Title: The Impossible Climb Pdf Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life
Author: Mark Synnott
Published Date: 2019-03-05
Page: 416
An Amazon Best Book of March 2019: As far as celebrity goes, Alex Honnold’s seems a bit unlikely; self-possessed practitioners of niche sports, performed in the hardest-to-reach corners of the Earth, usually keep to the edges of the mainstream. But much has changed over the last decade: Drones, adventure cameras, and the internet have allowed armchair adventurers and other lookie-loos unprecedented access to the farthest frontiers, as well as the daredevils who push them. And with E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's Free Solo—the Academy Award-winning ride-along with Honnold on his rope-free climb up Yosemite's El Capitan and its 3,000 feet of vertical granite—well, that’s the sort of thing that’ll make you famous. On assignment for National Geographic, writer Mark Synnott also covered Honnold in Yosemite, and the resulting book,The Impossible Climb, is a must-read for anyone curious about Honnold’s background, personality, and motivations. Synnott shadowed the enigmatic climber for months as he prepared, deliberated, and occasionally wavered over the project. He even followed him up a wall on occasion—Synnott also happens to be a professional climber (yes, that is a thing), and his first-hand experience makes his account much more than a summary of an unprecedented, previously unthinkable feat. Along with Synnott’s recollections of his own first ascents and harrowing adventures with Honnold, Chin, and other legends of the sport, he surveys Yosemite’s climbing culture from the “golden age” rivalry between big-wall pioneers Royal Robbins and Warren Harding, to latter-day risk-takers like Dean Potter, who push the limits of extreme sports, often at the cost of their lives. When asked why anyone would test their fate against a mountain, George Mallory famously said “Because it’s there.” The question is ultimately unanswerable, but The Impossible Climb gives the rest of us a firmer hold, even as we watch from a safer elevation. As a climber might say, “This book goes.” --Jon Foro, Amazon Book ReviewPraise for The Impossible Climb“Enthralling . . . gripping . . . Much more than just an account of Honnold's mind-bending climb: it is a story of the complex friendship between the two men. . . . This compelling book reads like a thriller as it ranges over the rarefied world of extreme climbing. It is a portrait of fascinating people and of an extraordinary place, the Yosemite Valley.”—The Daily Mail“Fast-paced and enjoyable.”—The Wall Street Journal“With the possible exception of the lunar landings, free-soloing El Capitan may rank as one of the most audacious—and terrifying—things a human being has ever done. Synnott’s narrative plasters you on a 3,000-foot granite cliff and doesn’t let you go until the climb is done. It is one of the most compelling accounts of a climb and the climbing ethos that I’ve ever read.” —Sebastian Junger, author of Tribe, War, and The Perfect Storm “The fascinating story behind an unprecedented feat. Mark Synnott has built something thoughtful and tense by leaning on his keenly observant presence in the moment and his decades of high-level experience. It’s a compelling narrative confidently told, one that will resonate no matter whether you’re a hardcore climber or someone who climbs nothing but stairs.”—The Maine Edge“An engaging read cover to cover—delightful, shocking, thrilling, saddening, and motivating. Each chapter deepens the larger story of struggle and awe within the adventurer’s life.” —New Hampshire Magazine“Synnott adds depth, intimacy, and a hint of fear to Honnold’s climb; more importantly, he adds context to the historical feat. . . . Through firsthand accounts and thorough reporting, Synnott provides a vertiginous window into the world of climbers at the top of the sport.”—Paste Magazine“Bracing . . . brings Honnold’s epic, rope-free ascent to vivid life.”—Harper's Bazaar“A thrills-and-chills—and occasional spills—view of the mad heroes of free climbing . . . Fans of mountaineering will find this a winner.” —Kirkus Reviews“Readers will pick up this for Honnold but will be equally engrossed by Synnott’s own adventures and writing.” —Library Journal“Yes, The Impossible Climb is the gripping story of the most perilous rock ascent of all time—but it’s much more than that. In seamlessly fusing memoir, reporting, social history, climbing lore, technical expertise, and intimate glimpses of his tribe, Mark Synnott has given us a kind of epic of life on the edge. Even readers who have never set toe to rock are going to find themselves glued to this insanely brilliant account of extreme athletic ambition and endurance.” —David Laskin, author of The Children’s Blizzard “Mark Synnott's The Impossible Climb is to climbing what William Finnegan's Barbarian Days is to surfing.” —John Long, founder of the Stonemasters“Immensely enjoyable. Tapping his own impressive mountaineering resume, Mark Synnott dives deep into the rebellious counterculture of extreme climbing to get inside the head of Alex Honnold, the planet's foremost rock climber. What motivated Honnold to free climb El Capitan without a rope? 'Because it's there' doesn't come close to explaining it. Synnott's The Impossible Climb does.” —Andy Hall, author of Denali's Howl
NEW YORK TIMES MONTHLY BESTSELLER
One of the 10 Best Books of March, Paste Magazine
A deeply reported insider perspective of Alex Honnold’s historic achievement and the culture and history of climbing.
“One of the most compelling accounts of a climb and the climbing ethos that I've ever read.”—Sebastian Junger
In Mark Synnott’s unique window on the ethos of climbing, his friend Alex Honnold’s astonishing free solo ascent of El Capitan’s 3,000 feet of sheer granite is the central act. When Honnold topped out at 9:28 A.M. on June 3, 2017, having spent fewer than four hours on his historic ascent, the world gave a collective gasp. The New York Times described it as “one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever.” Synnott’s personal history of his own obsession with climbing since he was a teenager—through professional climbing triumphs and defeats, and the dilemmas they render—makes this a deeply reported, enchanting revelation about living life to the fullest. What are we doing if not an impossible climb?
Synnott delves into a raggedy culture that emerged decades earlier during Yosemite’s Golden Age, when pioneering climbers like Royal Robbins and Warren Harding invented the sport that Honnold would turn on its ear. Painting an authentic, wry portrait of climbing history and profiling Yosemite heroes and the harlequin tribes of climbers known as the Stonemasters and the Stone Monkeys, Synnott weaves in his own experiences with poignant insight and wit: tensions burst on the mile-high northwest face of Pakistan’s Great Trango Tower; fellow climber Jimmy Chin miraculously persuades an official in the Borneo jungle to allow Honnold’s first foreign expedition, led by Synnott, to continue; armed bandits accost the same trio at the foot of a tower in the Chad desert . . .
The Impossible Climb is an emotional drama driven by people exploring the limits of human potential and seeking a perfect, choreographed dance with nature. Honnold dared far beyond the ordinary, beyond any climber in history. But this story of sublime heights is really about all of us. Who doesn’t need to face down fear and make the most of the time we have?
A strange book I wanted to like this book, after seeing Free Solo, and reading Alex Honnold's account, as well as Tommy Caldwell's book on the Dawn Wall climb. But this book is a strange mishmash of stuff, including some history of Yosemite climbing, and a lot about the author's preoccupation with his own mortality , as well as his relationship with an earlier superstar, Alex Lowe. It also has an oddly chosen group of unrelated photos, very few of which are of Alex Honnold or even of El Capitan or Yosemite. The author is a good writer and may have interesting stories to tell, but this book seems like a misguided attempt to ride the bandwagon of Free Solo. I very rarely write critical reviews, but feel almost as though this book is marketed under false pretenses.Title doesn't match up with contents of book After watching the documentary 'Free Solo' and seeing the title of this book, I thought it would be a more detailed insight into Alex Honnold's climb up El Cap. But this book is foremost about the author and his climbing, followed by the history of climbing in general and the previous generations of climbers before Alex, and merely sprinkled with some details about Alex. In fact, the amount of pages dedicated to Alex's actual free solo account up El Cap are only a few pages at the very end of the book. Maybe if you're a climber (I am not) this book would be more interesting. Or maybe if you know the author and want to know more about him, it would be more interesting. But if you want to know more about Alex Honnold and his free solo of El Cap, just stick with the documentary or read his own book 'Alone on the Wall'. I also didn't think the author painted a very flattering image of Alex Honnold, not that I know Alex, but the documentary projects a more flattering image of Alex than this book. (It also references at least a dozen times about Alex and his bowel movements which is just TMI in my opinion.) After finishing the book, it just felt like the author was capitalizing (riding the coat tails perhaps?) on Alex's famed climb up El Cap seeing as the book came out not long after the documentary was released.
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