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Without a Safety Net: Free Climbing and Mortal Sin, by Mark Haas – Brown Pelican Society of Lousiana

Without a Safety Net: Free Climbing and Mortal Sin, by Mark Haas

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By Riccardo Farinazzo. Man climbing mountain. Unsplash

By Mark Haas, Crisis Magazine, Feb. 4, 2026

Mark Haas is a Catholic composer and speaker. He serves as the Director of Music at Ave Maria Parish in Ave Maria, FL. Mark lives in Ave Maria with his wife and their seven original compositions. Visit his website at www.markhaasmusic.com.

 

A lesson from Alex Honnold and the spiritual life.

Recently, world-renowned climber Alex Honnold made headlines again by free-climbing Taipei 101, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. For most people, even looking up at such a structure causes vertigo. For Honnold, it became another stage for a breathtaking display of courage, discipline, and skill.

But his achievement also offers a powerful spiritual lesson for our time.

In free solo climbing, the climber ascends massive structures or rock faces without ropes, harnesses, or protective equipment. There is no safety net. No backup plan. One slip, one moment of fatigue, one miscalculation—and death is horrifically instant. Every movement must be perfect. Every grip must hold. The free climber lives, quite literally, seconds away from catastrophe at all times. …

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