Honnold Free-Solos Half Dome

Alpinist Magazine reports that on September 6, Alex Honnold free-soloed the 23-pitch Regular Northwest Face route up Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in a casual 2 hours and 50 minutes. The route, graded 5.12a when done all free, is a popular Yosemite big wall that most parties take two to three days to climb. Honnold climbed one 5.12a pitch, several pitches of hard 5.11, and did a loose 5.10 variation around the Robbins Traverse on the 10th pitch.

Honnold had previously climbed the route five times, including once all-free two days before his solo ascent. On the solo day, he scrambled up to the base of the wall and began climbing just after 8 in the morning. He carried no rope, harness, or gear, wearing only shoes and carrying chalk, a few energy bars, and a small bottle of water in his pocket. He stood on the summit before noon...not bad for a morning's work.

Some of Alex’s previous wild solo ascents include The Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park this past spring, and Astroman and The Rostrum in a single day in 2007. Comparing Half Dome to Moonlight Buttress, Honnold told Alpinist, "It's an awesome route...it's bigger and more involved. And just doing the almost two-hour hike up a hill looking at the huge looming wall is a little intimidating. It's rad." His ascent is rad, but also more than a little risky…just don’t try this at home, kids!

Photo above: Clouds swirl around Half Dome’s Northwest Face.
Photo © Joe Sohm/Getty Images