How I climbed a 3,000-foot vertical cliff -- without ropes | Alex Honnold | TED

Prevodilac: Kristina Janković Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

Hello. I'd like to show you guys 30 seconds of the best day of my life.

Zdravo. Društvo, želim da vam pokažem 30 sekundi najboljeg dana u mom životu.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So that was El Capitan in California's Yosemite National Park,

To je bio El Kapitan u kalifornijskom nacionalnom parku Josemiti,

and in case you couldn't tell,

i, ako niste primetili,

I was climbing by myself without a rope,

peo sam se sam bez konopca,

a style of a climbing known as free soloing.

što je stil penjanja poznat kao slobodan solo.

That was the culmination of a nearly decade-long dream,

Bila je to kulminacija gotovo decenijskog sna,

and in the video I'm over 2,500 feet off the ground.

i na snimku sam na visini od preko 760 metara.

Seems scary? Yeah, it is,

Deluje jezivo?

Da, jeste,

which is why I spent so many years dreaming about soloing El Cap

i zato sam toliko godina proveo sanjajući da soliram El Kap

and not actually doing it.

umesto da to i uradim.

But on the day that that video was taken,

Ali na dan kada je snimljen ovaj video,

it didn't feel scary at all.

nije uopšte delovalo strašno.

It felt as comfortable and natural as a walk in the park,

Delovalo je udobno i prirodno poput šetnje parkom,

which is what most folks were doing in Yosemite that day.

što je većina ljudi i radila u Josemitiju tog dana.

Today I'd like to talk about how I was able to feel so comfortable

Danas bih želeo da pričam o tome kako sam mogao da se osećam tako

and how I overcame my fear.

i kako sam prevazišao strah.

I'll start with a very brief version of how I became a climber,

Počeću sa veoma sažetom verzijom priče kako sam postao penjač,

and then tell the story of my two most significant free solos.

a zatim ću ispričati priču o moja dva najznačajnija soloa.

They were both successful, which is why I'm here.

Oba su bila uspešna i zato sam ovde.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

But the first felt largely unsatisfying,

Ali prvi me mahom nije ostavio zadovoljnim,

whereas the second, El Cap, was by far the most fulfilling day of my life.

dok je drugi, El Kap, dan kada sam se ubedljivo osetio najviše ispunjenim.

Through these two climbs, you'll see my process for managing fear.

Kroz ova dva uspona, videćete moj proces kontrolisanja straha.

So I started climbing in a gym when I was around 10 years old,

Počeo sam da se penjem u sali kada sam imao oko 10 godina,

which means that my life has been centered on climbing

što znači da se moj život vrti oko penjanja već više od 20 godina.

for more than 20 years.

After nearly a decade of climbing mostly indoors,

Nakon gotovo decenije penjanja uglavnom u sali,

prebacio sam se u prirodu i postepeno počeo da soliram.

I made the transition to the outdoors and gradually started free soloing.

I built up my comfort over time

Vremenom sam izgradio osećaj komfora

and slowly took on bigger and more challenging walls.

i postepeno se suočavao sa većim i izazovnijim zidovima.

And there have been many free soloists before me,

Mnogo njih je soliralo pre mene,

pa sam bio dosta inspirisan.

so I had plenty of inspiration to draw from.

Ali do 2008. ponovio sam većinu njihovih starih soloa u Josemitiju

But by 2008, I'd repeated most of their previous solos in Yosemite

i počeo sam da zamišljam otvaranje novog terena.

and was starting to imagine breaking into new terrain.

The obvious first choice was Half Dome,

Očigledan prvi izbor bio je Haf Doum,

an iconic 2,000-foot wall that lords over the east end of the valley.

kultni zid visok 600 metara koji dominira istočnim delom doline.

The problem, though also the allure,

Problem, ali i ono što privlači,

was that it was too big.

je da je bio previsok.

I didn't really know how to prepare for a potential free solo.

Nisam baš znao kako da se pripremim za potencijalni slobodan solo.

So I decided to skip the preparations

Rešio sam da preskočim pripreme

and just go up there and have an adventure.

i jednostavno odem tamo u avanturu.

I figured I would rise to the occasion,

Mislio sam da sam dorastao izazovu,

što, naravno, nije bila najbolja strategija.

which, unsurprisingly, was not the best strategy.

I did at least climb the route roped up with a friend two days before

Barem sam popeo smer sa opremom i prijateljem dva dana ranije

just to make sure that I knew roughly where to go

da budem siguran da bar grubo znam kuda treba da idem

and that I could physically do it.

i da fizički to mogu da izvedem.

But when I came back by myself two days later,

Ali kada sam se vratio sam dva dana kasnije,

I decided that I didn't want to go that way.

rešio sam da ne želim da idem tuda.

I knew that there was a 300-foot variation

Znao sam da postoji varijacija od devedeset metara

that circled around one of the hardest parts of the climb.

koja zaobilazi jedan od najtežih delova smera.

I suddenly decided to skip the hard part and take the variation,

Iznenada sam odlučio da preskočim teži deo i krenem varijacijom.

even though I'd never climbed it before,

iako je nikada nisam popeo,

but I immediately began to doubt myself.

ali momentalno sam posumnjao u sebe.

Imagine being by yourself in the dead center of a 2,000-foot face,

Zamislite da ste sami u samom centru zida od 600 metara,

wondering if you're lost.

pitajući se da li ste se izgubili.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Thankfully, it was pretty much the right way

Na sreću, bio je to pravi put

and I circled back to the route.

i vratio sam se do smera.

I was slightly rattled, I was pretty rattled,

Bio sam malo potresen, bio sam prilično potresen,

but I tried not to let it bother me too much

ali pokušao sam da ne dozvolim da me to previše dotiče

because I knew that all the hardest climbing was up at the top.

jer sam znao da je najteže penjanje gore na vrhu.

I needed to stay composed.

Morao sam ostati pribran.

It was a beautiful September morning, and as I climbed higher,

Bilo je divno septembarsko jutro i, kako sam se peo sve više,

I could hear the sounds of tourists chatting and laughing on the summit.

mogao sam da čujem glasove turista koji ćaskaju i smeju se na vrhu.

They'd all hiked up the normal trail on the back,

Svi su prošetali gore običnom stazom iza stene,

which I was planning on using for my descent.

koju sam planirao da iskoristim za spust.

But between me and the summit lay a blank slab of granite.

Ali između mene i vrha ležao je prazan blok granita.

There were no cracks or edges to hold on to,

Nije bilo pukotina ni ivica za koje bih se držao,

just small ripples of texture up a slightly less than vertical wall.

samo naznake teksture uz gotovo potpuno vertikalan zid.

I had to trust my life to the friction between my climbing shoes

Prepustio sam život trenju između mojih penjačica i glatkog granita.

and the smooth granite.

Pažljivo sam balansirao ka vrhu,

I carefully balanced my way upward,

prebacujući težinu između malih udubljenja.

shifting my weight back and forth between the small smears.

But then I reached a foothold that I didn't quite trust.

Ali onda sam stigao do gaza kojem nisam potpuno verovao.

Two days ago, I'd have just stepped right up on it,

Pre dva dana, stao bih pravo na njega, ali to bi bilo sa konopcem.

but that would have been with a rope on.

Now it felt too small and too slippery.

Sada je delovao premalo, suviše klizavo.

I doubted that my foot would stay on if I weighted it.

Sumnjao sam da će mi se stopalo zadržati ako zgazim.

I considered a foot further to the side, which seemed worse.

Razmatrao sam korak dalje u stranu koji je delovao još gore.

I switched my feet and tried a foot further out.

Zamenio sam stopala i pokušao korak dalje.

It seemed even worse.

Delovalo je još gore.

I started to panic.

Počeo sam da paničim.

Mogao sam da čujem ljude na vrhu kako se smeju tik iznad.

I could hear people laughing on the summit just above me.

I wanted to be anywhere but on that slab.

Želeo sam da budem bilo gde osim na toj steni.

My mind was racing in every direction.

Misli su mi letele na sto strana.

I knew what I had to do, but I was too afraid to do it.

Znao sam šta treba da uradim, ali sam bio suviše uplašen.

I just had to stand up on my right foot.

Trebalo je samo da ustanem na desnu nogu.

And so after what felt like an eternity, I accepted what I had to do

I nakon onoga što je delovalo kao večnost, prihvatio sam to

and I stood up on the right foot,

i ustao na desno stopalo,

and it didn't slip, and so I didn't die,

i nisam se okliznuo, pa nisam umro,

and that move marked the end of the hardest climbing.

i taj potez je označio kraj najtežeg uspona.

And so I charged from there towards the summit.

Poleteo sam odatle ka vrhu.

And so normally when you summit Half Dome,

Obično kada se popnete na Haf Doum

you have a rope and a bunch of climbing gear on you,

imate konopac i gomilu penjačke opreme sa sobom,

and tourists gasp and they flock around you for photos.

i turisti su zatečeni i opkole vas da fotografišu.

Ovaj put sam iskočio preko ivice bez majce, zadihan, uzbuđen.

This time I popped over the edge shirtless, panting, jacked.

I was amped, but nobody batted an eye.

Bio sam pod utiskom, a niko ni da trepne.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Izgledao sam kao izgubljeni pešak koji stoji preblizu ivici.

I looked like a lost hiker that was too close to the edge.

I was surrounded by people talking on cell phones and having picnics.

Bio sam okružen ljudima koji pričaju na telefonu i na pikniku su.

I felt like I was in a mall.

Kao da sam u tržnom centru.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I took off my tight climbing shoes and started hiking back down,

Izuo sam uske penjačice i počeo da se spuštam,

and that's when people stopped me.

i tada su me ljudi zaustavili.

"You're hiking barefoot? That's so hard-core."

„Šetaš bos? To je tako ludo.“

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I didn't bother to explain,

Nisam se trudio da objasnim,

but that night in my climbing journal, I duly noted my free solo of Half Dome,

ali tu noć sam u svoj dnevnik penjanja uredno ubeležio moj solo na Haf Doumu,

but I included a frowny face and a comment, "Do better?"

ali sam dodao i tužića i komentar: „Budi bolji?”

I'd succeeded in the solo

Uspeo sam u solou

and it was celebrated as a big first in climbing.

i to je proslavljeno kao važan prvenac u penjanju.

Some friends later made a film about it.

Neki prijatelji su posle napravili film.

But I was unsatisfied.

Ali bio sam nezadovoljan.

I was disappointed in my performance,

Bio sam razočaran svojim učinkom,

because I knew that I had gotten away with something.

jer sam znao da sam se nekako izvukao.

I didn't want to be a lucky climber. I wanted to be a great climber.

Nisam hteo da budem penjač koji ima sreće. Hteo sam da budem sjajan.

I actually took the next year or so off from free soloing,

Zapravo sam narednu godinu pauzirao sa soliranjem,

because I knew that I shouldn't make a habit of relying on luck.

jer sam znao da ne treba da se navikavam na sreću.

Ali iako nisam mnogo solirao,

But even though I wasn't soloing very much,

već sam počeo da razmišljam o El Kapu.

I'd already started to think about El Cap.

Uvek mi je bio u podsvesti kao očigledan dragulj soliranja.

It was always in the back of my mind as the obvious crown jewel of solos.

To je najlepši zid na svetu.

It's the most striking wall in the world.

Each year, for the next seven years,

Svake godine, narednih sedam godina,

I'd think, "This is the year that I'm going to solo El Cap."

razmišljao bih: „Ove godine ću da soliram El Kap.”

And then I would drive into Yosemite, look up at the wall, and think,

A onda bih se odvezao u Josemiti, pogledao u zid i pomislio:

"No frickin' way."

„Nema šanse.”

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It's too big and too scary.

Prevelik je i previše strašan.

But eventually I came to accept that I wanted to test myself against El Cap.

Ali vremenom sam prihvatio da želim da se testiram na El Kapu.

It represented true mastery,

Predstavljao je vrhunac majstorstva,

but I needed it to feel different.

ali hteo sam da bude drugačiji.

I didn't want to get away with anything or barely squeak by.

Nisam hteo da se izvučem ili prođem za dlaku.

This time I wanted to do it right.

Uradiću to propisno ovaj put.

The thing that makes El Cap so intimidating

Stvar zbog koje je El Kap toliko zastrašujuć

is the sheer scale of the wall.

je sama veličina zida.

Most climbers take three to five days

Većini penjača treba tri do pet dana

to ascend the 3,000 feet of vertical granite.

da se popnu uz 600 metara vertikalnog granita.

The idea of setting out up a wall of that size

Pomisao da se upustite uz zid te veličine

with nothing but shoes and a chalk bag seemed impossible.

samo uz penjačice i kesicu magnezijuma delovala je nemoguće.

3,000 feet of climbing represents

Uspon od 600 metara predstavlja

thousands of distinct hand and foot movements,

hiljade pojedinačnih poteza rukama i nogama,

which is a lot to remember.

što je mnogo za zapamtiti.

Many of the moves I knew through sheer repetition.

Mnoge poteze sam zapamtio čistim ponavljanjem.

I'd climbed El Cap maybe 50 times over the previous decade with a rope.

El Kap sam sa opremom popeo možda 50 puta u protekloj deceniji.

But this photo shows my preferred method of rehearsing the moves.

Ali ova slika pokazuje kako preferiram da vežbam poteze.

I'm on the summit,

Na vrhu sam,

about to rappel down the face with over a thousand feet of rope

spreman da se odbijanjem spustim sa preko 300 metara konopca

to spend the day practicing.

i provedem dan vežbajući.

Once I found sequences that felt secure and repeatable,

Kada sam pronašao sekvence koje su sigurne i ponovljive

I had to memorize them.

morao sam da ih zapamtim.

I had to make sure that they were so deeply ingrained within me

Morao sam da se pobrinem da su tako duboko urezane u meni

da nema mesta za grešku.

that there was no possibility of error.

I didn't want to be wondering if I was going the right way

Nisam hteo da se penjem i pitam da li idem pravim putem

ili koristim najbolji hvat.

or using the best holds.

Sve je moralo biti automatski.

I needed everything to feel automatic.

Climbing with a rope is a largely physical effort.

Penjanje konopcem je mahom fizički poduhvat.

You just have to be strong enough to hold on and make the movements upward.

Samo treba da ste dovoljno jaki da se držite i pomerate nagore.

Ali slobodan solo se više odigrava u glavi.

But free soloing plays out more in the mind.

Fizički napor je uglavnom isti.

The physical effort is largely the same.

Vaše telo se i dalje penje na isti zid.

Your body is still climbing the same wall.

But staying calm and performing at your best

Ali zadržati mir i imati najbolju izvedbu

when you know that any mistake could mean death

kada znate da svaka greška može značiti smrt

requires a certain kind of mindset.

zahteva određen mentalni sklop.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

That's not supposed to be funny, but if it is, it is.

To ne treba da bude smešno, ali ako jeste, jeste.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I worked to cultivate that mindset through visualization,

Radio sam na tome da odgajam taj sklop kroz vizualizaciju,

which basically just means imagining the entire experience of soloing the wall.

što u suštini znači da zamišljam celo iskustvo soliranja zida.

Partially, that was to help me remember all the holds,

Delimično, to treba da mi pomogne da zapamtim hvatove,

but mostly visualization was about feeling the texture

ali vizualizacija je osećanje teksture svakog hvata u ruci

of each hold in my hand

and imagining the sensation of my leg reaching out and placing my foot just so.

i zamišljanje noge kako se proteže i namešta baš kako treba.

I'd imagine it all like a choreographed dance thousands of feet up.

Sve sam to zamišljao kao osmišljen ples stotinama metara visoko.

The most difficult part of the whole route was called the Boulder Problem.

Najteži deo čitavog smera se zvao problem bouldera.

Bio je na oko 600 metara visine

It was about 2,000 feet off the ground

i sastojao se od fizički najtežih poteza na celom smeru:

and consisted of the hardest physical moves on the whole route:

veliki razmaci među lošim hvatovima sa vrlo malim, klizavim gazovima.

long pulls between poor handholds with very small, slippery feet.

This is what I mean by a poor handhold:

Kad kažem loš hvat mislim ovo:

an edge smaller than the width of a pencil but facing downward

ivica manja od širine olovke ali okrenuta na dole

that I had to press up into with my thumb.

koju sam morao da pritisnem palcem.

But that wasn't even the hardest part.

Ali to i nije bio najteži deo.

The crux culminated in a karate kick

Prekretnica je kulminirala karate šutom

with my left foot over to the inside of an adjacent corner,

levim stopalom ka unutrašnjosti susednog ugla,

a maneuver that required a high degree of precision and flexibility,

manevar koji iziskuje visok stepen preciznosti i fleksibilnosti,

enough so that I'd been doing a nightly stretching routine

toliko da sam se istezao svako veče

for a full year ahead of time

čitavu godinu unapred

to make sure that I could comfortably make the reach with my leg.

ne bih li se pobrinuo da mogu bez problema da istegnem nogu.

As I practiced the moves,

Dok sam vežbao pokrete,

my visualization turned to the emotional component

vizualizacija je prerasla u emotivnu komponentu

of a potential solo.

potencijalnog soloa.

Basically, what if I got up there and it was too scary?

U suštini, šta ako odem tamo i bude suviše strašno?

What if I was too tired?

Šta ako budem preumoran?

What if I couldn't quite make the kick?

Šta ako ne budem mogao da izvedem šut?

I had to consider every possibility while I was safely on the ground,

Morao sam da razmotrim svaku opciju dok sam bezbedno na zemlji,

so that when the time came and I was actually making the moves without a rope,

tako da kada dođe vreme i kada se zapravo budem kretao bez konopca,

ne bude mesta da se ušunja sumnja.

there was no room for doubt to creep in.

Sumnja prethodi strahu,

Doubt is the precursor to fear,

and I knew that I couldn't experience my perfect moment if I was afraid.

i znao sam da ne mogu iskusiti svoj savršen trenutak ako se plašim.

Morao sam vizualizovati i vežbati dovoljno da otklonim svaku sumnju.

I had to visualize and rehearse enough to remove all doubt.

But beyond that, I also visualized how it would feel

Ali van toga, takođe sam zamišljao kako bi izgledalo

if it never seemed doable.

da mi se ne učini mogućim.

What if, after so much work, I was afraid to try?

Šta ako, posle svog tog posla, budem suviše uplašen da probam?

What if I was wasting my time

Šta ako sam traćio vreme

and I would never feel comfortable in such an exposed position?

i nikada se ne osetim dovoljno slobodnim u tako ranjivom položaju?

There were no easy answers,

Nije bilo lakih odgovora,

but El Cap meant enough to me that I would put in the work and find out.

ali El Kap mi je bio dovoljno važan da ipak uložim trud i saznam.

Some of my preparations were more mundane.

Neke od priprema su bile manje zanimljive.

This is a photo of my friend Conrad Anker

Ovo je slika mog prijatelja Konrada Ankera

climbing up the bottom of El Cap with an empty backpack.

kako se penje uz donji deo El Kapa sa praznim rancem.

We spent the day climbing together

Proveli smo dan penjući se zajedno do određenog procepa na sredini zida

to a specific crack in the middle of the wall

that was choked with loose rocks

koji je bio prepun labavog kamenja,

that made that section difficult and potentially dangerous,

što je taj deo činilo teškim i potencijalno opasnim

because any missed step might knock a rock to the ground

jer svaki pogrešan korak može odvaliti kamen ka zemlji

i ubiti penjača ili prolaznika.

and kill a passing climber or hiker.

Zato smo pažljivo uklonili kamenje, natovarili ih zajedno

So we carefully removed the rocks, loaded them into the pack

i konopcem ih spustili dole.

and rappelled back down.

Take a second to imagine how ridiculous it feels

Zamislite na sekund koliko suludo deluje

to climb 1,500 feet up a wall just to fill a backpack full of rocks.

popeti se 500 metara uz zid samo da napunite ranac kamenjem.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It's never that easy to carry a pack full of rocks around.

Nikada nije lako nosati naokolo ranac pun kamenja.

It's even harder on the side of a cliff.

Još je teže niz liticu.

It may have felt silly, but it still had to get done.

Možda je delovalo smešno, ali moralo se uraditi.

I needed everything to feel perfect

Sve je moralo biti savršeno

if I was ever going to climb the route without a rope.

za slučaj da ću ikada da penjem taj smer bez konopca.

After two seasons of working specifically toward a potential free solo of El Cap,

Nakon dve sezone pripremanja isklučivo za mogući slobodan solo El Kapa,

I finally finished all my preparations.

napokon sam završio sve pripreme.

I knew every handhold and foothold on the whole route,

Znao sam svaki hvat i gaz čitavog smera,

i znao sam tačno šta da radim.

and I knew exactly what to do.

Basically, I was ready.

Suštinski, bio sam spreman.

It was time to solo El Cap.

Došlo je vreme da soliram El Kap.

On June 3, 2017,

Trećeg juna 2017. godine

I woke up early, ate my usual breakfast of muesli and fruit

poranio sam, pojeo uobičajen doručak, musli i voće,

and made it to the base of the wall before sunrise.

i stigao do podnožja zida pre zore.

I felt confident as I looked up the wall.

Bio sam samouveren kad sam pogledao nagore.

I felt even better as I started climbing.

Osećao sam se još bolje kad sam počeo da penjem.

About 500 feet up, I reached a slab

Na oko 150 metara, stigao sam do ploče

very similar to the one that had given me so much trouble on Half Dome,

veoma slične onoj koja mi je zadala tolike muke na Haf Doumu,

but this time was different.

ali ovog puta je bilo drugačije.

I'd scouted every option, including hundreds of feet of wall to either side.

Proučio sam svaku opciju, uključujući stotine metara zida sa svake strane,

I knew exactly what to do and how to do it.

znao sam tačno šta i kako da uradim.

I had no doubts. I just climbed right through.

Nisam imao sumnje. Samo sam se popeo.

Even the difficult and strenuous sections passed by with ease.

Čak su i teški i naporni delovi prošli lagodno.

I was perfectly executing my routine.

Savršeno sam izvodio proceduru.

I rested for a moment below the Boulder Problem

Na trenutak sam se odmorio ispod problema bouldera

and then climbed it just as I had practiced so many times with the rope on.

i onda ga popeo baš kako sam ga toliko puta uvežbavao sa konopcem.

My foot shot across to the wall on the left without hesitation,

Noga mi je skočila preko zida na levo bez oklevanja,

and I knew that I had done it.

i znao sam da sam uspeo.

Climbing Half Dome had been a big goal

Popeti Haf Doum je bio veliki cilj

and I did it,

i uspeo sam,

ali nisam dobio ono što sam zapravo želeo.

but I didn't get what I really wanted.

I didn't achieve mastery.

Nisam dostigao majstorstvo.

I was hesitant and afraid, and it wasn't the experience that I wanted.

Oklevao sam i plašio se, a to nije bilo iskustvo koje sam želeo.

But El Cap was different.

Ali El Kap je bio drugačiji.

With 600 feet to go, I felt like the mountain was offering me a victory lap.

Sa još 200 metara, delovalo je da mi planina nudi pobednički krug.

I climbed with a smooth precision

Popeo sam se s glatkom preciznošću

and enjoyed the sounds of the birds swooping around the cliff.

i uživao u zvukovima ptica koje obleću liticu.

It all felt like a celebration.

Sve je delovalo kao slavlje.

And then I reached the summit

A onda sam stigao do vrha

after three hours and 56 minutes of glorious climbing.

nakon tri sata i 56 minuta veličanstvenog penjanja.

It was the climb that I wanted, and it felt like mastery.

Bio je to uspon koji sam želeo, i bilo je to majstorstvo.

Hvala vam.

Thank you.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)