You might get run over; you might get hit by lightning. I mean, who knows? Each day, there is a chance you might die. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Every living being on Earth is facing that same existential rift. – Alex Honnold
I generally don’t climb something if it makes me feel fear. The beauty of soloing is that there’s no pressure – no one’s telling me to do it. So if something seems scary, I don’t have any obligation to do it. I can prepare further or just walk away entirely. – Alex Honnold
I think it’s great that so many people are enjoying climbing. I’ve always loved climbing; I don’t see why other people wouldn’t enjoy it just as much. As long as everyone does their best to respect the areas in which they’re climbing, I don’t see how the growth of the sport could be a bad thing. – Alex Honnold
There’s a constant tension in climbing, and really all exploration, between pushing yourself into the unknown but trying not to push too far. The best any of us can do is to tread that line carefully. – Alex Honnold
Music can be useful during training to help get you psyched, and I still listen to music on easy climbs or in the gym. But during cutting-edge solos or really hard climbs, I unplug. There shouldn’t be a need for extra motivation on big days, be it music or anything else. It should come from within. – Alex Honnold
I’ve never really understood the criticism that climbing is inherently selfish, since it could equally be argued about virtually any other hobby or sport. Is gardening selfish? – Alex Honnold
I suppose being a bit of an antisocial weirdo definitely honed my skills as a soloist. It gave me a lot more opportunities to solo lots of easy routes, which in turn broadened my comfort zone quite a bit and has allowed me to climb the harder things without a rope that I’ve done now. – Alex Honnold
I’ve done routes where I’ve climbed 200 feet off the ground and just been, like, ‘What am I doing?’ I then just climbed back down and went home. Discretion is the better part of valor. Some days are just not your day. That’s the big thing with free soloing: when to call it. – Alex Honnold
My friends like to remind me that I have relatively weak fingers. Aerobic strength and general endurance have come easy, but finger strength has always been my biggest weakness. – Alex Honnold
I often joke that I’ve just become a professional schmoozer. Like, nobody cares how well I can rock climb anymore. It just has to do with how well I can schmooze. – Alex Honnold
No matter the risks we take, we always consider the end to be too soon, even though in life, more than anything else, quality should be more important than quantity. – Alex Honnold
The diet for climbing all the time isn’t really different from the diet for living. It’s not like cardio sports where you’re burning a bajillion calories every day. – Alex Honnold
In climbing, sponsors typically support an athlete but provide very little direction, giving the climber free rein to follow his or her passion toward whatever is inspiring. It’s a wonderful freedom, in many ways similar to that of an artist who simply lives his life and creates whatever moves him. – Alex Honnold
I make a fair amount of my food choices for environmental-type reasons than nutrition or taste. I’m trying to minimize impact, which is something most people don’t necessarily think about when they’re shopping. – Alex Honnold
Big climbs energize me. It’s all the other aspects of being a pro-climber that wear me down. The travel and expeditions and training can become pretty tiring. But the actual big climbs – that’s what I live for. – Alex Honnold
I’m not nostalgic for my glory days in college. It was lame for me. Probably because I had no friends. – Alex Honnold
I feel that a lot of human spirituality stems from the belief that we are unique and special in the universe, but maybe we are just what happens when there is proper temperature and proper distance from the right type of star. – Alex Honnold
I was 19 when my father died from a heart attack. He was a 55-year-old college professor and had led what was by all appearances a risk-free life. But he was overweight, and heart disease runs in our family. – Alex Honnold
If you’re climbing big routes that’ll take you 16 hours, or, like, El Capitan, you have to take something like a big, robust sandwich. Climbing isn’t like running or triathlons, where you have to constantly be eating blocks, gels, and pure sugar. Climbing is relatively slow, so you can pretty much eat anything and digest it as you climb. – Alex Honnold
Climbing is definitely very much strength-to-weight ratio. At the same time, I’ve never dieted or restricted calories. You’re just sort of mindful about not getting plump. – Alex Honnold
‘Dirtbag’ is just the term we use, like a ‘gnarly dude’ in surfing. Within the climbing culture, it means being a committed lifer: someone who has embraced a minimalist ethic in order to rock climb. It basically means you’re a homeless person by choice. – Alex Honnold
I love red bell peppers. Bell peppers in general, really. I like to eat them like apples. They’re so crunchy and delicious. – Alex Honnold
Yosemite has the most impressive and accessible granite big walls in the world. The rock is amazing. And because of that, it’s been the mecca for climbing in the U.S. – and the world to a large degree – for all of climbing history. It’s the place to test yourself against the historic routes of the past. – Alex Honnold
I’m not thinking about anything when I’m climbing, which is part of the appeal. I’m focused on executing what’s in front of me. – Alex Honnold
I live out of my van, which gives me a first-hand appreciation for power and lighting. A few years ago, I rebuilt the interior of my van to include solar panels and a battery that powers LEDs for lighting and allows me to charge my phone and laptop. – Alex Honnold
To be clear, I normally climb with a rope and partner. Free-soloing makes up only a small percentage of my total climbing. But when I do solo, I manage the risk through careful preparation. I don’t solo anything unless I’m sure I can do it. – Alex Honnold
Free soloing is almost as old as climbing itself, with roots in the 19th century. Climbers are continuing to push the boundaries. There are certainly better technical climbers than me. But if I have a particular gift, it’s a mental one – the ability to keep it together where others might freak out. – Alex Honnold
How I’m portrayed in films has more to do with the filmmaking and what they need in the story than anything else. I’m the same person I’ve always been, I just get used in different ways according to the filmmakers’ needs – which is fine with me; it makes for great films. – Alex Honnold