Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold at the Trento Film Festival (2014)
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| Personal information | |
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| Born | August 17, 1985 |
| Education | UC Berkeley (dropped out) |
| Occupation | Professional rock climber |
| Climbing career | |
| Type of climber | |
| Highest grade |
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| Known for |
Big Wall Free Soloing Speed record on The Nose of El Capitan |
Big Wall Free Soloing
Alex J. Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. He has broken a number of speed records, most notably the only known solo climb (mostly free climbing with a few points of aid) 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. He and Hans Florine are the current record holders for the Nose with a climb time of 2:23:51. Honnold says that he likes tall, long routes and that he tries to do them quickly. He is the author of Alone on the Wall, a collaboration with David Roberts that details his climbing exploits.
Honnold was born in Sacramento, California. He started climbing when he was 11 years old. Upon graduating from the Mira Loma High School with a 4.7 GPA, he matriculated to the University of California Berkeley to study engineering. However, at the age of 19, he dropped out of school and has since devoted all his time to climbing. Between climbs, he runs or hikes to maintain fitness. Honnold lives out of his van, enabling him to follow the weather and climb all the time. Honnold prefers big walls and sport climbing, but enjoys any climb calling for extreme commitment, Yosemite being his favorite area because of its impressive walls and favorable weather. Honnold is inspired by such noted climbers as Peter Croft, John Bachar and Tommy Caldwell, and even more so by the stark simplicity and beauty of El Capitan.
In 2010, Honnold was awarded the "Golden Piton" for his climbing achievements. Journalist Lara Logan interviewed Honnold as part of CBS 60 Minutes program airing on October 2, 2011. In November 2011, Honnold and Hans Florine missed setting the record time on the Nose route on Yosemite's El Capitan by 45 seconds with a time of 2:37. On June 17, 2012, the two set a new record of 2:23:51 on that same route. Honnold is an avid reader, with interests in classic literature, environmentalism, and economics. When asked about his religious or spiritual views, he described himself as an "atheist." In 2012 he started the Honnold Foundation which "seeks simple, sustainable ways to improve lives world-wide".
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