Hardest free solo

Christoph Merriner wrote:

Given the vague definition of “hardest”, Reardon onsight freesolo fa of Shikata ga nai in the needles has to be the gnarliest thing ever. Although not the highest grade at a stiff 11+ the style is something nobody, not even the honn-dog, get close too

+1 Reardon = Legend

Feel compelled to add Hansjörg Auer's solo of Il Pesce on the Marmolada in the Dolomites. Similar size and grade to Freerider, less rehearsal. Not gonna be technically the hardest by any means, but I'd venture comparable to Freerider but overlooked.

Josh Rappoport wrote:

I guess I would say that if a route can be led with a rope it is not a boulder problem.

That’s a better combination of words than what I said. 

Not Not MP Admin wrote:

That’s a better combination of words than what I said. 

Then again...something like this could be led with a rope, but it is a boulder problem, no?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8fonckprnE

Josh Rappoport wrote:

Then again...something like this could be led with a rope, but it is a boulder problem, no?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8fonckprnE

Huh? Yes, that V13 is a boulder problem, if that's what you're asking....Think of it this way, nobody is going to call that a solo if you do it without a rope. They'll call it a V13.

Colt J wrote:

+1 Reardon = Legend

Didn’t honnold onsight, or at least flash, solo Cosmic Debris (13b)? Also, anyone not impressed by Honnold at this point should read his 8a.nu. He has solo’d some insane shit that nobody ever mentions and there is no film for. Nothing at that 5.14 top end though.

John Clark wrote:

Didn’t honnold onsight, or at least flash, solo Cosmic Debris (13b)? Also, anyone not impressed by Honnold at this point should read his 8a.nu. He has solo’d some insane shit that nobody ever mentions and there is no film for. Nothing at that 5.14 top end though.

Agreed, I'm definitely not trying to diss Honnold. Just tryna give mad props to a personal hero and SoCal legend Reardon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mft3k_f0vOM

How about Jason Kehl's (followed by Kevin Jorgesen's) cordless ascent of The Fly? 

Cool! I hadn’t seen that before. But I wouldn’t call it a free solo. That’s leg breaking territory, not death. It’s a highball.

John Clark wrote:

Didn’t honnold onsight, or at least flash, solo Cosmic Debris (13b)? Also, anyone not impressed by Honnold at this point should read his 8a.nu. He has solo’d some insane shit that nobody ever mentions and there is no film for. Nothing at that 5.14 top end though.

He flashed Heaven which is 12d, he soloed Cosmic Debris after he had sent on a rope.

Didn’t Honnold say soloing el cap was nothing compared to Marc Andre LeClerc’s winter ascent of Torre Egger?

Drederek wrote:

Didn’t Honnold say soloing el cap was nothing compared to Marc Andre LeClerc’s winter ascent of Torre Egger?

This was a rope solo, right? Self-belayed at points?

J.Kruse wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mft3k_f0vOM

How about Jason Kehl's (followed by Kevin Jorgesen's) cordless ascent of The Fly? 

Right.

Ropeless = free solo.

Hardest = grade

Was this the most epic, best, inspiring, or classic? No to all of these.

Does it exemplify the spirit of what free soloing is all about (whatever that is). Again, nope.

It’s barely a blip in the picture of free solo accomplishments but it is quite possibly the “hardest”. Asterisk.

Cole Crawford wrote:

This was a rope solo, right? Self-belayed at points?

Didn’t look like he was using a rope in the Alpinist. 

Drederek wrote:

Didn’t look like he was using a rope in the Alpinist. 

Movies don't show everything. He used rope solo techniques at times

Whats crazy to me is whats the hardest solo that not many know about?

You know, you never know, you know?

The hardest free solo is the one having the most fun.

The hardest free solo might not be the route with the highest number grade. Alex said in an interview I just listened to that there are many routes at lower grades that he would never solo because of their insecure nature.

Also, not everyone who is out free soloing hard routes is spraying on social media or has a film crew tag along. So some very remarkable solos probably (hopefully) slip by all of us under the radar…

Teton Tom wrote:

The hardest free solo might not be the route with the highest number grade. Alex said in an interview I just listened to that there are many routes at lower grades that he would never solo because of their insecure nature.

This was kind of my thinking as well, however I interpreted the OP’s question as hardest meaning difficulty based on grade.

Also, not everyone who is out free soloing hard routes is spraying on social media or has a film crew tag along. So some very remarkable solos probably (hopefully) slip by all of us under the radar…

Climbers soloing 5.14 aren’t going to slip under the radar…at least for very long. You can only “hide” accomplishments like that for so long. All it takes is some Gumby with a MP account nearby to see someone soloing a 5.13 or 5.14 and then that climber doesn’t need to post on social media, because everyone already knows bout it