What's Jared Leto Doing with Alex Honnold and Jimmy Chin?
Jared Leto, the actor, director, musician, and singer-songwriter, has a new aspiration: rock climber. He met up with Alex Honnold[1] this past weekend in Yosemite National Park[2] to try his hand at some serious walls in the climbing capital of the world. On Friday, the two scaled the East Buttress of Middle Cathedral, a 1,100-foot route that’s considered one of the 50 classic climbs[3] of North America. They took a “casual day” on Saturday, climbing a trio of shorter, easier routes on the 600-foot Manure Pile Buttress. On Sunday, they went big, tackling the East Buttress of El Capitan, a 1,500-foot ascent that took a half-day to complete.
FEATURE: The Radical Calm of Alex Honnold[4]
Leto posted a selfie on Instragram on Sunday with Honnold, as well as mountaineer and photographer Jimmy Chin[5], which quickly racked up more than 200,000 likes. Shortly after, he posted a photo of the Nose on El Capitan, an audacious 3,000-foot climb following the cliff’s massive prow. “There she blows. El Cap. Tempting huh?” Leto wrote, alluding to the fact that he was considering the challenging climb in the future.
ALSO: Jimmy Chin's Toughest Feat[6]
We spoke to Alex Honnold about his Hollywood encounter, and he played it as cool as Leto in Fight Club. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Jared climbs the Nose at some point,” says Honnold. “He’s a legitimately good climber; for sure the best A-list climber in the world.”
References
- ^ Alex Honnold (www.mensjournal.com)
- ^ Yosemite National Park (www.mensjournal.com)
- ^ classic climbs (www.mensjournal.com)
- ^ FEATURE: The Radical Calm of Alex Honnold (www.mensjournal.com)
- ^ Jimmy Chin (www.mensjournal.com)
- ^ ALSO: Jimmy Chin's Toughest Feat (www.mensjournal.com)