I watched a little of the Fitz/Patagonia video, and he seemed more relaxed than in FS. Alex and Tommy need to do more video together. Really enjoyed their conversations.
I used to be in the “this guys an idiot for doing this, etc” but after watching that I get why he does it. He’s just a fascinating person
And another guy got fucking buried alive! Absolutely amazing. I wish these things were 5 hours long instead of 90 minutes. Edit: And it's not like some fabricated bullshit drama, it literally exists on video.
also i bought a live resin (?) cartridge when i was at a dispensary and i felt like i taking bong rips off my pen i'm old and a lightweight now
So it may be a dumb question but could Alex climb the Dawn Wall as well? I mean I know he couldn’t free solo it but could he do what Patrick did or is it different enough climbing that he couldn’t?
Not sure that can be answered until he tries it, but I thought this was interesting... about the Dawn Wall... Alex Honnold carried up lip balm and sunglasses one day. Lucas brought up 40 pounds of groceries in one load, including salami, pesto, cans of chili, red bell peppers, penne, rice, cucumbers, eggs, brown sugar, and a bottle of bourbon. To reach Caldwell and Jorgeson’s portaledge base camp (where they slept every night except the final night), friends, cameramen, and porters had to either hike to the summit of El Cap and rappel or jug 1,200 feet of fixed lines from the ground. For a time, Honnold held the jugging speed record at one hour, until Lucas, on a second trip to bring Caldwell tea and a keypad so he could type updates to the world, jumarred in 54 minutes. I write this not to take away from their achievement—it’s just the opposite. The Dawn Wall project was so insanely difficult that it took a community to make it possible, and in my mind, that makes it all the more impressive. A single-push, ground-up first ascent of the Dawn Wall likely would not have been possible without outside assistance—something Caldwell accepts in a feature he wrote for Ascent in 2011, while he was still projecting the climb: “I used to shun help from others…but El Cap climbing seems to be going in the direction of using porters to haul and hike loads to allow the climber to save strength for free climbing.”
Or maybe a better question...who is better, Alex or Tommy? Or do they climb different “styles” so it’s hard to compare?
Tommy is considered to be a better all around climber, at least if you compare them in their primes. Honnold is a world class climber but he is mostly considered the best free solo climber because of his daring and preparation, not because of his technical ability. The Freerider route on el cap is not considered difficult by climbers of his skill (outside of a couple moves like the boulder problem), it's just that nobody else has the balls to do it free solo. There are a pretty large amount of climbers right now that are considered better than honnold as far as technical skill and the difficulty level of routes that can be completed. Adam Ondra is pretty much unanimously considered the best current climber and maybe the greatest ever, at least when it comes to sport climbing. He's nuts.
I have to wonder if Alex is getting a rap for not being as good as he is technically, simply because he has tried things that aren't as technically challenging int he free solo realm. The reality is he has done some insane climbs that aren't free solo, including Patagonia, which he did with Tommy, where he was mentally keeping Tommy in it at points. I see it as a Jordan/Lebron argument. They are different, but both can execute the fundamentals very well. I think Alex's biggest strength is the mental game which from what I have seen is far superior to anyone, but he has to be.
Idk, I think if anything it's the opposite. I think the average person who watches Free Solo comes out of it assuming he is the best rock climber in the world because they don't fully understand all the different kinds/styles of rock climbing (sport, boulder, speed, free solo, etc). Honnold himself has said there are tons of climbers who are stronger or more technically skilled than him. Like I said, he is a world class climber for sure and a legend for his free soloing, but he isn't pushing the boundaries as far as difficulty goes compared to guys like Adam Ondra and Chris Sharma.
Could Alex climb it? Probably, if he focused on it long enough but it's not his cup of tea I don't think. not just sport. He sent the dawn wall in 9 days.
I think this is important to think about when considering guys like Honnold. Free Solo/endurance climbing is as different of a training regimen from high end sport climbing as basketball is to football for an athlete like Lebron. It’s not hard to imagine Honnold having grown up with an interest in sport climbing and being the best in the world at that either. He has the body type, strength, and dedication to train that can match anyone in the world.
Honnold had an interview with Mens Journal when they were on the DW and he talks about it https://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/alex-honnold-on-the-dawn-wall-climb-20150112/ I’m sure he could do it, though, if he wanted to and trained for it.
Honnold does this also. He only free solos a small percentage of his climbs. He and tommy were the first to do all 7 peaks at Patagonia in one trip among other expeditions he has done.
Nothing new but still a cool little read. How Alex Honnold made ‘the ultimate climb’—without a rope https://www.nationalgeographic.com/...-made-ultimate-climb-el-capitan-without-rope/
Watching him attempt the portion of the el cap climb when he had to go down caused me lots of anxiety.
I thought about the scene in Dawn Wall where Kevin grabbed a hold and it came apart and fell. Tommy even mentioned it was a good hold and it made the pitch harder since it was gone. I never got anxious watching either film but did today thinking about what if that happened to Alex. He could be perfect but if the rock isn't...
At some point we said el cap could never be climbed. 5.10 was the maximum difficulty rating. Now 5.10 is considered high level novice and people are climbing 5.15+ which is 16 grades harder. They have already cut the ascent time in half. In 20 years who knows what will be happening. But it won't be Alex.
To each their own but I can try to explain. When i was in my early 20's I was very much a corporate climber. Everything in my life revolved around money and prestige and how much of it I could gather around me. I had a friend who lived in the valley and who I started climbing with a few months before. He invited me to see this wall. I had no idea what I was getting into. I walked into the Valley and my whole life changed. I saw the perfect unblemished monolith called El Cap staring across the meadow and its Darker Brother. Saw that white granite turn red and gold in the sunsets. climbed up it to ledges for costumed keg parties. There else like it on earth. Let me know what you are doing this fall and we could do a tmb trip to the only place I call home. We can bivy illegally in the meadow and wake up to the dawn wall catching the first rays of light. I think then you might have a different take.
"come to this remote area camping with me and let's get shitfaced we'll see where the night takes us" yeah yeah yeah Imurhuckleberry i've been down this road a million times
Tommys doc and story is better IMO. Not to diminish Free Solo in any way shape or form, but that guy is a fucking animal. Both are incredible.
It’s really unfortunate that they came out at the same time because they both deserve credit. Fantastic stories, both of them.
I am in no way trying to diminish their accomplishments or anything, just going by video I feel like I’ve seen scarier looking climbs. I’m just dumb I’m sure. I’ll go see it in person on a tmb meet up