'What's Alex Honnold's
greatest achievement' asks a CBS reporter of elder statesman John Long. 'His
greatest achievement?....staying alive!!!'. Following on from the 2010
documentary, 'Alone on the Wall' which first brought the electric talent of
Sacramento rock dude, Alex Honnold to the attention of the wider public, the
forthcoming publication in the UK of the eponymously titled book-jointly written by
Honnold and respected mountain writer,David Roberts- offers a fascinating and
revealing perspective on this climbing phenomenon. Someone who displays
paradoxical character traits of warmth, modesty and bonhomie when talking about
his achievements, with an almost robotic detachment from natural human fears
and emotions when in his natural environment; strung out in extremis on a rock
face with nothing but a tenuous smear and a finger lock between himself and the
grim reaper.
For mere mortals who
climb-never mind the non climbing public- seeing Alex casually making thin, insubstantial bouldering moves a thousand feet above the ground on traditional climbs
which 90% of climbers would struggle to lead, never mind solo, is truly mind
blowing. Suffice it to say, reading his firsthand accounts of these ascents in
Alone on the Wall just confirms our
suspicions that Alex is a rock climbing Terminator! Single mindedly bulldozing
his way through apprehension and vacillation and slaying the inner fears and
doubts which earth 99.9% of climbers within their technical limits.
Opening with Alex's account
of his groundbreaking solo ascent of Moonlight Buttress- the classic route up a
sandstone tower in Utah in 2008- the book alternates between Alex's firsthand
accounts written in his at times 'Waynes World' lingo to David Robert's sober narrative which puts
Alex's achievements into an objective context. As a literary device I think it
works well as its always interesting to see how different authors with
different voices and from different generations interpret and communicate the
same event.
Those climbing anoraks who
have followed his meteoric climbing career will be more than familiar with his
milestone achievements. Since Moonlight Buttress he has made over 1000 top end
solo climbs and undertaken a host of speed record climbs with partners,
including an incredible 2 hour 22 minute ascent of El Capitan's Nose. His
ascent of El Sendero Luminoso (The Shining Path) in Mexico, a 1700' route rated
at 5-12d -or around E6-6c in UK terms-was described at the time as 'the most
difficult rope-less climb in history'.The climb which was filmed and shoe
horned into a six minute clip by Renan Ozturk, was described by Jeff Jackson
editor of Rock and Ice who did the first roped free ascent of the route as... 'In
a different Realm entirely-so bad it makes me wonder if Honnold will ever get
another visit from Santa.”
The Shining Path Video
Not that Alone on the Wall
is entirely rooted in the solar sated world of the West Coast or Nevadan and Mexican deserts. Honnold and
Roberts detail expeditions to Alaska, Newfoundland, Patagonia and Chad,and its
in Chad where Alex undergoes something of an epiphany. Shocked at the poverty
and destitution visited upon the friendly indigenous population, he resolves to
use his fame and modest income from climbing to help those in need, both here and back home on the Native American reservations. Borrowing from Schumacher’s
idea of Intermediate Technology to help those in the third world, The Honnold
Foundation which he establishes,addresses the problems encountered
when attempting to provide basic services to remote communities, through the
application of renewable technology; small scale wind turbines, solar panels
and off grid alternatives to first world utilities which are not an option for
most rural communities in the third world.
Complimenting the non
climbing narrative is the highly personal account of his off/on relationship
with girlfriend Stacey Pearson. The difficulty in maintaining any sort of
relationship while living in a van and living the life of a peripatetic dirt
bag climber, is painfully laid bare and revealed to be an almost impossible
challenge. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Stacey. Particularly when one
considers not just her partner’s travelling lifestyle but the fact that Alex is
engaged in a practice from which less than half of this tiny band of top end practitioners
survive.
'Names' flow freely
throughout the book. Tommy Caldwell, Dean Potter, Conrad Anker and our own
Hazel Findlay and James Pearson. All respected and given due credit by the man
known to his friends as 'Alex No Big Deal' and who doesn't consider himself a
strong climber. It's this shy modesty and his ethical approach to living which aligned
to his supernatural ability on rock which makes Alex Honnold such an attractive
personality and hero within the climbing community. It's hard to detect an ego
or arrogance behind the writing. Both authors relate what are after all, out of
this world achievements, in a restrained manner which if anything, underplays
the events described.
Overall, revealing,
entertaining and inspiring and it’s a doubleplusgood bonus that a chunk of the
proceeds of the book will find their way into the excellent Honnold Foundation
coffers. Alone on the Wall is out on the 5th November in the UK.
John Appleby: 2015
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