The ascent of Alex Honnold

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Logan: So, this is really your home?

Honnold: Yeah, this is. When I'm in the U.S. this is mostly my, my home. You know, it's pretty comfortable. It's pretty cozy. You know, it's easy to move around.

Logan: Do you just park on the side of the road?

Honnold: Yeah.

Almost everything Alex owns is in this van. He survives on less than a thousand dollars a month.

Honnold: You can go anywhere. You know tomorrow morning, I could wake up and drive to the east coast and then climb for the next two months.

He doesn't like to admit he's any good - which is why he's known to his friends as "Alex No Big Deal."

Honnold: I'm not a very powerful climber. I'm more of an endurance climber, like I climb these big long routes.

Logan: Is there anyone else in the world, right now, who can do what Alex Honnold can do?

Long: I think there's probably a handful of people who possibly could get close to what he's doing but he's probably unquestionably, the best guy alive today.

To capture Alex free-soloing Sentinel, we assembled a six-man team of experienced climbers who would film at different positions along the route. We attached four more cameras to the wall and two "60 Minutes" teams set up on the valley floor.

But as the climb got closer, Alex got restless.

So the day before, he snuck off with his friend Peter Mortimer - an adventure filmmaker - to do something that would calm his nerves.

He climbed an impossible vertical wall called the Phoenix.

Honnold: I never would have agreed to go out there with like a bunch of people. It just would be craziness. And honestly, you guys wouldn't want to see it. Like it would be weird.

Logan: Why? What about it would be weird?

Honnold: I don't know. I think it would blow your mind. It'd be weird. Like just the position is outrageous.

This is what he means by "weird"...look at the angle of this wall. It's more than 90 degrees, and covered with mist from a nearby waterfall.

The route itself is only 115-ft. long, but the cracks are so thin his fingertips could barely fit inside them.

Towards the top of the climb, the angle of the wall pushed him backwards.

It only took him eight minutes, but when Alex reached the top, he was the first to free-solo this route in the 34 years since it was established.

Long: There's only a handful of people that can actually do that with a rope. And, the idea that he's doing that without a rope, you know, that's, that's an amazing thing to consider.

The next day, he was ready to tackle Sentinel's 1,600-ft. face and showed us his plan for the route. Over the past few weeks, he'd climbed Sentinel with ropes and climbing gear twice, to prepare, scouting out the best places for his hands and feet.

Then he hiked for nearly two hours, just to reach the base of the climb. We watched him on a video monitor from half a mile away.

Logan: How tough is this as a climb?

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by Reasonnyc February 13, 2012 1:30 PM EST: It is hard to assess this heartstopping segment and its hero because it is so emotionally challenging, and difficult to fathom and appreciate Honnold's skills if you are not a climber. He does risk death, clearly, and the risk is greater than zero, and some mishap of mental, physical (eg weather or rock failure) or internal physiological performance is always possible, given that our bodies are not unvarying machines, let alone the weather etc.

But, given the non zero risk of an unfortunate outcome, is this crazy? Maybe not so crazy. The possibility of disaster is small, and the risk for Honnold may not be greater than crossing the street listening to an iPod. The rest is imagination, which may terrify us couch potatoes but doesn't trouble the highly experienced Honnold, and his level of control is total at all times.

I'd say he is really just showing the amazing edge of what can be done if you develop enough nerve, skill and control, at some small risk, just like skateboarders who high somersault five different turns at once do the same.

In other words, he is achieving his emotional Nirvana, educating and amazing us in the process, teaching us that things we thought inconceivably dangerous can be controlled, and all at a risk smaller than a plane accident.

Let's hope, though, that as his powers eventually decline with age he will have the sense to stop before the risk becomes too great.; Reply to this comment


by BrianleePainter January 25, 2012 11:04 AM EST: Thank you, Alex Honnold, for doing what you do and as a corollary, showing the world your great achievement that is free solo climbing. It is important to see greatness such as what you do. Inspiring.

Many people forget that a life lived isn't judged simply by longevity, but how it is lived. The content and quality of life is what matters most, what is important. You do have a life wish, and it is evident to me by what you do. I do hope you continue to free solo many more routes.

Don't think about the critics, for they are impotent.; Reply to this comment


by de4dr4bbit October 30, 2011 4:08 PM EDT: who cares if he ends up dying.he's living in a way 99 percent of people will never experience.dude is the best thing since peter croft.he's climbing at a level no one has climbed at before.he's the best at what he does on the entire planet.guy is a beast; Reply to this comment


by Jamey88 October 19, 2011 4:06 PM EDT: My hat is off to John Long for his stature as a climber, but he misses something important here as a climbing historian, and CBS deserves some blame for poor fact-checking in the editing process.

Commentator: "How difficult is this climb?"

JL: "Very. Nobody has ever soloed Sentinel before. Nobody has ever thought about doing it before."

Yet, the north face of Sentinel rock was the site of the tragic death of one of Yosemite free-soloing's great pioneers, Derek Hersey in May, 1993. Someone should correct the record here.

See LA Times article about Hersey's death: http://articles.latimes.com/1993-05-31/news/mn-41958_1_sentinel-rock

See a signature video of Derek climbing, and how he smiles, relaxed despite a dangerous surprise (50-sec mark): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dTIePeRWc; Reply to this comment


by foo8259 October 3, 2011 4:52 PM EDT: It must feel amazing to climb at that high a level. I have rock climbed (including some solo routes), and been a spelunker most of my adult life, but I just couldn't bear to watch all of that segment on Sunday. Just too stressful at the time -- I was able to tape it, so I can watch all of it when I think I am ready. One thing he has going for him is he is very strong, and more importantly he's lightweight -- that guy is a human Gecko!; Reply to this comment

by islander511 October 3, 2011 4:09 PM EDT

Reading some of the comments below is a reminder that for some, things that they can't comprehend, that scare them, or don't fit into their personal frame of reference, can trigger an anger response. For others, they are simply awed by what they see -- and wonder how it can be. No judgement, no attacks, just accepting that what they are witnessing is mastery.

I am 54 years old. I started climbing when I was sixteen, and it has been a part of my life ever since. Many of you may not be able to understand how something like climbing rock and ice could be so compelling. Truth is, it's not something easily explained to non-climbers. Again, I think some of the comments below reflect that difficulty.

Climbers -- particularly of the hardcore variety -- are a distinct tribe, with our own culture and history. We have long since accepted that the mainstream media will never get a story about any significant aspect of our world "right," but in this instance, Lara Logan and crew nailed it. That she included one of our most distinguished members, John Long, to add commentary, was essential to the story. Congratulations for a job well done.

Finally, the physical aspect of the climbing Alex is recorded doing in this segment is impressive, but to put it in perspective, that is not what stuns us as climbers. There are literally thousands of climbers who can and have done routes of the grade represented in the shots we saw in the segment. But what is truly extraordinary, almost mind-numbingly so -- to climbers that are capable of climbs of that caliber and know first-hand just how thin the margin of adherence actually is -- is the absolute mind control that Alex exhibits. Think of it: a single thought, allowed to enter your conscious thinking at the wrong moment, may spell your doom. Alex never has those moments; his brain seems to turn off that switch, so that his body performs exactly as it is capable of doing. This is what happens for many experienced climbers when they climb a difficult route with a rope. They learn to shut off a noisy mind and let the body do what it is trained to do. That Alex can effortlessly go to that same "space" when climbing solo is remarkable and probably, in some cosmic way, connected to others who share a similar makeup. I imagine guys like Buzz and Neal, bouncing around on the lunar surface, were pretty cool customers too.

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by SourceEnergy October 18, 2011 2:16 PM EDT: Very well written.
When you said "his brain seems to turn off that switch,"
Alex has the ability to bring calmness and stability of mind to the "present moment".

It's focus. Focus is a cornerstone of mindfulness.
It resembles a state from withdrawal from the world.

His characteristic energy is closed rather than open, absorbed rather than available.
What is missing is the energy of curiosity, openness, availability, and engagement with the full range of experiences by human beings.

Alex gives himself permission to allow this moment to exactly as it is, and allow himself to be exactly as he is.


by endrepubs October 3, 2011 3:52 PM EDT: This extremely dangerous endeavor will catch up to him if he keeps it up........unless he is the real Spiderman(TM); Reply to this comment


by borgetc October 3, 2011 3:15 PM EDT: I used to do my fair share of technical rock climbing and was living in Colorado when Derek Hersey died free climbing in Yosemite. That was back in the mid 90's. At the time, he was the best free soloist in the world right? (It was a freak storm that took him off a route he reportedly could climb in his sleep - an acuaintance of mine was with him on that trip.) Like others have said, none of the great ones stay alive very long. What bothers me about this story is not the free climbing. It's the fact that young and impressionable climbers are coming out of gyms all the time with little or no technical climbing experience. As others have said, there are innumberable variables that are NOT in the control of the climber no matter how good he is! I'm not sure I want my boys thinking this is the guy that they should be idolizing. I think 60 Minutes failed to show the history of the free climbers (dead) that have preceded him (Hersey, Osman etc.) and talked just about the same way this kid does. We are all invincible at some age - but we are all humans and subject to external forces beyond our control. If he wants to do it great - but don't paint him out like a unique "freak" or "exception." All the climbers pushing the limit were him at one time. I thought that Long's commentary was the best part of the show and his history with the sport should have been juxtaposed in the story.; Reply to this comment


by Danrald October 3, 2011 11:36 AM EDT: Great segment! I love it when you guys do a segment on some one that no one knows anything about, and who is also doing something great. It's sad that most of the comments made here are not in sync with what you guys were really reporting.; Reply to this comment


by oldman67 October 3, 2011 11:23 AM EDT: Since i have rock climbed in Colorado, New York State and New hampshire i have wittnessed a few accidents. Things happen such as a peice of rock flaking off or a peice not properly placed. he will continue to dowhat he loves best until that fatal moment. However, it is what he loves and his choice. If i had listened to some critics i would have never skydived, bungee jumped kayaked, whitewater rafted or backpacked across the Ozarks solo.I call his actions ,like most to be foolish but at the same time it takes courage to face death at any moment.Most of us would like to know what we would do in a dangerous situtation but are afraid to take the challange. I just wish i hadn't waited until i was 64 to start enjoying life.; Reply to this comment