Emily Harrington champion

Emily Harrington champion in sport climbing and one of Honnold's good friends knows this all too well.

(Yosemite is just a tough place), he said. "You spend all day climbing the walls, pushing yourself to mental and physical exhaustion, but when you come down, there's no rest. You have to find a place outside the park." You have to find a place to camp, or park the van, or drive the van on long, crowded, windy roads, and even when you do find a spot You get stuck in a van.

"It's pretty stressful," Harrington said.

At 37, Harrington says climbers of his generation are trying to settle down. She and her husband, fellow climber Adrian Ballinger, recently had a son, adding real urgency to their quest.

So they bought a place in Vegas away from Honnold, his wife and their two young children.

Emily Harrington, a five-time US national champion in the sport of climbing and a close friend of Honnold's, is very familiar with it.

"Yosemite is just a challenging place," he said. You spend hours scaling walls, pushing your mind and body to the limit, but there's no relief when you finally land. You should find a place that is not inside the park. You must find a place to camp or park the van, or drive it down long, congested, and winding roads, and even if you manage to find a place, you're in the van. Can get stuck.

"It's quite stressful," Harrington expressed.

Harrington, at 37, explains that climbers of his era are trying to establish roots. She and her husband, fellow climber Adrian Ballinger, recently became parents to a son, adding to the importance of their mission.

They bought a house in Las Vegas, far away from Honnold, his spouse, and their two young children.

Harrington's sense of happiness and peace is palpable as she describes the positives and negatives of the new situation. I have the ability to leave the house, drive five minutes to the trailhead, hike major trails all day, come back to my house, put my kid to bed, and then get back in the van. There is no need.

Hot showers, comfortable beds, amazing food. He quickly listed six of his favorite dining spots within walking distance. He remarked that it was fantastic.

Top technical climber Jonathan Siegrist, 38, fully agreed.

Over the past week, as Honnold faced the Rainbow Wall and extreme heat at Red Rock, Segrist and his wife, Shayna Savoy, sheltered in warm jackets among the cold limestone climbing pitches of nearby Mount Charleston. Sigrist comes in sparingly during your initial encounter. He is 5 feet 6 inches tall, has a firm handshake grip, and a welcoming smile. However, he then begins by removing his comfortable outerwear.

Despite the intense effort, which would leave most people gasping and alone, Segrist had the aerobic and mental capacity to hold a normal conversation.

He lived in his truck for seven years. He settled in Vegas because the climbing is better than anywhere else in the country and because the cost of living is more reasonable than in modern climbing spots like his hometown of Boulder, Colo.

Still, they struggle to convince young climbers, still trying to make a name for themselves, that Vegas is the place to be.

"The city still has a really bad reputation in the outdoor community," he said. "Many outsiders would never stoop low enough to walk into a casino and enjoy themselves, or shop at a strip mall. That's a huge contributing factor to why Vegas remains under the radar. Is.

The Vegas airport is another big draw for people whose professions require them to travel the world in search of adventure. It's a 20-minute drive from Honnold's home, security lines are usually a breeze and, because of all the tourists, it has direct flights to almost anywhere you want to go.

One day, while he was between training and promoting "Free Solo," he climbed a 2,000-foot wall in the morning, showered at home, then caught an afternoon flight to London.

"Where else in the world can you do that?" he asked.

But what about that other side of Vegas, the Strip? Honnold said he and his wife go there once or twice a year to see the show and otherwise avoid it as muc.h as possible.

Does he ever sit down at a slot machine and start pulling the lever?

"If a game is designed for you to lose, why play?" he asked. "I've never actually tried it. I like to joke that I just gamble with my life