Before ‘Free Solo’ ushered Alex Honnold from the van to the limelight, he was just a rock-thirsty dirtbag. But what drove him to go ropeless on El Cap in the first place?
By now, nearly everybody on the planet has some idea of how hard Alex Honnold studied, practiced, and prepared to free solo El Capitan. But beyond the how: why? What compelled the world’s most famous rock climber to execute (arguably) the world’s most famous climb?
One theory: rivalry.
This short explainer from Climbers Crag dives into Honnold’s connection to the late (and legendary) free soloist, Dean Potter. Turns out they’re both pretty competitive guys.
Honnold is notoriously low-key, sure. But let there be no doubt that he’s as human as the rest of us, and some of the same things turn him on.
Runtime: 10 minutes
