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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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Sep 30, 2011 - 11:14pm PT
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whatever alex ends up free soloing will be awesome to see. it gives me sheer delight to talk to alex about his solo of phoenix, and hear the details of this epic feat. his bifecta of cosmic and heaven in a day just lights up the sky with inspiration. so cool. i can't see how his motivation can be anything but soulfully internal and pure to free solo the things he does. and i'[m glad he has enough smarts to document the solos.
but i also think a lot about john bachar. his other mentors and i were pretty shattered to see him go like that. at a certain point, which i reached awhile ago, it might be time to back off the edgy stuff, and i hope alex and his destiny will see him through to a gray haired future.
i do think alex should keep his hard soloes to crack climbing that he can sink some digits into. when he admits in articles how close the half dome solo was(the 5.12 slab caused him big pause), i just think cranking on a crack would be better than slippery slope stuff.
and by the way, alex did show up to tow dave yerian up the bachar-yearian although i hear they did not finish the route because it got too hot in the sun.
ciao, shipoopoi
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HighTraverse
Trad climber
Bay Area
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Awesome pic.
Steve: very good observations.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Ontario, Canada, eh?
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We spoke on the bridge yesterday.
"So what's new and exciting, Alex?"
"Nothin' really. You?"
"Not much."
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BASE104
climber
An Oil Field
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Ahhh what do a bunch of old farts know?
Coz getting onto Honnold for soloing for the correct "reasons" is just as stupid of a question as it was 30 years ago regarding Bachar.
Who cares what motivates someone else? These young turks can't take a piss without someone getting it on camera. Keeps them in free shoes. I feel sorry for them in that regard.
Sender films has a great piece on Honnold in "First Ascent." I was hanging out at a bud's and put it on. Blew my mind. There were a lot of cool things in that video.
He may die tomorrow or he may get run over walking across the street. Who knows when their number is up?
One thing about this place is that everyone is so ooooooolllllldddddd.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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That Moonlight Buttress footage made my feet sweat. The things he's doing are risky, but he seems well aware of that fact.
I have only gone ropeless a few times on some easy stuff, but I have ridden some pretty stupid stuff on my snowboard, some of which I might never repeat. The feeling one gets in that situation is amazing, the level of awareness and rush of adrenaline.
When one chooses to embrace doing such a thing usually they choose to accept the potential outcome. It's not a safe thing, but neither is crossing the road.
Do not try this at home!
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MTucker
Ice climber
Arizona
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COZ: How is climbing a route done in the late 70 or early 80 eclipsing anything, because he climbed it without a rope?
Sounds more like a stunt to me, than pushing any standards.
He should give me ring if he wants to risk his life and make money, he wouldn't be living in his van anymore, that's for sure.
I thought I was a big hater and try to bring peoples accomplishments down but COZ is a big hater too. No wait. Coz is jealous.
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Mike Libecki
climber
the moment of now
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If you mock Honnold you are mocking yourself.
He not only deserves respect and admiration, he has earned it.
You cannot train to do what he does, he is a super human and an absolute inspiration for all of us to climb our best, or to just live life to the fullest in any aspect.
Bowing down to Alex and so psyched to receive his inspiration.
So f&%#ing rad.
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Matt
Trad climber
primordial soup
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nice post steve
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Rocky5000
Trad climber
Falls Church, VA
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I’m with Werner – Alex is maximally rad and there is little point in criticizing him. Fear of death is innate to all of us, and it is not something we can remove from our psyche, but through various practices we can sometimes achieve a functional mastery over it. Free soloing is one of these practices. I used to do it semi-regularly for a decade or so, and my experience was exactly as he describes it: first, a total confidence in one’s ability, and knowing the level of it; second, climbing good rock (mostly) in good weather, on routes somewhat below one’s top redpoint level (mine was and is considerably lower than his, but the experience is the same); third, while soloing, disallowing doubt and the exposure from affecting your state of mind. It has to do with being for a while a single-minded person, with very little self-consciousness, and yet fully functional – a weird mode of existence. The attraction of this feeling of mastery is hard to convey. I would walk back to the base afterwards and look up for a while. I would feel that my life is absolutely real, and that the world has true and irreducible beauty, and I’m part of it, for now.
One day I came to a high, fatal crux and my nerve began to crack a little. I waited at a rest for quite a while, knowing I did not want to try downclimbing; eventually I felt stronger and climbed through. But after that I knew it was time to scale it back, taper it off, and live a bit less close to the bone. There’s no dishonor in that. What percentage of soloists die climbing? No way to know – I suspect there may be many like me, who did it utterly alone and without ever telling anyone, because it is so close to the bone. To do it for reasons of ego could be fatal.
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Texplorer
Trad climber
Sacramento
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Eloquent said Rocky.
Much like a Michael Jordon, Haile Gebrselasse, or Pele sometimes an athlete comes along that shines far above anyone else and can perform at a level that even world class athletes revel. Interestingly these people are often not the very best at any one aspect of their respective sports but somehow have the innate ability to put it all together in a unique and spectacular way.
Honnold is a brilliant star. I hope he doesn't burn out too soon but even if he does it cannot change what he is. I feel that for me climbing symbolizes something beyond pulling down on rocks. There is something about it that transcends sheer physical effort. For me, Honnold captures all that I hunger for in climbing. I hope to hear about his ascents for years to come but even if something were to happen to him tomorrow I would have gained greatly from knowing that such a person exists. I feel shivers at the thought of what he is capable. It doesn't matter who films him, if he is paid, or who sponsors him, the end is what he does. To be a part of a community, lifestyle, and world where such people exist is inspiring enough for me.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Trad climber
Will know soon
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DY trained hard for this climb. No way did Dave want to get towed up. Honnold honored his commitment to be there and make it happen. My take, wish I would have helped more in the planning process. Often details can make or break something.....which I learned a little late. Jess sayin',lynne
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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i feel bad, i syphoned
can you please forgive me?
you like Ratt Round and Round anybnody
alex, you want to climb 1000 feet of free solo sandstone,
aquarian valley, only i know the route
call me 530 514 1717
i am after all, dr sprock,
best free climber in the frickin world,
except alex, and bacher, and all the other freaks
ill give you 1 million dollars (inflation)
if you can follow me for one minute (inflation)
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