Free solo climbing explained

Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climbers (or free soloists) climb solo (or alone) without ropes or other protective equipment, using only their climbing shoes and their climbing chalk.^[1] Free soloing is the most dangerous form of climbing, and, unlike bouldering, free soloists climb above safe heights, where a fall can be fatal. Though many climbers have free soloed climbing grades they are very comfortable on, only a tiny group free solo regularly, and at grades closer to the limit of their abilities.^[2]

Some climbers' profiles have been increased by free soloing (e.g. Alex Honnold and John Bachar), but some question the ethics of this, and whether the risks they are undertaking should be encouraged and commercially rewarded.^{[3] [4]} "Free solo" was originally a term of climber slang, but after the popularity of the Oscar-winning film Free Solo, Merriam-Webster officially added the word to their English dictionary in September 2019.^[5]

In addition to free soloing on single-pitch and multi-pitch rock climbs, including the even longer big wall climbing that features in the Free Solo film, free soloing is performed in a wide range of climbing types including, ice climbing and mixed climbing (which feature in The Alpinist film), as well as setting speed climbing records on alpine climbing routes (i.e. a mixture of rock and ice climbing), which features in the Race to the Summit film.

Description

Free solo climbing (sometimes referred to as soloing in the UK, or third-classing in the US), is where the climber uses no climbing protection whatsoever (and as with all free climbing, no form of climbing aid is used either); they may only use their climbing shoes and climbing chalk to ascend a single-pitch, or a multi-pitch/big wall climbing route. Free solo climbing is a special form of free climbing but is different from the main forms of free climbing, sport climbing and traditional climbing, which use climbing protection for safety. In theory bouldering is also free solo climbing (i.e. it also uses no aid or protection) but is usually not referred to as such except in the case of Highball bouldering, where falls can be serious. The most committing forms of free soloing are on multi-pitch – and the even longer big wall – routes, where any retreat is very difficult.

In alpine climbing the term solo climbing – as distinct from free solo climbing – can be used where the solo climber carries a rope and some aid climbing equipment to overcome some of the most difficult sections. In addition, the term rope soloing is used for any solo climber who uses a rope and a form of self-locking device for continuous climbing protection on the route; this is also not considered as free solo climbing.^[6]

Many early 20th-century rock climbers who began to free climb (i.e., avoiding any form of aid), were often practicing free solo climbing (or rope soloing), as the effectiveness of their climbing protection (usually a rope around their waist) was minimal. In the history of rock climbing, the first ascent of Napes Needle by W. P. Haskett Smith in June 1886 – an act that is widely considered to be the start of the sport of rock climbing – was effectively a free solo.^[7] Early leaders of free climbing such as Paul Preuss, were also strongly interested in free solo climbing as being ethically purer. The 1958 ascent by Don Whillans of Goliath, one of the world's first E4 6a routes, was effectively a free solo (with a rope around his waist).^[8] By the 1970s, when climbing protection was sufficiently developed to be effective, the discipline of free solo climbing began to stand apart.

Public view

Many climbers praise free soloing, while others have concerns regarding the danger and the message the ascents send to other climbers.^[9] Many companies have taken these views into account when working with free soloists. Clif Bar, the nutrition bar company with long ties to climbing, dropped the sponsorship of five climbers in 2014, citing the risks they take and stirring a debate about how much risk should be rewarded.^[10]

However, The North Face and Red Bull have promoted free soloists and helped the free soloing community grow.^{[11] [12]} In addition, Alex Honnold, a free soloist who was previously dropped by Clif Bar,^[13] was featured in the 2018 documentary Free Solo, which was met with critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The director of Free Solo, Jimmy Chin, talks in the film about the ethics of undertaking the documentary, and the effect that his film team and project could have had on the outcome.

Even in the climbing community, free soloing is controversial. In 2022, when Climbing did a feature on free soloing, they caveated all articles with: "This article is not an endorsement of the practice", and emphasized that in their research amongst climbers, it was only practiced by a very small minority, with many telling Climbing: "I have in the past but not anymore".

In 2022, climbing author and occasional free soloist Jeff Smoot wrote All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing, which explored through interviews why some rock climbers free solo, including analyzing his own motivations.^[14] He described the feeling of self-control over one's fears as a form of addiction that had brought benefits to his life outside of climbing. He also found a wider range of motivations than he expected telling The Seattle Times, "Are free soloists crazy? They may be. Are they crazier than anybody else? I don’t think so, just in a different way".^[15]

Notable climbers

While many rock climbers have free soloed routes (single-pitch or big wall/multi-pitch), at climbing grades well below their ability, a very small minority have practiced free soloing regularly, and at grades closer to their overall limits. The most prominent of this smaller group are those who have broken new grade milestones in free solo climbing and gained a significant profile from their soloing:

• Alex Honnold – the most prolific and well-known free soloist of the 21st century, whose 2017 free solo of the route Freerider on El Capitan became the iconic film, Free Solo.
• Hansjörg Auer – the prolific big wall and high-altitude big wall free soloist, whose 2007 free solo of Fish Route was then the most daring in climbing history.^[16]
• Michael Reardon – prolific free soloist whose 2005 free solo of Romantic Warrior won him National Geographics "Adventurer of the Year".
• Alexander Huber – one of the strongest rock climbers of the 1990s who set free solo grade milestones in single-pitch free soloing (with Kommunist), and big wall free soling (with the Brandler-Hasse Direttissima).
• Alain Robert – the early 1990s and 2000s pioneer of buildering, but who also broke important new free solo grade milestones in the 1990s.
• Wolfgang Güllich – one of the strongest rock climbers of the late 1980s who set free solo milestones (Weed Killer), and did the iconic solo of Separate Reality.
• Catherine Destivelle – a leading female climber of the late 1980s, who made iconic free solos in single-pitch (El Matador), and big wall (Bonatti Pillar).
• Patrick Edlinger – a leading European free soloist of the 1980s, with iconic big wall free solos in the Verdon Gorge and Buoux, as featured in the 1982 climbing film, La Vie au bout des doigts.
• – prolific free soloist whose 1985 free solo of Revelations jumped several grade milestones in free solo climbing.
• Peter Croft – a prolific Canadian free soloist of the 1980s, who pioneered big wall free soloing with The Rostrum and Astroman.
• John Bachar – first free solo "superstar" and prolific American soloist of the late 1970s/early 1980s, who pioneered big wall soloing (Nabisco Wall).

In addition, several other free solo practitioners are considered historically notable in free solo climbing and include the following: Patrick Edlinger, Ron Fawcett,, Brad Gobright, Dan Goodwin, Colin Haley, Derek Hersey, Jimmy Jewell, John Long, Dave MacLeod, Dan Osman, Dean Potter, Paul Preuss, and Tobin Sorenson.

Free soloing is less common amongst female rock climbers, however, as well as Catherine Destivelle, the following female climbers are historically notable free solo practitioners: Steph Davis and Brette Harrington, both of whom have free soloed single-pitch and big wall routes.

Evolution of grade milestones

Single-pitch routes

See main article: History of rock climbing.

• 2019 : Relatively unknown Italian climber Alfredo Webber, aged 52, free soloed Panem et Circenses in Arco, Italy, first-ever free solo of an .^{[17] [18]}
• 2004 : Alexander Huber free soloed Kommunist in the Tyrol, Austria; the first-ever free solo at grade .
• 1993 : Alain Robert free soloed Compilation in Omblèze, France; the first-ever free solo of an graded route.
• 1987 : Jean-Christophe Lafaille free soloed Rêve de gosse, at La Roche-des-Arnauds, France; considered the first-ever free solo at the grade of .
• 1986 : Wolfgang Güllich free soloed Weed Killer, at Raven Tor, in the Peak District, first-ever free solo at ; that same year, Gullich also did the iconic solo of Separate Reality .
• 1985 : free soloed Revelations, at Raven Tor, Peak District, the first-ever free solo at ; considered a feat that was a decade ahead of its time.^[19]
• 1982 : John Bachar free soloed Baby Apes, at Joshua Tree National Park, probably the first-ever free solo at .^[20]
• 1961 : John Gill free soloed—onsight—the first ascent of Thimble, the first-ever redpoint, and thus the first-ever free solo, at .^{[19] [21]}

Big wall, multi-pitch routes

See main article: History of rock climbing.

• 2017 : Alex Honnold free soloed El Capitan via Freerider, first-ever big wall solo at ;^[22] becomes Oscar-winning film, Free Solo).^[23]
• 2007 : Hansjörg Auer free soloed Fish Route, on Marmolada, in the Dolomites, Italy, first-ever big wall solo at (35-pitches).
• 2005 : Michael Reardon free soloed, onsight, Romantic Warrior in the Sierra Nevada, USA, first-ever big wall solo at (10-pitches); wins National Geographic "Adventurer of the Year".
• 2002 : Alexander Huber free soloed, the 1,500 ft Hasse-Brandler on the Cima Grande, Dolomites, first-ever big wall solo at .^[24]

Climber fatalities

A number of notable free solo practitioners have died while free soloing:^[25]

• Paul Preuss (3 October 1913; age 27) died in 300m (1,000feet) fall from the attempted first ascent of the North Ridge of the Mandlkogel (in the Gosaukamm) as a free solo.^[25]
• Jimmy Jewell died (31 October 1987; age 34) free soloing the easy route Poor Man's Peuterey (graded UK-Severe) at Tremadog, North Wales taking a short-cut.^[25]
• Derek Hersey died (28 May 1993; age 36) while free soloing the Steck-Salathé Route on Sentinel Rock in Yosemite.^[25]
• Dwight Bishop fell (19 July 2004; age 49) while climbing alone and unroped along the Grand Traverse route on Grand Teton peak in Wyoming.
• John Bachar died (5 July 2009; age 52) in a free solo accident at Dike Wall near Mammoth Lakes, California.^[25]
• Michael J. Ybarra died (July 2012; age 45) climbing solo on The Matterhorn Peak in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.^{[25] [26]}

Climbing magazine reported that a number of prominent free solo practitioners died in related or other extreme sports, including: Dan Osman (died at age 35 while rope jumping at Yosemite), Michael Reardon (died age 42 while rock climbing sea cliffs when he was carried out to sea by a rogue wave), Dean Potter (died age 43 while wingsuit flying when he crashed at Yosemite), Brad Gobright (died age 31 while abseiling at Potrero Chico), and Hansjorg Auer (died age 35 in an avalanche at Howse Peak).^[25]

Related disciplines

• Alpine speed solo climbing

Some leading alpine climbers have set speed climbing records on classic alpine climbing routes – particularly the six great north faces of the Alps – that are done as free solos as using ropes and other protection would take too long. Notable alpine free solo speed climbers include Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold, whose rivalry was featured in the 2021 film, Race to the Summit.^[27]

• Buildering: Some free soloists scale buildings, such as Alain Robert ("The French Spider-Man"), and Dan Goodwin ("Skyscraperman"), who have scaled dozens of skyscrapers around the world—a sport known as buildering—without any safety equipment.^[28]
• Deep-water soloing (DWS), is a subtype of solo climbing performed on rock faces overhanging water where in the case of a fall, the climber lands in the water.^[25] Deep-water routes can involve falls of NaNm (-2,147,483,648feet), and thus a risk of serious injury.^[25] Noted DWS climbers include Chris Sharma.^[29]
• FreeBASEing, is a subtype of free solo climbing performed on long multi-pitch big wall routes with a BASE jumping parachute as the sole means of protection. A falling climber opens their parachute to arrest their fall.^[25] It was pioneered by Dean Potter.^{[30] [31]}
• Highball bouldering, is where the boulder exceeds NaNm (-2,147,483,648feet) in height, and any fall, even where bouldering mats are used, presents a risk of serious injury.^[25] Where highball bouldering ends and free soloing begins is a source of debate.^[32]
• Ice climbing: Some ice climbers are notable for ice free soloing, as well as mixed free soloing. As well as the specific risks of free soloing, ice-free soloing brings the additional serious and unpredictable risk of parts of the ice route spontaneously breaking off. Notable ice-free soloists include the late Marc-André Leclerc, whose free solo ice climbing on the Stanley Headwall features in the 2021 film, The Alpinist, and Dani Arnold.^[33]

In film

A number of notable films have been made focused on free solo climbing (both on rock and on ice) including:^[34]

• Race to the Summit, a 2023 documentary film about the rivalry between Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold in setting solo alpine speed records.
• The Alpinist, a 2021 documentary film about the late Canadian alpinist Marc-André Leclerc, featuring various free solo ice and alpine ascents.
• Free Solo, a 2018 documentary film about Alex Honnold's free solo climb of Freerider on El Capitan.
• King Lines, a 2007 documentary film about Chris Sharma, featuring his free solo climb of the DWS route, Es Pontàs, in Mallorca.
• Hard Grit, a 1998 documentary film about rock climbing on gritstone routes in the British Peak District, which features free soloing.

See also

• Free climbing
• Rope soloing
• Solo climbing

References

Further reading

• Book: Smoot, Jeff . All and Nothing: Inside Free Soloing . 2022 . . 978-1680513325.
• Book: Alone on the Wall . Alex . Honnold. David . Roberts . 2016. W. W. Norton & Company . 978-0393353174.

External links

• 13 Best Free Solo Climbers in the World, HardClimbs (November 2023)
• VIDEO: Catherine Destivelle Free Soloing Devils Tower, Wyoming, Rock & Ice (February 2018)
• VIDEO: The Fallen Soloist, Climbing Magazine (May 2019)

Notes and References

1. Web site: . Free solo . 2023 . (of climbing up rocks, mountains or buildings) done with no ropes or other equipment: Free solo climbing shuns the use of ropes or other safety equipment. . 2 October 2023.
2. Web site: Why We Won't See a Rise in Free Solo Climbing Deaths After Alex Honnold's Story Won an Oscar. Taylor. Will. The Inertia. 25 February 2019 . en-US. 2019-07-01.
3. Web site: Free Solo Climbing is Dangerous and Deadly. Green. Stewart. 20 July 2017. ThoughtCo. 2019-01-22.
4. Web site: Gale - User Identification Form. galeapps.galegroup.com. 2019-04-21.
5. News: 'Free Solo' enters Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Film Scoops 7 Emmys. Berry. Natalie. UK Climbing.
6. Book: Chapter 12. Alpine Climbing . 2018 . . 9th . 978-1846892622 . Quiller Publishing . The Mountaineers.
7. The Origin and Early Evolution of Rock Climbing . 9 August 2021 . Beifeng . Zhu . Ruizhi . Chen . Yuan . Li . 10.2991/assehr.k.210806.124 . Atlantis Press . Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research . Proceedings of the 2021 5th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2021) . 662–667 . 571 . 978-94-6239-414-8 . 238693283 . free .
8. Web site: . Cleaning Up Climbing History. The Truth Behind 13 Pivotal Ascents and Events . Jim . Erikson . 19 April 2022 . 9 December 2022.
9. Web site: Opinion: The Free Solo Documentary Addressed Some Uncomfortable Truths, But Ignored Others. Corrigan. Kevin. Climbing Magazine. 22 October 2018 . en-us. 2019-05-06.
10. News: A Sponsor Steps Away From the Edge. Branch. John. 2014-11-14. The New York Times. 2019-07-01. en-US. 0362-4331.
11. Web site: Alex Honnold. TheNorthFace USA – English. 2019-04-21.
12. Web site: The Most Mind-Bending Free Solo Climbs in History. Red Bull. 2019-04-21.
13. Web site: Climber Alex Honnold wrote an op-ed after Clif Bar dropped him as a sponsor. SI.com. 20 November 2014 . 2019-04-21.
14. Web site: . Why Do Climbers Free Solo?. Stephen . Potter . 4 October 2022 . 30 May 2024 .
15. Web site: . Jeff Smoot's 'All and Nothing' dives deep into the world of free soloing . Tyler . Agafonov . 22 September 2022 . 30 May 2024.
16. Web site: PlanetMountain . Hansjörg Auer Fish route solo on Marmolada 15 years ago today . 29 April 2022 . 1 January 2023.
17. . Alfredo Webber, Age 52, Free Solos 5.14b . 12 March 2021 . Bennett. Slavsky. 4 January 2022 .
18. Web site: . Hardest route climbed (free solo) . 2023 . 1 July 2023. ALFREDO WEBBER, ITALY (ARCO), MARCH 2021, "Panem et Circenses".
19. Web site: Oviglia . Maurizio . The Evolution of Free Climbing . PlanetMountain . 23 December 2012 . 4 January 2020.
20. Web site: . Being Bachar . March 2008 . 3 January 2023 .
21. Ament, Pat (2002). Wizards of Rock: A History of Free Climbing in America, Wilderness Press
22. Web site: . The world gasps in the aftermath of Alex Honnold's free solo of El Capitan's Freerider (5.13a, 3,000ft). Derek . Franz . 9 June 2017 . 1 July 2023 . originally rated 5.12d but now considered harder after a hold broke.
23. Web site: Exclusive: Alex Honnold Completes the Most Dangerous Free-Solo Ascent Ever . . https://web.archive.org/web/20170603192910/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athletes/alex-honnold/most-dangerous-free-solo-climb-yosemite-national-park-el-capitan/ . dead . 3 June 2017 . 3 October 2018.
24. Web site: Gripped Magazine . This is Still a Gripping Free-Solo Video – Alex Huber on a 20-Pitch 5.12a . 2 November 2021 . 16 December 2022.
25. Web site: . Free Solo Rock Climbing and the Climbers Who Have Defined the Sport . Alison . Osius . 4 June 2022 . 26 November 2022.
26. News: Scott C. . Johnson . Michael Ybarra's Death Underscores the Allure and Dangers of Solo Climbing . The Daily Beast . 2015-10-09. 15 July 2012 .
27. Web site: . Speed Soloing Is Climbing's Deadliest Game—It Has One Living Player . Ed . Douglas . 17 June 2021 . 4 October 2023.
28. Web site: . The Real Spider-Man: Alain Robert climbs the world's tallest buildings . 6 December 2022 . 30 December 2022 . Eleonora . Pilastro.
29. Web site: . A History of Mallorca Deep Water Soloing. 8 March 2011 . 21 December 2021 .
30. Web site: FreeBASE: Dean Potter on the Eiger Nordwand. Thomasma. Melissa . 13 August 2008. . 1540-725X . 30 December 2022.
31. Web site: How Dean Potter Reinvented Climbing, Jumping, Flying . https://web.archive.org/web/20150520221616/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150518%2Ddean%2Dpotter%2Ddead%2Dbase%2Djumping%2Dyosemite%2Dclimbing%2Dadventure/. dead. 20 May 2015. Bisharat. Andrew. 18 May 2015. . 30 December 2022.
32. Web site: Is it Highball Bouldering? Or should we be calling it Free-Soloing . Pete . Edwards . November 2020 . 30 December 2022.
33. Web site: . Dani Arnold Free Soloing a 1,000-Foot WI 7 Ice Climb . 25 January 2018 . 12 June 2023 . Valentin . Luthiger.
34. Web site: . The 20 Best Climbing Films of All Time . Andrew . Bisharat . 6 September 2022 . 28 September 2023.