Alex Honnold isn't just well-known in the climbing world. After the film about his adventures, Free Solo, hit theaters, everyone knew his name. The climber is best known for climbing without a rope, which is known as free soloing. But now that he has a baby on the way, everyone wants to know if that will change the way he climbs.
He opened up about his excitement over becoming a dad in a recent interview. But he doesn't seem too worried about how having a kid will impact his adventures just yet. He even says he doesn't consider himself to be that much of a "risk-taker" anyway.
LOL. All right …
Alex recently revealed the news that he and his wife, Sanni McCandless, are having a baby. He shared his excitement on Instagram with a cute post of the two looking overjoyed. Sanni's baby bump is in clear view.
But the question on everyone's mind is, "Will he keep free soloing?" When asked that question, Alex wasn't fully sure. He did say that he will do what he can to mitigate risks. But it doesn't seem like he wanted to commit to saying he won't free solo anymore after welcoming his baby.
"I’m totally prepared for it to rein in my risk-taking a little bit, though I could see it having no impact as well," he told Outside Magazine. "I already try to manage and mitigate risk as much as possible — I certainly don’t think of myself as a big risk-taker. So it’s possible that not much will change. But I’m open to the possibility that I’ll just want to stay at home and play with my kid as well."
He also said that he doesn't have any big "free soloing goals" in mind right now, but in the future, that could totally change. "The biggest difference, I suspect, will have to do with how I spend my time," he said.
"Having a small child seems more conducive to short bursts of intense training, which lends itself to bouldering and sport climbing. Generally, when I’m soloing a lot I’m spending tons of time outdoors on rock, which might be harder if I’m taking care of a kid. But I’m open to anything, we’ll just see. Seems like the kid will be the priority."
He's right about that. But how would he feel if his child grows up and wants to free solo? He says he's not even thinking about that right now.
"The idea of her free-soloing seems so far away that I’m not too concerned," he said. "First we need her to arrive healthy and whole, then we’ll just see if she even enjoys climbing."
It seems likely that Alex will raise an adventurer, though. "I’m sure she’ll grow up clambering around on rocks," he acknowledged. "But whether or not that ever turns into soloing will be a much bigger question. I’m not opposed, as long as it’s done carefully and intentionally by a mature adult."
Of course, parenting changes just about everyone. So it will be interesting to see if Alex shifts his thinking once his daughter arrives. As for now, he's keeping an open mind about what to expect. Truly, parenting does sometimes feel a bit like climbing without a rope, so he may just be a natural.
