Mark Synnott
The Impossible Climb
Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life
Dutton, 2019
What's inside?
A detailed history and contextualization of Alex Honnold’s unprecedented free-solo climb of El Capitan.
Recommendation
Alex Honnold free solos, climbing with no ropes or protection. A fall from near the top of the 3,000-foot El Capitan, Yosemite’s biggest cliff, would last 14 seconds and prove fatal. But Honnold did not fall. He became the first person to free solo El Cap, as author Mark Synnott watched. He details big-wall climbing history and marvels at Honnold’s strength and grace. The author pulls no punches as he describes feuds, drug use and rivalries among climbing’s most fearless adventurers. Honnold’s feat will inspire climbers and non-climbers alike.
Summary
About the Author
Mark Synnott is a professional climber and writer whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Outside, Men’s Journal and Climbing magazine.
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