Our third keynote speaker deserves to be more than just her son’s mother, but we also don’t want to bury the lede: Dierdre Wolownick is the mother of Alex Honnold of Free Solo fame. And while she did not climb Yosemite’s majestic El Capitan absent the security of any ropes, as her famous son did, she did climb it. At 66 years old. And then again at 70.
When not scaling granite, she is busy ascending the heights of literature, language, and music. She speaks and teaches five languages, has written thousands of pages in books and magazines, and is symphony caliber on the flute, clarinet, and piano.
She is both a youth phenom and a late bloomer: she showed musical genius at a young age, but didn’t get the exercise bug until 55, when she began running half and full marathons. She started climbing at 59, and just seven years later, became the oldest known woman to take on El Cap.
“I’m all about teaching,” she says, “and presentations are teaching at its finest and most compact. Teaching is the most important job in the world – second only to parenting – and I’m honored to be part of this event.”
Dierdre summits the Summit (without ropes!) on Wednesday, Oct 12.