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

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 1,018 ratings

Price: 17.72

Last update: 02-24-2025


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Instant National Best Seller

New York Times Monthly Best Seller

One of the 10 Best Books of March - Paste Magazine

A deeply reported insider perspective of Alex Honnold’s historic achievement and the culture and history of climbing.

“One of the most compelling accounts of a climb and the climbing ethos that I've ever read.” (Sebastian Junger)

In Mark Synnott’s unique window on the ethos of climbing, his friend Alex Honnold’s astonishing “free solo” ascent of El Capitan’s 3,000 feet of sheer granite is the central act. When Honnold topped out at 9:28 a.m. on June 3, 2017, having spent fewer than four hours on his historic ascent, the world gave a collective gasp. The New York Times described it as “one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever.”

Synnott’s personal history of his own obsession with climbing since he was a teenager - through professional climbing triumphs and defeats and the dilemmas they render - makes this a deeply reported, enchanting revelation about living life to the fullest. What are we doing if not an impossible climb?

Synnott delves into a raggedy culture that emerged decades earlier during Yosemite’s Golden Age, when pioneering climbers like Royal Robbins and Warren Harding invented the sport that Honnold would turn on its ear. Painting an authentic, wry portrait of climbing history and profiling Yosemite heroes and the harlequin tribes of climbers known as the Stonemasters and the Stone Monkeys, Synnott weaves in his own experiences with poignant insight and wit: Tensions burst on the mile-high northwest face of Pakistan’s Great Trango Tower; fellow climber Jimmy Chin miraculously persuades an official in the Borneo jungle to allow Honnold’s first foreign expedition, led by Synnott, to continue; armed bandits accost the same trio at the foot of a tower in the Chad desert....

The Impossible Climb is an emotional drama driven by people exploring the limits of human potential and seeking a perfect, choreographed dance with nature. Honnold dared far beyond the ordinary, beyond any climber in history. But this story of sublime heights is really about all of us. Who doesn’t need to face down fear and make the most of the time we have?


Top reviews from the United States

  • B. Goddard
    5.0 out of 5 stars A unique window into the ethos of climbing
    Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2019
    I have never, and I shall never climb a cliff of any height, but devouring Mark Synnott's brilliant and riveting book The Impossible Climb gave me enormous joy. If, as a reader, you crave context, and there is context galore, this book is for you. If you wonder how these elite climbers, both male and female, balance the hunger for risk with the recognition that staying alive is essential to providing the very opportunities for that risk taking, this book will move you and challenge your assumptions about the sport. If you harbor a fascination for the history of great climbers and their historic expeditions, this book provides a rare, even profound education. Yes, the book culminates with Alex Honnold's epic free solo of El Capitan, but this book is about so much more. There are so many impossible climbs described in this book, not just the final one. It is about the ethos of climbing, the passion that possesses every climber. Synnott invites you into this universe, on every level, and what every reader will be able to see and understand and feel is the absolute honesty, the fierce authenticity that such a life requires. This book is, of course, about the human condition. It is no accident that Synnott and Honnold bonded over the sharing of literature and ideas during the early expeditions together. Brothers Karamazov, The Things They Carried, Walden, religion, philosophy all provided that connection in this remarkable friendship, a friendship that grows and evolves and ultimately becomes an essential part of the final drama. I learned so much from this book, and I found that the meticulous detail about the climbing techniques became important to me. Even the jargon charmed, and the excesses of how one survives for days on the side of a mountain or deep in a slot canyon left me breathless. The writing is powerful, the perspective universal, yet intimate. Free soloing will never be on my dance card, but I rejoice that Mark Synnott made climbing accessible to me and enriched my understanding of the human spirit.
  • day
    5.0 out of 5 stars Conveys the true accomplishment of FREE SOLO
    Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2020
    I marvel at the talent of the creators of FREE SOLO. I appreciate the magnitude of Alex Honnold's accomplishment. I have years of climbing history in my experience. And I THOUGHT that I knew "what was happening" regarding Alex's free solo of El Capitan, but it was not until I read Mark Synnott's account did I fully understand what was going on inside Alex's mind and what actually enabled him to succeed. Many say that they are surprised at the lack of focus in this book on Alex's climb, yet I beg them to read this book again to see the bigger picture for this very young man(?)boy(?) to achieve something no one thought possible, and without a trainer or coach, with all of his skill coming from his own self-will and discipline. He is truly remarkable and an inspiration. He is totally sane. There is nothing wrong with his amygdala. His dreams during his youth is what drives him. And he drives himself with incredible self-care. I am very grateful for having discovered this book that Mark wrote and I can totally appreciate why he wrote it as he did. He found a way to get an "inside view" of Alex that could not have been conveyed by any other means in my opinion. Congratulations Mark Synnott on your success in your goal!!
  • Brathanki
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, I disagree with the idea that this doesn't have much to do with Alex Honnold
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2019
    This was a thoroughly entertaining read. A common complaint I've seen is that the book has very little to do with Alex Honnold. While there are good sized chunks of the book that focus solely on the author's climbing experience, they do play a roll in explaining how his world collided with Honnold's and justify his credentials in telling this story. There are also a few long stretches of climbing history that don't directly feature Honnold, but again, help to set the stage for the main event.

    For someone not in to climbing but who saw the movie and was interested in getting more detail behind the climb, I can see how these parts can test your patience. But it's all written quite well and is interesting to read, so if you see the story through to the end I think it will all come together for you. For anyone already in to climbing, some of the stories might be old news, but the book is still very recommendable.
  • NC
    5.0 out of 5 stars Truly inspiring.
    Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2024
    Concentration, dedication, strength, focus. This man risked his life at every moment to achieve the impossible.
  • Michael Menart
    5.0 out of 5 stars A behind the scenes look at professional climbers
    Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2019
    First off, I made a playlist of videos which provide a look at many of the expeditions mentioned in the book. The playlist is available on youtube under the title "The Impossible Climb (Supplementary Videos)". In addition to the playlist, it's also worth checking out the movies tangential to the book, Meru (Jimmy Chin), The Dawn Wall (Tommy Caldwell), Free Solo (Alex Honnold obviously), and maybe even Valley Uprising if you want to dig deeper into the history of Yosemite).

    Actual Review:
    I'm sure many people will pick up this book mainly for the insight into Honnold's legendary free solo of El Capitan. While this part of the book is great, I think this book offers so much more in exploring the interpersonal relationships climbers have while going on these expeditions. We just see the finely editing videos of these trips, but so much more happens behind the scenes. In a way, much of this book could be seen as an "expose" of professional rock climbing, which isn't something you see much. Throughout the book, one gets to explore some of the character flaws of other professional climbers as well as Mark Synnott himself (both through his introspection and the way he tells the story). The writing itself is also excellent, and the book is a joy to read.

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