Honnold’s path has been shaped by painful lessons.
Has Alex Honnold ever fallen? A look at the injuries that nearly ended the climbing legend originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While Alex Honnold successfully reached the top of the Taipei 101 building during Netflix’s Skyscraper Live, the moment also carried a quieter reminder. No matter how experienced or prepared a soloist may be, danger is never far away.
Honnold’s career is often defined by his calm and precision, but it has also been shaped by injury. Long before his historic free solo of El Capitan, he learned firsthand how quickly things can go wrong. In 2007, during a free solo attempt on Moonlight Buttress in Zion, Honnold fell roughly 60 feet. He survived by landing on his feet, but the damage was serious. He broke an ankle and dislocated a shoulder, injuries that required time, reflection, and recovery.
In 2004, there was a serious scare away from the rock. While snowshoeing up Mount Tallac near Lake Tahoe, Honnold slipped on ice and tumbled downhill. He broke ribs, fractured both hands, suffered facial abrasions, and sustained a concussion before being airlifted out.
At the time, he was still early in his climbing career, and the accident reinforced how unforgiving terrain can be even outside of technical routes.
MORE: How did Alex Honnold get down from Taipei 101?
The following year, he fell twice while soloing in Owens River Gorge. One fall came while downclimbing a 5.10 route. Another occurred while moving toward the first bolt on a 5.9. Neither moment was public or dramatic. Both demanded adjustment rather than swagger.
Even later in his career, injuries did not disappear. In 2016, at Index in Washington, a rope ran out while he was being lowered, causing a short fall onto rocks that injured his back.
Honnold’s composure today is not the absence of risk. It is the result of years spent understanding it. His past falls serve as reminders that preparation lowers danger, but it never removes it entirely.
More Skyscraper Live 101 news:
- How many people have free soloed El Capitan? What to know about Alex Honnold's historic climb
- Is Alex Honnold's Taipei 101 climb live? Everything you need to know about Netflix's delayed broadcast
- Is Alex Honnold married? Meet Sanni McCandless and her relationship timeline with climber
- Alex Honnold hometown and more to know about where climbing legend lives
Category: General Sports
