A glimpse into the mind of free solo climber Alex Honnold

Alex Honnold pursues the sport of free solo climbing, pulling himself up steep natural walls, at times without the aid of ropes, a safety harness, or protective gear. Honnold has completed the only known solo climb of the Yosemite Triple Crown (Mt. Watkins, El Capitan, and Half Dome). In 2008, he completed the first ropeless free ascent of Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park. Honnold travels frequently to climb, most recently returning to Yosemite after an extended trip, including time in South Africa. Honnold and his friend Jimmy Chin, an explorer and photographer, joined Antonio Mora on the Nov. 5, 2013 edition of Consider This. In a Consider This Q & A, Alex Honnold gives us a glimpse into his world.

Q. How do you see yourself in terms of the next generation of climbers?  

A. I think each generation of climbers [is] sort of built on the last generation. I’ve done a handful of things, at least in soloing anyways, that were a step past what the people were doing in the last generation. I’m sure within a few years people will go far beyond what I have done. That is just a natural progression of any sport, really.

Q. In terms of [your home base] Yosemite, how do you challenge yourself so climbing becomes new and refreshing? Do you think there is something new you can do there?

A. Yes, I mean, I did something new there yesterday. Especially with traveling, when I go to South Africa and places like that, it keeps things fresh. You climb in other areas that are different styles of climbing and you have a good time, but you're like, “Oh, I can’t wait to go home.” Yosemite isn't actually my home, it's just that my family lives three hours away in Sacramento. Yosemite is [the biggest local climbing area] so I’m based around there quite a bit. ... I spend probably like nine or 10 months a year in other parts of the world traveling and climbing other things. So when I go back to Yosemite I am pretty psyched to be there, pretty motivated to try something new, look for different routes — that kind of thing.

Q. I know you’ve been to Oman, and you commented that you wanted to go to Lebanon?

A. ... I actually went to Israel and Jordan …  Hopefully I will do a different Middle Eastern tour at some point. I’ve traveled a lot: Turkey, Greece, Chad ... Morocco, China, Malaysia. That is the thing with climbing — you have to go to the rocks and you have to go there during the right season. You are pretty much constantly following the weather and going to new places. 

Q. Do you sometimes have to put a buffer zone between [your mission as a free solo climber and how some may view your work]?

A. Yes, a little bit for sure. Within the context of the climbing world, [my] own climbing [and] soloing ... actually make a lot of sense. ... I’ve put a lot of work into it and I’ve practiced in all that kind of stuff and it is not so weird for me to do these things. But if I’m just listening to popular opinion, [then I hear], "You are crazy and you are defying death." ... So if I were to start listening to other people’s opinions, I wouldn’t be in the right space to push myself.

Q. When you go to these new places, do you feel [an obligation to] bring this sport to a [new] generation or population that may not really be aware of [climbing]?

A. No, honestly, I try not to think about this stuff. If people see the climbing that I’m doing and get inspired by it, then [more] power to them ... but that is not a motivator for me at all. I like to climb and do the climbing that inspires me. I try not to worry too much about what other people think about it. 

Q. What is [your] relationship with the photographer when you [are climbing]? Do you have to make an effort to not be aware of [the photographer] or is it something that is on your radar?

A. The thing that most people do not realize is that for the most part, when I'm [filmed climbing], I go back to [film]. Most of the images and most of the video, not all of it, but the majority of it isn’t the actual original solo, it is taken on a later date when we go back to capture photos. All the photographers and videographers are close personal friends of mine that I would hang out with anyway. They are all climbers. We are [all] on totally the same page. They know the score. They know what they are doing, I know what I am doing. We just go out and get images and we get together. For the most part, shooting that kind of stuff to me is like a workday. Soloing is like a big, meaningful personal event for me. Going back and filming [it] is like a day job. You only film on the part of the climb that you feel comfortable. It is not like I repeat anything that I actually feel dangerous on.  

If I felt that I was rolling the dice each time I was climbing, I would stop rolling the dice. I do not want to hurt myself. I do not want to kill myself, but I feel like I’m not rolling the dice.

Q. Does technology play a big part in solo climbing?

A. The only technology that I [use is a pair of] climbing shoes. For sure the construction of climbing shoes [is] much better now ... so that helps, but that is a pretty small matter of degree. For sure the key element for soloing is the mental set up, the motivation, the physical preparedness for all those kinds of factors. 

Q. Do you get inspired by all of these travels? Over the years, with all of [your] travels, do you think it has changed the way you see climbing?

A. [Traveling] has not changed my climbing at all, but it has definitely changed my lifestyle and [the way I] see the world around me and everything. I for sure got more and more liberal as I traveled more. I see how other populations live and have nothing and see how much we have in the western world, just feeling the unfairness of it all basically. Travel has been a big thing for me, has definitely broadened me personally, but hasn't affected my climbing per se. 

Alex Honnold’s interview has been condensed and edited. Follow Honnold on Twitter and Facebook.