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THE FREE SOLOIST In June 2017, Alex Honnold completed a stunning scramble up El Capitan, a 3,000-foot granite wall in Yosemite National Park. Mark Synnott recounts how Honnold's meticulous planning and training prepared him for "the ultimate climb"— a four-hour vertical ascent without a rope. It's 4:54 a.m. on a chilly November morning in 2016 in Yosemite National Park. A full moon casts an eerie glow onto the southwest face of El Capitan, where Alex Honnold clings to the side of the granite wall with nothing more than the tips of his fingers and two thin edges of shoe rubber. He's attempting to do something that professional rock climbers have long thought impossible— a free solo ascent of the world's most famous cliff. That means he is alone and climbing without a rope as he inches his way up more than half a mile of vertical rock. A light breeze rustles his hair as he shines his headlamp on the cold, smooth patch of granite where he must next place his foot. Above him, the stone is blank for several feet, devoid of any holds. Unlike parts of the climb higher up, which feature shallow divots, pebble-size nubs, and tiny cracks that Alex can cling onto with his amazingly strong fingers, this part—a barely less than vertical slab on a section called the Freeblast— must be mastered with a delicate balance of fine skills and poise. Climbers call it friction climbing. "It's like walking up glass," Alex once said. He wiggles his toes: they're numb. His right ankle is stiff and swollen from a severe sprain he sustained two months earlier when he fell while practicing this part of the route. That time he was attached to a rope, but now, falling isn't an option. Free soloing isn't like other dangerous sports. There is no "maybe" when you're 60 stories up without a rope: If you make a mistake, you die.

自由独奏家 2017年6月，Alex Honnold完成了对El Capitan的惊人攀爬， 约塞米蒂国家公园3000英尺高的花岗岩墙。 Mark Synnott讲述了Honnold如何精心策划和训练 这让他为“终极攀登”做好了准备——无需绳索的四小时垂直攀登。 2016年11月一个寒冷的早晨，凌晨4点54分，优胜美地国家公园。 一轮满月在埃尔卡皮坦的西南面投下了一道诡异的光芒， 亚历克斯·霍诺德紧贴着花岗岩墙的一侧 他只剩下指尖和两条薄薄的鞋胶。 他正试图做一些专业攀岩者长期以来认为不可能的事情-- 独自自由攀登世界上最著名的悬崖。 这意味着他独自一人，没有绳索攀爬 他慢慢地爬上半英里多的垂直岩石。 微风拂过他的头发 他把头灯照在冰冷光滑的花岗岩上 他接下来必须把脚放在哪里。 在他上方，这块石头几英尺都是空白的，没有任何支撑。 与攀登高处的部分不同，那里有浅凹痕、鹅卵石大小的小块， 还有亚历克斯可以用他强壮得惊人的手指抓住的小裂缝， 这部分——一个几乎不垂直的板，位于一个名为自由爆破的部分-- 必须掌握精湛的技艺和沉着的微妙平衡。 登山者称之为摩擦攀登。 “这就像走上玻璃，”亚历克斯曾经说过。 他扭动脚趾：它们都麻木了。 他的右脚踝因严重扭伤而僵硬肿胀 两个月前，他在练习这段路线时摔倒了。 那时候他被绑在绳子上，但现在，摔倒不是一种选择。 自由独奏不像其他危险的运动。 当你在60层楼高的地方没有绳子时，就没有“也许”： 如果你犯了错误，你会死的。

Six hundred feet below, I sit on a fallen tree watching the tiny circle of Alex's light. It hasn't moved in what feels like an eternity, but is probably less than a minute. And I know why: he's facing the move that has haunted him ever since he first dreamed up this scheme seven years ago. I've climbed this slab myself, and the thought of doing it free solo makes me nauseated. The log on which I'm sitting lies less than a hundred yards from where Alex will land if he slips. A sudden noise jolts me back to the present; my heart skips. A cameraman, part of the crew recording the feat, hustles up the trail toward the base of the wall. I can hear the static of his walkie-talkie. "Alex is bailing," he says. Thank God, I think, Alex will live. Some in the climbing world view free soloing as something that isn't meant to be. Critics regard it as reckless showmanship that gives the sport a bad name, noting the long list of those who've died attempting it. Others, myself included, recognize it as the sport's purest expression. Such was the attitude of Austrian alpinist Paul Preuss, considered by climbing historians to be the father of free soloing. He proclaimed that the very essence of alpinism was to master a mountain with superior physical and mental skill—not "artificial aid." By age 27, Preuss had made some 150 ropeless first ascents, and was celebrated throughout Europe. Then, on October 3, 1913, while free soloing the North Ridge of the Mandlkogel in the Austrian Alps, he fell to his death. But Preuss's ideas would live on, influencing successive generations of climbers and inspiring the "free climbing" movement of the 1960s and '70s, which espoused using ropes and other gear only as safety devices, never to assist a climber's upward progress. The next serious free soloist of note appeared in 1973, when "Hot" Henry Barber shocked the climbing community by scaling the 1,500-foot north face of Yosemite's Sentinel Rock without a rope. In 1987, Canadian Peter Croft free soloe two of Yosemite's most celebrated routes— Astroman and Rostrum—back-to-back in the same day. Croft's achievement stood until 2007, when Alex Honnold, a shy 22-year-old from Sacramento, showed up in Yosemite Valley. He stunned the climbing world by repeating Croft's Astroman-Rostrum masterpiece. The next year he free soloed two famously tough routes— Zion National Park's Moonlight Buttress and the Regular Northwest Face of Yosemite's Half Dome— climbs so long and technically difficult that no serious climber had imagined they could be scaled without a rope. As sponsorship offers poured in and journalists and fans hailed his achievements, Alex was socretly contemplating a much bigger goal. It's important to note that Alex's quest to free solo El Capitan wasn't some adrenaline-fueled stunt that he' d come up with on a whim. In 2009, during our first climbing expedition together, he had mentioned the idea to me. There was something about his supreme confidence, though, and the way he effortlessly moved up incredibly difficult rock faces that made the comment seem like more than just an idle boast. Alex researched several El Capitan routes, finally settling on Freerider, a popular test piece for veteran climbers and one that usually requires multiple days to ascend. Its 30 or so pitches—or rope lengths—challenge a climber in practically every possible way: the strength of fingers, forearms, shoulders, calves, toes, back, and abdomen, not to mention balance, flexibility, problem solving, and emotional stamina. Certain times of the day the sun heats the rock so much that it burns to touch it; hours later the temperature can plummet

六百英尺以下，我坐在一棵倒下的树上，看着亚历克斯的小圆圈。 它并没有像永恒一样移动，但可能不到一分钟。 我知道为什么：他正面临着困扰他的举动 自从他七年前第一次想出这个计划以来。 我自己爬过这块板，一想到要独自自由地爬，我就恶心。 我坐的那根木头不到一百码 如果亚历克斯滑倒，他将从哪里着陆。 突然的一声巨响把我震回到了现在；我的心在跳。 一名摄影师，作为记录这一壮举的船员之一， 沿着小径向墙基疾驰而去。 我能听到他对讲机的静电声。 “亚历克斯正在保释，”他说。 谢天谢地，我想亚历克斯会活下来的。 攀岩界的一些人认为自由独奏是不应该的。 批评者认为这是鲁莽的表演，给这项运动带来了坏名声， 注意到一长串试图自杀的人。 包括我在内的其他人认为这是这项运动最纯粹的表达。 这就是奥地利登山家保罗·普鲁斯的态度， 登山历史学家认为他是自由独奏之父。 他宣称阿尔卑斯主义的本质 是用高超的体力和脑力来掌握一座山，而不是“人工帮助” 到27岁时，普鲁斯已经完成了大约150次无绳索的首次攀登， 并在整个欧洲庆祝。 然后，在1913年10月3日， 在奥地利阿尔卑斯山的曼德科格尔北岭自由漫步时， 他摔死了。 但普鲁斯的思想将继续存在，影响着一代又一代的登山者 激发了20世纪60年代和70年代的“自由攀登”运动， 其主张仅将绳索和其他装置用作安全装置， 永远不要帮助登山者向上攀登。 下一位著名的自由独奏家出现在1973年， 当“热”亨利·巴伯攀登1500英尺高的北坡时，震惊了攀岩界 约塞米蒂的哨兵岩没有绳子。 1987年，加拿大人彼得·克罗夫特自由独奏了优胜美地最著名的两条路线-- Astroman和Rostrum在同一天背靠背。 克罗夫特的成就一直持续到2007年， 来自萨克拉门托的22岁害羞的Alex Honnold出现在约塞米蒂山谷。 他重复了克罗夫特的《太空人罗斯特伦》杰作，震惊了攀岩界。 第二年，他独自完成了两条著名的艰难路线-- 锡安国家公园的月光扶壁和约塞米蒂半圆顶的常规西北面-- 攀登如此之长，技术难度如此之大 没有一个认真的登山者想象过，没有绳子，它们也能攀爬。 随着赞助商的涌入，记者和粉丝们纷纷称赞他的成就， 亚历克斯正在考虑一个更大的目标。 值得注意的是，亚历克斯对解放埃尔卡皮坦的追求 这不是他一时兴起想出的刺激肾上腺素的噱头。 2009年，在我们第一次一起登山探险时，他向我提到了这个想法。 不过，他极度自信， 他毫不费力地爬上极其困难的岩壁 这使得这句话看起来不仅仅是一句无聊的吹嘘。 Alex研究了几条El Capitan路线，最终选择了Freerider， 对于经验丰富的登山者来说，这是一个受欢迎的测试件，通常需要几天的时间才能攀登。 它的30个左右的节距或绳索长度几乎以各种可能的方式挑战登山者： 手指、前臂、肩膀、小腿、脚趾、背部和腹部的力量， 更不用说平衡、灵活性、解决问题和情绪耐力了。 一天中的某些时候，太阳会把岩石加热得如此之高，以至于触碰它就会燃烧； 几小时后，气温会骤降

below freezing. Storms blow in, powerful winds lash the wall, water leaks out of cracks. Bees, frogs, and birds can burst from crevices during crucial moves. Rocks of all sizes can suddenly give way and tumble down. The Freeblast may be the scariest part, but more physically demanding sections await higher up: a chimney-like crack he'll have to climb through; a wide gap where he'll have to perform almost a full split, pressing the rock with his feet and hands to inch his way up. And then 2,300 feet above the valley floor is the Boulder Problem— a blank face that requires some of the most technically challenging moves of the climb. But before he could tackle the Boulder Problem, he would have to get over the Freeblast. In 2016, the vertical slab proved to be an insurmountable obstacle and he was forced to give up his attempt. But Alex knew he would try again. Saturday morning, June 3, 2017. Seven months after Alex's failed attempt, I am in a meadow near the foot of El Capitan. The tall grass is covered with dew, and the sky is gray, as it always is just before dawn. I squint through a telescope, and there is Alex, 600 feet above the valley floor, moving up onto the Freeblast, the glassy slab that has frustrated him for nearly a decade. Alex's movements, normally so smooth, are worrisomely jerky. His foot tap-tap-taps against the wall as if he's feeling his way tentatively into the slab. And then, just like that, he's standing on a ledge several feet above the move that has been hanging over his head for years. I realize I've been holding my breath, so l consciously exhale. Thousands of moves are still to come, and the Boulder Problem looms far above, but he won't be turning back this time. Alex Honnold is on his way to completing the greatest rock climb in history.

在冰点以下。暴风雨袭来，强风袭击墙壁，水从裂缝中泄漏。 蜜蜂、青蛙和鸟类在关键动作中可能会从裂缝中爆裂。 各种大小的岩石都可能突然坍塌。 自由爆炸可能是最可怕的部分， 但更高层次的体力要求更高的部分还在等待： 他必须爬过烟囱般的裂缝； 这是一个很大的差距，他必须表现出几乎完全的分裂， 他用脚和手压住岩石，慢慢地往上爬。 然后，在谷底以上2300英尺处是博尔德问题-- 一张空白的脸，需要攀登中一些技术上最具挑战性的动作。 但在他解决博尔德问题之前，他必须克服自由爆炸。 2016年，垂直板被证明是一个不可逾越的障碍 他被迫放弃了尝试。 但亚历克斯知道他会再试一次。 2017年6月3日星期六上午。 亚历克斯失败七个月后，我在埃尔卡皮坦脚下的一片草地上。 高高的草上结满了露水， 天空是灰色的，就像黎明前一样。 我通过望远镜眯起眼睛，看到亚历克斯在山谷底部上方600英尺处， 登上Freeblast，这座玻璃板让他沮丧了近十年。 亚历克斯的动作通常很平稳，但令人担忧的是，动作很不平稳。 他的脚轻敲着墙壁 好像他在试探性地摸索着走进石板。 然后，就这样，他站在离动作几英尺高的窗台上 这件事已经悬在他头上好几年了。 我意识到我一直在屏住呼吸，所以我有意识地呼气。 还有成千上万的行动要做，博尔德问题迫在眉睫， 但这次他不会回头了。 Alex Honnold正在完成历史上最伟大的攀岩。

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