You Should Eat a Bell Pepper Before You Send. Just Ask Alex Honnold.

Have you ever launched into a whole bell pepper as if it were an apple before tying in? I hadn’t until last weekend when I decided to expand my climbing snack horizons by trying the go-to snacks of various pros during a trip to Idaho’s City of Rocks.

Lately, I’ve been stuck in a climbing snack rut—bars, the occasional apple, and peanut butter-filled pretzels that form a thick cement on the roof of my mouth. So the former food writer in me decided to take a ridiculous deep dive into some unconventional pro climber snacks, evaluating them based on several factors, from nutritional value to portability. (Note: Due to a lack of actual nutrients, Adam Ondra’s pre-send warm water habit was not considered in this experiment.)

Whole bell pepper (Alex Honnold)

If you’re paying attention, you may know that this highly aesthetic vegetable has been intertwined with Alex Honnold’s personality for over a decade. “I love red bell peppers,” he told Bon Appetit in 2015. “Bell peppers in general, really. I like to eat them like apples. They’re so crunchy and delicious.”

Before free soloing El Capitan, Honnold mixed sliced peppers and other veggies into a stir fry. For his bachelor party, Honnold’s buddy and Climbing contributor James Lucas catered their day at the crag with enough whole bell peppers for all 20 to 30 attending climbers (listen to Lucas explain why on this episode of The Struggle podcast).

One might even argue that Honnold wants to be seen—even documented—eating peppers at the crag. In a recent YouTube episode of The Struggle, Honnold chows down on a bell pepper for all to see (check around the 16:44 mark). He also put down a whole pepper on the set of The Sound. Is he secretly sponsored by Big Bell Pepper? Or are these things just that good?

Nutrition: 9/10. It turns out, Honnold is on to something. According to the USDA, a bell pepper has one gram of protein. It’s also rich in fiber and Vitamin C, with a little potassium, iron, and Vitamin A mixed in. With six grams of low-fat, low-sugar carbs, it delivers enough energy to power your next go.

Taste: 10/10. Why haven’t I eaten a whole pepper before? Crunchy, slightly sweet, a little piquant—a pepper’s a true delight on a hot day. Also the seeds and pith were not as problematic as expected.

Portability: 8/10. On the one hand, a pepper is very lightweight. On the other, it takes up as much room as a #5 cam in your pack. You could solve this by slicing the pepper, but then you lose the joy of eating it whole.

Cost per serving: $1-$1.25 per pepper

Overall: 9/10. More climbers should consider this highly underrated snack. The bell pepper is a refreshing fuel choice at the crag that’s as fun to eat as it is good for you.

Biltong, aka beef jerky (Paige Claassen)

Bumping down on the food pyramid, beef jerky packs a protein punch and is the crag snack of choice for Paige Claassen. Specifically, she feasts on South African biltong, which unlike traditional jerky, is air-dried rather than cooked, with vinegar and seasonings like coriander and pepper. Claassen’s South African husband makes his own biltong making it an easy go-to for the pro climber.

While I couldn’t find biltong in time for City of Rocks, I ordered some online from Biltong Depot and intend to give it a go. We did bring along some beef jerky to Idaho though, which, compared to a bell pepper, keeps you full longer.

Nutrition: 7/10. While it may not have the health halo of Honnold’s pepper, biltong is a lean source of protein, depending on the cut with which it’s made. It’s also loaded with protein and potassium, but comes up short in the carb department, meaning you won’t get the quick boost of energy you may need to power through the proj. The high sodium levels could also be a downside, unless you’re sweating out salt and slipping off slopers on a hot day.

Taste: 9/10. While I haven’t specifically tried biltong, I’ll take the fact that Claassen calls it her “favorite way to consume protein” and “like snacking on steak” as a good sign.

Portability: 10/10. By virtue of the dehydration process, biltong is a compact, lightweight snack that will easily fit in the brain of your pack.

Cost per serving: <$.60 (at Biltong Depot)

Overall: 8/10. Don’t wait for a far-off bouldering trip to Rocklands to try this premium jerky; biltong deserves a spot in any omnivorous climber’s pack.

Cat food (Yvon Chouinard)

During his days as an impoverished Yosemite Stonemaster, Yvon Chouinard once subsided off cans of cat food. It was the mid-`60s, the early days of Chouinard Equipment, which would later become Black Diamond. I picture him taking bites of questionable wet mixed meat, using one of his handmade pitons as a spoon as a raptor flies overhead.

Many years ago, I got to meet Chouinard at a Patagonia Grassroot Tools for Activists Conference. I asked him if he ever ate cat food for old time’s sake. He laughed. The answer: A hard no. But does it ever make sense for the dirtbaggiest of dirtbags to consider this highly portable and dirt-cheap source of lean protein?

Nutrition: 5/10. With 91 calories per can and a maximum of 78% moisture (whatever that means), a can of chicken Fancy Feast delivers protein with minimal fat and apparently maximum hydration.

Taste: 0/10. While I couldn’t bring myself to try cat food, based on Chouinard’s decision to leave his former diet mainstay behind upon becoming the financially solvent leader of Patagonia, I’m guessing it’s largely inedible.

Portability: 10/10. A can of cat food will never spill in your pack, is easy to carry, and is also fully recyclable.

Cost per serving: $.88 per can

Overall: 3/10. True dirtbags shouldn’t entirely rule out this affordable and compact protein source artificially enriched with the vitamins they’re likely deficient in. But most climbers will not want to sink quite so low.

Dried fruit (Amity Warme)

As a nutritionist who sends hard, Amity Warme knows a thing or two about elite climbing snacks. She argues that the ideal crag snack should be high in carbs, low in fat, and low in fiber. This makes it easier to digest, providing quick fuel and minimal digestive issues.

But that doesn’t mean you must turn to, say, Starbursts, between burns. “For me, that usually looks like oats with fruit and other toppings, banana or apple, or yogurt with berries,” Warme says. And for quick fuel between routes? She recommends dried fruit.

Nutrition: 9/10. If a nutritionist says dried fruit is where it’s at, we’re throwing it (almost) all the points—we dock one for sugar and dental health. I chose dried mango, which dishes out nine percent of your daily carb intake per serving, but also contains between 17g to 25g of sugar, depending on the brand.

Taste: 10/10. Dried mango—or raisins, plums, dried apricots, etc.—are all pretty universally loved, even by my extremely picky five-year-old.

Portability: 10/10. Like jerky, dried fruit is lightweight and takes up little room in your pack. This also makes it a great snack option for multi-pitch or big wall climbing.

Cost per serving: ~$1

Overall: 9/10. Warme knows what’s up when it comes to snacks. Don’t sleep on dried mango and other fruits for quick crag energy.

Dale’s Pale Ale (Michaela Kiersch)

Can a beer be a crag snack? Yes, if your day of climbing is decidedly mellow. Or if, like Kiersch, you manage to drink beer and climb hard. Or, if like me last weekend, you are taking an extended break due to heat. After climbing from 9:30am until 3pm, we were ready for a cold one. Nothing sounded better than the Dale’s Pale Ale tall boy that I picked up at the legendary Rock City Mercantile pizza place and general store in Almo, Idaho.

Kiersch may be sponsored by Oskar Blues (the maker of Dale’s), and therefore only feigning her love for this iconic Colorado craft brew. But her #ad reels are so good, I genuinely believe she cracks open a Dale’s post-send.

Nutrition: 5/10. Using Warme’s logic, a Dale’s Pale Ale is a good source of quick energy, with 18 grams of carbohydrates (according to BeerBoard) packed into every can. But the nutritional value stops there.

Taste: 9/10. On a hot day, there’s not much better than this balanced beer with a moderate level of tasty hops. While I typically prefer a hoppier ale, Dale’s strikes the ultimate balance between “goes down easy” and “sandbags your palate.” This particularly holds true when you’re dehydrated and borderline bonking.

Portability: 2/10. Bulky and difficult to keep cold on the go, beer is not a practical choice for climbers unless we’re talking about a roadside crag.

Cost per serving: ~$2

Overall: 6/10. As a post-climbing snack, Dale’s Pale Ale might just be second to none. But as a mid-climb crag snack, it doesn’t stack up when it comes to nutrition, portability, or cost.

Conclusion: The best pro climber snack is …

It’s not as buzzworthy as biltong, nor is it as sexy as a bell pepper. But dried fruit delivers the energy you need in a compact vessel at a cut-rate cost per serving. On paper, dried mango may reign supreme. But the bell pepper—our clear runner-up—is my new personal favorite source of nutrition at the crag.

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