Please don’t get me wrong, whilst I don’t want to take anything away from Honnold’s latest ascent. Hopefully I will add to it by the time you have finished reading. However I can help think that he is backing himself into something of perilous niche. Professionally it must fit somewhere between high end mercenary and full time russian roulette player.
It is almost a taboo subject in Climbing, the solo. In part as it is often an immensely person thing as to whether to solo or not. Don’t get me wrong abandoning the ropes in search of the ‘ultimate(?)’ climbing experience is something that I have partaken in and even enjoyed.
My soloing has almost nearly all been well within my climbing limits, it means I can enjoy the experience. There are routes I dream of soloing, yet my mind simply can’t see it happening. The Dervish is a perfect example, I have climbed it probably nearly 100 times, and never fallen off it. Yet soloing it is well beyond my mental capacity.
There comes a point in everyones soloing career, when they step outside their comfort zone and the realisation of the position and predicament they have put themselves in becomes painfully apparent. The ability to recover from that is quite literally vital to your survival.
I saw one of video of someone soloing the Nose a few years back, it might even have been of Alex Honnold, the climber was reaching up to clip a bolt. They slipped an inch, stopped and carried on like nothing had ever happened. My heart almost stopped watching them, and it made me wonder at the knife edge photographers and film makers are on documenting these dangerous ascents.
It took photos of two people climbing The Indian Face last year, both friends and both times it was horrible to watch. To be honest I think it was better seeing it through a view finder. As you are somehow one emotional detach from the real events when they are out there making tenuous moves 100ft off the ground where one wrong move could be fatal.
One wrong move and those amazing images or footage go from being historic to snuff. Now I don’t want Alex to stop doing what he’s doing he is a highly talent adult climber who can make his own judgements. We also have to remember that we are sold an image of him by the media. That image is of a solo climber, in part propagated by himself, after all he has starred in an advert soloing a sandstone tower powered by nothing but sun.
This short video may make you physically sick!