Alex Honnold: Spider-Man… or a lucky, very virtuoso human?

Photo By (Jimmy Chin) for Canary Media

Some folks asked me to comment on the Alex Honnold phenomenon, knowing that I have dealt with issues of risk and reward with athletics, as a psychiatrist practicing in Jackson Hole.

However, even after watching Free Solo [which could well win an academy award for best documentary], doing extensive background work, and watching Alex speak live at the Center last Wednesday night, I hadn’t clearly formulated any cogent observations. To help me sort out my thoughts, I discussed the situation with many - including climbers - in our sophisticated extreme sports community.

First, a review of the feat – in case there is anyone reading this article who doesn’t already know. His main sponsor, The North Face, wrote in a full page tribute in the New York Times in June, 2017: “Last week Alex Honnold became the first person to free solo Yosemite’s El Capitan [a 3,000 foot granite wall]. No ropes, no harness. Just unmatched physical and mental strength and an unwavering commitment to the impossible….”

Victory generally silences scrutiny, so I want to hail the victor as well as considering issues beyond the applause. I agree with Kevin Corrigan who said [paraphrasing it]: Alex’s free solos are amazing feats, approaching the limits of human potential, and he’s recklessly risking his own life. Alex went against the odds and proved all the naysayers wrong in accomplishing something incredible. He is also a climber who went against all better judgment and got away with it. BOTH views are true. We humans can approach super-human accomplishments while being driven by our deeper vulnerabilities at the same time. We are complicated animals and can be on the verge of athletic omnipotence while being emotionally fragile at the same time.

Alex prepared intensely for 9 years to climb El Capitan. He could rehearse the thousand micro-moves practically in his sleep. However, most Jacksonites that I polled felt that he had at between 20% and an 80% chance of dying on climb day. However, Alex said of it: "It didn't feel scary at all. It felt as comfortable as a walk in the park.” He clearly denied the objective risk. A supremely intense level of cognitive focus and unfailing overall confidence that he needed to succeed demanded such a mindset. Contrast this with his climb of Half Dome [a 2,000 foot wall] nine years earlier with practically no preparation. His assessment was that he had very luckily gotten away with something. I applaud his subsequent monumental preparation leading to significant risk mitigation on El Capitan.

As for deeper psychology, three relevant quotes:

Ernst Becker: “. . . the idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity – activity designed largely to avoid the finality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for men.”

Freud: “In the unconscious every one of us is convinced of his own immortality.”

And Hemingway: “There are only three real sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”

All of us humans have similar unconscious wishes and fears. In extreme sport, and Free Soloing is among the most extreme, we see this core aspect of our deepest unconscious psychology played out on the grandest stage: "I will avoid death and live forever." What is Alex’s motivation for free soling, including last year’s capstone El Capitan climb? Complex, but I am certain that [probably mainly unconscious] the dance with death was in the brew.

There was brain MRI data presented in the film that Alex could tolerate more stress than almost all of us mortals without experiencing heightened fear. However, there are strong opinions1 within neuropsychiatry that it is way too early to conclude that Alex is wired differently than any of the rest of us. Before the expose, there were academic studies in Texas that Lance Armstrong’s heart was physiologically different such that he had a unique biological edge toward his seven tour victories.

I am in no way suggesting that Alex is an Armstrong fake. In fact, he is the real deal: a humble, meticulously honest, extremely talented and currently extraordinarily careful athlete who has notched incredible achievements. However, he is not Spider-Man. He is human like everyone else and operates under the same laws of risk, will have the same longevity [if he is rational and lucky] and has the same universal unconscious wishes and fears [including around death] as the rest of us. Alex is not “crazy”; but a unique blend of strengths and vulnerabilities like all of us.

The last words of The North Face tribute referenced above: “Alex, we love you and wish you a lifetime of exploration. But next time, please use a rope!” They pulled this last line in subsequent and current advertising. Perhaps Alex is more valuable to them as Spider-Man. Success, fame, and fortune have consequences. Increasingly complex forces are swirling around and will continue to impact him going forward.

So, my final message to Alex: "We applaud you, stand in line for your book signings, go to your movies and encourage your feats. Work to know yourself better, as you walk and climb into the future. If you marry the wonderful Sanni McCandless and have kids [as you seem in love and have said you want a family], perhaps you will free solo less. But, if you go another direction and consider new free solo goals, do it carefully and deliberately. It is your life and you deserve to live it however you choose. But choose well – it is the only life you have!

1 21 st -Century Neuroanatomy: A Note of Caution, American Journal of Psychiatry, January 2016

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Stuart Sugarman, MD is a psychiatrist who has been in private practice in Jackson Hole for 24 years. Previously, he was the Associate Chairman at the University of Connecticut Medical School. Guest Shots are solely the opinion of their author.

Published in Jackson Hole News & Guide. You can find the article here:

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