Alex Honnold is the only human to free solo Yosemite’s 3000 foot rock monolith, El Capitan. No rope, climbing alone. His extremely rare skill and unmatched mental focus have helped make him climbing’s transcendent, breakout star, inspiring millions around the world. This year, Alex successfully free solo climbed Taipei 101 on live television, bringing the intensity of free soloing into an urban environment and unfolding the ascent in real time before a global audience.

Beyond his 2017 history-making ascent of El Cap, dramatically documented in the Oscar-winning film Free Solo, Alex is simply one of the hardest working, certainly most accomplished, and greatest climbers to ever live. His feats have blown the doors wide open on the sport of climbing, placing him at the front of mainstream media like 60 Minutes, The New York Times, and the cover of National Geographic. Alex continues to push himself, building on a singular resume highlighted by speed records on The Nose, the famous 24 hour “Triple Solo” of Mt. Watkins, Half Dome and El Capitan, and cutting-edge expeditions in Antarctica, South America, Greenland and elsewhere.

Humble and self-effacing, he is deeply appreciative of the position he holds in culture and uses it for the greater good. In 2012, Alex founded the Honnold Foundation, an environmental non-profit that provides funding and support to organizations advancing solar energy access all over the world. Their vision is simple: to improve lives and reduce environmental impact. To date, the Honnold Foundation has invested more nearly $15M in over 100 communities across 30 countries, all focused on community-centered innovation catalyzed by solar energy.