Imagine battling life-endangering and treacherous conditions for the good of science. The celebrated rock climbing team led by Alex Honnold did just that for National Geographic Channel to help a scientist reach a remote Greenland ice cap to capture crucial climate data the science community desperately needs to understand better where we are and what needs to happen to help the planet.
Idaho Today host Mellisa Paul spoke exclusively to Alex Honnold (Free Solo) about the latest docuseries, Arctic Ascent, for the National Geographic Channel ahead of the premiere in February. The thrill of rock and mountain climbing and mastering seemingly impossible feats have taken Honnold and a team of experienced climbers to Greenland, where the action was all caught on camera.
Arctic Ascent, a three-part documentary chronicling his 2022 Eastern Greenland expedition to ascend one of the world's tallest unclimbed natural monoliths, had esteemed company for Honnold, who starred in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo.
In that 2019 film, which won the Academy Award, the award-winning documentary filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and world-renowned photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin captured the lead-up and preparation and the actual ropeless climb by Honnold of the 3,000ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The result was a stunning, intimate, and brutally honest look at weighing the risks and rewards and committing to the task of a personal best and most extraordinary athletic feat ever recorded.
Honnold's new docuseries was filmed in Greenland in the summer of 2022. Joining him were renowned climber Hazel Findlay, glaciologist Dr. Heïdi Sevestre, Greenlandic guide Adam Kjeldsen, adventurer Aldo Kane, and fellow climber Mikey Schaefer. The team attempts a 1,150-metre arctic big wall on Ingmikortilaq—this arduous six-week journey aimed to record and gather critical climate measurements needed by climatologists and scientists.
The effects of our planet's warming trend are the most evident in Greenland, where the region's ice sheet continues to melt. According to Nat Geo, the ice in the area is melting seven times faster than in the 1990s. Greenland has lost 5 trillion metric tons of ice per year; the polar ice sheets sitting above Greenland added a total to this top 7560 billion tons of ice. Also, Greenland is viewed as the world's last great climbing frontier, and the highlight of Honnold's team journey will be Peak 3342, one of Greenland's highest peaks that has never been climbed.
In a post written for Amercanalpineclub.org, Honnold wrote, "Our first route was on Pool Wall near the upper end of the Edward Bailey Glacier at approximately 71.194754°N, 26.865670°W. The rock was gneiss, and the climbing was characterized by discontinuous crack systems linked by face climbing, which we bolted as needed. The climbing was split between Hazel, Aldo Kane, Mikey Schaefer, and me. We also fixed ropes so that Adam Kjeldsenlt and Heidi Silvestre could ascend the wall. The route, which we named Two Ravens, wound up being a 13-pitch 5.12c, though the true crux may have been an incredibly crumbly 5.11+ crack pitch, which Hazel impressively cleaned and led in subfreezing temperatures."
He makes it sound all so matter-of-fact and straightforward, but the truth is that the first episode is filled with heart-stopping dramatic moments at the Pool Wall—the first significant challenge. It is a monolithic stone edifice where falling ice is a hazard, and sure enough, we witness Honnold get hit by falling ice, just missing his eyes. Honnold is nonplussed and upbeat, saying, "It hurts, but it's not going to kill you the same way a rock will."
Watch Idaho Today to hear firsthand how Honnold approached this task and what's next.
The documentary series premieres Sunday, Feb. 4 at 8/7c on National Geographic and on Feb. 5 on Disney+ and Hulu.