Alex Honnold

Alex Honnold
Honnold in 2023
Personal information
Born (1985-08-17) August 17, 1985 (age 39)[1]
Sacramento, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley
OccupationRock climber
Spouse
Sanni McCandless
​
(m. 2020)​
Children2[2]
Climbing career
Type of climber
Highest grade
Known for
  • Free solo climbs of big wall routes
  • The first and only person to date, to free solo a FULL route (from base to summit) on El Capitan
  • Speed record holder on The Nose of El Capitan

Alex Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his free solo ascents of big walls. Honnold rose to worldwide fame in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a full route on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park (via the 2,900-foot route Freerider at 5.13a, the first-ever at that grade),[3] a climb described in The New York Times as "one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever."[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.[6] In 2015, he won a Piolet d'Or in alpine climbing with Tommy Caldwell for their completion of the enchainment (known as the Fitz Traverse) of the Cerro Chaltén Group (or Fitzroy Group) in Patagonia over 5 days.

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,[7] which won a BAFTA and an Academy Award.

  1. ^ "Alex Honnold – Athlete Profile". Black Diamond Equipment. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  2. ^ Clarke, Owen; Levy, Michael (March 1, 2022). "Alex Honnold, Free Soloist, Star of Academy-Award-Winning Documentary Free Solo". Climbing. Outside Interactive. Interview with Alex Honnold, on whether he’ll quit or minimize free soloing. Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless are having a kid—a daughter
  3. ^ Synnott, Mark (October 3, 2018). "Exclusive: Alex Honnold Completes the Most Dangerous Free-Solo Ascent Ever". National Geographic. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  4. ^ "The World's Greatest Free-Solo Climber Isn't Interested in Adrenaline". Exploration & Adventure. March 1, 2018. Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  5. ^ Duane, Daniel (June 9, 2017). "Opinion: El Capitan, My El Capitan". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  6. ^ "Honnold's Biggest, Baddest Solo Yet". Climbing. June 15, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  7. ^ Chai Vasarhelyi, Elizabeth; Chin, Jimmy (2018). "Free Solo". films.nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic. "The thing is, anybody can be happy and cozy... Nobody achieves anything great because they are happy and cozy"