Weekend Inspiration

Alex Honnold is a rock climber whose been called "the greatest free solo climber" by many. Free solo climbing is climbing without ropes, harnesses, or any protective gear. All you have to rely on is your strength, endurance, & a small container of chalk for gripping. Alex lives out of his van, following good weather, conquering rocks one at a time. He also hikes & runs in his spare time.

I spent a majority of my afternoon between clients at work watching videos of him climb on Youtube, my heart racing the whole time. This guy is ridiculously awesome. And though at first you might think "Why put yourself in that kind of danger?" One wrong move, one muscle cramp, one anything & he falls right off the mountain. Well there is the adrenaline rush right? But I don't think he does it solely for the adrenaline, in fact in a video he said something along the lines of, "If for a moment I feel adrenaline then I know something is going horribly wrong." I think there is a calming & humbling factor in taking on nature in this way.

What he does requires 100% focus, concentration, & awareness of what's going on around him & that's the most impressive part. It's clear he lives to climb, to take on these mountains solely with himself.

But seriously go look him up on youtube. And then the next day you have a day off try to climb your nearest mountain. Just kidding but why not look up an indoor rock climbing facility, go on that hike you've always considered taking, or try trail running or biking.