Alex Honnold's latest mega linkup: HURT

HURT, Alex Honnold's latest coup, can confidently be labeled epic. The Honnold Ultimate Red Rock Traverse, in numbers: 56 kilometers, 23 peaks, 14 classic climbing routes, 7300 meters of altitude difference and all of that in 32 hours.

Alex Honnold is not only the greatest free soloist of his time, he is also known for his mega climbing tours. Not quite ten years ago he joined Cedar Wright together for the legendary «Sufferfest», in which they climbed 45 rock towers in the Californian desert and covered the 700 miles in between by bike. In 2020 he committed in 36 hours with Tommy Caldwell the CDUL (Continental Divide Ultimate Linkup), consisting of 11 classic routes with a total of 65 rope lengths, 6000 meters in altitude and 56 kilometers in between.

HURT - a tour of superlatives

On his recent tour of suffering with the appropriate acronym HURT (engl. pain) - the Honnold Ultimate Red Rock Traverse - the professional climber was primarily on his own. Friends supported him selectively in finding the route, at individual key points and with the entire logistics. Alex Honnold describes the goal of his tour as follows: "I tried to combine as many classic climbing routes and peaks as possible in a casual way."

Alex Honnold before the night free solo ascent of Mount Wilson. Image: Sanni McCandless Honnold
Alex Honnold before the night free solo ascent of Mount Wilson. Picture: Sanni McCandless Honnold

The crossing of Red Rock Canyons with the goal of taking as many climbing routes and peaks as possible, Alex Honnold had been thinking about it for a long time. The overall statistics of the 32-hour mega tour are impressive: 56 kilometers, 7300 meters in altitude, 23 peaks and 14 climbing routes.

“I have a feeling it will be a long time before this round is repeated. Great job my friend! Pretty epic!"

Tommy Caldwell

Alex Honnold explains his latest free solo linkup HURT

HURT: Alex Honnold climbed these routes

  • Tunnel Vision (4c, 6SL)
  • NE Arete Bridge (4b, 5SL)
  • Dark Shadows (5a, 10SL)
  • Cat in the Hat (4b, 7 SL), climb down
  • Community Pillar (5b, 6SL)
  • Olive Oil (4c, 5 SL), climb down
  • Aquarium (5c, 8SL)
  • Armatron (5c, 5SL)
  • Myster Z (4c, 5 SL), climb down
  • Crimson Chrysalis (5b, 11SL)
  • Bird Hunter Buttress (5c, 12SL)
  • Climb down Solar Slab (4b, 9 SL).
  • Inti Watana (6b, 21SL)
  • Epinephrines (5c, 16 SL)

Already a classic: The Sufferfest by Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright

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Credits: Cover picture Sanni McCandless Honnold

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