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Free Climbers: 10 Of The World’s Best Free Climbers
Free climbers are among the most technically impressive climbers on the planet. Taking on some of the most difficult grades in the world, these athletes are truly to be admired for their skill and sheer determination.inRead invented by Teads When you think of free climbing, you probably think of a solo climber scaling a sheer granite face in Yosemite without any ropes or safety equipment. However, not all free climbing is as gnarly and risky as this.
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There is a difference between free-soloing and free climbing. Free-soloing is climbing without any use of ropes, harnesses or safety equipment. Unlike bouldering, free climbing is usually done at heights where a fall would mean instant death.Meanwhile, free climbing does involve ropes and safety equipment but only as protection from falling, rather than an aid to help you progress the climb. We’ve included both a mix of free-solo climbers and free climbers in this list of inspirational men and women.
ALEX HONNOLD
Alex Honnold is without a doubt the best free climber in the world. Aged just 31 years old, he has made a huge name for himself worldwide for scaling some of the world’s toughest faces without any safety equipment in record time.
In 2008, he became the first climber to free-solo the infamous Half Dome in Yosemite National Park alone. Since then he has speed climbed the Yosemite Triple Crown – Mount Watkins, The Nose and the northwest face of the Half Dome – in a mere 18 hours and 50 minutes. Just watching Honnold climb makes your palms sweat.
Check out the video above from The North Face showing Honnold taking on El Sendero Luminoso in Mexico, arguably the most difficult rope-less climb in history.
TOMMY CALDWELL
Tommy Caldwell is one of the top free climbers in the world. He’s known for a number of ascents including the first free climb ascent of the Dawn Wall on El Capitan in Yosemite with Kevin Jorgeson. He’s also free-climbed six other El Capitan routes.
Just to add intrigue to his character, Caldwell was once captured and held hostage in Kyrgyzstan by rebel soldiers, until he pushed one of his captors off a cliff and his group escaped. Oh and he’s only got nine fingers because he sawed one off by accident with a table saw. Nuts.
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STEPH DAVIS
Steph Davis is one of the the world’s most experienced free-solo climbers. She is the first woman to have solo climbed a 5.11 route as well as the first woman to free climb the Salathė Wall on El Capitan and second woman to free climb El Capitan in one day.
She spent years living out of her car and eventually became a sponsored climber. Davis was married to Dean Potter, another famous free-solo climber, and later Mario Richard. Both sadly died in wingsuiting accidents. Davis is also enjoys yoga and is a vegan activist.
KEVIN JORGESON
Alongside Tommy Caldwell, Kevin Jorgeson’s most famous ascent is free climbing the Dawn Wall of El Capitan for the very first time. As one of the most difficult big-wall climbs in the world, it was a feat many thought impossible. He’s been climbing since the age of 10 and has long been driven by the thought of going where no one has gone before.
Since the 2015 Dawn Wall climb, Jorgeson has pursued climbing projects all over the world. When he’s not climbing, he is working with charity The Boys and Girls Club which aids the refugee crisis in Greece.
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CATHERINE DESTIVELLE
Catherine Destivelle is a legend among female free climbers. She is one of those climbers that naturally excels at free-soloing. The Frenchwoman learnt to boulder in Fontainebleau and became an excellent sport climber before branching into free-soloing.
She is known for soloing Spain’s infamous El Puro in 1985 and Devils Tower in Wyoming, USA in 1992. That same year Destivelle became the first woman to complete a solo ascent of the north face of the Eiger.
ALAIN ROBERT
Alain Robert is known as the ‘French Spiderman’ because he spends his time scaling the world’s tallest skyscrapers without ropes or harnesses, including the Sydney Opera House in Australia, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
Robert started climbing at the age of 11 when he forgot his house keys and decided to climb his parents’ seven-storey building to get in. Most of his attempts are illegal, so Robert will arrive early in the morning to climb his building of choice.
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ADAM ONDRA
23 year-old Czech lad Adam Ondra is one of the best boulderers and sport climbers in the world. He’s been smashing it in the World Championships over the past few years, while also excelling as a free climber. He became the second person (after Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson) to free climb the Dawn Wall in November 2016, the hardest multi-pitch climb in the world. We know there are big things still to come from this young dude.
DEAN POTTER
We couldn’t write this list without including the legendary Dean Potter. He is probably the world’s most famous free climber, tackling some of the toughest routes on the planet. He’s famous for soloing a number of faces in Yosemite and Patagonia, including a major section of El Capitan. Potter is said to have taken up BASE jumping so he could climb even tougher free-solo routes. Sadly he died in 2015 after a BASE jumping accident in Yosemite.
Leo Houlding (born 28 July 1980) is a British rock climber. At the age of 18 Houlding became the first Briton to free climb El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley and has gone on to climb many of its toughest lines.
Houlding began rock climbing at the age of 10.In 1996, he became the British Junior Indoor Climbing Champion.He spent the summer of 1997 living in and around Llanberis in North Wales. The summer was notable for having many well known UK climbers in the region at the same time, including Adam Wainwright, Tim Emmett, Simon Panton, Patch Hammond and others; some important new routes were established during that season. He became the subject of the 2003 TV documentary “My Right Foot” which was part of the Extreme Lives series aired on BBC Television.
- Houlding appeared in the BBC television programme Top Gear in which he raced presenter Jeremy Clarkson up a cliff face in Verdon Gorge, winning the challenge. Houlding, joined by Tim Emmett, climbed the canyon whilst Clarkson drove an Audi RS4 to the top using the surrounding roads. He has also appeared several times on the Audi Channel.
He joined the 2007 Altitude Everest Expedition, led by American climber and mountaineer, Conrad Anker, retracing the last steps of legendary British climber, George Mallory, on Mount Everest.In 2008, Houlding presented Take Me to the Edge, a British reality series on Virgin1 (later repeated on STV); and signed a deal with Ford Motor Company to become a brand ambassador for their pick up truck, the Ford Ranger.
In August 2009 he led a team of climbers and film makers to Mount Asgard on Baffin Island, Canada. They attempted to free climb a 15 pitch route up the north face of the mountain to create the first free route. Although over half of the ascent was eventually freed, the team were unable to complete the full free ascent within the available time. Houlding and American team member Sean ‘Stanley’ Leary BASE jumped from the summit. The ascent took 12 days and is featured in the 2010 film The Asgard Project.
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He appeared in the 2010 film The Wildest Dream along with Conrad Anker retracing the steps of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine in order to recreate their journey up Mount Everest.
In 2010 he completed his 10-year project “The Prophet”, making him the first Briton to complete a new free route on the famous El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, California.
Houlding, in a talk at Kennedy School in Hong Kong, has stated that he fell in love with rock climbing when he went climbing with his father’s friend at the age of ten. He also remarked that climbing was a powerful and overwhelming experience.
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From December 2012 to January 2013, a team led by Houlding and including Alastair Lee, Chris Rabone, Sean Leary, Jason Pickles and David Reeves made the first ascent of a new route up the north-east ridge of Ulvetanna Peak in Antarctica. The peak was described as ‘the most demanding peak on the world’s toughest continent’ via its fearsome north-east ridge. The film that was produced, The Last Great Climb premiered in London on 5 November 2013.
