"how do you build that confidence without falling off?" The answer is that you do fall. Actually, you fall on the exact route you're going to free solo usually

"how do you build that confidence without falling off?" The answer is that you do fall. Actually, you fall on the exact route you're going to free solo usually! The normal way of climbing (as opposed to "free soloing"), is with ropes. You have places on the rock where you can anchor ropes, you have someone belaying you, and at any point, if you fall, it's really not a big deal. Climbing ropes are dynamic (have a lot of stretch), so falling on them is really safe feeling. It doesn't hurt at all, it's fine to fall over and over again, and the equipment used is relatively safe. It makes it so you're able to get a really good feel for your own limits on routes, which obviously helps in figuring out if you can free solo it. So, how do you build up enough confidence to free solo? You climb the route with ropes for months. You make sure you can go up the route without ever needing the ropes reliably. You steel yourself. And then you do it. When is it safe to try for real? Depends on your risk tolerance and confidence. For most people, it's never safe enough to be worth the adrenaline. > One wrong move and you die. Not to be glib and dismissive, but one wrong move driving 70 on a highway and you die too. There's a ton of ways to die, and we accept some as very normalized, and others as not. They mostly align with danger (free soloing is really dangerous, driving somewhat dangerous), but there's some things we do so much we forget they're actually dangerous. Driving doesn't seem dangerous to most people that drive. Climbing with ropes starts to not feel dangerous really quickly. Free soloing? If you do it enough, it starts to feel not that dangerous, especially on a route that feels "easy" for your current climbing level.