Alex Honnold is doing what he can to blurr the border between highballing and soloing. Recently, in the Buttermilks at Bishop, California, he made the first ascent of Too Big to Flail, a ~14m "problem" on the Luminance Block.

According to Bishop Bouldering

"This line [...] involves some thin v9 [7C] face climbing at about 20 feet [6m] up, followed by the most airy hard moves at the Buttermilks to gain the top of the boulder."

Even the cool as cucumber Alex Honnold admits that he was:

"...shaking a bit up there. It's f***ing scary!"

34 pads or not, I can't help but wondering when "big balls" will be replaced by "broken bones".

REEL ROCK, who had a team there filming, has a clip on of Alex working the line on their facebook page.

Alex Honnold is sponsored by: The North Face, La Sportiva, Black Diamond, New England Ropes and Clifbar