{"id":797176,"date":"2019-06-27T16:48:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T22:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/climber-alex-honnold-talks-free-soloexperience-as-part-of-aspen-ideas-festival\/"},"modified":"2019-06-27T16:48:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-27T22:48:00","slug":"climber-alex-honnold-talks-free-soloexperience-as-part-of-aspen-ideas-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/climber-alex-honnold-talks-free-soloexperience-as-part-of-aspen-ideas-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Climber Alex Honnold talks \u2018Free Solo\u2019experience as part of Aspen Ideas Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.8637724550898\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-368055-585\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times | New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1.jpg\" alt=\"New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times | Climber Alex Honnold meets with fans after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Climber Alex Honnold meets with fans after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Climber Alex Honnold meets with fans after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times | Climber Alex Honnold meets with fans after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Climber Alex Honnold meets with fans after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Climber Alex Honnold meets with fans after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times | Climber Alex Honnold signs autographs after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Climber Alex Honnold signs autographs after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-3.jpg\" alt=\"Climber Alex Honnold signs autographs after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times | New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-4.jpg\" alt=\"New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times | A fan of climber Alex Honnold has her photo taken after his talk during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>A fan of climber Alex Honnold has her photo taken after his talk during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-5.jpg\" alt=\"A fan of climber Alex Honnold has her photo taken after his talk during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-6.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times | New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/alexhonnold-atd-062619-1-6.jpg\" alt=\"New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/climber-alex-honnold-talks-free-soloexperience-as-part-of-aspen-ideas-festival\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/climber-alex-honnold-talks-free-soloexperience-as-part-of-aspen-ideas-festival\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">ASPEN \u2014 On June 3, 2017, climber Alex Honnold didn\u2019t fall to his death, like so many feared he would. Instead, he accomplished what may have been the greatest feat in the sport\u2019s history by free soloing \u2014 that is, climbing without ropes \u2014 Yosemite National Park\u2019s El Capitan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">His triumph was at the heart of the National Geographic documentary \u201cFree Solo,\u201d directed by the husband and wife duo of Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. Released last fall, the film won a 2019 Academy Award for best documentary feature and has turned Honnold into a full-fledged celebrity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt has actually been crazy with the film. Being in public spaces is a little different,\u201d the 33-year-old California native said Monday night of his stardom. \u201cObviously I\u2019m not going to complain that it wound up being too successful. If you are going to make the film, you want it to be the best possible film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Since the film\u2019s release, Honnold has spent much of his time traveling around to promote it. This included a stop Monday night at St. Regis Aspen as part of the Aspen Ideas Festival. Taking questions from New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, Honnold spent an hour entertaining a crowd that was easily estimated at more than 1,000 people inside the hotel\u2019s ballroom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Stephens, who claims to be a hypochondriac, said it was a pairing between the world\u2019s most fearful man and the most fearless in Honnold.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIf you get scared while free soloing, it all starts to crumble a little bit,\u201d Honnold said. \u201cBasically, everything can kind of spiral negatively. Whereas if you are 100% confident that you can do the thing and you go climb it your best, then you do actually do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">CLIMBING EL CAP<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">El Capitan in California is climbing\u2019s most famous wall of rock. At more than 3,000 vertical feet, the idea of climbing it without ropes is seen as both impossible and insane. While the latter may still be true, Honnold proved it possible by climbing it unaided two summers ago. Often clinging to the wall with nothing more than his fingertips and no rope to catch him, the slightest mistake would have meant certain death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The idea to free solo El Cap had been in Honnold\u2019s head for about eight years at that point, and a failed attempt the prior fall \u2014 he decided to bail about a fourth of the way up the wall \u2014 made his summit that much more meaningful. In the film, Honnold was shown at the top \u2014 nearly four hours after he started \u2014 with a big grin on his face saying how \u201cdelighted\u201d he was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI was smiling a lot for the whole week afterward. \u2026 It\u2019s pretty satisfying. I\u2019m very proud of the effort I put into it and of the climb itself,\u201d Honnold said Monday. \u201cI had no editorial control over the film at all. I didn\u2019t even see it until the final draft. It\u2019s a totally honest film. I think they actually did an incredible job of showing just the full picture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">A LOVE STORY<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">One of the reasons the documentary was such a success was the relationship between Honnold and girlfriend Sanni McCandless, who had only just started dating at the beginning of the film. A central part of the story, their love life was also a popular topic during Monday\u2019s discussion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Honnold was happy to report they are still together, but was a bit squeamish when talking about that part of the film.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cHave you seen the film? There are whole sections I find horrifying,\u201d Honnold joked, saying he found many parts of the film unflattering. \u201cMany of the things I say about her in the beginning of the film were things I said about a woman I just started dating. \u2026 Fast forward three-and-a-half years later, it\u2019s slightly embarrassing to see that stuff. I could have phrased things a little nicer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">LIFE CHANGING<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Yes, Honnold\u2019s life has changed quite a bit since the film\u2019s release. Mostly, he has much less time to spend living out of his van in Yosemite. Before his fame blossomed, Honnold would spend months at a time living a carefree, quiet life in the park, climbing every day. However, he said he\u2019s only been able to spend a few days climbing in Yosemite this summer, but did take some time Monday to climb on Independence Pass prior to his talk in Aspen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">What hasn\u2019t changed? Well, he still prefers to eat from a spatula, as seen in another of the film\u2019s memorable moments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWhen I\u2019m in the van, yeah, I often eat off the spatula still,\u201d Honnold said. \u201cThe whole point of eating off the spatula is you don\u2019t scratch your pan, you have fewer dishes, it\u2019s very efficient, it\u2019s very practical. I strongly encourage everyone to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">WHAT\u2019S NEXT?<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s a question Honnold gets on repeat these days. After free soloing El Capitan, what\u2019s next? He said he honestly doesn\u2019t know, but a sequel to his award-winning film certainly isn\u2019t going to happen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere is definitely no \u2018Free Solo 2,\u2019 that\u2019s for sure,\u201d Honnold said. \u201cI did all that climbing, and then the film came out, so since then it\u2019s been seven months of touring with the film, going to the Academy Awards, doing the whole crazy thing. Now, every day people are like, \u2018What\u2019s next?\u2019 And in some ways I\u2019m like, \u2018Well, I already did what\u2019s next.\u2019 Of course, it\u2019s overshadowed by this incredible film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s not even been a year since the film\u2019s release, but it\u2019s been more than two since Honnold free soloed El Capitan. What people don\u2019t know is Honnold\u2019s been plenty busy in that time and has accomplished a lot as a climber.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">An athlete for The North Face, he\u2019s spent time climbing big walls in Alaska and doing first ascents in Antarctica. Last summer, he and Tommy Caldwell, a close friend featured in the film and legendary climber in his own right, became the first people to climb the Nose route on El Capitan (with ropes this time) in under two hours. They did it last June in 1 hour, 58 minutes, 7 seconds. For the average climber, that same route can take multiple days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">But will Honnold ever achieve something as great as free soloing El Cap again? Probably not, and he said this is mostly because there will never be a film as good as \u201cFree Solo\u201d to accompany it. While he still has many goals he wants to achieve as a climber, those outside the climbing world likely won\u2019t see most of them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">As far as free soloing El Capitan, he doesn\u2019t see anyone else matching his feat anytime soon. He believes there are plenty of people who have the physical skills to make it happen, but few have the mental fortitude to even try, and rightly so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere is such a difference between the physical side of it and the mental side of it. \u2026 I\u2019ve always darkly joked that the right person just has to have a bad breakup and then they\u2019ll just go,\u201d Honnold said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that anyone is actively trying to. I don\u2019t think anybody really wants to. I don\u2019t think anyone is in the right place where they should. But you never really know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\">This story is from AspenTimes.com<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/climber-alex-honnold-talks-free-soloexperience-as-part-of-aspen-ideas-festival\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Times journalist Bret Stephens, left, chats with climber Alex Honnold during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.Austin Colbert \/ The Aspen Times Climber Alex Honnold meets with fans after talking during an Aspen Ideas Festival discussion on Monday inside the St. Regis hotel in Aspen.Austin [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-797176","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 07:22:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=797176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}