<\/p>\n
DENVER \u2014 Rock climber Alex Honnold meticulously chalked his hands before pulling himself up to the thin ledge inside the climate-controlled climbing gym. He dangled by his finger tips for a bit and then fell back to the bouncy mat.<\/p>\n
Nice and safe. No heart-pounding fear of a 3,000-foot drop, either.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath of the Academy Award winning documentary \u201cFree Solo ,\u201d Honnold is trying to get a grip on his sudden fame (he\u2019s recognized everywhere), his image (he\u2019s not really that aloof) and most of all what exactly he does next to top that spine-tingling feat .<\/p>\n
His realization: Maybe his 2017 ropeless climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park that\u2019s chronicled in the film just might be the summit of his career. Maybe his cliff-hanger sequel doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n
If so, he\u2019s at peace. These days, he\u2019s content taking a less treacherous path inside climbing gyms.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody already thinks I\u2019ve done the best thing I\u2019ll ever do,\u201d Honnold said in a recent interview as young climbers gawked, pointed and stared at him before a competition at Earth Treks Englewood in Colorado. \u201cSo I don\u2019t feel any obligation to top that. Even if I did top it, there would never be a better film about it. It will never be documented in a better way. It\u2019s just not possible to make a better film than that. So it\u2019s like, \u2018Cool \u2014 a-once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.\u2019 It\u2019s like, \u2018Let\u2019s move on.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Move on to what? That\u2019s his hang-up.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no new endeavor he\u2019s eyeing. Perhaps, at 33, he\u2019s proceeding through life with a little more caution. He\u2019s dating the same person he was in the film \u2014 Sanni McCandless \u2014 and has a house in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo far, I haven\u2019t been taking the same kind of risks in climbing, but it has more to do with opportunity,\u201d Honnold said. \u201cI\u2019ve been promoting the film and not out climbing crazy mountains all the time. We\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the film, Honnold took an MRI of his brain to see how he responds to fear. Turns out, fear didn\u2019t seem to faze him. Still, there was one poignant scene after he halted an attempt to scale El Capitan, when producer Jimmy Chin commented, \u201cit\u2019s reassuring that Spock has nerves\u201d \u2014 an ode to the stoic nature of the Star Trek character.<\/p>\n
Undeterred, Honnold remained persistent. It\u2019s just one of the takeaways from the documentary \u2014 a tunnel vision that drove him and sometimes made him come across as aloof. Especially in his blossoming relationship with McCandless.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople come out of it thinking I\u2019m super cold, but you\u2019ve got to keep it in context. Whereas when we first started dating, the relationship was much less important to me than this climbing goal I\u2019d been holding on to for the last nine years,\u201d Honnold explained. \u201cEverybody comes out of the film taking what they want. They cherry-pick the lesson they want, cherry-pick the personality traits they want. Everybody chooses their own adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Around the climbing community, Honnold remains a polarizing figure. That\u2019s due in part to his free soloing ways, which is when a climber doesn\u2019t use any ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment and is forced to rely on their own strength. He\u2019s got numerous free-soloing firsts under his belt. But nothing quite like scaling El Capitan, a feat he accomplished in just under four hours.<\/p>\n
For the record, he doesn\u2019t have a death wish. He diligently trained for the danger-filled climb that included sections called Freeblast (precariously smooth), Monster Offwidth (shimmying his way up a vertical crack) and Boulder Problem (executing a karate-kick move to reach a toe hold).<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I spent two years practicing, to make sure I wouldn\u2019t fall off and die,\u201d said Honnold, who has a foundation dedicated to supporting solar energy and serves on the board of a company that operates indoor climbing facilities (El Cap). \u201cIf I didn\u2019t care, I would\u2019ve gone the first day and rolled the dice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashima Shiraishi, a teenager who\u2019s become one of the big names in climbing, said she watched the documentary on a plane and felt, well, \u201cterrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFree soloing? I can\u2019t,\u201d said Shiraishi, who figures to be in the medal mix as climbing makes its debut at the Tokyo Olympics next summer. \u201cIt\u2019s a different world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Should anyone want to follow his lead, his advice would be basic: Be careful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very long, personal journey,\u201d Honnold said. \u201cIf someone wants to spend the time and dedicate themselves to the process, more power to them \u2014 as long as they do it slow and carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
To promote the film directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Chin, Honnold traveled around for months, which meant putting his outdoor climbing pursuits on the backburner. Along the way, he met some big names \u2014 Prince William, actor Bradley Cooper \u2014 and lost some privacy. He\u2019s constantly recognized on subways, in grocery stores and of course anywhere he climbs.<\/p>\n
He recently went back to Yosemite, but didn\u2019t dare venture out too much in public because, \u201cI\u2019ve got serious anxiety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While hiking in the area, Honnold overheard a group in front of him actually discussing the movie. Then, he sped right by them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re like, \u2018That\u2019s the guy!\u2019\u201d Honnold recounted. \u201cAs I\u2019m hiking by, they\u2019re like, \u2018Did you get him on the \u2018GoPro?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just his reality now.<\/p>\n
So is this: Making the most of his training sessions at climbing gyms. He invents challenges for himself, like attaching heavy weights around his waist and suspending himself from a ledge by his fingers.<\/p>\n
Any chance of another free solo ascent of El Capitan?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had a reason to. If I was excited,\u201d Honnold said. \u201cBecause I know I can now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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