FREE SOLOING Free soloing is a sport in which lone climbers use only their hands and feet to scale steep rock walls without any safety equipment Free soloists use only natural cracks ledges and handholds to pull themselves up No ropes no harnesses and no room for mistakes The only gear they have are shoes that give them a good grip and chalk to keep their hands dry
Rough and Tough You can spot climbers by their calloused hands Climbers like Alex Honnold support a lot of weight on their fingers which may cause an overgrowth of tissue Alex Honnold
Rock Star Status Slayer Astroman Outer Limits these are all names of climbing routes around the world The most skilled free soloists have conquered routes that scale thousands of feet sometimes covered in ice jutting from the sea and overhanging plunging valleys The Free Soloist Who Can't Feel Fear Literally The amygdala is a part of the human brain that processes fear When scientists analyzed free soloist Alex Honnold's brain they found that his amygdala was much less active a possible reason why he's so fearless
Danger Danger Check out these fearless free soloists and their amazing feats ALAIN ROBERT Also known as the French Spider Man and the Human Spider he holds the world record for the the highest urban free solo up the seventy five story Cayan Tower in Dubai United Arab Emirates ALEX HONNOLD He was the first person to complete a free solo ascent of El Capitan a 3,000 foot wall face in California's Yosemite National Park JIM REYNOLDS This daredevil free soloed up and down the 5,000 foot face of Mount Fitz Roy Climbing down a mountain is much more difficult than climbing up because it's harder to see the footholds He completed the climb in 15.5 hours
