Aid climbing has its own separate difficulty rating depending on how solid the climbing gear is and what kind of gear is used. 1. She was on the ground from day one overseeing every aspect of production for over two years of often logistically and emotionally challenging filmmaking. Video by Brenden Clarke (@brenden.jpeg)Want more from Gear Patrol?Website: http://gearpatrol.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/gearpatrolInstagram: http://instagram.com/gearpatrolFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/gearpatrol-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-Please watch: \"Samsung Galaxy Note10+ | First Look at the New Smartphone\" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsaaoZXEcDQ-~-~~-~~~-~~-~- He wears a 46.5 EU (12.5+ US) approach / walking shoe, 41 EU (8.5 US) for hard climbing shoes, and 41.5 (8.5+ US) for a more relaxed fit on longer John Bachar, the greatest free soloist of the 1970s, who died while climbing un-roped in 2009 at age 52, never considered it. This is the moon landing of free soloing, said Tommy Caldwell, who made his own history in 2015 with his ascent of the Dawn Wall, El Capitans most difficult climb, on which he and his partner Kevin Jorgeson used ropes and other equipment only for safety, not to aid their progress. The Honnold Foundation's mission is "promoting solar energy for a more equitable world". "I don't think 'van life' is particularly appealing," he says. First of all, there are different routes on El Capitan. Will have viewers holding their breath and biting their nails during the spectacular climax. ), Blaze Up in 2:01:50! Hayes also oversaw Parkes+MacDonald's discretionary development fund as well as strategic partnerships with Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Universal Television and Studio Canal, among others. WebAlex Honnold & Tommy Caldwell. What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? WebACCURACY Equipped with high precision strain gauge sensor, the hand dynamometer gives you accurate momentary digital reading of gripping power. In it, Honnold sends the hardest route ever free soloed in Yosemite (7c+, or 5.13). 88 years of expert WebAlex Honnolds life is in his handsthose freakishly large palms and sausagelike digits, with fingerprints eroded away from years of wear. The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? Whether youre looking for a peak challenge or just a few days to get away from the computer and relax and recharge, Yosemite Mariposa County has affordable and fun options for everyone. A breathtaking adventure", "FREE SOLO is less about climbing than it is about living. His 2015 documentary "Meru," which was also co-directed by Vasarhelyi, won the Audience Award at Sundance and was nominated for best documentary by the DGA and PGA. Its like walking up glass, Honnold said. Indoor speed climbing, like what you will see in the Olympics, is entirely free climbing and climbers dont have to worry at all about placing safety gear. An award-winning journalist and photographer, Andrew McLemore brings more than 14 years of experience to his position as Associate News Editor for Lola Digital Media. Usually, free climbing attempts on El Capitan tend to follow old climbing routes. So far the hardest climb in the world is 5.15d. Dill began her nearly 20-year career working alongside director James Moll, producing films such as the Grammy winning "Foo Fighters: Back and Forth," Emmy winning "Inheritance,""Running the Sahara," and "Price for Peace," with executive producer Steven Spielberg. He announced a summit of Antarcticas Mount Vinson on Friday with a Twitter post describing a tough experience for him, and a casual stroll for his partner Esteban Topo Mena. The climber is the first person to reach the top of Yosemites 3,000-foot El Capitan wall without ropes. Some of his poise can be attributed to his detailed preparation. with the letter grades for each level. The route has 30 sectionsor pitchesand is so difficult that even in the last few years, it was newsworthy when a climber was able to summit using ropes for safety. Learning to climb a big wall like El Capitan takes a lot of practice. [17], In November 2011, Honnold and Hans Florine missed setting the record time on the Nose route on Yosemite's El Capitan by 45 seconds. [33], Honnold is a vegetarian, and he does not drink alcohol or use drugs. The route Honnold chose to reach the top of El Capitan, known as Freerider, is one of the most prized big wall climbs in Yosemite. Speed ascents of El Capitan focus more on precision, efficiency and risk management. Now all that was left was to rest and prepare mentally for the climb of his life. [31] Also in 2021, Honnold started a podcast about climbing. Learn to rock climb in Yosemite with the Yosemite Mountaineering School. WebAlex was shocked at how big our friends hand was. WebHonnold, 36, is still feeling the aftereffects of his triumph at El Capitan. Everest to Base Camp, in winter. Its a vertical. For days, people thought the news was a joke. Andrew is also a musician, climber and traveler who currently lives in Medellin, Colombia. He started climbing in a climbing gym at the age of 5, and was climbing "many times a week" by age 10. Its only hindering my performance, so I just set it aside and leave it be.. WebAlex Honnold Height, Weight, Size, Body Measurements, Biography, Wiki, Age Alex Honnold 2023 Height: 5 ft 11 in / 180 cm, Weight: 165 lb / 75 kg, Body It is a vertical expanse stretching more than a half mile uphigher than the worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. She is a member of the DGA as well as AMPAS. An awesome and inspiring doc. (Photo by National Geographic/Samuel Crossley). Climbers have been speculating for years about a possible free solo of El Capitan, but there have only been two other people who have publicly said they seriously considered it. I like having everything within arm's reach. 2023 Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau, Yosemite Itineraries: What to Do in Yosemite. On the other hand, we had the mountain all to ourselves, which certainly added to the ambiance.. Watch Alex Honnold's journey toward his rope-free climb of the world's most famous rock wallYosemite National Park's El Capitanin,

Honnold has been practicing for the daring climb for more than a year, training on routes throughout the Yosemite Valley and other locations around the globe.

. unbelievablepeople 4 yr. ago (What Caldwell and Jorgeson did is called free climbing, which means climbers use no gear to help them move up the mountain and are attached to ropes only to catch them if they fall. In this case, its climbing 4,900m mountain in two days: one to high camp and another day to the summit. "[13], In 2007, he bought a 2002 Ford Econoline E150 van, which allowed him to focus on climbing and follow the weather. Alex stands at the height of 5 feet 11 inches. Honnold was born in Sacramento, California, the son of community college professors Dierdre Wolownick (b. WebAlex Honnold & Tommy Caldwell Lesson time 05:49 min Learn the basics of traditional climbing as Alex demonstrates an outdoor route and details planning, foot and hand placement, and the equipment youll need. Everest to Base Camp, in winter. Elite climbers have pointed to Honnolds unique ability to remain calm and analytical in such dangerous situations, a skill that Honnold has slowly developed over the 20 years he has been climbing. At that time, the fastest times for free + aid ascent was by Hans Florine and Peter Croft at 4 hours 22 minutes. FREE SOLO: ALEX HONNOLD'S EPIC ROPE-FREE CLIMB. In climbing, your hands and arms keep you balanced over your feet. Most of the time people start in the climbing gym or on short walls to make sure their systems are efficient. MAGNIFICENT. Aid climbing, or aiding came first and most common on El Capitan and other Yosemite big walls. [40][41], In 2012, Honnold began giving away one-third of his income to solar projects that increased energy access world-wide. Plus, unlike a backpacker who can often refill his water from a nearby river, El Capitan climbers bring all the water they need with them from the ground up. "It's not like I love living in a car, but I love living in all these places. Jorgeson told a reporter, I think everyone has their own secret Dawn Wall to complete one day.. Transcript. Lesson time 07:37 min. In 2007 he free soloed Yosemite's Astroman and the Rostrum in a day, matching Peter Croft's legendary 1987 feat, and suddenly Honnold was pretty well-known. [6] In 2015, he won a Piolet d'Or for the Moonwalk Traverse in Patagonia with Tommy Caldwell. I just loved climbing, and I've been climbing all the time ever since, so I've naturally gotten better at it, but I've never been gifted."[12]. Now, that record is under 2 hours. Alex is a vegetarian. On Freerider, one of the most daunting physical and mental challenges Honnold faced was two pitches of steep, undulating expanse of rock about 600 feet up. A small circle of friends and fellow climbers who knew about the project had been sworn to secrecy. Honnold is the author (with David Roberts) of the memoir Alone on the Wall (2015) and the subject of the 2018 biographical documentary Free Solo, which won a BAFTA and an Academy Award. Easy? To this day, he maintains his simple "dirtbag-climber" existence, living out of his van, donating a significant portion of his income to the Honnold Foundation, and traveling the world in search of the next great vertical adventure. Since then only a few people have been able to repeat her effort. Then climbers started climbing things harder than 5.10d, and we turned the dial to 11. 3,000-foot southwest face. It is a zigzagging odyssey that traces several spidery networks of cracks and fissures, some gaping, others barely a knuckle wide. Its hard to overstate the physical and mental difficulties of a free solo ascent of the peak, which is considered by many to be the epicenter of the rock climbing world. For years hed been thinking about what it would take to free solo El Capitan. Photograph by Jimmy Chin, National Geographic. He gained mainstream recognition after his 2008 solo of the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome was featured in the film Alone on the Wall[16] and a subsequent 60 Minutes interview. "[4][5] Honnold also holds the record for the fastest ascent of the Yosemite triple crown, an 18-hour, 50-minute link-up of Mount Watkins, The Nose, and the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome. From the meadow at the foot of El Capitan, climbers on the peaks upper reaches are practically invisible to the naked eye. The other was Dean Potter, who died in a base jumping accident in Yosemite in 2015. WebAfter marrying in an intimate, family-only ceremony last year, rock climber Alex Honnold and life coach Sanni McCandless just threw a second stunning wedding. Alex said he was jealous of his "number 3's". The pair thought it would be okay to try it, but it definitely wasnt the right call, Honnold realized later. With free-soloing, obviously I know that Im in danger, but feeling fearful while Im up there is not helping me in any way. Photo: Yosemite Hospitality by Marta Czajkowska. These animals can sniff it out. El Cap speed climbing is almost nothing like that. Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, "Alex Honnold, Free Soloist, Star of Academy-Award-Winning Documentary Free Solo", "Exclusive: Alex Honnold Completes the Most Dangerous Free-Solo Ascent Ever", "The World's Greatest Free-Solo Climber Isn't Interested in Adrenaline", "If You Think You Can, You Can A Mountain Climber's Story", "Alex Honnold Interview for Mountain Portal", "The Heart-Stopping Climbs of Alex Honnold", "To Be the Best Rock Climber Is to Earn As Much As an Orthodontist", "Climbing without ropes: A series of remarkable feats increases the appeal of a niche sport", "Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell climb The Nose in under 2 hours to set new El Capitan speed record", "New Nose Record 2:23:51 (Florine and Honnold)", "Climbers Alex Honnold and Hans Florine Claim Speed Record on the Nose, El Cap Interview", "Honnold and Florine Break Nose Speed Record", "Neural Correlates of Emotional Reactivity in Sensation Seeking", "The Strange Brain of the World's Greatest Solo Climber", "Rock climber makes historic ropeless ascent of California's El Capitan", "Exclusive: Climber Completes the Most Dangerous Rope-Free Ascent Ever", Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, "FREE SOLO WINS 2019 OSCAR FOR DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)", "Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell Set Sub-2-Hour Nose Speed Record", "TE Exclusive: Alex Honnold Talks About Why He Does What He Does", "Climber Alex Honnold on Filming "Free Solo," Facing Death and Rejecting Religion", "5 Facts about Alex Honnold's Girlfriend", "Alex Honnold on Instagram: "We got married!! Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? When does spring start? The historic event was documented for an upcoming National Geographic feature film and magazine story. Alex Honnold has just climbed one of the Seven Summits and it hurt more than his free solo of El Capitan. He had just climbed 2,000 feet up from the valley floor. An A0 climb has solid gear, close together, but on an A5 route climbers are linking together so many marginally secure pieces that an unexpected fall could pop out all of the pieces sending the climber and all partners to their deaths. "I'd wound up with my mom's old minivan, and that was my base," he said. And that was never me. WebYOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIARenowned rock climber Alex Honnold on Saturday became the first person to scale the iconic nearly 3,000-foot granite wall known Who wants to walk all the ways to the bathroom in the middle of the night when you could just lean over and grab your bottle and go? Alex Honnold did the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim in the Grand Canyon in two big steps. Lesson time 13:56 min. [25], On June 3, 2017, he made the first free solo ascent of El Capitan, completing the 2,900-foot (884m) Freerider route (5.12d VI) in 3 hours and 56 minutes. Alexander Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. A year later, he free soloed the 1,200-foot (366m), 5.12d finger crack that splits Zion's Moonlight Buttress. Vasarhelyi's films as a director include "Meru" (Oscars Shortlist 2016; Sundance Audience Award 2015); "Incorruptible" (Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award 2016); "Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love" (Oscilloscope, 2009), which premiered at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals; "A Normal Life" (Tribeca Film Festival, Best Documentary 2003); and "Touba" (SXSW, Special Jury Prize Best Cinematography 2013). It felt more like home than an empty house did. "BELIEVE THE HYPE! (Photo by National Geographic/Jimmy Chin), Jimmy Chin and Chai Vasarhelyi on location during the filming of Free Solo. [1] He is an avid reader with interests in classic literature, environmentalism, and economics, and he describes himself as an anti-religion atheist[34][35] and a feminist. Then store the package securely in a container that wont break even if its being dragged up the side of a granite cliff. Alex Honnold hand-jammed the entire Monster Off-Width on Freerider. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? With free-soloing, obviously I know that Im in danger, but feeling fearful while Im up there is not helping me in any way, he said. @sannimccandless was", "Look: Alex Honnold, Wife Announce Birth Of First Child", "Alex Honnold's mom is the oldest woman to summit El Capitan", "Dierdre Wolownick, mother of Alex Honnold, makes history with El Capitan climb", "Banff Mountain Film Competition 2015 Award Winners", "Honnold's Yosemite Year: A Free-Climbing Extravaganza", "Alex Honnold free solos two big wall classics in a day", "Honnold Rapid-Fires Two Desert-Crack Testpieces", "Honnold Makes a High-Stakes Solo in Zion", "Updated: Honnold Free Solos Half Dome 5.12", "Honnold Frees Muir Wall in 12 Hours, Solos Romantic Warrior", "I had the honor of climbing El Corazon yesterday", "Honnold Free-Solos the 1,750-Foot El Sendero Luminoso (5.12d)", "Honnold Free Solos Squamish's University Wall", "Alex Honnold Solos University [sic] Wall 5.12 in Squamish", "Alex Honnold Solos The Complete Scream (E8 6b)", "Alex Honnold Solos Hard Ireland Route The Complete Scream", "Alex Honnold Solos The Complete Scream E8 6b at Fair Head", "California Today: An 'Incomprehensible' Climb in Yosemite", "Honnold and Caldwell Break Nose Record (Again! Environmental factors, like sun, wind, and the potential for sudden rainstorms, are also factors that Honnold had to carefully calculate. Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. There are other climbers in Honnolds league physically, but no one else has matched his mental ability to control fear. For more than a year, Honnold has been training for the climb at locations in the United States, China, Europe, and Morocco. Along the way, Honnold squeezed his body into narrow chimneys, tiptoed across ledges the width of matchboxes, and in some places, dangled in the open air by his fingertips. He also spends hours perfecting, rehearsing, and memorizing exact sequences of hand and foot placements for every key pitch. "[33] The van he lived in was custom-outfitted with a kitchenette and cabinets. For reference, the first ascent party, Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore spent 47 days pioneering the route. These are very different styles that both involve ropes, and are much more common in general and particularly on big walls like El Capitan. He had been featured on the covers of National Geographic, New York Times Magazine, Outside, and 60 Minutes had profiled him. "[13] Around the same time, he replaced the Ford Econoline van he had lived in since 2007 and put 200,000 miles on with a new 2016 Ram ProMaster, which he still lives and travels in for most of the year. Then you descend down to the anchor by lowering yourself down the rope (rappelling) and removing all of the safety gear that you left behind while leading.

Alex Honnold climbs El Capitan without a rope or safety equipment, becoming the first person to free solo the route.

. The ropes catch the climber if they fall, but all the climbing is done by pulling or pushing on the rock itself. A thoughtful look at what drives people like Honnold to attempt feats like this. It was always the obvious next step, says Croft. (Photo by National Geographic/Matthew Irving), Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell organize their climbing gear at the top of the Freerider route on the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California. The climber is the first person to reach the top of Yosemites 3,000-foot El Capitan wall without ropes. All rights reserved. Five months afterward, Honnold took the unprecedented step of free soloing the 2,000-foot (610m), glacially bulldozed Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome. Released on 08/26/2019. John Long, Jim Bridwell and Billy Westbay completed the first Nose In A Day ascent in 1975 (using aid). When the going gets hard, they switch to aid climbing to keep moving. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. Aid Climbing on The Salathe Wall on El Capitan. She holds a B.A. Climbers put up 5.11a, b, c and d routes, before adding 5.12, and 5.13, etc. The Camry Dynamometer displays the amount of force in pounds a person's grip exerts. Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. WebHonnold is a modest guy, with a mellow manner. SERCANO 2018. (Photo by National Geographic/Chris Figenshau), Alex Honnold peers over the edge of Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. With a safety rope, climbers can try harder things when they are free climbing instead of free soloing. Honnold: Using hand jammies is still free climbing, so its still acceptable for any child of mine. Honnold: Using hand jammies Here are a just a few examples to give you a sense of how long it takes speed climbers to climb The Nose on El Capitan (times for other routes vary substantially). Trained in a climbing gym in Sacramento, Honnold, 31, burst onto the international scene in 2008 with two high-risk, rope-free ascentsthe northwest face of Yosemites Half Dome and the Moonlight Buttress in Utahs Zion National Park. (Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell One was Michael Reardon, a free soloist who drowned in 2007 after being swept from a ledge below a sea cliff in Ireland. If I could, like, miraculously teleport a house from place to place, I'd prefer to live in a nice comfortable house. Heightft00 0 0 11 1 1 22 2 2 33 3 3 44 4 4 55 5 5 66 6 6 77 7 7 88 8 8 99 9 9 1010 10 10 1111 11 11 incm, English Espaol Italiano Deutsch Portugus Franais Trke Nederlands Polski. For most people, covering the amount of terrain on a face the size of El Cap involves at least a little bit of aid climbing. Through imagination and practice, he has desensitized himself to most fearful situations. [11], In 2017, Honnold bought a home in the Las Vegas area. WebAlex Honnold has a height of 511 (1.80 m). He had to keep his weight perfectly balanced and maintain enough forward momentum to avoid sliding off. As a teenager in Sacramento, California, Alex would ride his bike to the climbing gym five days a Web1. "I'd use it to drive to Joshua Tree to climb or I'd drive to LA to see my girlfriend. ", Shannon Dill is currently Head of Production at Concordia Studio. He ascended the peak in 3 hours, 56 minutes, taking the final moderate pitch at a near run. [21][22], In November 2014, Clif Bar announced that they would no longer sponsor Honnold, along with Dean Potter, Steph Davis, Timmy O'Neill and Cedar Wright. Thats speed climbing. Read Alex's first interview about his epic climb. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. Alex was on fire, said Caldwell. Rock climber Alex Honnold stands atop El Capitan after nearly four hours of climbing alone, without ropes or any other equipment or safety gear. Alex Honnold (@AlexHonnold) January 20, 2023 In this case, its climbing 4,900m mountain in two days: one to high camp and another day to the summit. However, people are often confused because climbers also talk aboutfree climbingandsoloing. Image Erik Sloan/Yosemitebigwall.com. Webalex honnold hand sizemountain summit financial lawsuit. I destroyed that van fairly quickly; it died on me one day, and for the next year I lived just on my bicycle and in a tent. Honnold has been practicing for the daring climb for more than a year, training on routes throughout the Yosemite Valley and other locations around the globe. Roughly a third ofYosemite Bigwalls: The Complete Guideis devoted to the climbing equivalent of trail maps for El Capitan, each route with its own name. He has worked with many of the greatest explorers, adventurers and athletes of our time, documenting their exploits in the most challenging conditions and locations in the world. WebAlex Honnold is a professional adventure rock climber whose audacious free-solo ascents of Americas biggest cliffs have made him one of the most recognized and followed climbers in the world. [27] Among other awards, the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature (2018). Freerider route on El Capitan, Yosemites. Jane Joseph, the cognitive neuroscientist behind the research, was most excited to check out Alexs amygdala, also known as the brains fear center. He is obsessive about his training, which includes hour-long sessions every other day hanging by his fingertips and doing one- and two-armed pullups on a specially-made apparatus that he bolted into the doorway of his van. Its scary and exhilarating stuff. On December 25, 2019, Honnold announced, via social media, that he and McCandless were engaged. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Depending on the features of the rock available for the climber to grab, this can be relatively easy, or nearly impossible. I love being in Yosemite; I love being basically wherever the weather is good; I love being able to follow good conditions all over. By the end of 2014, Honnold had achieved international fame for his exploits. ", "The way that Vasarhelyi and Chin capture the scale of Honnolds climb is stunning. Honnold became horrendously sick and vomited on and off all day, he said. For example, The Nose is rated 5.14a for free climbers, but most people will climb it as a 5.8 free climb with relatively easy aid climbing through the harder free sections. abril 21, 2022. george mason university blackboard alex honnold hand size. Dill's creative partnership with Guggenheim dates back to 2012, when she produced films, "The Dream Is Now,""Teach," and"He Named Me Malala.". In October, Honnold completed the HURT (Honnold Ultimate Red Rock Traverse), a DIY absurdity that combines 35 miles, 23 summits, 14 classic climbs, and more than 24,000 feet of gain in just over 32 hours near Honnolds home in Vegas. [11] He participated in many national and international youth climbing championships as a teenager. "Meru" was also shortlisted for an Oscar. Also, people always want to know what about, you know, when you have togo? Rock climber Alex Honnold training on Freerider for the first ever rope-free climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Consistently over the past 20 years, he has led or participated in cutting-edge climbing and ski mountaineering expeditions to all seven continents and made the first and only American ski descent from the summit of Mount Everest. However, hard can take on a lot of different forms and there is a lot of nuance in the way that different people approach the goal of getting to the top. Now, that record is under 2 hours. However, sometimes there arent any convenient ledges, or the ledges are too small or sloping. After trusting his skill and endurance over hundreds of handholds and footholds and controlling his fear for just under four hours, Honnold pulled his body over the last ledges. Honnold has been profiled by "60 Minutes" and The New York Times, been featured on the cover of National Geographic, appeared in international television commercials and starred in numerous adventure films, including the Emmy-nominated "Alone on the Wall.". ", "A visually stunning adventure with a compelling character at the center. red heart loop it yarn patterns alex honnold hand size. Climber Ryan Sheridan coils a rope high on El Capitan. "There were a lot of other climbers who were much, much stronger than me, who started as kids and were, like, instantly freakishly strong like they just have a natural gift. When projecting a route, climbers take dozens of falls as they work out the sequence of moves that will work for them. Hayes developed and produced FREE SOLO alongside co-directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. In case you are tempted to think that this is easy, let me assure you that its not. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. That means the water and portaledge alone are 68 pounds before you add in any food, cooking gear, sleeping bags/pads, extra clothes or any of your actual climbing gear. Heres the technology that helped scientists find itand what it may have been used for. Photo: Erik Sloan / Yosemitebigwall.com. Chin is also a filmmaker and National Geographic photographer. Free climbing is climbingwith ropesbut without using those ropes for upward progress. He completed the feat on Saturday, June 3, 2017. There are differentstylesof climbing and the climber lingo to describe them often confuses people. Shot at Cliffs of Id, click here for more. Honnold rose to prominence in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park,[3] a feat that sports writer Daniel Duane described as "one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever.