DPM Climbing

Alex Honnold: An Extraordinary Free Soloist & Climber

By Jake · · Updated

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Bio

Alex Honnold is an American rock climber who was catapulted into the main stream media by his 2017 free solo climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He climbed the roughly 3,000-foot rock face with no ropes or gear, and the ascent has been hailed as one of the great athletic feats of all time.

Beyond this famous accomplishment, Alex has been participating in the climbing world since he started climbing in gyms by the age of five. He was born in Sacramento, California, and grew up there, graduating from Mira Loma High School before enrolling at UC Berkeley.

He dropped out of college and focused on his climbing full time, at first living at his parents’ house before basing himself out of a van by 2007. Camping and living in his vehicle full time allowed him to grow into his climbing career even more, and his van frequently showed up in photographs and videos at the peak of his stardom in 2018.

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Stats:

Height: 5’11” DOB: 8/17/1985 Ape Index: 1.04 / +3.1″ Started Climbing: 2000 Favorite climbing area: Yosemite

He is a prominent figure in the climbing world and is known as an exceptional climber and free soloist, first making climbing news in 2007 when he free soloed Astroman and Rostrum in one day, a linkup that hadn’t been done since Peter Croft in 1987. He quickly grew in fame even more when he free soloed Zion’s Moonlight Buttress a year later, followed up by a free solo of the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome. As you can see, he was well known for his free solo ascents years before his free solo of El Capitan

He continued to make news in the years to come, often rehearsing routes on a rope before free soloing them. While he is known for his big wall free solos, most of his climbing is done with a rope. You can read more about his most notable climbs below.

He’s received the Piolet d’Or or Golden Ice Axe (one of the most prestigious awards in mountain sports) for the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia and has ticked several peaks in the Andes with best friend Tommy Caldwell.

A beautiful reflection of El Capitan, the 3,200-foot wall that was the climb for the Free Solo movie with Alex Honnold.

Alex is more than just a climber. He embodies the idea that we have a limited amount of time on this earth, and to spend it living intentionally with a focus on the things and people you care about the most. He lives beyond his limits, and leads an extraordinary life because of it. Part of this outlook is that he is a longtime vegetarian and atheist, and he refrains from drug and alcohol use.

In September of 2020, he married longtime girlfriend Sanni McCandless. Their first child, a daughter named June, was born on February 17, 2022. By the end of March in the same year, they were taking family climbing trips with close friends Tommy and Becca Caldwell, bringing along June for her first few days at the crag.

Most Notable Climbs

Moonlight Buttress (V 5.12c) 2008

Located in Zion National Park, Moonlight Buttress is a 1,200-foot climb and Alex holds the first free solo. He completed the climb in only 83 minutes after climbing it solo four times as practice. Because this climb was completed on April 1st, the climbing community thought it was an April Fool’s joke for several days. They had a hard time believing Alex went from being relatively unknown to accomplishing such a feat, but he was the real deal.

Half Dome (V 5.12) 2008

Again in 2008, Alex made the news for the first free solo of the 2,200-foot Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.12a) on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. In 2012, he set the route’s speed record of 1 hour and 22 minutes. This climb, along with Moonlight Buttress, would catapult Alex into a household name in the climbing world.

2nd Ascent of Ambrosia (V11) 2010

In the Buttermilks near Bishop, California, Alex Honnold pulled off the second ascent of Ambrosia (V11), a line on the east wall of the impressive Grandpa Peabody Boulder (firsts ascent by Kevin Jorgeson). Although considered a boulder, Grandpa Peabody’s height leads many people to see it as a free solo, leaving this route to blur the line between the two. On 2/17/2010, Alex figured out a method for tackling the lower crux, and he was able to continue a sustained and relatively easy climb the rest of the way to the summit.

The Phoenix (5.13a) 2011

The Phoenix (5.13a) is a thin-hands crack in Yosemite that Alex free-soloed in 2011. It involves rappelling down to an immediate no-fall zone, where Alex worked his way up the crack. This line was first climbed in 1977 by Ray Jardine, and it is considered the first 5.13a in the United States.

At the time of Alex’s solo, The Phoenix was among the hardest routes ever free soloed in Yosemite. Years later, some footage was released from archive in a really cool behind the scenes look with filmmaker Peter Mortimer. There’s also a really cool interview with Alex by Planet Mountain that’s worth the read.

Sends Cobra Crack (5.14b) 2011

Located in Squamish, British Columbia, Cobra Crack (5.14b) was considered one of the hardest crack routes in the world. It’s a single seam that’s barely wide enough for fingers, and Alex repeated it after a small group of very talented climbers, including first ascensionist Sonnie Trotter and Ethan Pringle. In an interview with Gripped in 2006, Sonnie said Cobra “involves huge dynamic throws between one-and two-finger locks; pain is ever-present, and the mental crux is overlooking the pain move after move.”

El Capitan “Nose” Speed Ascent Record 2012

On 6/17/2012, Alex Honnold and Hans Florine set the speed record for the Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California. They climbed 2,900 feet in 2:23:46. To give some perspective, the first climbers George Whitmore, Warren Harding, and Wayne Merry spent 47 days on the route over 18 months, finishing in 1958, and most ‘normal’ climbers nowadays take three to five days. Fast forward to 2017 when Jim Reynolds and Brad Gobright up’ed the time to 2:19:44, which inspired Alex Honnold to break the time again (this time with Tommy Caldwell in 2018) in under two hours with 1:58:07.

Too Big To Flail (V10) – 2012

In late 2012, Alex set up shop in the Buttermilks again and steadily worked through the classic lines and added some routes of his own. Alex was exploring a new hard highball that climbed roughly 50 feet above a huge pile of borrowed crash pads covering a dangerous pit between a few large boulders. Alex had the first ascent for this line and was quoted saying “I was shaking a bit up there. It’s f***ing scary!” He estimated the grade to be a V10 and named the route Too Big to Flail, a play on the phrase “too big to fail.”

Alex climbing Too Big To Flail with 34 crash pads under him. Photo from AlexHonnold.com.

University Wall Squamish (5.12) 2014

Outside of Squamish, B.C., is University Wall, or U-Wall for short (5.12). It has about a dozen long pitches, and Alex climbed it remarkably fast in 2014. Here’s an old video on Vimeo that has an interview between Tim Emmett and Alex about Alex’s time in Squamish and the University Wall.

Freerider (VI 5.13a) 2017

Freerider is the route on El Capitan that’s seen in the award-winning film Free Solo. Alex is the first and only person to free solo El Capitan, but more on that below. Alex also made a rare one-day free ascent of the route in 2007 with fellow climber Brian Kimball.

H.U.R.T. in 2022

In more recent times, Alex established HURT, which stands for Honnold’s Ultimate Red Rock Traverse. In fall 2022, Alex said “it was a pretty remarkable day in the canyons.” His linkup reportedly included 14 Red Rock multi-pitch climbing routes, plus hiking and scrambling, over about 32 hours. With 35 miles and 23,000 feet of vertical gain, Alex said he was trying to combine as many classic climbing routes and summits as possible in “as uncontrived a way as” he could find.

Other Notable Climbs

  • 2007: Astroman (5.11) and Rostrum (5.11) in one day in Yosemite.
  • 2011: Heaven and Cosmic Debris (both 5.13) in Yosemite.
  • 2012: Yosemite Triple Crown in 18:50 (Mt. Watkins, El Capitan, Half Dome)
  • 2014: Free solo of El Sendero Luminoso (5.12d) in El Potrero Chico, Mexico.
  • The Mandala (V12) Bishop, CA, his hardest boulder.
  • Arrested Development (5.14d) Mount Charleston, NV, his hardest roped route.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Alex Honnold (@alexhonnold)

Free Solo Freerider (5.12d) – 2017

On June 3, 2017, Alex fulfilled his lifelong dream of free soloing the roughly 3,000-foot El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The documentary titled Free Solo was released in 2018 and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, a British Academy Film Award, and numerous other honors. It was made by renowned filmmakers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and they beautifully captured the free solo event with amazing camera work and an intriguing look into Alex’s extraordinary life.

It took Alex Honnold 3 hours and 56 minutes to climb the Freerider (VI 5.12d/5.13a) route on the huge rock face. The roughly 30-pitch route was freed in the 1990s by the Huber brothers. He had rehearsed this route on a rope for years and had memorized every move and hold many times over. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, he said that he could still recount each “step” and it was ingrained in his memory.

Media coverage was glowing: National Geographic called it what may be “the greatest feat of pure rock climbing in the history of the sport”.

Keep Up With Alex

Want to learn more and/or keep up with Alex on his current endeavors? Here are some ways you can follow him.

  • Climbing Gold Podcast – Alex and co-host Fitz Cahall share stories “from the people who define the sport of climbing by pushing the boundaries and challenging the status quo..” You can listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
  • Watch the trailer for Free Solo and the full documentary film.
  • AlexHonnold.com has some amazing videos, photos, and information about his books, movies, and his foundation.
  • Speaking of his foundation, The Honnold Foundation is working to expand solar energy to marginalized communities.
  • Read Alone on the Wall by Alex Honnold, a biography about his most astonishing achievements and his life.
  • Watch Alex’s Ted Talk about how he overcame his fears and climbed El Capitan (YouTube below).
  • You can follow Alex’s socials on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

FAQ

Is Alex Honnold still climbing?

Yes. While the focus of Alex’s life has shifted with his family, he still climbs regularly. For recent updates on what Alex is up to, check out his Facebook and Instagram pages.

Are Sanni And Alex still together?

Yes. Sanni McCandless and Alex Honnold married in September 2020, and their first child, a daughter named June, was born on February 17, 2022.

Did Alex Honnold stop free soloing?

Alex has said that becoming a parent might rein in his risk-taking a little. He has not announced a formal retirement from free soloing, and he still climbs regularly.

Is Alex Honnold the only person to free solo El Capitan?

As of this writing, Alex Honnold is the only person publicly known to have free soloed El Capitan, via Freerider in 2017. You can learn more about this climb by watching the film Free Solo.

References

Sources

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