walls in the world. The rock is amazing. And because of that, it's been the mecca for climbing in the U.S. - and the world to a large degree - for all of climbing history. It's the place to test yourself against the historic routes of the past.
ability almost certainly climbing continuing freak mental might others particular push soloing technical
Free soloing is almost as old as climbing itself, with roots in the 19th century. Climbers are continuing to push the boundaries. There are certainly better technical climbers than me. But if I have a particular gift, it's a mental one - the ability to keep it together where others might freak out.
area camping cities climbing convenient fly nice nicer super taxi vacation walk winter
For sure, Potrero Chico is a super nice winter vacation climbing area. It's really convenient to fly into Monterrey, one of the nicer cities in Mex, and get a taxi to Potero. Then you can just live in the camping area and walk everywhere. It's muy tranquilo, as they say there.
climbing dreamed elegant felt gear grand hard routes scale seemed seven soloing yosemite
Seven years ago, when I started free soloing long, hard routes in Yosemite - climbing without a rope, gear or a partner - I did it because it seemed like the purest, most elegant way to scale big walls. Climbing, especially soloing, felt like a grand adventure, but I never dreamed it could be a profession.
climbing constantly digest pure relatively robust routes running
If you're climbing big routes that'll take you 16 hours, or, like, El Capitan, you have to take something like a big, robust sandwich. Climbing isn't like running or triathlons, where you have to constantly be eating blocks, gels, and pure sugar. Climbing is relatively slow, so you can pretty much eat anything and digest it as you climb.
bad beauty blame bring capitalize climbing depending foreign general government money since takes time wanting
In a general sense, I think it's bad to bring too much money into climbing, since it takes away a little from the beauty of the mountains. But at the same time, I can't blame the Nepali government - or the Indian, Pakistani or Chinese, depending on where you're climbing - from wanting to capitalize on foreign climbers.
burning calories cardio climbing diet sports time
The diet for climbing all the time isn't really different from the diet for living. It's not like cardio sports where you're burning a bajillion calories every day.
walked
I've walked away from more climbs than I can count, just because I sensed that things were not quite right.
approach build concrete setting tried
I've tried to approach environmentalism the same way I do my climbing: by setting small, concrete goals that build on each other.
animals climate compared easy facts less life people perhaps privileged stunned survive takes time
The simple facts of Chadian life - what it takes to survive in that kind of climate with nothing but a hut and some animals - stunned me. And this made me realize, perhaps for the first time, how easy my life was compared to those of people in less privileged societies.
dump
Pretty much every gym I go into, I feel very comfortable. I dump my stuff, take my shoes off, do my thing.
cliff climb information knowledge people sheer tons walk
People think I just walk up to a sheer cliff and climb it with no knowledge of anything, when in reality, there's tons and tons of information out there, and I'm already well tapped into it.