This Daring Climber Doesn’t Use Ropes – And Scientists Were Amazed When They Scanned His Brain

With no ropes in place, Alex Honnold must rely on his hands to keep him alive as he scales the edge of a cliff. One wrong move could spell the end, and given the unpredictable weather conditions up there, the stakes are always high. So we’ve got a question for you: would you put yourself in that position? No? Well, there’s a reason for that, and it became clear when scientists studied Honnold’s brain scan.

We know what you’re thinking now: what kind of scan? To answer that, we need to look at where the examination itself took place. It was held in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Center for Biomedical Imaging, which houses some fascinating equipment.

Yes, the facility’s home to what are called functional magnetic resonance imaging machines, better known as fMRI scanners. So what do they do? Well, as per the Medical University of South Carolina’s Jane Joseph, the equipment monitors alterations in “blood flow” inside a person’s brain. As the organ absorbs oxygen while it’s active, colors will pop up in the scan. And that’s where Honnold comes in.

You see, Joseph believed that “reactivity” in the human brain might have ties to a certain quirk – that of “sensation seeking.” The term covers anything from narcotic addictions to chasing hazardous thrills. So who better to test that theory on than a climber who doesn’t use ropes while scaling mountains? Honnold was perfect!

Quite simply, Joseph wanted to look at the area of Honnold’s brain that identifies fear. It’s called the amygdala. To test it out, the adventurer was placed inside one of the fMRI machines, which went on to flash up various photos in front of him. Some of them were mundane, while others were designed to provoke strong reactions.

Now in theory, this straightforward test would be quite telling. As the photos pop up, the observers could figure out if a person was reluctant to take risks from the scans of their amygdala. In other words, reactions were key. But when Honnold stepped into the machine, his results were truly mind-blowing.

The fact that Honnold even agreed to this procedure was a surprise in itself, though. As it turns out, he’d previously been very wary of undergoing brain scans or similar tests. To explain more on that front, the climber spoke to the Nautilus website in August 2016 – and used a surprising analogy.

“I’ve always preferred not to look inside the sausage,” Honnold said. “Like, if it works, it works. Why ask questions about it? But now I feel like I’ve sort of stepped past that. I feel totally normal, whatever that means. [But] it’d be interesting to see what the science says.”

We get the feeling that Honnold’s fans would’ve been pretty interested as well. You see, he’s a bona fide star in the rock-climbing community, breaking into the mainstream consciousness thanks to his jaw-dropping feats over the past decade or so. You’d be hard-pressed to name anyone better than him in the art of free solo.

In case you didn’t know, free solo’s the term used to describe climbs when someone doesn’t use ropes to help them. It’s an unbelievable approach that gets your heart pumping just thinking about it. We’d be terrified! Yet Honnold takes it all in his stride.

Mind you, it hasn’t always been like that. For instance, Honnold harbored a lot of doubts ahead of his initial free solo venture back in 2005. He was only 19 at the time and aimed to conquer Corrugation Corner in California. It’s described as a “technical rock wall,” measuring around 300 feet in height.

By Honnold’s own admission, it seemed like an impossible task at first. Climbing that thing without a rope? How?! Despite his concerns, though, he summoned up the courage to do it – and free soloed his way to the summit. Not bad for a teenager, right? And after that experience, the guy only got better.

Take 2008 as an example. Just three years on from his first free solo, Honnold planned to climb the famous Half Dome at California’s Yosemite National Park the same way. To say it’s an intimidating sight would be an understatement. And on top of that, no one in recorded history had completed a free solo ascent of it.

So it’s fair to say that the odds were firmly against Honnold. But he didn’t let that get in the way of his personal mission. On that note, the climber carefully ascended the Half Dome, reaching a point called “Thank God Ledge.” As per Nautilus, it’s around 1,800 feet up. No, that’s not a typo!

Here’s where it gets really wild, though. The ledge itself is incredibly slim, to the point where you can barely stand on it. The only way to walk along it is to back your heels against the rock, while the rest of your foot hangs precariously over the edge. Our palms are sweating just typing that out!

Yet Honnold had no problems up on the Half Dome. He scooted along the ledge with very little concern, despite the disastrous consequences that awaited just a simple mistake. In his mind, this was another example of “honnolding” – a term he created himself to describe moments of traversing these heights.

Anyway, Honnold wrote his name in the history books after completing that particular climb. Since then, he’s experienced “honnolding” all around the world. Yes, he’s free soloed mountains everywhere from Oman to Northern Ireland and Mexico. And his track-record’s now second to none.

In addition to that, Honnold’s exploits have opened some surprising doors, too. As his free soloing started to receive mainstream attention, he’s appeared in television adverts for the likes of BMW. He’s also graced National Geographic’s front page and earned a spot on 60 Minutes on the small screen.

But it could be argued that Honnold’s biggest claim to fame’s the documentary Free Solo. It’s a film that charts one of his greatest accomplishments, as he tries to conquer El Capitan. This is a famous rock face found at Yosemite National Park. And guess what? Just like the Half Dome, no one had free soloed it before.

Now to give you an idea of how hard this climb is, the expected time to reach the summit is usually at least four days. And that’s using all the standard climbing equipment. Honnold, though, blew those numbers out of the water – with the camera crew following his every step.

Remarkably, Honnold scaled the 3,200-foot slab of rock in under four hours. Not days. Hours. It’s a staggering achievement that won’t be forgotten any time soon. As for the film itself, that didn’t do too badly, either. After coming out in 2018, Free Solo brought in close to $30 million globally.

And if that wasn’t enough, the movie was a big hit during the 2019 awards season as well. Free Solo picked up the Best Documentary gong at both the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards. It also won six prizes at the Primetime Emmy Awards show that same year. Which is some going, wouldn’t you agree?

Anyway, outside of Honnold’s jaw-dropping feats in that movie, are there any other notable tales from his free solo career? You bet! In fact, one was shared at the National Geographic Society building back in 2014. He was hosting a talk with two other guys: Mark Synnott and Jimmy Chin.

Chin, who worked on Free Solo, specializes in taking photos of climbers, while Synnott’s an adventurer. The latter went on to share a tale about a trip he’d taken to Oman with Honnold. They journeyed to the Musandam Peninsula – a secluded area that’s home to some impressive mountains.

Once the group arrived at a local settlement, though, something stirred them. “At a certain point, these guys start yelling and they’re pointing up at the cliff,” Synnott recalled. “And we’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ And of course I’m thinking, ‘Well, I’m pretty sure I know.’” Yep, it was Honnold – he was free soloing his way up there.

“Basically, [the locals] think Alex is a witch,” Synnott joked. But there was no magic at play, of course – it was all Honnold. After the talk ended, people in the audience could speak to the trio one-on-one. And this led to an important exchange between the Free Solo star’s friend and a scientist.

While gesturing towards Honnold, the scientist told Synnott, “That kid’s amygdala isn’t firing.” You don’t hear that every day! And some two years on from this chat, the free solo legend found himself inside the fMRI machine under Jane Joseph’s care in 2016. It was her job to see whether or not that previous assessment was true.

So that brings us back to the test that we described earlier. How did Honnold react to the images in the machine? Well, Joseph recalled his response in a piece on the Medical University of South Carolina’s website. Following close to an hour in there, Honnold apparently asked, “What? Was that supposed to do something for me?”

Simple answer? Yes. As Joseph told the college site, “For most people, they don’t come out [of the machine] traumatized, but they do come out and say it wasn’t pleasant. Alex just didn’t seem affected.” And the scans highlighted that, too. You see, Honnold’s amygdala showed no signs of color throughout the test.

For comparison, Joseph previously tested another individual who had the same interests as Honnold. But that person’s brain scan was completely different – the amygdala was lit up with a fiery red shade. So yes, those results proved that the photos can provoke a reaction. But evidently not in the acclaimed free solo climber.

Away from the machine, Honnold was also asked a number of questions to see how willing he’d be to engage in dangerous activities. Want some examples? Okay then. As per the college website, three of them were: “Do you enjoy skiing very fast down a mountain? Would you enjoy parachute jumping? Do you like to explore a strange city or place, even if you might get lost?”

By the end of the process, Joseph discovered that Honnold’s inclination to dive into risky situations was double that of a typical individual. On top of that, his results were higher by a fifth when weighed up alongside other thrill-lovers, too. And there were no real signs of fear in either test.

Looking back at the results, Joseph noted, “My take on it is there are probably some stimuli that would activate his amygdala, but if you just compare him to the norm or baseline, he doesn’t show anything. That said, Alex scored pretty high on the trait of conscientiousness, which has shown to protect against becoming addicted and getting into that spiral.”

Honnold agreed with the first point, citing a nightmarish example. As he admitted to the college website, “I’m pretty sure that if I had done that brain scan with a rattlesnake inside the tube, my amygdala would have been lighting up like a Christmas tree.” When it comes to scaling mountains without rope, though, he has no such worries.

But how’s that possible? Why doesn’t Honnold’s brain showcase the standard signs of fear in those situations? Well, the climber offered a potential explanation. As it turns out, he won’t just dive into performing free solos on a whim. A lot of planning’s involved ahead of time, and that does include using ropes for trial runs.

Honnold also keeps written records of his plans as a reference point. To that end, his triumph over El Capitan was nearly seven years in the making. So the climber believes that his thoroughness blocks out fear. By becoming familiar with the mountains, he has no reason to be afraid of a climb.

“To be honest, I think a lot about falling ahead of time,” Honnold explained. “But once I decide I’m ready, I’m 100 percent committed to it. Look, it’s not that I’m not afraid. If I was in danger, I’m sure I’d respond the same as anybody. Pain, death, all the things you’d expect. They scare me too, you know?”

Anyway, Joseph latched on to Honnold’s point regarding preparation, noting that it makes him stand out among other thrill-seekers. “If you think about what he does, he plans every detail out,” she told the Medical University of South Carolina’s site. “So as opposed to the Mountain Dew adrenaline-junkie type, he really isn’t that. And that kind of surprised me.”

Overall, Joseph’s tests provided some fascinating insights into the inner workings of a remarkable mind. But once the process was over, Honnold quickly switched his focus back to free soloing. He has no intention of calling it a day yet. After all, he says he’s never been in better physical condition.

“Right now, I see no reason to think I’m going to back off what I’m doing any time soon,” Honnold told the college website. “Free climbing is what gives me the most pleasure in life. And I’m going to keep doing it until it stops.” That sounds like a man with a good handle on fear, wouldn’t you agree?