PITCH 24 has two variations, either the dreaded 5.12d Teflon Corner, which is nearly impossible to do in the sun, or the 5.13a Huber variation.  Just listening to Alex talk about this pitch made my palms sweat.  I kept wanting to reach for my chalkbag, but all I could do was listen. 

 

"It has a 5.12d crux," Alex continued. "That's more like a 5.13a.  It's like  a V7 boulder problem.  The style is so insecure, it's just hard to imagine soloing it."

 

I couldn't agree more with Alex.  It's hard to imagine free soloing this route.  But yet, we all know it's just a matter of time before someone is going to lay it all on the line.  The million dollar question was: Who would it be?  When I exchanged emails with Will Stanhope, who famously soloed Zombie Roof, 5.13a, (see video). The 28 year old from Squamish, BC, had this to say...

 

"I think Alex might be talking about another kid from Squamish named Marc-Andre Leclerc."

 

I asked Will if he had any intention of free soloing Free Rider.  "No.  They are way too many insecure cruxes on that climb for me."

 

I coudn't resist asking, "Considering there are only a handful of free soloist in the world, who is capable of free soloing a route on El Cap?"

 

Stanhope replied..."I honestly don't feel that free soloing El Cap is a good idea for anyone.  I've climbed with stacks of heavy-hitting, solid climbers and all of them could botch some fussy, footsy climbing on the Freerider.   Tons of people are capable, but I think it would take a certain disregard for your own life to lace up to that objective cordless."  Listen to Podcast Interview.

 

And this coming from someone that has free soloed a slew of routes like Separate Reality (5.12a) in Yosemite Valley.  So Stanhope's words of warning can't be ignored.  But yet, this wasn't preventing Alex from devising his own plans.  I felt the hair crawl on the back of my neck as Alex revealed his inner most thoughts...

 

"I can imagine myself doing it," Alex admittted.  "If I was ready for it, all psyched up, and I knew it was the one time I would do the Free Blast. But fuck, just the whole sum of it is a lot.  I was thinking about it this evening, about how I would have to do it, thinking about the logistics of what you would have to do.  And the thing is, no matter what you did, it would take about 5 hours, or at least 4 1/2.  It would take a long time.  So the logistics of it would start to get weird.  If you want good conditions on the crux of Free Rider, than you have to start at dawn to get there before the sun.  But yet, you don't want to be free soloing in the dark."

 

No sh#@!  Free soloing the lower section in the dark could be considered by many as act of attempted suicide.   When I asked Stanhope about his experiences on Free Rider, which pitches would have him most concerned, he said...

 

"There's quite a few that I wouldn't sign up for in a million years, but here's a few that stand out: those snot-slick Freeblast slabs.  Very delicate on the toes.  The Boulder Problem pitch involves a very insecure foot-kick move.  And those upper Enduro corners pinch down to tiny locks and then pure laybacking on slopers."  

 

When I asked him about Alex Honnold, Stanhope had this to say...

 

"Alex Honnold is hugely talented, obviously, and incredibly bold.  There's stacks of routes that I thought he wouldn't solo that he eventually did solo.  So who knows?  He's in his own league by miles and miles."

 

I asked a slew of other climbers, including Pete Whittaker, who was the first person to onsight every pitch, and just last year, became the first person to rope solo 'all free' Free Rider in just 20 hours, if he would ever consider doing it without a rope.  He quickly replied 'No way!"

 

The same was true with the legendary free soloist Steph Davis, the first woman to free climb Free Rider in a day.  No way Jose'! 

 

And now that Alex has captured the world's most coveted prize, I can't help but wonder what will be next?  Will Alex retire and start a family?  Or will he set his sights on the ultimate linkup: free soloing El Cap and Half Dome in a single day?   Who knows.  Your guess is as good as mine. But I'm willing to bet (listening to my spidey senses again), this thought has crossed his mind.   

 

To hear our exclusive interview with Alex Honnold, where he shares his thoughts on free soloing Free Rider, please tune into our Podcase below and visit his profile page.  

 

FEATURED PODCAST