Lessons Learned from Climbing a 3000-Foot Vertical Cliff Without Ropes
Skill Development Expert Profile — Alex Honnold
On June 3rd, 2017, Alex Honnold did something that for a long time was considered impossible by professional rock climbers. He climbed El Capitan, one of the world’s most iconic cliffs, without ropes. That’s more than 3000 feet straight up, on a very technical and strenuous route.
After three hours and fifty-six minutes, Alex stood on the top, almost 1000 meter’s higher. That’s an extraordinary accomplishment. How did he do it? And how did he prepare to achieve this level of performance? What type of person does it take to prepare for a climb, where any small mistake can lead to a fall and a certain death?
The Climb
“Imagine an athletic gold medal performance, and if you make a single mistake, you will die. That’s the level of performance it takes to free-solo El Capitan.” — Tommy Caldwell, legendary rock climber.
Before accomplishing the climb, Alex had spent ten years thinking about it, almost two years planning and training for it, and more than a year choreographing and fine-tuning thousands of precise…
