He graced the pages of National Geographic. He rock climbed two vertical miles in a day, solo. He wore a Wonderwoman costume as he traversed a 600-foot mountain. He brings granny panties, which he refers to as "prayer flags," on almost every climb.
Michael Reardon, a free solo rock climber, may have done everything there is to do when it comes to solo climbing. And last night, he brought his experiences - and his laugh-out-loud sense of humor - to Penn.
"Actually, I really am a bit of a chicken shit," he said. "Climbing gives me a good excuse to continue screwing off."
Reardon presented "Soloquest," his slide-show documentary of climbing experiences, to a crowd of about 40 in Stiteler Hall last night.
His journey of climbing did not begin until after he graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, and after he earned a law degree from Pepperdine University.
The event that catapulted him on his current path was when his former company Black Sky Entertainment made millions of dollars from producing the movie Cabin Fever.
With money in the bank and a newfound "freedom," Reardon began climbing with a group of friends. Soon after, he realized his passion for solo climbing. He said he learned that the "climbing game was not just physical."
Today, Reardon has solo climbed - a high-risk extreme sport without ropes or harnesses - on hundreds of routes through mountain ranges in the United States, England and Ireland.
"You can't let anything slip," he said. "If one hand slips, you're going to die, and if one foot slips, you're going to die."
College freshman Leah Yudin, a production assistant for The Daily Pennsylvanian, said she attended "Soloquest" after hearing about it through Penn Outdoors, which sponsored the event.
"He's done more climbs without ropes than a lot have done with ropes," Yudin said.
College junior Bradley Eisemann said he attended because he "used to be a big-time climber."
Wild photographs showing Reardon naked chasing herds of sheep in England, or stretched over boulders in bright pink spandex had the audience laughing during the slideshow.
Throughout his presentation, Reardon remained matter-of-fact about the risks he takes each time he makes a climb.
"That whole falling thing freaks me out," he said. "I think that's why I hold on so hard."
