The Edge of Fear: Rock Climbing Phenom Alex Honnold's Mom on the Free Solo Mindset

At the age of sixty-six, Dierdre Wolownick became the oldest woman to climb El Capitan, the iconic 3,200-foot granite "big wall" in Yosemite National Park.* For her this wasn’t just any climb. Yes, The Captain is perhaps the most prized big wall climbs in the world. It was in June that same year that Dierdre’s son Alex Honnold stunned and terrified the world by climbing without ropes—a free solo assent—this vertical wall that rises one half mile out of the earth in Yosemite National Park. Alex is no stranger to making news for his death-defying ability to speed climb routes, without protection, that give other expert climbers nightmares. Dierdre's son is indeed a rock climber in a special club: He's still alive. Says Honnold's friend and rock climbing legend Jimmy Caldwell, "All the other free solo climbers in the world are dead." Add this all together and you get the media sensation of Honnold, a paradox that his friends and family know couldn't be more opposite of his aloof and down-to-earth personality. National Geographic's blockbuster documentary of Honnold's assent of the Freerider route of El Captain, which won 7 Emmy’s and an Academy Award for best Documentary Feature in 2019. I speak with Alex's mom, Dierdre, to deconstruct the public's polarized reaction to her son's lifestyle and to talk about her book The Sharp End of Life: A Mother's Story, about her journey as a parent who joined her son on his adventure, pushing the limit's of what's possible.  Should we see Honnold's climbing as reckless? A sophisticated dance with passive-aggressive self-harm? Or does our strong emotional reaction to his mastery and success in this solitary sport say more about our own denial of the risks we take every day flying in airplanes, living with firearms, or any number of questionable health and dietary choices we make. Do we envy Alex's clarity and focus and lack his courage to squarely face our own limitations and accept our own mortality? **The YouTube version of this episode, has some really cool footage of Alex climbing in the intro** Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoulOfLifeShow​ or Twitter: https://twitter.com/SoulofLifeShow​ Want to book Keith as a guest on your podcast? Contact him at [email protected]. ***7-Week Stress Reduction & Relationship Growth Course*** If you and your significant other are looking for ways to improve communication and strengthen your bonds, there is still time to enroll in my upcoming live 7-Week Stress Reduction & Relationship Growth Course. For more information visit: https://community.souloflifeshow.com/