Alex Honnold and Adam Ondra

The climbing is a sport that has never stood out for its popularity and has been a minority and little media coverage, but that, in recent years, has grown exponentially, and names like Alex Megos or Chris Sharma are being 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 characteristic concept that contrasts sharply with that of the other, 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 by only a few, to become widespread. widespread and has 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.

He was born in the Californian city of Sacramento in 1985. His passion for climbing was already consolidated when he was 11 years old and today that love of ascending to heaven using his hands and legs as transportation, and the rocks and mountains as canals, has crossed all the borders of the planet and has spread between millions of people who have started to practice this sport in a general way. Honnold lives in a humble and conscious way; his house is a caravan, he doesn't eat meat, he trains daily and the crowd overwhelms him.

During his adolescence he participated in numerous championships, but little by little he moved away from considering climbing as a confrontation between other athletes and approached it, understanding it as a means to get closer to nature, himself, and as a way to be a little freer.

Alex Honnold is known worldwide for his “free solo” climbs, or full solo ascents, that is, he climbs completely free, without holds or ropes or a partner. Most free climbers have only lost their lives trying, but Hannold tries to make something so difficult and complicated seem easy to achieve.

In 2012 he became known among lovers of outdoor sports and among all of us who are capable of recognizing the effort and valuing the skills of others, when he climbed La Nariz del Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, in California , in record time, without ropes or restraints beyond his fingers between the grooves of the rock and his body glued to the mountain wall. Prior to this, Alex soloed the Moonlight Buttres mountain wall and Half Dome in Yosemite.

People who do not know much about climbing may think that the athlete has everything under control and that he 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 considering and establishing the dream and desire of climbing El Capitan, a wall of almost a thousand meters of granite in the National Park of Yosemite, in 2017 made it happen. This is considered one of the greatest feats in history. El Capitan is the most imposing wall on Earth and a mecca for climbing lovers. Honnold studied for months the route he would take to climb the great wall, doing rope explorations to study the terrain and practice exactly what each movement of his body would be like when the actual day of the ascent arrived. His ascent this wall was filmed by The National Geographic and transferred 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. He was born in the city of Brno, in the Czech Republic, and has revolutionized the world of climbing, managing to overcome the barriers of the impossible on more than one occasion.

Ondra grew up in a family of climbers, so at the age of two she already began to climb and climb the walls of every mountain she saw. For him, climbing has always come naturally. At 7 years old he was already exceeding 7B level lines. He hasn't skipped any training since he was that age.

Adam lives in a house where we can see grips and simulated climbing walls on the walls, including an actual climbing wall that the climber designed in one of the rooms of his house, and modifies when necessary, depending on the needs. chains you are making to imitate the grooves and shapes of the rocks.

He is currently testing one of the most difficult chains out there and only 4 climbers have managed before him. This is the Perfect World Wall, located in Catalonia, in Racó de la Finestra. It has surpassed all the 9b lines that exist except this one. For now.

In 2017 Adam Ondra managed to go down in history when he managed to cross the hardest and most complicated route in the world, which he named Silence and was given a level of difficulty never mentioned; the 9C. Ondra spent two years contemplating meeting this challenge and 15 weeks practicing on the rock until he managed to finish the course.

His routine has been, for 24 years, training five hours a day, six days a week. He is almost obsessive with training and it is not enough for him to do everything well: He wants to achieve perfection; For this, in addition to having a coach and a team of specialists around you, you get information and go to specialists in the human body who advise you on how to get the most out of your muscles and joints to make your exercise one hundred percent effective. .

In addition to drawing and practicing new routes every day, giving everything in each movement of each training session and having such a great capacity for sacrifice and effort, Adam attaches great importance to the psychological processes and mental evolution that develops as the race progresses. climbing practice. 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 she does not fully enjoy the organization and dynamics of these, but she likes to compete and compare herself with others. In addition to winning, of course. But he also thinks of climbing as a lifestyle that gives him freedom. Seeing yourself hanging from the mountain, 60 meters away, where almost no one can access, relaxes you and brings you 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 talk of almost half an hour, it can be observed that, despite having a completely opposite style in terms of climbing technique, and not sharing too many rituals in terms of this sport, these two athletes are not so different between them.

When they met, in a gym in Bratislava, Honnold began to greet the children and take photos with them, since it was the work they were going to do for a few hours in space, and Ondra, for her part, began to train as if his life depended on it, forgetting the gym, his partner and the children.

Climbing is everything for both of them, but each one lives it in a different way. Adam needs to give one hundred percent in every training session, constantly challenge himself, be the best and compete. Pushing yourself to the max and playing with risk amuses and motivates you. He always wants to do his best, even if it's training, otherwise he's 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, understands this sport as a moment of disconnection, he does not need to give one hundred percent of his effort if it is not necessary. He enjoys every movement he makes while climbing, and meditates on it before doing it. He is thoughtful and in no rush to be the first to the top.

Ondra says that he is very focused on competitions and rock climbing, and that he is also preparing for the 2022 Olympic Games. Alex, for his part, has no interest in competing and his days go by while he goes 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 much in common, both agree on their love for climbing and what climbing a rock face means to them: Freedom, tranquility, power. You both seem to like making really complicated things easy, and this may be because you seem positive and optimistic. They both admire each other and respect each other's ideas and life choices.

Which of the two climbers do you think you have more in common with? Are you competitive, self-demanding and give yourself completely when you do what you are passionate about, or do you take life more calmly, although without rest or without effort and achieve your goals with the same efficiency, but without as much suffering?

We hope that learning more about these two climbers has motivated you to find out more about this new sporting world, which is becoming more and more the order of the day, and that you are encouraged to live the experience of finding yourself glued to the wall of a mountains surrounded by nature in its purest form.