Talking Speed Climbs With Alex Honnold

Earlier this summer Alex Honnold left us all shaking our heads in awe as he first set a new speed record for a continuous climb up Half Dome and El Cap in Yosemite and then followed it up by linking three routes, the Nose, Salathé Wall, and Lurking Fear, a few weeks later. Now, the talented climber has come down from the rock long enough to share some thoughts with Outside Online, who have posted the interview to their blog this morning.

In the interview, Alex talks about training with Ueli Steck for a speed run on The Nose, but when that fell apart, mostly out of lack of interest, he found himself in good shape and ready to take on some big challenges, hence the series of climbs he made in Yosemite back in June and July. He also talks about the challenges of climbing El Capitan, which he spent a lot of time on this summer, as well as his love for climbing in Yosemite in general.

It's a brief, but excellent interview, with good insights from a guy who is one of the top climbers in the world. As for what he's got planned for the future, he doesn't give too much away, but Alex does say that climbing a big wall like the Nose has him interested and inspired to possibly go to the Himalaya or Patagonia and tackle some of the massive rock faces there in solo fashion.

Reading this, Alex comes across as a very humble guy who just enjoys doing what he is doing.