The escalation It is a sport that has never stood out for its popularity and has been a minority and little-known sport, but in recent years it has grown exponentially, and names like Alex Megos or Chris Sharma are heard more and more frequently.
In today's post we are going to talk about two contemporary climbing legends: Alex Honnold and Adam Ondra. Each one has a very distinctive concept that contrasts greatly with the other's, but both have achieved what no one has achieved before, they have made history in the world of climbing and have helped this sport, which was practiced only by a few, to spread massively and have generated such an impact among young people around the world.
Who is Alex Honnold?
Alex Honnold is one of the most famous climbers in history.
Born in Sacramento, California in 1985, Honnold's passion for climbing was already established when he was 11 years old, and today his love for ascending to the sky using his hands and legs as transport, and rocks and mountains as channels, has crossed all the borders of the planet and has spread to millions of people who have begun to practice this sport in a generalized way. Honnold lives a humble and conscious life; his house is a caravan, he does not eat meat, he trains daily and is overwhelmed by crowds.
During his adolescence he participated in numerous championships, but little by little he moved away from seeing climbing as a confrontation between other athletes and approached it understanding it as a means to get closer to nature, to himself, and as a way of being a little freer.
Alex Honnold is world-renowned for his free solo climbs, meaning he climbs completely free, without holds, ropes or a partner. Most free solo climbers have lost their lives trying, but Hannold tries to make something so difficult and complicated seem easy to achieve.
In 2012, he became known to outdoor sports enthusiasts and to all of us who are capable of recognizing the effort and appreciation of the abilities of others, when he climbed Captain's Nose in Yosemite National Park, California, in record time, without ropes or supports other than his fingers between the grooves of the rock and his body glued to the mountain wall. Before this, Alex climbed the Moonlight Buttress mountain wall and Half Dome in Yosemite alone.
People who don't know much about climbing may think that the athlete has everything under control and is completely safe, but those of us who understand and know exactly what Hannold does feel a mixture of fear, anguish and admiration.
After almost ten years of considering and establishing the dream and desire of climb El Capitan, a nearly 1,000-meter granite wall in Yosemite National Park, was made a reality in 2017. This is considered one of the greatest feats in history. El Capitan is the most imposing wall on Earth and a mecca for climbing enthusiasts. Honnold spent months studying the route he would take to climb the great wall, doing rope explorations to study the terrain and practice what each movement of his body would be like when the actual day of the ascent arrived. His ascent of this wall was filmed by National Geographic and brought to the big screen. The production won the Oscar for best documentary in 2019.
Who is Adam Ondra?
Adam Ondra is one of the best climbers in the world.Born in the city of Brno, in the Czech Republic, he has revolutionized the world of climbing by overcoming the barriers of the impossible on more than one occasion.
Ondra grew up in a family of climbers, so at the age of two he started climbing and climbing the walls of every mountain he saw. For him, climbing has always been something natural. At the age of 7 he was already climbing level 7B lines. He has not missed a single training session since he was that age.
Adam lives in a house where we can see holds and simulations of climbing walls on the walls, even a proper climbing wall that the climber designed in one of the rooms of his house, and modifies when necessary, depending on the chains he is making to imitate the grooves and shapes of the rocks.
He is currently trying out one of the most difficult chains in existence, which has only been climbed by four climbers before him. This is the Perfecto Mundo Wall, which is located in Catalonia, in Racó de la Finestra. He has climbed all the 9b lines in existence except this one. For now.
In 2017, Adam Ondra made history when he managed to cross the hardest and most complicated route in the world, which was named Silence and given a level of difficulty never before mentioned: 9C. Ondra spent two years planning to complete this challenge and 15 weeks practicing on the rock until he managed to complete the route.
His routine has been, for the past 24 years, training five hours a day, six days a week. He is almost obsessed with training and it is not enough for him to do everything well: He wants to achieve perfection. To do this, in addition to having a trainer and a team of specialists around him, he informs himself and goes to specialists in the human body who advise him on how to get the most out of his muscles and joints to make his exercise 100% effective.
In addition to plotting and practicing new routes every day, giving his all in every movement of every training session and having such a great capacity for sacrifice and effort, Adam attaches great importance to the psychological processes and mental evolution that develop as climbing progresses. He believes that it is impossible to advance if technical progress is not accompanied by mental progress.
Ondra is currently preparing for the Olympic Games, although he doesn't really enjoy the organisation and dynamics of the games, but he likes to compete and compare himself with others. As well as winning, of course. But he also sees climbing as a lifestyle that gives him freedom. Hanging on the mountain, 60 metres high, where almost no one can access, relaxes him and brings him happiness.
Are Adam Ondra and Alex Honnold really that different?
In May 2020, Adam Ondra and Alex Honnold had an online conversation, each from their place of residence, which was published at the end of March 2021.
During this conversation lasting almost half an hour, it can be seen that, despite having a completely opposite style in terms of climbing technique, and not sharing too many rituals regarding this sport, these two athletes are not so different from each other.
When they met at a gym in Bratislava, Honnold began to greet the children and take photos with them, as that was the work they were going to do for a few hours in space, and Ondra, for her part, began to train as if her life depended on it, forgetting about the gym, her partner and the children.
Climbing is everything to both of them, but each of them experiences it in a different way. Adam needs to give 100% in every training session, constantly set new challenges, be the best and compete.Pushing himself to the limit and taking risks is fun and motivates him. He always wants to do his best, even if it is training, otherwise he is not satisfied. He is inspired by difficult routes and does not usually do “big walls”. His movements are very precise and fast.
For his part, Honnold, who has also spent most of his life climbing, sees this sport as a moment of disconnection; he doesn't have to give 100% of his effort if it's not necessary. He enjoys every movement he makes while climbing, and he thinks about it before doing it. He is thoughtful and in no hurry to be the first to reach the top.
Ondra says he is very focused on competitions and rock climbing, and is also preparing for the 2022 Olympics. Alex, on the other hand, has no interest in competing and spends his days climbing with his wife and his friend and role model Tommy. He doesn't think he can climb much better or harder.
Despite not having many things in common, they both agree on their love for climbing and what climbing a rock face means to them: freedom, tranquility, power. They both seem to like making really complicated things easy, and this may be because they seem positive and optimistic. They both admire each other and respect the ideas and life choices the other has made.
Which of the two climbers do you think you have more in common with? Are you competitive, demanding of yourself and give your all when you do what you are passionate about, or do you take life more calmly, although without rest or lack of effort, and achieve your goals with the same efficiency, but without so much suffering?
We hope that getting to know these two climbers better has motivated you to learn more about this new sporting world, which is becoming more and more common, and that you are encouraged to experience being stuck to the wall of a mountain surrounded by nature in its purest form.
