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HighDesertDJ
Trad climber
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"Elite athletes tend to resist deep reflection."
What garbage.
*edit*
So this is actually a pretty well written article. First glance does not sit well but if you keep reading it all falls into place. There are a couple of annoying bits (fact checking Honnolds statement about falling off a climb to his death being the worst 4 seconds of his life) but overall very well done for an article aimed at laypeople.
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bhilden
Trad climber
Mountain View, CA/Boulder, CO
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Nov 24, 2015 - 12:32am PT
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One interesting aspect of the book is how much supertopo.com is brought into the chapters. The authors used a lot of the forum topics regarding Alex's different solos as the reaction from the climbing community to his deeds.
Pretty cool!
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Nov 24, 2015 - 01:38pm PT
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Well, after jumping the gun and getting gazumped by the interview with Alex they ran at the beginning of the month, my review of Alone on the Wall is slated to run in The Wall Street Journal this coming Saturday, 11/28.
Hope you all can check it out. I've got a different opinion than The Atlantic.
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looking sketchy there...
Social climber
Lassitude 33
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Nov 24, 2015 - 03:55pm PT
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I'm sorry, but the Atlantic piece, objectively, is not a well written article/review - regardless if you agree with the some of the author's assessments of the book/Honnold. It was a superficial treatment that played toward reinforcing preconception and bias.
I assume that regardless whether Gregory Crouch gives the book a positive review or not, I'm confident it will be well reasoned.
Just to make myself clear, I am not "rah rah" about the book -- though it it did a decent job. The problem in this instance is the reviewer.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nov 24, 2015 - 04:03pm PT
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I look forward to Greg's review.
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crusher
climber
Santa Monica, CA
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Nov 24, 2015 - 04:19pm PT
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Me too (looking forward to Greg's review).
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Nov 24, 2015 - 04:37pm PT
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I generally like the Atlantic book reviews, but yea, this had some pretty annoying things. From the first couple of sentences:
This refers to climbing thousands of feet in the air, alone, with no harness, rope, or other safety equipment. Few professional climbers have risked “free soloing,” as it is known in the climbing community. Many of them have died trying.
A professional never would but you can find plenty of amateurs free soloing Cathedral Peak any pleasant summer day. Or doing the approach or descent for Steck Salathe, or...
Is there really any reason to think he is more focused or pushing his limits any more (or less) than plenty of average climbers who have climbed (or approached/descended) without a rope?
And now that I ask the question, I realize I really don't care about the anwer.
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Gregory Crouch
Social climber
Walnut Creek, California
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Nov 24, 2015 - 05:13pm PT
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Few professional climbers have risked “free soloing,” as it is known in the climbing community.
Agreed. I found that quote particularly annoying, since damn near every professional climber has at least tried free soloing. And a whole lot of serious amateurs have, too.
It isn't for everyone, which is fine. I did some when I was climbing a lot, and I did some big binges of it, too, but I decided that it wasn't giving me the transformational experience I wanted. And felt it needed to give me for it to be worth it. Plus, I always caught myself thinking about who I could share the experience with while I was doing it, and since I was thinking that, why didn't I just rope up with them in the first place? I liked the people too much to get too psyched about soloing. Can't talk good trash when you're soloing. At least without seeming like a psycho. And then there's the whole bit about wanting to die of natural causes, which I think is THE crucial capstone accomplishment of a climbing life. If you want it to mean something, you have to do that.
(Note: I do not consider an avalanche a natural cause.)
But damn, you can sure climb a shitload of stone when you're not bothering with gear, rope, and partner, and that was a big attraction, no doubt. I think climbers who are stratospherically good like Honnold or Croft simply can't find partners who are good enough to keep up with their appetite to climb. Ergo, they end up soloing a lot.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Nov 24, 2015 - 05:23pm PT
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Climbing, while no longer a fringe activity, still retains an esoteric quality and to truly understand it you have to have had complete immersion. That is why I am looking forward to Greg's review.
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Peter Haan
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 24, 2015 - 06:33pm PT
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J-do is right. Greg's review will be very interesting.
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