American rock climber Alex Honnold has shot to international fame with his free solo climbs of big walls. He scripted history in 2017, after becoming the first person to successfully complete a free solo climb of Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan. While he initially studied civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, he later dropped out of university and started exploring California in his mother’s minivan. He later purchased his own van and spent a decade living the van life, while climbing. His 2017 feat of climbing the El Capitan by himself was featured in the 2018 documentary Free Solo, which later won an Academy Award and a BAFTA. Honnold has also won multiple awards and accolades, such as the Piolet d'Or for his ascent of the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia with partner Tommy Caldwell. He has co-written a memoir and has also launched a non-profit organization that focuses on generation and equitable distribution of solar energy globally.
