On April 23, Will Stanhope fell to his death from the Stawamus Chief, a famous slab of granite near Squamish, British Columbia. His passing sent shock waves through the climbing world, and Alex Honnold recently took to social media to pen a few words in ode to his old friend.
“So sad to hear about the death of Will Stanhope,” Honnold wrote on Instagram. “We climbed together quite a lot a decade ago and he was one of my best adventure partners at the time.”
Stanhope was a supremely talented climber with deep ties to the rock climbing community. According to reports, his death came after he fell approximately 65 feet, sustaining injuries severe enough to lead to his death.
“It is with shattered hearts that we share the news that our beloved Will passed away yesterday,” Stanhope’s family wrote the day after. “A severe head injury sustained after a fall on a route called Rutabaga, on the Squamish Chief was the cause.”
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Honnold, who shot to fame when the non-climbing world watched Free Solo, posted his words with a series of photos taken years ago in Mexico. The pair climbed “an old aid line on Gran Trono Blanco” together. Honnold also shared a fond memory of Stanhope.
“One classic memory of Will was from our first attempt to climb Southern Belle (5.12d X) on the South Face of Half Dome (his idea, not mine!),” Honnold continued. “He was leading a thin 5.12 splitter protected solely by small nuts (because he was way better at placing gear than me — I looked at the crack and said no way…) and got so pumped and so scared that toward the top of the pitch when he tried to place a nut he basically shook the rest of the nuts off the biner and dropped them all. I was just as gripped as he was. We rapped from that attempt and came back later to send.”
Honnold remembered Stanhope for not just the good, but some of the bad, as well. No one is perfect, and we shouldn’t be remembered as such. Instead, Honnold remembered Stanhope for who he was, flaws and all.
“Will had his demons and struggled with alcohol,” he finished, “but he was an amazing climber and a great friend. He lived big — big feelings, both ups and downs, big sends, big adventures. Sending lots of love to his friends and family.”
