Alex Honnold ticking off yet another big wall climb may not exactly be surprising anymore, but it's still newsworthy, and the climbing legend revealed he had casually chalked off another onsight free solo of another 5.10d climb this week.
Onsighting in climbing means climbing a route for the first time without any prior knowledge of it, and free soloing means doing it without any protection – like a harness, belay device or rope. A climbing route graded 5.10d is hard. But posting to Instagram, the Free Solo star says he chalked off Gift of the Wind Gods on Mount Wilson in less time than it takes most people to play 18 holes.
"I was really impressed by the quality of the climbing - it’s a beautiful route that I’m surprised doesn’t get climbed more," says Honnold, who apparently was able to enjoy the views as well as risk life and limb and even took the time to share an impressive bird’s nest at the top of the route.
"I made it car to car in Oak Creek in 4 hours, which is a personal best I think for climbing a big route on Wilson.
Mount Wilson is the highest peak in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, near Las Vegas where Honnold lives, and the Gift of the Wind Gods route entails some 1,500ft of vert and multiple pitches, if you're actually climbing with a partner and using ropes.
If you're Honnold? It was all just one big pitch.
