Has anyone free soloed Half Dome?

Asked by: Matthew Southers

Has anyone solo climbed Half Dome?

Alex Honnold has free-soloed the Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.12a, 23 pitches) on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. Honnold took 2 hours and 50 minutes to complete the route, which has one short pitch of 5.12a and several pitches of 5.11+.

Who free climbed Half Dome?

Honnold is the first person to free solo climb El Capitan, and holds the fastest ascent of the Yosemite triple crown, an 18-hour, 50-minute link-up of Mount Watkins, The Nose, and the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome.



Alex Honnold.

Has anyone else free soloed El Cap?

In June 2017, American Alex Honnold made the first free-solo ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite. Honnold, known as one of the world’s most accomplished climbers, soloed Freerider 5.12d/13a in three hours and 56 minutes after starting at 5:32 a.m.

Has anyone free soloed the dawn wall?

Just Tommy Caldwell, Kevin Jorgeson, and Adam Ondra have climbed the Dawn Wall free – using just their hands and feet, and a rope for safety. Another team have made an attempt too, plus others have climbed a similar section of the wall before but in a different style – read more below.

Has Alex Honnold climbed the dawn wall?

Info: IG Tommy Caldwell, IG Alex Honnold, La Sportiva



It primarily followed the aid climb New Dawn and has some of the most spectacular climbing I have found. It’s a continuation of a free route that @leo_houlding established half way up the wall 18 years ago called Passage to Freedom.

What is Alex Honnold salary?

approximately $200k annually

Alex Honnold is worth just over $2 million dollars – which is impressive for someone in the rock climbing sport. His average yearly income is approximately $200k annually. The average climber will only earn about $15,000 a year from the sport alone.

Has anyone climbed the Dawn Wall since Tommy Caldwell?

There are only three people who have climbed the Dawn Wall – Tommy Caldwell, Kevin Jorgeson and Adam Ondra.

How many times Alex Honnold climbed El Capitan?

He’s climbed the freerider route on the El Capitan at least 15 times in recent years (always secured).

Is Dawn Wall harder than free solo?

It is by far the hardest route in Yosemite and the hardest big wall climb in the world. You can see our full Dawn Wall Route Topo here. Alex Honnold’s Free Solo route is an iconic line called Freerider, set up by the Huber brothers in 1998. The 5.13a route is considerably easier climbing than Dawn Wall.

How much did Alex Honnold make from free solo?

So, how much money does Alex Honnold make? Alex Honnold earns around $200,000 a year, although he’s likely earned more from the release of Free Solo. Specific contract details aren’t available, but if you do some digging you can glean information about Honnold’s financial history.

What is the hardest free solo climb in the world?

The hardest climbing route to be free soloed is “Panem et Circenses“, a 5.14b climb near Arco, Italy. The 15-m route was climbed without ropes by 52-year-old Alfredo Webber (Italy) in March 2021.

How do climbers poop on El Capitan?

Climbers are required by law to carry a “poop tube”, a section of plastic drain pipe with a removable end. The recommended technique is to poop into a grocery bag, seal it in a Ziploc bag and stuff it into the tube, which is then resealed. The tube’s contents can be disposed of back on terra firma.

How do female climbers pee?

Leave your climbing harness on to pee. With most harnesses, the stretchy leg loop connetors in the back don’t even need to be unclipped. Leave the waist on, and pull the leg loops down with your pants, pee, and then pull it all back up. Practice this at home with a few layers on to ensure it goes smoothly.

Are there bodies left on K2?

Just this week sad news has reached us that the remains of a climber has been found on K2. Researchers working on the mountain found the body last week but have so far been unsuccessful in identifying the body.

Can you fall off a portaledge?

There is no possible way you can fall down. Popular spots to use a portaledge include: Yosemite Valley in America, the Dolomites along the Austrian-Italian border, or if you live in sunny Queensland in Australia, Mount Beerwah.

How do you poop on a portaledge?

Climbers use either ‘poop tubes’ or sealable bags to store their redundancies when climbing on big walls. Climbers don’t crotch over the edge of their portaledge and let their poop fall down. Of course, this would litter the climbing area, making a mess out of the wall.

How do climbers poop on Mt Everest?

How do climbers poop at high altitudes? The short answer is: make it fast. The poop buckets in Mount Everest’s camps one and two provide a relatively safe environment to do what needs to be done. They are brought down to the village where they are emptied by sherpas.

How do alpinists sleep?

Sleeping on a rock ledge is standard practice for the serious rock climber on multiday excursions. But when no natural ledge is around, the next best thing is to bring your own. Portable ledges, known as portaledges, are hanging cots that allow climbers to set up a bed or storm shelter for themselves during a climb.

Can you fly a helicopter up Everest?

Even if you take a helicopter it’s not like you will really set foot on the mount everest. You’ll fly up to basecamp, but a heli won’t allow you to reach the summit.

How strong is a portaledge?

The main piece of gear, the portaledge, is basically the vertical camping version of a tent, with the added caveat that it hands suspended in mid-air instead of being staked into the ground. Typically, portaledges are in the 10-13 pound range, and are secured by a single point of tension.

Do rock climbers sleep while climbing?

So we just made it to the base of the wall there's easy pitches that enter the route and then it gets a little bit harder can you hear the silence can you wrap yourself in the south. We just mounted

How do alpinists get down?

Most of the time climbers get down from a wall by simply lowering or rappelling off of the top using a fixed anchor. A fixed anchor is normally a couple of bolts drilled into the wall with lowering rings or chains connecting them.

How do free rock climbers get down?

Once a free solo climber is climbing a more challenging or longer climb, that route usually has a way of walking down via walk-off. There is usually a way to walk down in a less steep part of a particular rock formation if someone is doing free solo rock climbing.