Last weekend, the Oscar for “Best Documentary” went to a film called Free Solo , which captures the rope-free climb of Alex Honnold up the awe-inspiring face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Nobody had ever done a free solo climb of "El Cap" and it had previously been considered impossible. Free solo climbers use no ropes or equipment, so a single slip-up could mean a fatal fall to earth. New Hampshire author and climber Mark Synnott has climbed with Honnold before. On the day of Honnold’s big climb, he watched Honnold make his way up El Capitan through binoculars. In his new book, The Impossible Climb , Synnott gives an account of what led up to that day. The history and the evolution of climbing culture serve as a frame for Honnold’s daring feat. Synnott spoke with NHPR's Peter Biello about his new book, due out March 5, 2019. Mark Synnott's Top Five Reading Recommendations: 1. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. " This book, along with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer