Alex Honnold Attempts Women’s World Cup Boulder
Not known for his comp climbing, Honnold gives a problem a try and ends up leaving some shin skin on a volume after a nasty fall
Over the weekend, the second Boulder World Cup of the 2024 circuit was held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Alex Honnold joined Matt Groom on the commentary team for the men’s and women’s finals. Before the women’s final round, Honnold got the chance to try problem #4, a tricky slab boulder that mixed technical footwork, balance, dynamic movement, and coordination all into one problem. You can watch Honnold on the problem in the embedded video below from the 5:00 to 10:20 timestamps.
Women’s problem #4 gave most of the competitors trouble in the finals. Shorter climbers in particular had difficultly reaching and then establishing on a far right foot on the slab. Oriane Bertone and Oceania Mackenzie topped the problem, Natalia Grossman and Naïlé Meignan reached zone, and Brooke Raboutou and Mao Nakamura were unable to reach the zone hold.
At nearly six feet tall, Honnold was oversized for the problem and could pretty easily reach a foothold that most women had to lunge to. He struggled with the next section though, unable to top the problem during his four-minute mock-competition-style attempt. “This is f***ing dangerous,” remarked Honnold, high up on the wall.
After falling a few times, Honnold ended up taking a nasty slip on a volume, leaving some shin skin and hair on the edge of the hold. “This is why pitter-pattering on volumes is so scary,” said Honnold. “I think it’s a lot scarier than I would have thought. You’re just kinda high and it’s so precarious. This is a lot more intense than you think it would be. You’re just higher and more exposed than you would be in a normal gym.”
If you’re new to climbing, Honnold is one of the most accomplished climbers ever, with dozens of awe-inspiring free-solos, alpine first ascents, and hard trad climbs. In 2017, he free-soloed Freerider 5.13a on El Capitan, the first ever person to free-solo the gigantic Yosemite monolith. The feat was documented in the Academy Award-winning film Free Solo. To read more about some of Honnold’s biggest solos, visit here.
Alex Honnold tries Women’s Boulder World Cup problem
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