The Impossible Climb

Alex Honnold, El Capitan and the Climbing Life

Mark Synnott, Mark Deakins, Macmillan Digital Audio

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English

Bolinda Audio Books
04 April 2019

Track & field sports, athletics

One slip, one false move, one missed toehold and you're dead.

On June 3rd 2017 veteran adventure journalist and professional climber Mark Synnott was in Yosemite to witness something that only a handful of people knew was about to occur: the most famous climber in the world, Alex Honnold, was going to attempt to summit one of the world's most challenging ascents, a route called 'Freerider' on the notorious rock formation El Capitan. It is a climb extraordinarily dangerous and difficult, and yet Honnold was going to do it 'free solo'. Meaning no help. No climbing partner. No equipment. No rope. Where a single small mistake would mean certain death. To most, it would be an insane proposition. But most are not Alex Honnold, and few know this better than Mark Synnott, which is why National Geographic sent him there to cover the story.

Indeed, to summit El Cap free solo was a feat likened to Neil Armstrong first walking on the moon.

In The Impossible Climb, Mark Synnott uses his own career as a professional climber, its intersection with that of Alex Honnold and the lead-up to Honnold's historic ascent, to paint an insider portrait of the elite climbing community, exploring what motivates them, the paradoxical drive to keep the sport pure and at the same time to fund climbs and the role that awareness of mortality plays in the endeavour. We watch through Mark's eyes as Alex plots, trains and attempts his heart-stopping free-solo ascent. Ultimately this is a story not only about climbing but about what makes us human, how we respond to fear and our drive to transcend the inevitability of death.

By: Mark Synnott
Producer: Macmillan Digital Audio
Read by: Mark Deakins
Imprint: Bolinda Audio Books
Country of Publication: Australia
Edition: Simultaneous Release
ISBN: 9781489495822
ISBN 10: 1489495827
Publication Date: 04 April 2019
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Audio
Publisher's Status: Active

Mark Synnott is a 20-year member of the North Face Global Athlete team. He is a frequent contributor to National Geographic magazine and has written for Outside, Men’s Journal, Rock and Ice and Climbing. He is also an internationally certified mountain guide and a trainer for the Pararescuemen of the United States Air Force. He lives in the Mt Washington Valley of New Hampshire. Mark Deakins is a television, film and voiceover actor. He has provided his voice to numerous video games, including Prototype. His film and TV credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Devil's Advocate, Head Case, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Insurrection.

Reviews for The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan and the Climbing Life

'With the possible exception of the lunar landings, free-soloing El Capitan may rank as one of the most audacious - and terrifying - things a human being has ever done. Synnott's narrative plasters you to a 3,000-foot granite cliff and doesn't let you go until the climb is done.' -- Sebastian Junger 'Mark Synnott's The Impossible Climb is to climbing what William Finnegan's Barbarian Days is to surfing.' -- John Long 'Yes, The Impossible Climb is the gripping story of the most perilous rock ascent of all time - but it's much more than that. In seamlessly fusing memoir, reporting, social history, climbing lore, technical expertise and intimate glimpses of his tribe, Mark Synnott has given us a kind of epic of life on the edge.' -- David Laskin