Non-climber surprises me with her take on Honnold's soloing

I was on a first date 3 days ago with a non-climber.  Like so many other non-climbers, when I told her I like "free-climbing" she thought I meant "free-soloing."  I explained the difference and told her I rarely free-solo, but that some much better climbers soloed more often and at a much higher standard.  I asked if she'd heard of Alex Honnold; she hadn't.  So I showed her a picture of him on Free Rider.

"That's really terrible" was her response.  

"Why is it terrible?" I asked.

"Because if he's so famous and kids see him climbing without a rope, a lot of them will try and mimic him.  Honestly, the best thing that could happen is if that guy fell off and died.  It would save lives" she said, as my jaw hit the floor.

"You're saying you hope Alex Honnold dies?" I asked, still in disbelief?

"Yes" she repeated.  "I hope Alex Honnold dies.  I'm sure he's probably a nice guy, but what he's doing is reckless and irresponsible."

No amount of my further arguing swayed her.  I told her that soloists have been around for years and I didn't know of a single instance of someone trying to mimic Bachar, Croft, Osman, Hersey, Reardon, Potter, or Honnold and then falling off and dying.  She didn't care.

Have you ever heard someone express this kind of view before?  It obviously seemed rational to her, but to me it seems both irrational and emotionally off-putting (because Honnold is such a likable guy).

I hope you didn't ask for a second date...

John RB wrote:

 when I told her I like "free-climbing" she thought I meant "free-soloing." 

This has to be one of the most annoying misconceptions of climbing. You can't really explain what aid climbing is to non-climbers, or at least in a way that they can actually understand it, so the free/aid distinction is hard to clarify. And you can't make something funny of it like you can when people ask what a crash pad is or how you get the rope up there.

But yeah, to wish death upon somebody is pretty fucked up, much less wishing a thousand foot fall for a person who spends a considerable portion of his money on charity. And he's probably the most humble climber of any who climb at that level, which is what is, at least to me, more admirable than his free soloing accomplishments. 

Most of the guys you used in your argument are dead, although not all from free soloing.

Fehim Hasecic wrote:

Most of the guys you used in your argument are dead, although not all from free soloing.

Bachar -- Died soloing

Croft -- Still going strong

Osman -- Died rope-jumping

Hersey -- Died soloing

Reardon -- Rogue wave (freak accident)

Potter -- Died in Wingsuit BASE accident

Honnold -- Still going strong

So, yeah... very few famous soloists have died soloing.  Henry Barber could fairly be put on this list too, and he's still around I believe.

Skye Swoboda-Colberg wrote:

Would you mind changing the thread title to something a little less offensive? Maybe "Explaining Free Soloing to Non Climber"? I'm down for a discourse, but a title proclaiming the hope of someone dying seems like very bad juju. I don't think our community needs this on the front page.

Done.  Hopefully the title is now toned down enough?!  Sorry, I wasn't trying to offend anyone.

Her logic is flawed. By her judgement any famous athlete in any "dangerous" sport should die to dissuade the young corruptible minds from attempting the dangerous activity.

RER wrote:

Her logic is flawed. By her judgement any famous athlete in any "dangerous" sport should die to dissuade the young corruptible minds from attempting the dangerous activity.

I tried that.  I asked about tight-rope walkers, kayakers, BASE jumpers, etc.  She said all of them set bad examples if they engage in high-risk attention-seeking behavior.

I asked, "Do you hope I die too?  I free-solo sometimes."  

She said, "No, that's different.  You're not doing it on 60 Minutes."

I hope she's hot ...

I heard she was like OMG at the mall all day.

I bet she eats Cliff bars too.

Soloing has a built in safety mechinism, fear. Any would be copycat would get 10ft off the ground and say "This isn't for me."

Your friend is close minded, move on quickly.

You should have told her, "Well, look at you. You probably want to get married, buy a house, and have kids and die slowly from the inside. Kids will see your example and mimic it as well, leading to their own doom. So you should probably just go ahead and die already."

Nice job on whoever suggested the thread title change.

Hobo Greg wrote:

Sure you can. I tell people that free climbing is using your body to move up, and the gear is there just in case, whereas in aid, the gear itself is used for upward progress. Seems to make sense to them.

any time I try people get confused about the gear and I have to explain what stoppers and cams and pitons are

Tim Lutz wrote:

Is this her ?

Reasonable reaction, with gyms becoming more popular many people are getting into climbing at a younger age. When you get the fame and the ca$h money you also become a role model to those wanting the fame and ca$h money. Kids (and most adults these days) don't recognise that their actions may have consequences so they go out and solo and fall and blame Honnold for it, because that's where the idea came from. I'm sure the guy falls occasionally, he's just been lucky so far. 

I'm not anti skub but I can understand the thoughts behind her reaction. 

Beean wrote:

Reasonable reaction, with gyms becoming more popular many people are getting into climbing at a younger age. When you get the fame and the ca$h money you also become a role model to those wanting the fame and ca$h money. Kids (and most adults these days) don't recognise that their actions may have consequences so they go out and solo and fall and blame Honnold for it, because that's where the idea came from. I'm sure the guy falls occasionally, he's just been lucky so far. 

I'm not anti skub but I can understand the thoughts behind her reaction. 

Never reasonable to wish death upon someone

Stich wrote:

You should have told her, "Well, look at you. You probably want to get married, buy a house, and have kids and die slowly from the inside. Kids will see your example and mimic it as well, leading to their own doom. So you should probably just go ahead and die already."

2/10

Beean wrote:

Reasonable reaction, with gyms becoming more popular many people are getting into climbing at a younger age. When you get the fame and the ca$h money you also become a role model to those wanting the fame and ca$h money. Kids (and most adults these days) don't recognise that their actions may have consequences so they go out and solo and fall and blame Honnold for it, because that's where the idea came from. I'm sure the guy falls occasionally, he's just been lucky so far. 

I'm not anti skub but I can understand the thoughts behind her reaction. 

Reasonable? I am not sure at all. But not entirely unexpected, yes. I have encountered a variation of this reaction from people.

Considering how many Yuotube compilations there are out there, of people doing crazy stunts on skateboards, how publicized X-games, Ninja Warrior events, parkour, etc. etc. are, this woman is way out of line.

Copy-cat free soloing after watching Alex Honnold, just like copy-cat cartwheel off the nearest construction site, after watching a parcour video, are simply not a common thing, nor will they ever be. if anything, I'd argue that parcour looks more achievable than rock soloing, given the ubiquitous  nature of the playground equipment vs rock faces... so the verdict is out. Ninja warrior should be banned off TV. NOW!

Beean wrote:

... I'm sure the guy falls occasionally, he's just been lucky so far ...

What?