ST. GEORGE – Legendary climber Alex Honnold is recognized throughout the world for his daring free solo climbs on some of the most iconic and dangerous cliff faces in America and parts of the world. He has been featured on the cover of National Geographic and Outside magazines and has been highlighted by the New York Times. Now the famous adventurer is coming to St. George.

Honnold will be at the Desert Rat located at 468 W. St. George Blvd. Friday at 3 p.m. and the public is invited to come meet him in person.

Free solo climbing, or free soloing is a type of climbing done alone and with no ropes, no harnesses and no other protective gear. It is just the climber and the cliff.

It is an art and a skill that has become synonymous with Honnold’s name. In fact, if you look up the term “free soloing” on almost any internet search engine, videos of and interviews with Honnold will be some of the first results to appear on the page.

Watch The North Face video in the media player top of this report showing Honnold ascending El Sendero Luminoso in Mexico 

“He’s probably the boldest climber of his generation,” Jason Hurst, owner of the Desert Rat said of Honnold. “He’s taking the art of free soloing to another level.”

Honnold is sponsored by The North Face, Black Diamond, La Sportiva, Goal Zero, Stride Health, and Maxim Ropes, Honnold’s “About” page on his website states.

But despite his relative renown, Honnold maintains a simple life, as described on his webpage:

A gifted but hard-working athlete, Alex ‘No Big Deal’ Honnold is known as much for his humble, self-effacing attitude as he is for the dizzyingly tall cliffs he has climbed without a rope to protect him if he falls. … And to this day, he maintains his simple ‘dirtbag-climber’existence, living out of his van and traveling the world in search of the next great vertical adventure.

Honnold released a book entitled “Alone on the Wall” in which he tells of some of his most audacious climbs. He will be signing books during his appearance at the Desert Rat, Hurst said.

Event details

• What: Alex Honnold in Person.
• When: Friday, Jan. 20, 3-5 p.m.
• Where: The Desert Rat, 468 W. St. George Blvd., St. George.
• Cost: Free.
• Resources: Alex Honnold website

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