Aaron Donald
Aaron Donald

I grew up with a lot of friends that had a lot of abilities to do a lot of different things and chose different routes and it wasn't a great outcome for them.

Adam Ondra
Adam Ondra

The harder routes you climb, the more interesting the climbing gets and the more crazy moves you are forced to figure out.

Adam Ondra
Adam Ondra

What really motivates me to climb harder and harder is not necessarily that I want to push my limits or show who's best, but climbing harder and harder routes makes it more fun.

Adam Thielen
Adam Thielen

I don't think it's much different at this level. It just feels like playing high school football, college football. It's the same games, the same routes.

Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold

Seven years ago, when I started free soloing long, hard routes in Yosemite - climbing without a rope, gear or a partner - I did it because it seemed like the purest, most elegant way to scale big walls. Climbing, especially soloing, felt like a grand adventure, but I never dreamed it could be a profession.

Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold

I suppose being a bit of an antisocial weirdo definitely honed my skills as a soloist. It gave me a lot more opportunities to solo lots of easy routes, which in turn broadened my comfort zone quite a bit and has allowed me to climb the harder things without a rope that I've done now.

Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold

I've done routes where I've climbed 200 feet off the ground and just been, like, 'What am I doing?' I then just climbed back down and went home. Discretion is the better part of valor. Some days are just not your day. That's the big thing with free soloing: when to call it.

Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold

Yosemite has the most impressive and accessible granite big walls in the world. The rock is amazing. And because of that, it's been the mecca for climbing in the U.S. - and the world to a large degree - for all of climbing history. It's the place to test yourself against the historic routes of the past.

Alex Honnold
Alex Honnold

If you're climbing big routes that'll take you 16 hours, or, like, El Capitan, you have to take something like a big, robust sandwich. Climbing isn't like running or triathlons, where you have to constantly be eating blocks, gels, and pure sugar. Climbing is relatively slow, so you can pretty much eat anything and digest it as you climb.

Alex Smith
Alex Smith

It's one thing as a quarterback to sit there and warm up. And there's one thing to throw routes. And there's another thing when you drop back in the pocket and, when a guy comes open, to really be able to urgently - bam - all of a sudden. That guy's open; your body has to do what your mind's telling you.