Nautilus:
Honnold is history’s greatest ever climber in the free solo style, meaning he ascends without a rope or protective equipment of any kind. Above about 50 feet, any fall would likely be lethal, which means that, on epic days of soloing, he might spend 12 or more hours in the Death Zone. On the hardest parts of some climbing routes, his fingers will have no more contact with the rock than most people have with the touchscreens of their phones, while his toes press down on edges as thin as sticks of gum. Just watching a video of Honnold climbing will trigger some degree of vertigo, heart palpitations, or nausea in most people, and that’s if they can watch them at all.
Honnold has always fascinated me. I’ve watched all of his Youtube videos and simply can’t comprehend how he can possibly do what he does. Turns out, he may literally be wired differently than the rest of us.
Shawn, don’t forget, Honnold is not just fearless, he’s an amazing climber, no doubt one of the best if not the best free climber in the world. Fear or no fear, he also has tremendous skill.
When you look at videos of him doing his thing, you should also appreciate the skill he shows in climbing, not just the fact that he’s doing it unroped off the deck. Very few people have the skill to do the climbs he does in the style he does them, roped or unroped. I’d say he’d be amazing even if he were climbing roped in every one of those videos and I say this as a long retired climber who’s climbed El Capitan and Half Dome. I did them roped, in traditional style (mixed free and aid) in much more time than Honnold has taken and in much worse style but this is why I appreciate his climbing skill as much as his lack of fear.
The other thing I appreciate about him is how humble he remains, even as he’s become world famous. I’ve never met him but he seems to me like a regular guy who’d be fun to have a beer with.
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