Introduction to Free Solo Climbing
As Kandoo launch trips in new destinations for 2025, most notably in Guyana and Uganda, we’ve been learning more about what makes these countries so enticing. It was whilst researching Tepuis, the unusual rocky plateaus that protrude like islands through the jungle canopy in Guyana that we learned more about Alex Honnold, one of the best free solo climbers in the world and tumbled down the rabbit hole of this nail biting sport known as free soloing. In a recent documentary that follows Bruce Means through the rainforest of Guyana on the hunt for undiscovered species, Honnold was enlisted to coordinate scaling these stone structures to explore the possibility that unknown species make their homes on these isolated plinths. You can read more about tepuis, what they are and where to find them in our blog.
Whilst it’s a huge stretch to leap from enjoying trekking to trying free solo climbing, there’s no doubt that this extreme sport exerts a certain fascination for anyone who is passionate about mountains so we thought we’d delve a bit more into what is free solo climbing, where free solo climbing takes place and what kind of people push themselves to climb mountains, cliffs and manmade structures without rope!
It is worth noting at this point, that Kandoo Adventures do not operate free solo climbing trips; we don’t endorse free solo climbing; and none of the team have ever taken part in a free solo climb, to date. This blog aims only to explore the fundamentals of what it is and notable climbs and climbers who have pushed the boundaries of what can be achieved on a mountain.
To hang off a cliff by your fingertips over a drop of hundreds of meters is flipping bonkers, if you ask us, but we can’t look away when watching films like Free Solo and The Alpinist so let’s take a closer look at what makes free soloing so addictive.
What is free climbing?
Free climbing is pretty much as it sounds. It is a kind of rock climbing where the climber uses only their hands and feet to ascend, without the aid of ropes, support or any other protective equipment. They’ll have climbing shoes and use climbing chalk on their hands but that is all the help they’ll use to propel themselves onwards. Free climbers may use ropes, belays and other equipment to support themselves without relying on it for climbing and may climb with others or in teams.
Free solo climbing, or free soloing is free climbing but without the support. Free solo climbing is something many climbers will try but usually on grades below their ability and in controlled settings where falls should not be too dangerous.
The jump from free climbing to free solo climbing is a mammoth one and comes with its fair share of controversy. Only a small number of climbers make this leap, where they start to climb without protection at the very limits of their ability. Free solo climbers take rock climbing to another level, traversing surfaces that are above safe heights, choosing iconic landmarks or unexplored faces where the stakes are high, and the risks are many, but the achievement is unlike any other. This level of climbing is dangerous, some claim irresponsible, but it is the high stakes and possibility of success that drives free soloists to attempt higher and harder feats.
other types of climbing
Rock Climbing
Rock climbing is the discipline of climbing either on natural surfaces outdoors or on artificial indoor climbing walls. Climbers will use ropes, helmets, rubber shoes and various other equipment to help them ascend safely ensuring they are supported throughout. Modern rock climbing focuses primarily on free climbing, which is the ability to ascend upwards using only hands and feet, although the climber will have protection to stop them from falling. Within in the sport of rock climbing you can have single pitch climbing, multi-pitch climbing and big wall climbing and each are dictated by the distance the climber intends to reach and the equipment needed to support these heights.
Bouldering
Bouldering is a form of rock climbing too and like free solo climbing, doesn’t include the use of ropes or harnesses. The big difference is that bouldering is usually classed as climbing structures that are 5m or less and can be done using natural boulders outdoors or at indoor bouldering facilities where artificial bouldering courses allow the climber to traverse horizontally.
Alpine Climbing
Alpine climbing is a form of mountaineering that includes the use of multiple climbing disciplines including rock climbing and ice climbing and usually takes place in an alpine environment. Conditions tend to cover ice, rock, snow and crevasses and can include facing avalanche risks, exposure to storms and other wintery conditions. Climbers who traverse alpine terrain and usually called alpinists.
Sport Climbing
Sport climbing is a form of rock climbing where people climb in pairs and use pre-drilled fixed bolts to clip into as they ascend a route. The lead climber will clip into the bolt for protection and the second climber will remove the quickdraw clip after the lead climber has reached the top. This is a kind of free climbing again, but not to be confused with competitive climbing which entered the Olympics in 2020 as is a different discipline altogether.
Buildering
Buildering, no misspelling here, is a form of climbing where climbers scale buildings instead of natural surfaces. This can be a form of free solo climbing and performed without ropes or support and must be carried out with permission of the structure’s owner. Often buildering occurs without permission, making it illegal, as well as extremely dangerous. For this reason, much buildering is done at night, increasing the risks even more.
Famous free solo climbers
Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold has become a household name, and you don’t have to know much about free soloing to know that this guy is one of a kind. Born in Sacramento, California, Honnold rose to international fame in 2017 when he became the first and only person ever to free solo climb a full route from base to summit on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California, documented in the BAFTA and Academy award winning film, Free Solo. He holds speed records for his ascent of the Nose in Yosemite and also numerous climbing awards for his various achievements. His level-headed exterior, calm manner and affable face seem at odds with an individual that sets out to achieve what he does but when your mother, Dierdre Wolownick, is still breaking climbing records at 70 years old then climbing is most probably in his blood. For Alex Honnold free soloing is a form of meditation, a practice in control, discipline and complete focus.
Hansjörg Auer
Born a year before Honnold in Austria, Auer is another notable solo free climber. Preferring to climb in Europe and Asia, he is best known for his first ever ascent of the Fish Route on Marmolada in the Italian Dolomites and he also won a Piolet d’Or (known as the Golden Ice Axe awards) for his free solo ascent in Pakistan of Lupghar Sar West. Tragically, Auer died in an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies whilst climbing a complicated route with fellow climbers David Lama and Jess Roskelley in 2019.
Lynn Hill
From gymnast to weightlifter to runner, this American rock climber is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of climbing and she has a whole raft of wins under her belt at competitive climbing to prove it. With over a dozen first free ascents and many more as the first ever female to ascend, Hill was paving the way for female climbers through the 70s, 80s and into the 90s. Perhaps one of her most notable achievements was being the first to free climb the Nose in Yosemite National Park in 1993. Hill claims her small stature meant she wasn’t ever taken seriously as a female climber, but her free ascent of the Nose was a pivotal moment for both her and women like her all over the world. To this day she is one of only two people who have ever free climbed the Nose in a day.
Catherine Destivelle
Rival to Lynn Hill and another pioneering female free soloist and mountaineer, Destivelle was one of only a handful of women free solo climbing at an extreme level during the 90s. She has a number of free ascents to her name, notably her winter free solo climbs of the North Face Trilogy, which are the north faces of the Eiger, Grandes Jorasses and the Matterhorn, where she soloed on first sight, unlike others who had practiced their routes beforehand. For Catherine Destivelle, climbing all over the world completing routes in Nepal, the Himalayas the US and the French Alps, where she even has a route named for her on the west face of Petit Dru, Voie Destivelle, has been a lifelong passion and one that continues now she is into her 60s. These days she climbs for fun in between managing her own mountain book company.
Alain Robert
With a nickname like the ‘French spiderman’ or ‘the human spider’, this French free solo climber is like the celebrity bad boy of the climbing world. Born in 1962, Robert has a penchant for climbing skyscrapers and has scaled many of the highest manmade structures in the world. Sometimes he has permission to do so, other times he decidedly does not, but regardless with first ascents of such landmarks as the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Eiffel Tower, Burj Khalifa and the Empire State Building he is one of the most famous free soloists in the world. And yes, his criminal record is a mile long, but it hasn’t stopped him yet!
Steph Davis
Stephanie Davis was born in Illinois in 1973 and is one of the most experienced solo free climbers in the world. She is also a mountaineer, rock climber, BASE jumper and wingsuit flyer but claims she’s not an adrenalin junkie. For her, climbing gives her a sense of control and power that she doesn’t find anywhere else. Davis has earned plenty of first female free solo accolades as well as a number of ascents, including being the first woman to summit all peaks of the Fitzroy Mountain range in Patagonia. Her lifetime of adventures is documented in her books where she explores her relationship with fear, climbing, marriage and loss, after losing two husbands to wingsuiting.
Dean Potter
One of Steph Davis’s husbands was Dean Potter. Born in the US in 1972, Potter was an enthusiastic climber, alpinist, BASE jumper and highliner (high level slacklining). Before his death in 2015 when wingsuiting, he completed many free solo climbs, established routes in his beloved Yosemite National Park and even invented a new sport – freebasing. This is where you ascend a free solo climb without ropes but with a BASE jumping parachute on your bag so that if you fall you can deploy it to avert injury. His first freebase ascent was of the Eiger, Deep Blue Sea and he briefly held a speed ascent of the Nose in Yosemite for a few years.
Brette Harrington
Rock climber, alpinist, competitive skier and named by Forbes Magazine as a woman in sport to watch, Brette Harrington was born in 1992 and has an impressive number of routes, first free ascents and first ascents to her relatively young name. Much of her early climbs were with Marc-André Leclerc, her partner and friend who died after filming the documentary, The Alpinist, a story about his climbing career that featured Brette alongside him. Harrington spent two years buried in the Alps with her grief, scouting new routes and dedicating one, Life Compass, to Leclerc. She continues to climb, and a highlight of her short career so far includes a first free solo ascent of Chiaro de Luna in Patagonia.
Marc-André Leclerc
Marc-André Leclerc was the subject of the 2021 film, The Alpinist, as a Canadian rock climber and alpinist who was particularly fond of ice climbing and had a number of winter solo ascents under his belt. The documentary followed him between 2015-2016 as he free soloed his way across North and South America. Inspired by Chris Bonnington’s Quest for Adventure at the tender age of 9, Marc Leclerc spent time in Patagonia where he achieved three first free solo ascents and later won many more in his home country of Canada. He died in 2018 whilst summiting a new route on Mendenhall Towers in Alaska with Ryan Johnson when they were thought to have been caught by an avalanche. Their bodies were never found.
Wolfgang Güllich
German rock climber Wolfgang Güllich is renowned for being one of the most influential climbers in the history of sport climbing. Born in 1960 he set record after record in the 80s for world’s first ascents of progressively difficult routes. Before his death at 31 in a car accident, he was known as the world’s strongest climber and the training techniques he used, including the invention of the campus board, revolutionised sport climbing. Notable achievements in his climbing career include the first ever free solo of a 7c graded route Weed Killer on Raven Tor in the Peak District and Separate Reality in Yosemite National Park.
Now, we’re not suggesting you strap on a parachute and try BASE jumping, or head to your nearest cliff for a spot of free solo climbing. However, learning about climbers who have pushed boundaries, conquered fears and accomplished incredible achievements in the great outdoors is inspiring to us. We tell our guests that much of the battle for a summit is in your head and grit and determination is what gets you up a mountain when your body is so tired you can’t see straight. So next time you’re struggling up a high peak, be glad of being on two feet and not two fingertips! Click below to find your next adventure and visit some of the iconic destinations our free solo climbers have visited. We won’t make you carry a parachute, and you can rest assured there will be no chalk in sight.