On August 23, Brad Chum Carter and Boyd Fackler walked up to climb on the Sport Wall at Index's Upper Town Wall near Seattle. Carter chose the techy, vertical Calling Wolfgang (5.12b), bolted in 1990 by Greg Child.

Carter climbed to the first bolt and paused to check it out. I knew the route was old and had not been inspected for a while, he said. The bolt seemed OK so I figured they were all the same....

Alex Honnold looks startled when he opens the door to greet me. His eyes, which are wide —“like a cow’s,” he claims— shine. He’s surprised that I’m writing about him, that reps from various companies now actively recruit him, and that John Bachar and Peter Croft have phoned him....