alone on the wall // alex honnold & david roberts

maybe we "experts" should be the last ones to judge.

published: 2018 (originally 2016)
pages: 288
read: 6/7-10/2020
book: 45 in 2020

SYNOPSIS
On June 3rd, 2017, Alex Honnold became the first person to free solo Yosemite's El Capitan—to scale the wall without rope, a partner, or any protective gear—completing what was described as "the greatest feat of pure rock climbing in the history of the sport" (National Geographic) and "one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever" (New York Times). Already one of the most famous adventure athletes in the world, Honnold has now been hailed as "the greatest climber of all time" (Vertical magazine).

Alone on the Wall recounts the most astonishing achievements of Honnold’s extraordinary life and career, brimming with lessons on living fearlessly, taking risks, and maintaining focus even in the face of extreme danger. Now Honnold tells, for the first time and in his own words, the story of his 3 hours and 56 minutes on the sheer face of El Cap, which Outside called "the moon landing of free soloing…a generation-defining climb. Bad ass and beyond words…one of the pinnacle sporting moments of all time."

THOUGHTS

have you seen free solo?

no?

pfft. you should! that shit is nuts!

Alex is nuts! that man is insane and i mean that with the utmost respect because what he does not only takes guts but great determination. to condition not only yourself but your mind to do what he does....phew. i wish i had just an ounce.

one day for some reason my mom wanted to watch FS cause it popped up on Disney+ and i was like "YES! WATCH IT NOW!". that somehow led to me realizing there was a book out there by him so i went online and bought it right away (i should note that i was preeeettty buzzed when i made this purchase lol) and like always, i didn't read a blurb or anything so i thought i was buying a book that had to do with his free solo climb of El Cap in Yosemite....turns out this book is about prior climbs to that but this new version has 2 new chapters that have to do with his climb of El Capitan.

i did watch the documentary (i'm bummed i didn't catch it in theaters) but having those 2 extra chapters did help paint a broader picture because things in the movie were displayed one way, where as in the book he describes the back story to what was going on in the movie.

tbh, if there was a book on just this climb, i'd read it. (is there?)

aside from that, this book also talks about a lot of his other climbs.

there's also a lot of climbing talk, pitches and grades and all this other stuff that a lot of the time i was like WTF am i reading!? (only because i am not from the climbing world). i think if you have even a general idea of what climbing entails then this is a good book for you to read. and even if you don't, its still a good book, but you'll probably be a little bit lost just like me.

i learned about a lot of the places he's traveled to as well as other climbers and such that he's crossed paths with. there are a lot of mentions of other climbers so i was googling just as much as i was reading. even if i had no idea what i reading i was still learning a lot about this sport and its players. one thing that did shock me was the amount of climbers that have passed away due to climbing. if you look at my google history rn, you'd probably find lots of these climbers mentioned.

i have not been to Yosemite since a little bit before the blair witch project came out but man, from what i remember that place was beautiful. i'd really love to go back one day and stare at the beauty that El Cap is (plus lots of other places).

anyway, if you liked the documentary and want to read about his other climbs and the beginning of his foundation, i'd definitely recommend this book. just beware that if climbing is not your thing, you might be lost a little bit. but hey! you learn lots of new things.

no spoilers cause...what would i even spoil?

thanks for reading!