I just finished up Mark Synnott's book on the history of rock climbing, which focuses on Alex Honnold's historic "free solo" of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, documented by the Oscar-winning movie, "Free Solo" released in 2018.

This quote seems to be one of the most poignant in the entire book. It captures something in the way of "why" these free solo climbers do what they do. Pushing themselves to the limit, requiring complete focus, mind and body, to do one of the hardest climbs in the world without any ropes, without any falls or errors, and the risk being immediate death.

There is an aspect of "flow" in the focusing that creates a "high" because of the complete concentration and the complete exertion. Upon completion there is both the sense of accomplishment, but also the heightened senses from the "fight or flight" response triggered by fear and the gravity of what you are attempting.

I am both in awe of what has been accomplished by climbers like Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, and others, but also understand that I would never take unnecessary risks that they subject themselves to on these climbs. While Synnott points out that Honnold has a personalized "risk calculus" in his climbing, due to his training and practice, but despite that, there are always inherent risks in anything we do.

Today, we got over a foot of snow, and I still had to go into work. Driving in that is a risky proposition. This book was multilayered as it looked into the history of rock climbing, but also the psychological aspects of climbing, risk, and what it means to really live. What I am living for is drastically different than what Honnold is living for and values. I was surprised by how much the book made me look deeper into those ideas and view the sport of rock climbing in a completely new light.

I received this as an eBook from PENGUIN GROUP Dutton via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review of the title. I did not receive any compensation from either company. The opinions expressed herein are completely my own.

Wanted to read this after watching Free Solo. I’m not a climber but am fascinated by it. I enjoyed the book.

When I first got this book, I wasn't sure if I would live this book. Afterall, reading about climbing and climbers? How exciting would this book be?

Well, the author proved me wrong. I love this book, I loves it even more after I watched the documentary "Free Solo".

I was hooked as soon as I started reading it, Mark Synnott does a great job laying out history of climbing, but doesn't bog down on the nitty gritty details. He gives out lot of names but there's reason for that, understanding the history of rock climbing and the who's who's of climbing. But it's not just names but what they have done to be part of climbing folklore.

Since Mark has been part of this community, he has this great perspective on climbing, the excitement it brings as well as fears. I love his narratives of all climbs and the background of them. The successes as well as the failures. The fights and the friendships.

This book doesn't just focus on the past but it points to the future, and that is Alex Honnold. This books takes you into their friendship, the mind of Alex and what drives him to climb and especially free solo, which is climbing without ropes and any protection.

After watching Free Solo, this book becomes even more important in understanding who Alex is and what drives him and why he was successful in free soloing El Capitan.

I highly recommend this book to all.

I read this book after seeing "Free Solo" and after reading Alex Honnold's book, "Alone on the Wall." I thought it was an excellent companion piece to Honnold's book and gave additional insights into the climb and Alex Honnold's behavior. At first, I was expecting the book to be redundant to Honnolds', so I found the mix of information about the author's background a very good break and it gave more insight into his relationship with Honnold and the rest of the members of the climb. It was a quick read, full of all sorts of background. I'm not sure how someone who has not read Honnold's book might read this but I found it quite enjoyable.

Alex Honnold has been having a bit of a moment.

The legendary rock climber made history in July of 2017 when he became the first to ever free solo climb – that is, climb without ropes or other aid – El Capitan, a notorious 3,000-foot cliff located in the Yosemite Valley in California.

Honnold’s historic ascent – years in the making – was the subject of “Free Solo,” a documentary by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin that just won the Oscar for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards.

But film is just one medium through which the story of Honnold’s climb can be told.

Mark Synnott’s “The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life” is a longform literary exploration of Honnold’s feat. It lends texture and context to the climb, connecting it to the history of climbing in general and climbing in Yosemite specifically. By checking in with the sport’s forebears – among whom Synnott can include himself – the book allows for a depth of understanding in how climbing has evolved, as well as how that evolution has resulted in an athlete such as Alex Honnold.

Rock climbing’s success as an endeavor has come in fits and starts over the past half-century. Pioneering athletes using primitive equipment were accomplishing staggering feats in the 1950s, with great leaps forward happening in the ‘60s and ‘70s. The sport gained acceptance over time, though even the true elites were only known to a small group of hardcore fans. Even now, in a world where gyms all over the country have climbing walls, it remains a niche sport.

But Alex Honnold brought the eyes of the mainstream to the rock in a way that no one ever had. Specifically, to El Capitan, when in just four hours, he accomplished something that had never been done before. Through an ironclad will, a preternatural ability to control fear, a single-minded attention bordering on obsession and a specifically honed set of athletic skills, Honnold threw himself into a climb that, if anything were to go wrong, would almost certainly result in his death.

That climb is the climax of “The Impossible Climb,” the book’s titular event. However, this book is as much about journey as it is about destination.

That journey serves as a sort of evolutionary ladder, tracing the countercultural origins of the climbing scene in Yosemite. It’s an introduction to pioneers of the sport – guys like Royal Robbins and Warren Harding and John Bachar. It’s a look at the various groups that devoted their efforts to climbing all over the Yosemite Valley – the Stonemasters and the Stone Monkeys foremost among them. It’s also Synnott’s journey, from young transient dirtbag to sponsored climber to respected elder statesman (with a stop or two along the way).

And of course, it’s Alex Honnold’s journey. Despite the looming significance and potentially fatal risk of the feat, Honnold never seems to blink. Even when doubt creeps in, it is handled and harnessed and pressed into service of his ultimate goal.

We’re flies on the wall as some of the most imposing, difficult climbs in the entire world are tackled and conquered, all in the name of preparing Alex Honnold to do something that has never been done before.

Mark Synnott is uniquely qualified to write this book. He’s got three decades of elite climbing experience; he never ascended to the pinnacle achieved by some of his peers, but Synnott has the chops to hang with the best of the best. That perspective is writ large on every page of this book, capturing the details with an insider’s eye. Synnott KNOWS what’s important and what isn’t when it comes to climb – and he does an exceptional job bringing that knowledge to bear.

Perhaps the best example of Synnott’s talents in that arena is his ability to utilize the highly technical and precise terminology of rock climbing without getting bogged down in jargon. With the nuanced and complicated difficulty ratings and the assortment of specialized equipment, it would be easy for someone unversed in the climbing world (someone such as myself, for instance) to quickly get lost in a sea of decimal points. Instead, Synnott provides needed context without seeming to dumb it down. It strikes a nice balance; one imagines that experienced climbers would also be compelled by the story while applauding its technical accuracy.

“The Impossible Climb” tells the fascinating story behind an unprecedented feat. Mark Synnott has built something thoughtful and tense by leaning on his keenly observant presence in the moment and his decades of high-level experience. It’s a compelling narrative confidently told, one that will resonate no matter whether you’re a hardcore climber or someone who climbs nothing but stairs.

It’s an unconventional read, but hey – Alex Honnold is an unconventional dude. And without the unconventional, we’d have a much harder time discovering the extraordinary.

I enjoy reading books on mountaineering and climbing even though I would never be able to do the incredible things these athletes do. Therefore, I was very interested in this story - how could someone climb that part of Yosemite without the aid of roles and other equipment? As far as THAT went, this book delivered on that promise.

However, the journey to get there was tedious. There were a LOT of stories that were more about the author and his climbing career instead of Alex, although when Alex was the subject, it was entertaining. Also, most books I have read on the sport are written in language not too technical so readers who are not climbers can understand better. That wasn't the case with this book as I was frequently flipping back to remember what what being discussed or what certain terms meant.I

Since I did finish the book and the story is gripping, I give this book a.passing grade.of three stars, but would recommend only readers who are climbers or have an advanced knowledge of the sport read it. I obtained this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Having recently enjoyed a talk by Alex Honnold, I eagerly grabbed this copy of Mark Synnott's book about the Free Solo climb of El Capitan. I very much enjoyed the story telling and the author's weaving in of climbing history and culture. Though I did expect more of Alex Honnold's personal experience and not so much of the author's personal history. What gave me pause however is the almost total lack of maps, diagrams, photos, and most importantly appendix of climbing terms!!! I had to frequently refer to an online dictionary of mountaineering vocabulary to really understand the action. As might be expected this all too frequently pulled me out of the action and lessened the urgency of the story. This may be the fault of the pre-pub. kindle version. I hope so.

This is definitely a book for climbing enthusiasts. I have admired those who choose this type of extreme sport, but it is something I have no desire to do.

The writing was too technical for me to understand so I found myself skimming over many parts. I thought this was to be a story of Alex Honnold’s life and successes but it meandered all over the place. Even though I was disappointed I feel anyone involved in the climbing community in any way will enjoy this book.