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I have a couple of things that might help you a bit: 1. Alex Honnold's brain is atypical. His amygdala simply does not respond to stimuli the way that it does
by hluska 9y ago
I have a couple of things that might help you a bit:
1. Alex Honnold's brain is atypical. His amygdala simply does not respond to stimuli the way that it does in most people. To learn more, read this (excellent) article:
http://nautil.us/issue/39/sport/the-strange-brain-of-the-worlds-greatest-solo-climber http://nautil.us/issue/39/sport/the-strange-brain-of-the-wor...
2. While I am (at best) a mediocre climber, the section you quoted rings true to me, particularly this section - "Climbing is an intimate relationship with our world’s most dramatic landscapes, not a self-boasting fight against them." There is something incredibly natural and sensual about climbing on rock that I can't describe without sounding like I'm talking about sex. And...that's traditionally where people tell me to give them my keys because I've had too much to drink. :)
3. Climbing is a deeply meditative activity, particularly when you get into a place where each movement flows into the next. When I am there, my mind shuts down and it is just a rock and me doing the most natural thing that I have ever found (see #2). That flow is deeply beautiful, but when you climb with ropes, you have to be in near constant contact with your belay partner. When I am with my regular belay partner, it interrupts that flow. When I am with a new belay partner, I never get close to it.
I suspect that if my amygdala worked like his, I would free solo simply to avoid having to communicate with a belay partner.
- tvelichkov 9y agoI think I understand you, its like having a sex with or w/o a condom ;)
- vanderZwan 9y agoI think more like with or without the neighbours knocking on the walls telling you to keep it down
- idlewords 9y agoIt's like having sex without falling three thousand feet to your death.
- samstave 9y agoIt would have also been amazing if he free-claimed up with a chute on his back and as he reached the peak, based off it back to the bottom!
- hluska 9y agoHad Dean Potter lived a little longer, I suspect that he would have tried that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Potter https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Potter https://www.outsideonline.com/1981591/dean-potter-killed-base-jumping-accident https://www.outsideonline.com/1981591/dean-potter-killed-bas... Edit -- Added a second, better link.
- justinator 9y agoDean Potter did do that, off a route of the Eiger. He called it, "freeBASE" http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08x/newswire-potter-eiger-freebase http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08x/newswire-potter-eiger-fre... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtxGCSsnaI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMtxGCSsnaI
- hluska 9y agoI know, but I was replying to a comment about El Capitan. As far as I know, Dean Potter didn't freebase from El Cap. With that kind of exposure, I'm pretty sure that the Yosemite rangers would have an easy time catching an El Cap freebaser and confiscate all the jumper's gear. Thanks for the YouTube link! I hadn't seen that before, but holy shit, do I ever miss sharing a planet with someone like Dean Potter.
- justinator 9y agoYeah, Dean is missed. I don't believe he ever did it on El Cap. either - I sort of wished he did, as it would be an interesting argument/philosophical point FOR "basejumping" within the Park, as it would show an extra level of safety when climbing. His relationship with the rangers within the park must have been interesting, as they certainly knew what he was up to...
- test1235 9y agoAndy Kirkpatrick is another climber who solos (but aid climbs, not free solo) and mentions a few times in his books that he does so because he doesn't want to deal with the faff of other people.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- bigato 9y agoWhat is the personality test that this article about Alex mentions? The one that generated that bar graph. I'd like to take it myself.
- zzalpha 9y agoSomething like this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/sensation/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/sensatio...
- bigato 9y agoWell thank you, but the test in that link doesn't work. Anyway, I searched for some high sensation seekers tests, but the graph in the article has far more detailed results than any test I could find. It measures several interesting personality traits.
- gaia 9y agolink worked for me. https://i.imgur.com/I7RKlW5.png https://i.imgur.com/I7RKlW5.png
- bhandziuk 9y agoI heard Alex speak once and he said that if he's in the position of having an adrenaline rush while climbing something has gone wrong. He needs to be calm and calculating to make every move right.
- forestriver 9y agoIn response... 1. I wonder if amygdala responses in meditators would be similar. The Nautilus article mentions the control of his prefrontal cortex as a possible way he mediates the amygdala's response, and meditation often shows modulation in PFC activity. As a meditator, I also have a strange lack of fear response—for example, it's almost impossible to startle me. 2,3 I have only climbed a few times, and I too felt an unspeakable relationship with the rock itself that I have rarely felt while doing anything. The closest I can relate it to is indeed a deep meditative state, but one that comes with motion. Totally understand these points.