How Rock Climbers and Snowboarders Became a Political Force

P.O.W.’s secret weapon is Alex Honnold, who became famous for the film “Free Solo,” which depicts his rope-free ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite. In 2019, P.O.W. sent a delegation to Washington, including Honnold, to capitalize on public interest in the movie.

That year, I went to a rooftop party in Washington where Caldwell, Honnold, Jones and other well-known athletes were throwing back bottles of Miller Genuine Draft and marveling at how they had just testified at a congressional hearing. As Honnold told me then, “I do live in a van most of the time, so it’s pretty wild.”

Honnold’s celebrity has made him especially effective in talking to hard-to-reach lawmakers, just as his long limbs and unique amygdala lead him to take risks that make other climbers blanch.

“Every Republican senator I’ve met loves Alex,” Caldwell said.

Love has not yet translated into votes. The closest thing P.O.W. might have to a Republican ally on Capitol Hill is Representative John Curtis of Utah, the leader of the Conservative Climate Caucus in the House.

Curtis represents a heavily Republican district just outside Salt Lake City that contains some of the country’s most popular ski areas, including Alta and Deer Valley.

He attended the United Nations climate summit last year in Glasgow, Scotland, and a former member of his staff attended P.O.W.’s retreat this summer outside Reno, Nev., which the group saw as a breakthrough moment. And on two occasions this spring and summer, P.O.W. arranged for Curtis to meet with a group of Olympians to bend his ear on climate and energy issues.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/us/politics/jeremy-jones-tommy-caldwell-climate-ira.html