Alex Honnold, incognito. Photo: YouTube
Anyone familiar with 90s rock climbing culture remembers Dan Osman’s legendary speed solo of Bear’s Reach at Lover’s Leap, near Lake Tahoe. In the classic 1997 flick “Masters of Stone 4,” Osman flies up the 400-foot, three-pitch 5.7 route in 4:25, ponytail, wraparound shades and all. That footage of Osman basically running up the granite wall captivated countless climbers. Obviously, Honnold was one of them.
As a cheeky tribute to Osman, Honnold decided to smash Osman’s record on the route — while sporting an Osman-esque wig and shades. Honnold was able to shave off just 10 seconds of Osman’s time, a sure testament to Osman’s soloing skill some 20 years later. But the real skill in Honnold’s stunt, an ad for a health insurance company, was doing the climb with an ounce of the style and flair Osman had. And for that, Honnold needed a costume and a live rock band.
And here’s the original, styled-out version by Osman: