These portable ledges are like heavy-duty aluminum frame cots that hang from an anchor instead of standing on legs. Free soloing is when a climber is alone and uses no ropes or any other equipment that aids or protects him as he climbs, leaving no margin of error.). Learning to climb a big wall like El Capitan takes a lot of practice. Solo climbing means climbing alone, but may be free climbing or aid climbing, with ropes. The ascent was reported on April 1. A few days before this weeks climb, Honnold hiked to the top of El Capitan and rappelled Freerider to make sure that a recent rainstorm had not washed off the marks he had made with dabs of chalk to highlight the routes key holds. Then you descend down to the anchor by lowering yourself down the rope (rappelling) and removing all of the safety gear that you left behind while leading. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Honnold is the author (with David Roberts) of the memoir Alone on the Wall (2015) and the subject of the 2018 biographical documentary Free Solo, which won a BAFTA and an Academy Award. Released on 08/26/2019. It was "He Named Me Malala" that caught the eye of directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, who reached out to Dill to produce FREE SOLO. She has received grants from the Sundance Institute, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Bertha Britdoc, the William and Mary Greve Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts. Jorgeson told a reporter, I think everyone has their own secret Dawn Wall to complete one day.. Image Erik Sloan/Yosemitebigwall.com. I just loved climbing, and I've been climbing all the time ever since, so I've naturally gotten better at it, but I've never been gifted."[12]. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Now take all those different styles of climbing and try to do them fast. In 2007 he free soloed Yosemite's Astroman and the Rostrum in a day, matching Peter Croft's legendary 1987 feat, and suddenly Honnold was pretty well-known. WebThese 10 unreal free solo climbs will wow you. She is a member of the DGA as well as AMPAS. He also spends hours perfecting, rehearsing, and memorizing exact sequences of hand and foot placements for every key pitch. red heart loop it yarn patterns alex honnold hand size. Source: Vimeo/Jon Glassberg. WebACCURACY Equipped with high precision strain gauge sensor, the hand dynamometer gives you accurate momentary digital reading of gripping power. Once these basic systems are dialed in, the next step is a smaller Yosemite Wall like Leaning Tower or Washington Column, before embarking on climbs the size of El Cap. For a 19-day effort like Tommy and Kevins ascent of Dawn Wall, friends helped by ferrying supplies including food and water up to them along the way.
Alex Honnold climbs El Capitan without a rope or safety equipment, becoming the first person to free solo the route.
. Photograph by Jimmy Chin, National Geographic. This past November, Honnold made his first attempt at the free solo, but backed off after less than an hour of climbing because conditions did not feel right. There, he pulled on a pair of sticky soled climbing shoes, fastened a small bag of chalk around his waist to keep his hands dry, found his first toehold, and began inching his way up toward climbing history. Alex Honnold (@AlexHonnold) January 20, 2023. [36], Honnold met Sanni McCandless at a book signing in 2015; they became a couple soon after. "We concluded that these forms of the sport are pushing boundaries and taking the element of risk to a place where we as a company are no longer willing to go," the company wrote in an open letter. Alex Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his free-solo ascents of big walls. (Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell summited in 1:58:07 on June 6, 2018). Honnold: Using hand jammies is still free climbing, so its still acceptable for any child of mine. The Camry Dynamometer displays the amount of force in pounds a person's grip exerts. In it, Honnold sends the hardest route ever free soloed in Yosemite (7c+, or 5.13). Chin along with his assistant Sam Crossley and cameraman Cheyne Lempe had rappelled down with their cameras from the top to follow Honnold as he climbed the upper half of the wall, even using jumarsa type of mechanical winchto hoist themselves up, the two had struggled to keep up with him. A gifted but hard-working athlete, he is known as much for his humble, self-effacing attitude as he is for the dizzyingly tall cliffs he has climbed without a rope to protect him if he falls. [6] In 2015, he won a Piolet d'Or for the Moonwalk Traverse in Patagonia with Tommy Caldwell. Easier? There were so many little sections where I thought Ughhcringe. But in the years since, Ive pushed my comfort zone and made it bigger and bigger until these objectives that seemed totally crazy eventually fell within the realm of the possible.. Regardless of what you call it, if it takes 3-4 days to climb El Capitan, you need to have some way of spending the night. 1. What if we could clean them out? For most people, covering the amount of terrain on a face the size of El Cap involves at least a little bit of aid climbing. Usually, free climbing attempts on El Capitan tend to follow old climbing routes. Its a vertical. Chin is also a filmmaker and National Geographic photographer. Norway's Svalbard Global Seed Vault is, by its very Conor Phelan vividly remembers the moment that sparked his Quick: What time is it? These range from relatively straight-forward beginner big walls like The Salathe Wall to desperate expert-only scare-fests like The Tempest, and from famous climbs like The Nose that often have multiple climbing parties on it at once to routes that havent even seen a second ascent. When does spring start? Maybe add some kitty litter or wrap the final package in aluminum foil to help control the smell. He gained mainstream recognition after his 2008 solo of the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome was featured in the film Alone on the Wall[16] and a subsequent 60 Minutes interview. WebIn 2007 he free soloed Yosemite's Astroman and the Rostrum in a day, matching Peter Croft's legendary 1987 feat, and suddenly Honnold was pretty well-known. Conserving every drop of water makes you appreciate faucets, and especially hot and cold running water in a whole new way! What Joseph found was that there was no amygdala activation in Honnolds brainwhere there is no activation, there is no threat response. WebAlex Honnold hand-jammed the entire Monster Off-Width on Freerider. The current womens record is 4:43 (Chantel Astorga and Mayan Smith-Gorbat in 2013). To this day, he maintains his simple "dirtbag-climber" existence, living out of his van, donating a significant portion of his income to the Honnold Foundation, and traveling the world in search of the next great vertical adventure. 1953)[7] and Charles Honnold (19492004). Environmental factors, like sun, wind, and the potential for sudden rainstorms, are also factors that Honnold had to carefully calculate. The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? Chin and Vasarhelyi have done such a good job laying out some of El Capitans specific challenges for the viewer that they become resonant beats in a mini-story arc. Alex Honnold has Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, "Alex Honnold, Free Soloist, Star of Academy-Award-Winning Documentary Free Solo", "Exclusive: Alex Honnold Completes the Most Dangerous Free-Solo Ascent Ever", "The World's Greatest Free-Solo Climber Isn't Interested in Adrenaline", "If You Think You Can, You Can A Mountain Climber's Story", "Alex Honnold Interview for Mountain Portal", "The Heart-Stopping Climbs of Alex Honnold", "To Be the Best Rock Climber Is to Earn As Much As an Orthodontist", "Climbing without ropes: A series of remarkable feats increases the appeal of a niche sport", "Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell climb The Nose in under 2 hours to set new El Capitan speed record", "New Nose Record 2:23:51 (Florine and Honnold)", "Climbers Alex Honnold and Hans Florine Claim Speed Record on the Nose, El Cap Interview", "Honnold and Florine Break Nose Speed Record", "Neural Correlates of Emotional Reactivity in Sensation Seeking", "The Strange Brain of the World's Greatest Solo Climber", "Rock climber makes historic ropeless ascent of California's El Capitan", "Exclusive: Climber Completes the Most Dangerous Rope-Free Ascent Ever", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "FREE SOLO WINS 2019 OSCAR FOR DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)", "Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell Set Sub-2-Hour Nose Speed Record", "TE Exclusive: Alex Honnold Talks About Why He Does What He Does", "Climber Alex Honnold on Filming "Free Solo," Facing Death and Rejecting Religion", "5 Facts about Alex Honnold's Girlfriend", "Alex Honnold on Instagram: "We got married!! "[33] The van he lived in was custom-outfitted with a kitchenette and cabinets. Then climbers started climbing things harder than 5.10d, and we turned the dial to 11. The climber is the first person to reach the top of Yosemites 3,000-foot El Capitan wall without ropes. Rock climber Alex Honnold training on Freerider for the first ever rope-free climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Consistently over the past 20 years, he has led or participated in cutting-edge climbing and ski mountaineering expeditions to all seven continents and made the first and only American ski descent from the summit of Mount Everest. Free soloing the style that Honnold recently made famous, means an ascent that is done alone without any ropes for protection/safety. These animals can sniff it out. ", "Breathtaking. In this case, its climbing 4,900m mountain in two days: one to high camp and another day to the summit. When projecting a route, climbers take dozens of falls as they work out the sequence of moves that will work for them. On December 25, 2019, Honnold announced, via social media, that he and McCandless were engaged. ", "Youll be glued to the screen. Slow down and spend the day at Tenaya Lake a beautiful and easy-to-get-to alpine lake cupped by granite domes. Now, that record is under 2 hours. Climbing El Cap is hard (really hard) no matter how you do it. WebAt that time, the fastest times for free + aid ascent was by Hans Florine and Peter Croft at 4 hours 22 minutes. How can your vacation be more than just a vacation? Co-directed with Jimmy Chin, the film offers an intimate, unflinching portrait of rock climber Alex Honnold, as he prepares for and then achieves his lifelong dream: to climb the face of the world's most famous rock without a rope. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. "Meru" was also shortlisted for an Oscar. Heightft00 0 0 11 1 1 22 2 2 33 3 3 44 4 4 55 5 5 66 6 6 77 7 7 88 8 8 99 9 9 1010 10 10 1111 11 11 incm, English Espaol Italiano Deutsch Portugus Franais Trke Nederlands Polski. A year later, he free in comparative literature from Princeton University and lives in New York City. Depending on the features of the rock available for the climber to grab, this can be relatively easy, or nearly impossible. A breathtaking adventure", "FREE SOLO is less about climbing than it is about living. As the only authorized guide service in Yosemite, these guides have climbed El Capitan dozens of times and are great teachers for climbers of any experience level. You can buy commercial kits like thewag bag, or just ask your partner to look the other way while you do your business in a plastic ziploc. Climbers have been speculating for years about a possible free solo of El Capitan, but there have only been two other people who have publicly said they seriously considered it. (Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell (Photo by National Geographic/Jimmy Chin), Alex Honnold on top of Lower Cathedral with El Capitan in the background, in Yosemite National Park, California. Release Date: December 13, 2018, Alex Honnold is a professional adventure rock climber whose audacious free solo ascents of America's biggest cliffs have made him one of the most recognized and followed climbers in the world. Stopping to place gear takes time, so whenever possible climbers will free any sections they can climb quickly with minimal safety gear. "There were a lot of other climbers who were much, much stronger than me, who started as kids and were, like, instantly freakishly strong like they just have a natural gift. They completed the approximately 3,000-foot (914m) route in 1:58:07, becoming the first climbers to complete the route in under two hours. WebAlex was shocked at how big our friends hand was. ", "FREE SOLO is the best climbing movie ever made. I felt shockingly bad, he said. Andrew is also a musician, climber and traveler who currently lives in Medellin, Colombia. Webalex honnold hand sizemountain summit financial lawsuit. Through imagination and practice, he has desensitized himself to most fearful situations. They weigh nearly 20 pounds all by themselves. To get a head start on learning all the skills needed for big walls, go climbing with a guide fromYosemite Mountaineering School. For Topo it was all a casual stroll, but hes used to climbing 8000m peaks without oxygen. In the US, climbers measure the pure gymnastic difficulty of a route using the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS). Measuring Capacity: 198lbs / Then he spent a lot of time over many years freeing the route (with ropes) before daring to attempt it free solo (without ropes). Lesson time 13:56 min. There are other climbers in Honnolds league physically, but no one else has matched his mental ability to control fear. During his tenure at Parkes+MacDonald the company produced and/or financed such films as James Ponsoldt's "The Circle" starring Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, and John Boyega; Davis Guggenheim's "He Named Me Malala" for Fox Searchlight; and "Rings" for Paramount Pictures. [21][22], In November 2014, Clif Bar announced that they would no longer sponsor Honnold, along with Dean Potter, Steph Davis, Timmy O'Neill and Cedar Wright. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. This is the moon landing of free soloing, said Tommy Caldwell, who made his own history in 2015 with his ascent of the Dawn Wall, El Capitans most difficult climb, on which he and his partner Kevin Jorgeson used ropes and other equipment only for safety, not to aid their progress. Copyright 2006-2015 National Geographic Society | Copyright 2015-2020 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Chin, panting and covered in sweat, raced ahead to film Alex Honnold on top of the world. [11][23], In 2016, he was subjected to functional magnetic resonance imaging scans that revealed that, unlike other high sensation seekers,[24] his amygdala barely activates when watching disturbing images. WebYOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIARenowned rock climber Alex Honnold on Saturday became the first person to scale the iconic nearly 3,000-foot granite wall known In case you are tempted to think that this is easy, let me assure you that its not. SERCANO 2018. Learn to rock climb in Yosemite with the Yosemite Mountaineering School. Photo: Erik Sloan / Yosemitebigwall.com. (Photo by National Geographic/Samuel Crossley). [42], While Honnold is best known for his starring role in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, he has also appeared in a number of other films.[43][44][45]. He wears a 46.5 EU (12.5+ US) approach / walking shoe, 41 EU (8.5 US) for hard climbing shoes, and 41.5 (8.5+ US) for a more relaxed fit on longer Honnold is the founder of the Honnold Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes solar energy access worldwide. Most of the time people start in the climbing gym or on short walls to make sure their systems are efficient. That means the water and portaledge alone are 68 pounds before you add in any food, cooking gear, sleeping bags/pads, extra clothes or any of your actual climbing gear. Climbers put up 5.11a, b, c and d routes, before adding 5.12, and 5.13, etc. Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. Then store the package securely in a container that wont break even if its being dragged up the side of a granite cliff. Also, people always want to know what about, you know, when you have togo? Peter Croft, 58, who completed the landmark free solo of the 1980sYosemites 1,000-foot Astromannever seriously contemplated El Capitan, but he knew somebody would eventually do it. Yes. Easy? 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. "BELIEVE THE HYPE! Climbers place gear in the rock and then use that gear to make upward progress. He had just climbed 2,000 feet up from the valley floor. It felt more like home than an empty house did. 3,000-foot southwest face. Expertly filmed. Because water weighs so much, its precious and almost everything that is carried up will be either drunk or eaten. galatasaray leeds death alex honnold hand size. He has worked with many of the greatest explorers, adventurers and athletes of our time, documenting their exploits in the most challenging conditions and locations in the world. [31] Also in 2021, Honnold started a podcast about climbing. Set a routine and be consistent. ", "The most thrillinggorgeousand scariest climbing movie ever made", "BEAUTIFUL. For more than a year, Honnold has been training for the climb at locations in the United States, China, Europe, and Morocco. With free-soloing, obviously I know that Im in danger, but feeling fearful while Im up there is not helping me in any way. Aid climbing has its own separate difficulty rating depending on how solid the climbing gear is and what kind of gear is used. Video by Brenden Clarke (@brenden.jpeg)Want more from Gear Patrol?Website: http://gearpatrol.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/gearpatrolInstagram: http://instagram.com/gearpatrolFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/gearpatrol-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-Please watch: \"Samsung Galaxy Note10+ | First Look at the New Smartphone\" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsaaoZXEcDQ-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Its like walking up glass, Honnold said. He announced a summit of Antarcticas Mount Vinson on Friday with a Twitter post describing a tough experience for him, and a casual stroll for his partner Esteban Topo Mena. When the going gets hard, they switch to aid climbing to keep moving. A mans world? Alex Honnold hand-jammed the entire Monster Off-Width on Freerider. WebAlex Honnold is a professional adventure rock climber whose audacious free-solo ascents of Americas biggest cliffs have made him one of the most recognized and followed climbers in the world. His 2015 documentary "Meru," which was also co-directed by Vasarhelyi, won the Audience Award at Sundance and was nominated for best documentary by the DGA and PGA. ), Blaze Up in 2:01:50! [12] Between climbs, he runs or hikes to maintain fitness. In 2006 nobody had heard of him. When hes not writing, playing gigs or exploring the outdoors, hes hanging out with his dog Campana. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? Vasarhelyi has directed a New York Times Op Doc, an episode for Netflix's nonfiction design series "Abstract" and two episodes for ESPN's new nonfiction series "Enhanced." [17], In November 2011, Honnold and Hans Florine missed setting the record time on the Nose route on Yosemite's El Capitan by 45 seconds. Soon, this idea expanded to form the Honnold Foundation. After graduating from Mira Loma High School as part of the International Baccalaureate Programme in 2003, he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, to study civil engineering. He dropped out of Berkeley and spent time living at home and driving around California to go climbing. At 9:28 a.m. PDT, under a blue sky and few wisps of cloud, he pulled his body over the rocky lip of summit and stood on a sandy ledge the size of a childs bedroom. "I'd use it to drive to Joshua Tree to climb or I'd drive to LA to see my girlfriend. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? Watkins, El Capitan, and Half Dome, Yosemite, California Solo in 18:50, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 20:54. Honnold says that he is inspired by such noted climbers as Peter Croft, John Bachar and Tommy Caldwell, and even more so by the stark simplicity and beauty of El Capitan. By the end of 2014, Honnold had achieved international fame for his exploits. What Alex did on Moonlight Buttress defied everything that we are trained, and brought up and genetically engineered to think, said Peter Mortimer, a climber who has made numerous films with Honnold. A team of filmmakers, led by Jimmy Chin, one of Honnolds longtime climbing partners, and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, captured the ascent for an upcoming National Geographic Documentary Films feature. This story was originally published on June 4, 2017. WebAfter marrying in an intimate, family-only ceremony last year, rock climber Alex Honnold and life coach Sanni McCandless just threw a second stunning wedding. [32], Honnold lived in a van for over a decade. However, hard can take on a lot of different forms and there is a lot of nuance in the way that different people approach the goal of getting to the top. Honnold has been profiled by "60 Minutes" and The New York Times, been featured on the cover of National Geographic, appeared in international television commercials and starred in numerous adventure films, including the Emmy-nominated "Alone on the Wall.". Jane Joseph, the cognitive neuroscientist behind the research, was most excited to check out Alexs amygdala, also known as the brains fear center. How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? All rights reserved. And although this compelling story rightfully captured the minds and hearts of people all over the country it sits in context of one inspiring story after another that plays out on the steep walls of El Capitan. Is Alex Honnold vegan or vegetarian? Web1. Its not exactly glamorous, but much better than having the party above you let fly. Alex was on fire, said Caldwell. G. ALLEN JOHNSON, THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, GARY M. KRAMER, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL. But that isnt the only way to climb El Capitan. Lesson time 07:37 min. [18] At the time the record stood at 2:36:45, as set by Dean Potter & Sean Leary in November 2010. Hello I'm Alex Honnold and this. It was always the obvious next step, says Croft. Alex Honnold is not just America's best rock climber alive, but also a well-known celebrity with a biography that has brought him two The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, How cosmic rays helped find a tunnel in Egypt's Great Pyramid, Who first rode horses? WebAlex Honnold Height, Weight, Size, Body Measurements, Biography, Wiki, Age Alex Honnold 2023 Height: 5 ft 11 in / 180 cm, Weight: 165 lb / 75 kg, Body [37] Sanni and her relationship with Honnold feature prominently in Free Solo. [25], On June 3, 2017, he made the first free solo ascent of El Capitan, completing the 2,900-foot (884m) Freerider route (5.12d VI) in 3 hours and 56 minutes. abril 21, 2022. george mason university blackboard alex honnold hand size. He had been featured on the covers of National Geographic, New York Times Magazine, Outside, and 60 Minutes had profiled him. Alexander Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. (What Caldwell and Jorgeson did is called free climbing, which means climbers use no gear to help them move up the mountain and are attached to ropes only to catch them if they fall. Rated: PG-13 WebHonnold is a modest guy, with a mellow manner. Dill executive produced Concordia's first feature,"Kailash," which won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Filmmaking at 2018's Sundance Film Festival. MAGNIFICENT. Unlike backpacking meals, there is no point in dehydrating food when you also have to carry the water needed rehydrate it anyway. The other was Dean Potter, who died in a base jumping accident in Yosemite in 2015. WebUsually the hand is in a more open position while climbing and you are simply resisting the hand opening without much thumb involvement. Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. In that case, a prepared climber will carry a portaledge with her. Hayes also oversaw Parkes+MacDonald's discretionary development fund as well as strategic partnerships with Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Universal Television and Studio Canal, among others. He specializes in climbing cracks, which doesnt have a ton of crossover with pinching strength. A gripping and rewarding documentary to watch. Vasarhelyi's films as a director include "Meru" (Oscars Shortlist 2016; Sundance Audience Award 2015); "Incorruptible" (Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award 2016); "Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love" (Oscilloscope, 2009), which premiered at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals; "A Normal Life" (Tribeca Film Festival, Best Documentary 2003); and "Touba" (SXSW, Special Jury Prize Best Cinematography 2013). The route follows a standard course that is replicated all over the world. All rights reserved. One of the greatest physical achievements ever by a human being. And that was never me. In this lesson, Alex defines and demonstrates hand grips ", "Honnold and Caldwell Break Two Hours on El Cap's Nose", "Alex Honnold Gets the 2nd Ascent of Ambrosia", "Chad's Ennedi Dessert: A Google Earth Adventure", "2010 Ennedi Desert, Chad Trad in Chad: The Mysterious Towers of the Ennedi", "More Solos In Yosemite By Alex Honnold Updated | Climbing Narcissist", "Logan Barber Makes 12th Ascent of Cobra Crack", "First ascent attempt of a massive big wall in Borneo", "The mother of all traverses: The Fitz Traverse", "Caldwell, Honnold Finish 5k Fitz Roy Traverse Alpinist.com", "Patagonia's Torre Traverse in Under 21 Hours", "Dispatch: Alex Honnold Climbs Halfway Up a New Jersey Skyscraper", "Alex Honnold Isn't FearlessHe Just Accepts Death", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alex_Honnold&oldid=1142514157, University of California, Berkeley alumni, Articles with dead external links from December 2022, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 2015: Honnold together with Tommy Caldwell was awarded the, 2018: Robert and Miriam Underhill Award from, 2012, Yosemite Triple Crown Mt. "[13], In 2007, he bought a 2002 Ford Econoline E150 van, which allowed him to focus on climbing and follow the weather. Getting small things right like the length of aiders, the slings the second person used to climb the rope, or practicing how to lower out if the line of gear is horizontal instead of going straight up can make a huge difference in the amount of energy it takes to complete a long climb. The ropes catch the climber if they fall, but all the climbing is done by pulling or pushing on the rock itself. An A0 climb has solid gear, close together, but on an A5 route climbers are linking together so many marginally secure pieces that an unexpected fall could pop out all of the pieces sending the climber and all partners to their deaths. In October, Honnold completed the HURT (Honnold Ultimate Red Rock Traverse), a DIY absurdity that combines 35 miles, 23 summits, 14 classic climbs, and more than 24,000 feet of gain in just over 32 hours near Honnolds home in Vegas.