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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
If you can imagine Alex Honnold, Jimmy Chin, Mark Synnott, and their crew sitting around a campfire telling the story of Alex’s ascent on El Cap, the Academy Award-winning documentary, Free Solo, would play the role of the main storyteller. Mark’s book, however, would act like the guy on the side explaining to non-climbers, “And this is why it’s so amazing... And the story just left out this part... and this one... and did you know that...”
He’d have a huge crowd in his own right for his director’s cut version. There are so many “gnarly“ (climber speak :) details in this book. Really well done. If you enjoyed the documentary and want more, this is well worth the time and money.
He’d have a huge crowd in his own right for his director’s cut version. There are so many “gnarly“ (climber speak :) details in this book. Really well done. If you enjoyed the documentary and want more, this is well worth the time and money.
I really enjoyed this story and I learned a lot about climbing and the evolution of the sport. But, this is maybe the bro-iest book I've ever read. Women are treated as props in this book, almost always reduced to the sum of their parts - big boobs, long hair. It's not an inclusive book, by any means, but it is an interesting look at the world of men's climbing and Alex Honnold's incredible free solo of El Cap.
I love Free Solo and was hoping for a bit more depth about Alex Hunnold's climb of El Capitan. I sort of got that here. But I also got a lot of the history of rock climbing and the author's personal backstory, neither of which I found very compelling. At times, it was a slog to get through sections but sometimes there were some interesting stories or details. That said, I couldn't shake the feeling that the author was struggling to fill space since the documentary covered so much so well. This book fills in a few gaps Free Solo left but you have to wade through too much miscellaneous content to get there.
A nail biting account of Alex Honnold's free solo climb of El Capitan.
Super fun series of stories of a climbing life. Great read.
adventurous
Ok, three books and four movies later, I think I’m done obsessing about climbing. I enjoyed the second half of this book more than the first, as that is where Alex Honnold’s Half Dome free solo is discussed in detail.
Having followed climbing news for a few years, knowing vague details about select people, and then seeing FREE SOLO last year, I knew this was a book I wanted to read.
Mr. Synott does a fantastic job of weaving in the history of the sport of climbing into his own narrative and that of Alex Honnold’s journey toward soloing El Cap. All this felt necessary to understand the gravity and significance of what “The Hon” was inevitably going to accomplish. Even with knowing how the story ends, I was engrossed in this book the entire time. I already want to read it again because I know there are things I missed the first go round.
More than anything, I love a book that makes me aspire to be the best version of myself and to get outside, and THE IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB does just that.
Mr. Synott does a fantastic job of weaving in the history of the sport of climbing into his own narrative and that of Alex Honnold’s journey toward soloing El Cap. All this felt necessary to understand the gravity and significance of what “The Hon” was inevitably going to accomplish. Even with knowing how the story ends, I was engrossed in this book the entire time. I already want to read it again because I know there are things I missed the first go round.
More than anything, I love a book that makes me aspire to be the best version of myself and to get outside, and THE IMPOSSIBLE CLIMB does just that.