This week my social media feed attacked me.

Not with tax update.
Not with audit deadline.

But with Alex Honnold climbing Taipei 101 without ropes.

I watched the clip and I had two reactions.
Wah. Legend.
Aiyo. My palm already sweating just watching.

Because I am an uncle who once was also climber.

Let me self expose a bit.

I am a mountaineer.
I have gone above 6,000m in Nepal.
Before my last trip to Chulu West before MCO, I trained rock climbing for one to two years.

Before rock climbing I was very cocky confident in my head.

“Ok lah. I do ultra running and Ironman. Can lah.”

Rock climbing hantam in one sentence.

Can. Now hang using your fingertips and please use more leg power.

That was the moment I learned rock climbing is not arm strength.

It is finger pain plus grip torture.

Your fingers burn.
Your forearms pump until hard like batu.
Then your grip suddenly kosong while your biceps still feel hero.

Very humbling. Very insulting also.

Then comes the second slap.

Body weight is not neutral in climbing. It becomes a tax.

I used to be 73kg but I ballooned to 79kg before MCO.

Every extra kg goes straight to fingers, elbows, shoulders, and core.

So you feel like you are climbing with a fat pig version of yourself stuck on the wall.

Third slap is uncle flexibility.

Good climbers do not pull up. They step up.

High feet. Open hips. Twist body. Balance.

But my hips are stiff, ankles tight, and knees got sound from running and cycling.
So I end up overusing arms.

Then I stare at the wall and ask.

Why you so unfair, bro?

Fourth slap is technique.

People talk about flagging, smearing, knee lock, bouldering, lead, top rope.

Yes! Uncle learn and can do it.
But coming from running and cycling background, these techniques feel very foreign.

Where to put the feet.
How to shift weight.
When to rest.

I fight the wall very often.

Effort high even after one year training.
Result low.

Final boss is fear.

Yes, fear of height.
Also fear of slipping, swinging, and falling backward.

Even in a safe gym, your brain keeps whispering.

Do not die.

So you get tired twice. Body tired. Mind tired.

That is why when I saw Alex on Taipei 101, I did not just see a viral clip.

I saw the years behind it.
The pain, the discipline, the mental control.

Alex is still my hero.

I still remember watching Free Solo in the cinema.
Walk out feeling like I paid money to get stressed.
But in a good way.

But as a 57 year old uncle,
my conclusion is simple.

Rock climbing is beautiful.
Rock climbing is brutal.

And I am done with it.