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Comment by hentrep | Hacker News Reader

I was under the impression that Alex practices each free solo route multiple times while roped.

I'm by no means discounting his accomplishments and skills, but rather highlighting that it isn't quite as reckless as it first appears.

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Here's a video that touches on Honnold's prep for his ascent of El Sendoro Luminoso. Given that it's likely the most difficult ropeless climb in history (and on limestone, which is far more prone to breaking holds than Yosemite granite), he wasn't exactly super meticulous:

https://youtu.be/Phl82D57P58

At lower grades he has been known to just go for it.

It's pretty crazy with 11 pitches rated 5.12, but it's still not the most difficult free solo that's been done. For example Honnold himself free soloed 5.13, and Dave MacLeod free soloed a 5.14b. These are only single-pitch but they're still tall enough to classify as free solo (as opposed to bouldering/highball). And don't go thinking that 11 pitches of 5.12 is harder than one pitch of 5.14. Lots of people can do 11 pitches of 5.12 without falling. Only an extremely small portion of these can send a 5.14 - rope or no rope, when someone sends that grade it often ends up in the news (well, climber news, of course).

> Only an extremely small portion of these can send a 5.14 > - rope or no rope, when someone sends that grade it often > ends up in the news (well, climber news, of course).

Rarely does anyone make even climbing news climbing 5.14, as the limit now for sport climbing is 5.15c and bouldering is V16. There are routes rated 5.14 at the gym I frequent that get sent nightly. Granted I live in Boulder CO, lots of pro climbers do as well, and grades at gyms are often soft, but still...

The last time 5.14 was newsworthy was the first female ascent of a trad. route in Boulder Canyon

http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web16b/newswire-china-doll-5.14-...

and the Dawn Wall, which is 32 pitches,

https://www.mountainproject.com/v/dawn-wall-free/109951912

a few of which are rated 5.14.

Perhaps Ashima makes news climbing 5.14's, but it's also because she's still a teenager.

There's a dude that works as a routesetter at my gym that just sent 5.15. His instagram was pretty popular for a while, but he's just a dude.

http://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/jon-cardwell-sends-b...

5.14 made big news 25 years ago with routes like Action Directe. Things have progressed since then.

IMHO rating comparing a one pitch 5.14 and a 11 pitch 5.12 is comparing two different things. :shrug:

This is like metric vs imperial vs ... all over again. I had no clue what levles you guys are taling about until I looked it up and figured how they compare to the French system. Which then I subconciously converted to the color used for the routes at the local gym (well, it's not really a gym in the common sense, it's purely climbing oriented)

You guys in Boulder CO have all the mutant climbers. You should see our little Ontario climbing news outlets! I'm pretty sure there's only one guy in the entire province that even sets indoor 5.14 (despite having quite a few gyms, I believe at least 15). Anyways, it was a bit overboard and in terms of international climbing news, I very much agree with you.

> You guys in Boulder CO have all the mutant climbers

There's some truth to this. Just today, I was bouldering next to a dude that look somewhat familiar. Turns out it's Paul Robinson, just here traveling through town.

Took a few tries to nail a V12 set, didn't even look like he broke a sweat.

Just wow.

What do they even shoot that video with? Is there a helicopter flying around him while he climbs? Maybe a small drone or something? The helicopter would be pretty unnerving I suppose, and it's probably even more dangerous to fly a helicopter that close to a stone wall.

Not all of them, for instance, he on-sight free soloed Fiesta de los Biceps (5.11d) [1]

[1]: http://www.dpmclimbing.com/articles/view/alex-honnold-onsigh...

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