![]() I climb for my own pleasure, so if it’s not fun there’s really no point.’ Or maybe not quite as important, because I really, really wanted to do the climb, but still very important to me. RSNG In Free Solo, the film of your Freerider ascent, we see you start to really enjoy the experience and share it with the cinematographers as you climb – how important was that?ĪH ‘Having a good climbing experience was probably just as important to me as actually doing the climb. And it probably helps you to summon courage when you need it, just because you have so much experience being afraid. RSNG Would you say that facing and moving through fear methodically, by repeatedly working hard moves, or being in scary situations, helps you to build courage?ĪH ‘Well it definitely helps you deal with your fear. Presumably no one wants to run into the building, but with enough courage they can force themselves to do the right thing and assist someone in need.’ ‘I think that bravery involves some degree of overcoming unelected fear, like running into a burning building to rescue someone. I free solo for my own pleasure, so even though it can sometimes be scary it’s still something that I willingly choose.’ I think there’s an important distinction with free soloing, which I wouldn’t really consider brave or courageous. RSNG How would you define bravery, or courage?ĪH ‘I would define them as overcoming fear, but in order to do what’s required of you. I think that I typically give the level of focus that’s required.’ So as soon as I got to the easy climbing my mind relaxed. But that’s because I could – on easy climbing I don’t need to be as focused, I can relax and enjoy. RSNG How hard is it to stay focused when you’ve just made it through the crux or a section you’ve been thinking about a lot – for instance the karate kick boulder move? Does relief ever start to overtake intensity?ĪH ‘Yeah, in the case of the boulder problem I definitely switched into a celebratory mode as soon as I grabbed the finishing hold. But I think that really what I love is the test of mastery – I like climbing to feel serious sometimes and require the best of me.’ ![]() RSNG Ultimately, what is the appeal of free soloing hard routes? What is it about the experience that’s makes it so compelling for you?ĪH ‘Free soloing can be quite fun and fast, the actual sensations of climbing are sometimes more pleasant than when you’re dragging a rope and gear behind you. I think that bravery involves some degree of overcoming unelected fear, like running into a burning building And it definitely happened on Freerider it’s probably the most “in the zone” that I’ve ever been.’ ![]() RSNG Describe the sensation of being in the zone while climbing free solo (without a rope)? Did it happen on Freerider?ĪLEX HONNOLD, ATHLETE ‘It’s hard to describe, but I guess being in the zone just feels like being extremely focused. RSNG caught up with him to find out how he pushes the edge without actually finding it, what tips he has for aspiring roped climbers, and why being alone and exposed, high up on a cliff brings him joy… He walked down off the back of the mountain to the van he was living out of and did a fingerboard training session, because he didn’t want to miss a workout! The kind of drive it takes to achieve a generation-defining dream like that can be seen in how Honnold celebrated topping out after free soloing Freerider. Free soloists, like Alex Honnold, are able to move as nature intended, unencumbered by ropes and equipment, but weighed down by the knowledge of certain death should they suffer the smallest slip of a foot, or their mental focus.ĭespite making history by being the first and only human to free solo up El Cap, taking the Freerider route, 1,000m of hard climbing, including a boulder problem featuring a ‘karate kick’, a slab with rounded rock rather than footholds, and a crack you have to push your whole body into, Honnold doesn’t think that makes him brave – he does it because he loves it. The World’s most impressive vertical rock face repelled all attempts to free climb the main wall (using ropes) until 1998 when Todd Skinner and Paul Piana spent 9 days on the wall, sleeping on portaledges before reaching the summit. ![]() The sheer granite monolith of El Cap towers 3200ft above the valley floor in Yosemite National Park. That’s how he learnt to overcome his fear and take rock climbing’s scariest offshoot, free soloing – literally climbing alone, with no rope – to panic-inducing heights. He’s the world’s most famous climber, yet when he was younger he found talking to a stranger scarier than scaling high cliffs alone, with no rope.
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