Alex Honnold: A look at his life, girlfriend, El Capitan endorsement and net worth
ALEX Honnold is the most famous mountain climber in the world.
He released an Oscar-winning documentary in 2018 about climbing a vertical rock wall of more than 900 meters high without ropes. Here we take a look at the life and work of the fearless daredevil.
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Who is Alex Honnold?
Alex is a 38-year-old mountain climber who rose to fame in 2018 climbing the world's most famous rock face, El Capitanwithout ropes – a climbing style known as free solo.
Alex freely solo climbed the 3,000-foot vertical wall, the first person in the world to do so.
Born in Sacramento, California, Alex started climbing at the age of five and devoted the rest of his life to the activity.
He has lived in a van or tent for most of his adult life, and claims this is the most efficient way to live as a climber.
READ MORE ABOUT ALEX HONNOLD
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His climbing career took off in 2012, when he soloed the Regular Northwest Face of Half Dome, a 2,000-foot wall in California.
The climb was featured in the film Alone on the Wall.
In 2014, his sponsor Cliff Bar cut him with four other free solo climbers, saying they were “taking the element of risk to a place we as a company are no longer prepared to go to”.
Then came the highlight of his career in June 2017 when he performed a free solo in El Capitan, a feat described as “one of the greatest athletic feats ever”.
Alex's breathtaking climb was the subject of his film released in September 2018, entitled Free Solo.
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Who is Alex Honnold's old girlfriend Sanni McCandless?
In Free Solo, Sanni McCandless, Alex Honnold's girlfriend, has a hard time coming to terms with the likelihood of his death when he climbs El Capitan.
She is a transition coach for adventure-oriented individuals who want to create a more purposeful lifestyle.
Living in Vegas in the winter and with Alex in his van in the summer, the couple has been through a lot together.
Alex revealed the news that the couple had tied the knot Instagram on September 13, 2020.
Do Alex Honnold and Sanni McCandless have children?
Yes, the couple has a daughter, June, who was born on February 17, 2022.
Announce the news on FacebookAlex posted:“June J Honnold was born on Thursday, February 17 at 10:30 PM.
“It started well, but after a long labor she got upset so I went for an unplanned C-section.
“June wasn't breathing when she came out and she barely had a heartbeat.
“She went straight to intensive care before we could see or hold her and we weren't sure if she would make it.
“The doctors stabilized her, but they were concerned about the side effects of oxygen deprivation.
“Since then, June has made a tremendous recovery.
“She was quickly taken off her ventilator and doctors think she is doing well.
“We were allowed to hold her and breastfeed her for the first time on Monday.
“We came home from the hospital on Tuesday evening and we hope to be able to bring her home soon.
It was an intense week, but we are incredibly grateful for every moment with her and all the wonderful staff who cared for her.
“And also thanks to our family and friends for all the support this week.
“We're still in a bit of a fog and not answering many messages and calls, but we appreciate all the love coming in.”
What is by Alex Honnold movie Free Solo about?
The film follows Alex on his journey as he prepares for the free solo ascent of El Capitan, the most famous rock climbing wall in the world.
Located at 3,000 feet, the climb is a vertical climb that appears almost completely flat in places.
Alex had been determined to complete the climb without ropes for over a decade and is the only person in the world to have done so.
In the documentary, directed by Elizabeth Chair Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, we see Alex's strained relationship with his girlfriend due to his obsession with climbing.
There's also a look at how the structure of Alex's brain might have affected his ability to experience fear – a possible explanation for why he was able to overcome the seemingly impossible feat of staying calm while always wearing just a little slip made of death.
The film grossed over $10 million, amounting to $5 million in box office profits over five weekends.
The film won a large number of awards, including the 2019 Oscar for Best Documentary.
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What is El Capitan?
El Capitan, Spanish for captain or chief, is a vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, California.
It is about 900 meters high and formed from granite.
A popular spot for rock climbers, Alex Honnold is the first person to climb the giant rock face without using ropes.
El Capitan was first climbed by Warren Harding in 1958, a challenge that took 47 days and used fixed ropes along the entire length of the route.
It took Alex a few hours to make the climb without ropes.
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What is Alex Honnold's net worth?
The mountaineer has a net value of approximately $2 million (£1.6 million).
Despite his fortune, Alex still lives in a van.
This is due to his mobility and the obvious efficiency in relation to his climbing career.
Is Alex Honnold in Valley Uprising on Netflix?
Alex is one of the climbers from the 2014 documentary Valley Uprising.
Available on Netflixit traces the 50-year history of rock climbing in Yosemite Valley and charts the birth and rise of this rebellious counterculture of bin-diving and wild partying that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service.
Both the struggle against the laws of gravity and against the laws of the land are recorded.
Does Alex Honnold feel fear?
After a doctor approached him at a book signing, concerned about the functioning of his amygdala (the part of the brain that generates fear), Alex agreed to an fMRI scan of his brain in 2016.
The result of the scan was that he did indeed have an amygdala in his brain, but it did not “fire” when confronted with horrific images that most would not even be able to look at.
Doctor Jane Joseph, who did his scan, says: 'It may be that he has such a well-developed regulatory system that he can say, 'Okay, I'm feeling all these things, my amygdala is going off', but its the frontal cortex is so powerful that it can calm him down.”
Honnold is not the only famous freeclimber.
Daredevil Remi Lucidi died after falling 700 feet from the top of a 68-story skyscraper Hong-Kong after climbing the tower for one Instagram stunt in July 2023.
Six incredible free solos from Alex Honnold
- HURT — In 2022, Alex traversed more than 25,000 feet of vertical slope along the jagged, fractured ridges in and around Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada, Las Vegas. He called the feat Honnold's Ultimate Red Rock Traverse, or HURT. He said: “All in all it was a pretty remarkable day in the canyons.”
- Freerider — Alex was the first climber to solo El Captain on May 3, 2017 in Yosemite, California. Freerider sits to the left of the buttress of The Nose of El Captain and rises 3,300 feet above the valley floor. His solo lasted just three hours and 56 minutes.
- University Wall — Honnold completed University Wall's first free solo in 2014, reaching the top of The Chief in Squamish, near Vancouver. Of this achievement he said: “It has always represented that burly crack climbing style for me. It's like the hard version of Astroman.
- El Sendero Luminoso — Alex made the first free solo of El Sendero Luminoso, El Potrero Chico, Nuevo León, Mexico in 2014. He completed the climb in three hours.
- half Dome – In 2008, Honnold was the first person to solo free the Regular Northwest Face at Hlaf Dome, Yosemite, California. After completing the climb several times, he did so four years later in one hour and 22 minutes. Speaking about the stunt, he said, “Hey, we all have to die sometime. You might as well grow up.”
- Moonlight Buttress — Alex performed Moonlight Buttress freely solo in Moab, Utah in 2008. “The grade does not reflect the difficulty as it is pure endurance 5.12c. It's a matter of having suitability for a general purpose, sustained pump,” Honnold explains.