The conqueror of El Capitan—Alex Honnold’s legendary free solo

Watching the documentary, Free Solo, it is hard to fathom that someone could actually accomplish something as magnificent as what Alex Honnold did. The unnerving journey of Alex Honnold to climb the vertical rock El Capitan in Yosemite National Park is outlandish to say the very least. But all’s well that ends well, and there is nothing that can take this feat away from him. Not after he became the first person to free solo El Capitan.

The inspiration for climbing came early on when at the age of five a young Alex Honnold joined a climbing gym. Honnold had no idea, but the first time his foot stepped on a rock at the age of five was also his first step towards making history. It all led to the day he scaled the grand old El Capitan without any safety equipment, without a thread of climbing rope. The stakes were as high as they can possibly be. But after 3 hours and 56 minutes, Honnold finally pulled himself up on the peak of this massive granite wall.
The preparation for a momentous event such as this went on for more than a year. Alex Honnold had trained in China, Europe, Morocco, and the United States. But it is extremely difficult to predict the final result, even after all that training, given the reality of free soloing. With a team of filmmakers, Honnold finally went up the El Capitan on June 3, 2017.

Though Alex Honnold was famous even before his El Capitan climb, this particular climb sealed his fate as a legend. In the past he was seen doing some high-risk climbs without any ropes, such as the Moonlight Buttress ascent, which turned a lot of heads. But the El Capitan, the 2307 m granite wall is something else. Of course you ought to be physically fit, but the mental stamina to get there is unimaginable. To be in the middle of it all and thinking that you cannot go any further is the most natural reaction for most of us. But not Alex Honnold.

The route that led Honnold to the top of the El Capian is known as the Freerider. With 30 pitches, the route is known to be extremely difficult. The work of a climber is to find cracks and fissures, which would help them to move forward. The documentary shows how Honnold used these cracks and fissures to move along, even squeezing his body into chimneys that are extremely narrow. So it is not just your overall strength that is tested, it is also the nitty gritties, such as the fingers, the forearms, abdomen, and more. Remaining calm throughout it all is an herculean task,
The documentary goes to show that anything is possible with sheer determination, because just having the right skills is never enough. Alex Honnold went on to become one of the greatest free solo climbers in the world, and we are fortunate to have witnessed his ascent to the top.