UCSB Arts & Lectures presents an evening with audacious free-soloing rock climber Alex Honnold and his illustrated presentation Alone on the Wall, on Sun., Nov. 22, at 7:00 p.m. at UCSB Campbell Hall. Books will be available for purchase and a signing will follow the event.
A visionary athlete of the sort that comes along only once in a generation, Alex Honnold is a professional rock climber whose audacious free-solo ascents of the world’s biggest walls have made him one of the sport’s most notable climbers. His specialty, free-soloing, is a type of climbing performed without a rope, partner or hardware for aid or protection. The results of climbing this way are breathtaking, but the stakes are ultimate. Known for death-defying feats such as tackling Mexico’s Sendero Luminoso and Patagonia’s Fitz Traverse, Honnold pushes the limits of his sport beyond anything previously attempted. In Alone on the Wall, Honnold recounts some of his most astonishing career achievements, bringing them to life for the audience.
Alex Honnold, pictured in British Columbia, will be speaking at UCSB’s Campbell Hall on November 22. (Jimmy Chin Photo)
Only a few years ago, Alex Honnold was little known beyond a small circle of hardcore climbers. Today, he is probably the most famous adventure athlete in the world. In that short time, he has proven his expertise in many styles of climbing and has shattered speed records, pioneered routes, and won awards within each discipline. More spectacularly still, he has pushed the most extreme and dangerous form of climbing far beyond the limits of what anyone thought was possible.
A gifted and hard-working athlete, Honnold has been profiled by 60 Minutes and The New York Times, featured on the cover of National Geographic, appeared in international television commercials and starred in numerous adventure films including the Emmy-nominated Alone on the Wall.
In his book Alone on the Wall, Honnold narrates the drama of each climb and illuminates the inner workings of his highly perceptive and discerning mind. The audience will share in the jitters and excitements he feels waking in his van (where he lives full time) before a climb; see him self-criticize in his climbing journal (a bible for students of the sport); and learn his secrets to managing fear – his most enviable talent. Alone on the Wall takes the audience around the world and through the highs and lows in the life of a climbing superstar. Honnold’s extraordinary life, and his idiosyncratic worldview, have much to teach us about risk, reward and the ability to maintain a singular focus, even in the face of extreme danger.
Alex “No Big Deal” Honnold is recognized as much for his humble, self-effacing attitude as he is for the dizzyingly tall cliffs he has climbed without a rope to protect him if he falls. He is the founder of the Honnold Foundation, an environmental non-profit, and to this day, he maintains his simple “dirtbag-climber” existence, living out of his van and traveling the world in search of the next great vertical adventure.
Watch a beautifully shot video featuring Alex Honnold free-soloing Heaven in Yosemite. The route follows a 40-foot overhanging crack several thousand feet above the valley floor. Like most of Honnold’s solos, a fall would be catastrophic.
An Evening with Alex Honnold, Alone on the Wall is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for UCSB students and youth 18 & under (current student ID required for UCSB and high school students).
For tickets and more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
Amazing Humble Man.
Amazing Humble Man.