The Alex Honnold Story: Free Solo - Softcover

Inhaltsangabe

Yosemite National Park is one of the rock climbing centers of the world. And in the mighty struggle to get up even more difficult routes, a new trend has emerged among the elite. It is called “free soloing.”

What is “free soloing” as opposed to roped climbing? It is climbing without safety equipment of any kind. That means no rope, no harness or partner, no safety gear of any kind. All these dare devils have are climbing shoes and a gymnast chalk bag to keep their hands dry . It is a mad man’s tale as everyone understands the formula consequences here. One mistake, one tiny accident, and you fall to your death. It is so dangerous an activity that only 1% of climbers will even try it. Yet for the elite of the world’s rock climbers Free soloing is the test of mastery on the rock and an inexorable draw.
The route Honnold chose to free solo is called Freerider. It is one of the most prized big wall climbs in Yosemite. The route has 31 sections—or pitches—and is so difficult that not so long ago few climbers were able to do it even with a rope and protection. Today most climbers take several days to climb this route. Honnold was going to do it in four hours.
In June of 2017 Alex Honnold, 31, made the first free solo of El Capitan. At 5:32 a.m. Honnold pulled on a pair of TC Pros at the base of the route and began climbing. Four hours later he was standing on the summit and had made world history.
The film they made of the climb was called Free Solo. When the film debuted in the summer 2018 it played to jam packed theatres. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary and earned more than $20 million at the box office. This gave Honnold a net worth of $1.25 million.

Today what Honnold did is recognized as a once-in-a-lifetime sports achievement. The authoritative NEW YORK TIMES called it “one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever.” In the media it was compared to such feats as Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point basketball game or Hillary on Everest. It has never been repeated.

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