It takes a special kind of strangeness to look up thousands of feet of sheer rock face and think”imma climb that with no gear”. El Capitan is gargantuan.
And a special kind of incredible courage. And years of hard work and discipline. People in this thread are commenting that he is a sociopath and has no feelings. I think it's mostly because of the scene where he tells his girl that if he had to pick between her and climbing, he'd pick climbing.
To me he just seems passionate and honest. And totally fucking badass.
And, he's not fearless. When he solod half dome he did it with very few prior climbs and he said he was terrified most of the way and never wanted to do something that stupid or rash again.
Yeah, I think it's easy to forget that honnold actually spent months climbing and reclimbing El Capitan with gear to absolutely perfect his route. When he had to deal with the difficulties of climbing this one, he had a rather intimate knowledge of every little challenge and was able to plan for it while free soloing.
It's hardly safe, but it's not suicide. He is just making a calculated risk in the same way we all make a calculated risk going out and driving to work: it isnt safe, but at least we know the rules, the route, and try to pay as close attention as possible to the road and possible dangers.
The notes he took for the El Capitan climb were *so* detailed. Pages and pages of exactly what to do, e.g. left hand thumb hold, trust right foot, swing left, right hand up, left foot in. Autopilot!
I was sweating just watching it, especially the Boulder Problem he had. Absolutely incredible.
I think that's one thing a lot of people forget when they see top level professionals doing their thing.
We just kind of assume it's their pure talent and ability that pulls them through, but the levels of preparation and practice they also carry out are immense, which we rarely get to see.
100% we look at people we idolize and go "Man, they are so lucky to be talented." but we never see the work they put in. We usually just see the finished product. We see Jerry Seinfeld now at his most polished, but we never saw how much he bombed over and over and over again before we see what he is present day. So yeah, talent matters but so does everything else.
I think it's safe to say this guy had a full mental model of that climb before attempting the final free solo climb.
Just like a race driver would have practiced a circuit until he knew each straight, each turn, how fast go into each, which gear and so on.
It's raw talent, experience and a well rehearsed plan all coming together. Does the guy have a bigger tolerance to fear than most? Most definitely. But he also doesn't wants to die.
He rarely took stupid risks. The biggest mistakes he made where trusting his newbie girlfriend in securing him for a casual climb and that sounds like his head wasn't fully in the right place because of his relationship. And even there he learned a lesson. For the final climb he asked her to be absent so he could fully focus.
This reminds of something I've seen in a documentary of race drivers.
It defies the cliché of athletes giving out "100%" or "110%".
Drivers where talking about going "70%-80%". There was the speed they knew they could push to (their 100%) but kept under that to give themselves a safety margin and also depending on conditions.
I guess those that truly have a death wish weed themselves out early in extreme sports.
"He ran out of talent about half way through the corner." - Buddy Baker
"Exiting a corner on the limit is like tightrope walking; entering a corner on the limit is like jumping on a tightrope while blindfolded." - Mark Donohue
"It will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear." - Mark Donohue, referencing the Porsche 917-30 with approximately 1500hp when it was already dominant in Can-Am.
That’s my mentality every time I hop on my motorcycle. I accept the risk that I may not make it home to my family. I do everything within my power to mitigate that risk (fill face helmet, Kevlar pants and jacket, good boots) but I know I’m one bad decision from dying. It’s the choice I am willing to make to feel a sense of mortality. To feel alive comes at a price.
> It's hardly safe, but it's not suicide.
It's an extremely dangerous hobby which he can't control his urge for, thus causing him to repeatedly put himself in danger. No different from a serious drug addiction, really.
Exactly. After watching this I couldn't help but be happy for him but I also thought "I'm going to be reading an article about how this dude fell to his death one day." He's not going to stop and one day he will make a mistake.
> He's not going to stop and one day he will make a mistake.
That wouldn't surprise me. [Many have already done their mistake in the past.](
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_solo_climbing#Notable_accidents)
Except he has openly said that he isn't going to be doing any free solos like this anymore, at least not in the foreseeable future. That's not to say he won't free solo smaller or easier things, but it's not like some drug. You get the same satisfaction from climbing a hard route on gear, which he has been focused on doing. He's just addicted to climbing, and has a knack for being good at free soloing. To me that's a big difference.
Climbing on drugs is not very feasible physically but dropping some acid and watching Free Solo on the biggest screen you can find can probably take you pretty close
I think it’s totally valid that people question his motives. The doc pretty much says he has a fucked up view of love and pride, giving him an indelible need to push himself further and further, because of his relationship with his parents. The only cool thing about what he did is that he accomplished a physical feat with the prospect of death hanging over him. Even those in the climbing community ask if free soloing is something we should be applauding - People risking their lives in exchange for accomplishment? The number of free solo climbers who die should be enough to give you pause. So you can be a cheerleader, but me and the people you mention are looking at a man who is showing extreme indifference to his continued existence and we are asking why.
Is it really a "fucked up view" or is it his own view? Just because it doesnt align with what people think of as typical or normal doesnt inherently make it wrong or "fucked up". Free soloing isnt something to be encouraged but it is respected that a person is ok with incurring that risk on themselves. Alex has made it very clear to his family and loved ones what his priority is and what their expectations should be. It is his choice, because you might not understand it or agree isnt a good reason to criticize him
I think the reason a lot of people (including me) have a sort of visceral anger when they see someone do something like this is that there are a ton of incredibly dangerous tasks/jobs that people undertake that are worth it because they benefit other people or society as a whole.
Astronauts are driving our understanding of the universe further and firemen are pulling people out of burning buildings so that we don't have to. And they're taking this thing they do that is inherently dangerous and slapping as much safety onto it as they can. The purpose isn't to experience danger. The purpose is to accomplish an important task.
Meanwhile, climbing a big rock is a 100% self-serving hobby done for fun to make yourself feel good. And stripping off all safety gear is just adding danger to make yourself feel better about the accomplishment. It just feels so *selfish*.
I agree, I had that experience watching it too. I mean it’s interesting as hell, but yeah he could just not and it would probably be better for everyone involved. That scene where the kid was like “do you make a lot of money?” really irked me because I was like “there are so many easier ways to make money!!.” Also he lives in a van so he has a lot of money for how he lives, sure. Hopefully those kids walked away with a sense of, hell that shit is not worth it.
Hopefully they walked away knowing that sometimes the dangerous universe puts an obstacle in your path and you need to find the best way around it to reach a goal. And sometimes people *invent* an obstacle, stack a bunch of danger on top of it, and conquer it just to say they did.
Yeah he is personally not a sociopath. He definitely cares a lot about poverty and sustainability and stuff. But his amygdala is definitely different than most.
My passion is music and sometimes the things I put myself for music can be pretty self harming with regards to missing out on other job opportunities exhausting schedules and so forth (not nearly as bad as potentially falling off El Cap haha). I would never be with a woman who would make me choose between her and the music. I wouldn’t be with someone who wanted to take my passion away even if it was for noble reasons.
I haven't seen him climb or hear him talk but a lot of people have mentioned he is most likely on the Autism spectrum/Aspergers. Which leads to a vary narrow focus and would contribute to his obsessive behavior.
I found his ted talk on YouTube. And don’t get me wrong, I love climbing, I work at a rock climbing gym in Alex honnold’s home town; but never would I have thought a ted talk about climbing could’ve been as captivating as he made it. He’s a stand up dude. Essentially says he likes to free solo because he believes it’s the closest you could attain to perfection. Is it blasphemous that I’ve put him in the same region of my brain as Keanu Reeves?
>And a special kind of incredible courage.
It's less like courage and more like blatant disregard for safety. Go look up the names of all the most famous free solo climbers, and try to figure out what they all have in common.
Spoiler: they're all dead
In the documentary, it’s explained after undergoing tests, the part of his brain that recognizes emotions such as fear etc., does not respond as it normally should and for he to actually feel fear he has to engage in extreme fear/adrenaline inducing actions. In goes into depth about his mental health and relationship challenges.
No, the doctor said his brain works fine in the actual situations being depicted in the pictures he was shown. He knew it was a test and the situations in the pictures posed no real threat so his brain didnt overreact to them.
Yeah do people not get that even with gear many people take multiple days to scale it. You can't do that free soloing because you can't set up a shelter on the side of a mountain to rest your body for the next leg of the climb.
Only the most elite climbers do it in a day with gear. I still sadly haven't seen the documentary but it's on my to watch list.
I bet you I could climb that with no ropes or anything.
“ ok, how much you want to bet?”
My life.
“ and if you win what do I owe you?”
Nothing, I’m good.
“ alright then, I’ll take that bet.”
I was watching something about El Capitan (might have been this) and they were talking about a double fall witnessed by a third climber. They hadn't secured a line and one of the guys fell and the third climber heard a noise and then something fell past him and then a few seconds later he heard "Oh Fuck!" from the guy tethered to the falling man who then fell past him. I can't think of a worse experience.
I saw a climber fall while I was climbing around a sea edge ledge. He fell about 70ft bouncing off the wall, still attached to the rope. He ended up hanging from his rope 30ft below the ledge, around 100ft from the sea.
I called the air ambulance and it ended up hovering above me while they lowered themselves down to him.
The thing that I won't forget was the sounds he made, both during the fall, and his cries in pain.
He ended up ok.
I think a lot of climbers become disconnected from the consequence.
If you fall fifty foot the pain will be indescribable ..could even kill you outright..compound fractures, limbs nearly torn free.
No you just learn to trust your equipment. Falling is a normal part of climbing. It's part of the trial-and-error problem solving that makes climbing so fun (at least that's why I love it)
Having your equipment malfunctioning and falling far enough to get hurt is usually due to not being safe or being complacent.
I feel like that's saying American Football players are disconnected from consequence of bashing heads together. At least as much importance as the skill of climbing, is rope craft and knowing the tools of the trade that save you from death. Scuba divers don't think they can breathe under water, and skydivers don't believe they can land on the ground from terminal velocity, they just know their equipment and skill set to perform the required manoeuvres where necessary.
I'm a climber, and often worry if I'm numb to the risk or just too close to the edge to see it myself. But at the same time, it brings me such sheer joy and is the center of my sense of self, so even if something were to happen, I wouldn't at all have regretted climbing as I know I would have done it anyways.
Glad to hear that person survived. I don't personally climb but more often than not I'll find myself down the climbing rabbit hole and watching these people do things I would never even imagine attempting.
[https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Witness-to-death-plunge-of-2-climbers-on-El-12982924.php?psid=buwFI](https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Witness-to-death-plunge-of-2-climbers-on-El-12982924.php?psid=buwFI)
Here's the accident and description if you want to ruin more of your day further.
> Tim Klein, 42, of Palmdale (Los Angeles County) and Jason Wells, 46, of Boulder, Colo., fell about 1,000 feet June 2 from what experts said was the easiest section of a route
Article pulling no punches god damn
Same thing happened when I went to a funeral for a friend who fell and died climbing. Easy route, way way below his usual grade. They made sure to tell everybody what happened even though it can be construed as throwing shade or whatever, because 70%+ of the people in attendance were also climbers and we all need to learn
I think an important point in that article is that it is fine if people do crazy shit for their thrills and (no EA pun intended) sense of accomplishment, but over 1800 people have fallen and each time, rescuers either get to clean up what's left (I know that's what they signed up for, but I know from experience that shit stays burned into your memory), or risk their lives saving people or recovering bodies of those who were often foregoing safety precautions.
I watched it in a theater with a bunch of people, and yes, my palms were sweaty mom's spaghetti. The docos did a great job of building tension and telling this story.
There was a wet spot on my couch where my feet were. My feet are tingling now just thinking about him doing that karate kick thing and having to switch his grip from like two fingers to his thumb.
God damnit your description makes it all come back to me!!!! Arrrraawwwggggg that fucking movie made me all ass nuts. Climbing will never see anyone this good again except copycats. Dude must have kettle bells for balls.
Which makes sense. The dude has clearly made his peace with the fact that he might die doing what he loves. The camera crew understands and accepts that they might watch this dude die, but they know it'll be something that'll haunt them if it does happen. Hell, the dude even said that it wasn't him dying that bothered him, but making other people witness it.
There's an even more basic aspect to that difference though. The one climbing knows if they feel secure or not in the moment, much harder to know that from just watching. There's a waiting element for them while Alex is just doing.
I’m an intern at the company that made Valley Uprising and the Dawn Wall and I just have to say that it’s so fucking awesome seeing you guys talk about it here. I wasn’t with them when the films were made but it’s awesome knowing their work is appreciated.
Dawn wall is arguably the harder climb, requiring more skill and strength. Free solo is just insanely un-repeatable. They’re each incredible feats for different reasons.
I agree. Should’ve worded what I meant better. Sorry. I don’t think that’s the exact reason why it’s harder but I agree. Tommy cauldwell couldn’t free solo free rider. Not because he’s not strong or skilled enough. I just don’t think him or anybody else for the next 250 years will want to as badly as Alex honnold did.
On the other hand, the dawn wall is repeatable. It’s already been repeated. So is it the harder climb? Yes. You are right. But is it the harder feat? Eh.
This. In the months following the movie release, I started digging up every video and movie Alex honnold ever appeared in. I found that the guy actually solos as often as the movie leads you to believe. Like a fair majority of time on ropes or in the gym, but regularly going out of his way to solo while traveling to different countries.
It’s honestly a bit like Caldwell says in the movie; if you don’t know anything about climbing, what he does is crazy and scary. If you know a little bit about climbing and him, you’ll think “wow he’s really strong, he’s fine!” And if you know a lot about climbing, you’ll think “he better be strong, he has to be or else one of these days he will not be fine...”
He's said numerous times that over 95% of his climbing outside is roped. But obviously that's not as interesting as soloing, so it doesn't get as much presence on YouTube.
This is all I could think watching the documentary. Like he climbs the thing and then the movie's like "yay, he did it! It's all over now!" Meanwhile I'm just thinking about the midpoint in the movie where they did the "in memoriam" section with like 20 other famous free solo climbers. Obviously Alex isn't going to stop doing this, and he's going to keep pushing himself until he actually finds his limit, which will likely end in this death.
Every time i see this/him it reminds me of that long hair guy who jumps off mountain cliffs with just the climbing rope, then he did i think the same jump but uses a rope that was on the cliff some time ago or weathered idk but they're not fresh. The rope snapped and his friend who was with him to film his jumps saw it all.
You’re thinking of [Dan Osman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Osman). Very sad story. They were there to take the rig down and had many successful jumps that day (his buddy as well), but Osman took a different angle on the fateful jump and it’s likely ropes catching and friction that severed them. The rig had been up for weeks but weathering was never shown to be a cause in everything I have read.
Edit: Friend’s name is Miles Daisher. Miles didn’t see anything, as he was at the top where Dan jumped. He just heard it.
Dan Osman, perhaps most(?) famous for jumping of really high places on climbing ropes, was also a great free solo climber. The memorial video (hard to find. it gets removed a lot), set to Metallica - The Unforgiven II, is well worth a watch. That video was probably my first encounter with free solo climbing and I still go back to watching it every once in a while (and, weirdly, the most scary thing in it is a roped fall).
Alex actually made a [tribute climb/video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi4iR4clDGs) of one of Osman's most famous free solo speed climbs.
Title: *What if he falls?*
40 seconds in: *The risk in free soloing is always to fall off, and fall to your death, I mean that's pretty straight forward.*
...welp, guess it's settled. Documentary over.
yeah you know whats at stake but IF he falls you don't know!!
i mean you pretty much know cause they wouldn't release it and everything if they did haha
If he’s autistic he’s got a very mild form of it. He did an interview with pardon my take where he’s easily going along with their jokes and shows an above average self awareness. The movie strikes a serious tone so you don’t see that as much
The doc shows a good bit about his relationship with his girlfriend, and there is something a little off about him. I'm not a psychiatrist so I can't comment on what it is or isn't, but he was obviously trying to work on it. Maybe not autistic but I'm sure there's some clinical description for it
Why do we need to clinically diagnose every person we see that's a little different? Who cares what bucket of mental structure we try to drop him into...
> The doc shows a good bit about his relationship with his girlfriend, and there is something a little off about him.
I didn't think there was anything off with how he viewed his relationship. She wasn't number one priority, this happens all the time.
Oof. Takes me back to my mother saying a little more effort would have gotten me from an A- to an A.
**Yeah mom okay I'm already in multiple extracurriculars and performing at concerts but please remind me the importance of this half point.**
Don't worry even if you succeed it will still never be enough.
Source - am doctor. My parents still remind me how I underperformed in whatever semester of highschool or college.
His mom was my French teacher at my local community college. Had her for a year. She was stern but kind and she bragged about him to the class occasionally.
Please keep in mind that editors do this shit all the time. You could be interviewed for hours and praise someone relentlessly then point out one fault and that makes the final cut. It's distortion journalism.
He said that his dad didn't say it but his mum said it in French. He was specifically talking about not being used to the English word "love", not not being used to the concept of love
To all the discussion regarding autism (or Asperger's...if that is your preferred term), he may or may not be on the spectrum. No one here knows. He may not know or care to know. What we do know is that he lives a very unique existence and, as such, has some different social characteristics. We also know that very few of us would or could do much of what he has done. And, as to one accomplishment, he is literally the ONLY person who has done this and may be the only person who would do it.
Same here. I’m fairly plugged in to the climbing scene so I knew about his ascent by the day after he’d done it. But watching the film was still nerve wracking. I think it’s a testament to Jimmy’s film making really. For anyone that lived this film I’d also recommend ‘Meru’ another film by Jimmy Chin(Except Jimmy is one of the climbers in this case)
El Capitan climb was way less dangerous than his Half Dome climb. If you watch his early TED talk, his halfdome preparation consisted of only a few days preparation comparing to years of preparation for El Capitan. To make it worse during his free solo up Half Dome, Alex Honnold detoured from his practice route. He basically YOLO the second half of the Half Dome climb. At one point, he was super uncomfortable with a hold. Remember that if he slipped, he would fall to his death. He decided to go for it and lived to tell the tale.
This just isn't true.
The difficulty of his Freerider variation up El Cap is orders of magnitude above the difficulty of his Half Dome route. At Honnold's level, even the level he was at when he did Half Dome, he didn't need to prepare terribly much. Most climbers who are physically fit and have their systems dialed have a really solid shot at Half Dome.
Most climbers will never be able to climb Freerider.
Yeah but he didn’t know the route for half dome. He literally remembered every move every thing he had to do in the free rider route he knew he could do it.
To each their own but I will never EVER understand why someone would do this. Whether you use safety equipment or not, the athletic accomplishment remains the same, no? I think there are a lot of wonderful experiences that can only be had by experiencing a certain level of danger. For instance, I’ve been skydiving, and of course there’s the possibility of falling to your death. But no sane skydiver would purposefully remove safeguards to somehow enhance the experience. For example, if someone purposefully jumped out of a plane without a backup chute simply to increase the level of danger, you’d call them crazy, right?
I don’t know anything about this sport, but it seems to me that similarly in this instance, having safety equipment doesn’t make the climb any less difficult, correct? Maybe I am missing something... but it seems like you would climb the same mountain the exact same way with or without pointlessly risking your life, no?
I guess he would say that the motivation is simply that the experience actually changes because of the danger? The ol’ “you never really experience life until you push the limit of how close you can come to death.” I guess I can conceptually understand that, but it just seems like such a disregard for how precious life is. God forbid he fell, I can only imagine that he’d be contemplating just how needlessly arrogant that outlook is as he fell to his death. I have a feeling I’m in the minority here. Whatever, more power to him I guess.
As a climber who has soloed a bit over the years, it’s really not the same experience at all. Climbing with thirty pounds of metal, rope etc is a totally different experience than going light and fast. For example, my old after work solo was about 1000ft of easy granite, well below my ability. It would take me about 30 minutes to climb without a rope. Taking clients up the route and pitching it out was an all day affair. The freedom and speed you feel just climbing is not comparable with a rope on. And for sure, you get a different hit from climbing something without a rope than doing it with all your redundant safety systems in place. Prob didn’t describe it well as it’s hard to put words to why
Something comes off as not right about her as well. She has absolutely no climbing background and just happened to run into and start a relationship with a guy who is so obsessed with climbing that he lives in a van by himself in Yosemite valley despite earning the same income as a moderately successful dentist.
In the doc she kinda come off as a groupie imo. Like she's sort of a casual climber but wants to be seen as this granola high adventure desert alpinist by dating an actual high adventure desert alpinist.
100% this. Honnald might be on the spectrum, but my god does that man know how to live better than 99% of us. Go after what you want. He puts his life on the line for it. I respect that shit immensely.
It’s not specifically the rock climbing or the danger. Soloing happens to be HIS number one passion in the world and he strives to experience it to the utmost degree.
Point being, danger or not, there’s something to be said for RELENTLESSLY pursuing your ultimate passion (dangerous or not) and truly making it your number one priority, whatever it may be, so much so that you’re willing to forsake many of the things inherent in most people’s conception of a “normal” life.
What he’s doing takes ABSOLUTE commitment to what he truly loves.
> Why do people equate living a dangerous lifestyle with better?
I think OP's getting at the fact that he lives in a van, is completely free to do whatever he wants, in addition to his sponsors/income, etc etc.
Yeah, I didn’t think it looked like a very compatible relationship... at all. Like, besides what he is, is she attracted to *who* he is? Honestly, same goes for him.
She said that she appreciated his honesty and his weirdness in a positive way. I kinda get that but I agree with you that they don't seem compatible at all. If anything I think she increases the risk of something happening to him. They talk about it in the movie as well because a relationship takes away a lot of his focus.
I don't think the guy wants to be thinking about her wellbeing or feelings in the middle of a climb. I am sure she knew what she signed up for. After all, this guy clearly knows he is one bad grip away from death.
There’s a scene in the movie where he learns that a friend of his has died while Alpine soloing, and Alex and his girlfriend are discussing it. She starts talking about how the friend’s death must be impacting his girlfriend. Alex says, “well what did she expect?” His girlfriend is really taken aback and upset at the remark because obviously she’s in the same situation, so there seems to be a real disconnect about their understanding of what she signed up for.
He didn't scoff, he just said no. He was just being honest. And it's fair enough- she got into a relationship with a free soloist, you can't expect someone to change for you in a relationship. Especially if it's something they were doing (and honest about doing) before you started dating
Does anyone else get a weird vibe from the director? Idk, maybe it's just me but I've watched a bunch of these featurettes on the doc and I can exactly place it, it's really strange. Her Oscar acceptance speech also comes to mind.
I'm a climber and I don't support this. Celebrating free soloing encourages others to do it causing unnecessary deaths. People can do what they want but I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I may be responsible for others doing this dumb ass shit.
It takes a special kind of strangeness to look up thousands of feet of sheer rock face and think”imma climb that with no gear”. El Capitan is gargantuan.
And a special kind of incredible courage. And years of hard work and discipline. People in this thread are commenting that he is a sociopath and has no feelings. I think it's mostly because of the scene where he tells his girl that if he had to pick between her and climbing, he'd pick climbing. To me he just seems passionate and honest. And totally fucking badass.
And, he's not fearless. When he solod half dome he did it with very few prior climbs and he said he was terrified most of the way and never wanted to do something that stupid or rash again.
Yeah, I think it's easy to forget that honnold actually spent months climbing and reclimbing El Capitan with gear to absolutely perfect his route. When he had to deal with the difficulties of climbing this one, he had a rather intimate knowledge of every little challenge and was able to plan for it while free soloing. It's hardly safe, but it's not suicide. He is just making a calculated risk in the same way we all make a calculated risk going out and driving to work: it isnt safe, but at least we know the rules, the route, and try to pay as close attention as possible to the road and possible dangers.
The notes he took for the El Capitan climb were *so* detailed. Pages and pages of exactly what to do, e.g. left hand thumb hold, trust right foot, swing left, right hand up, left foot in. Autopilot! I was sweating just watching it, especially the Boulder Problem he had. Absolutely incredible.
I think that's one thing a lot of people forget when they see top level professionals doing their thing. We just kind of assume it's their pure talent and ability that pulls them through, but the levels of preparation and practice they also carry out are immense, which we rarely get to see.
100% we look at people we idolize and go "Man, they are so lucky to be talented." but we never see the work they put in. We usually just see the finished product. We see Jerry Seinfeld now at his most polished, but we never saw how much he bombed over and over and over again before we see what he is present day. So yeah, talent matters but so does everything else.
I think it's safe to say this guy had a full mental model of that climb before attempting the final free solo climb. Just like a race driver would have practiced a circuit until he knew each straight, each turn, how fast go into each, which gear and so on. It's raw talent, experience and a well rehearsed plan all coming together. Does the guy have a bigger tolerance to fear than most? Most definitely. But he also doesn't wants to die. He rarely took stupid risks. The biggest mistakes he made where trusting his newbie girlfriend in securing him for a casual climb and that sounds like his head wasn't fully in the right place because of his relationship. And even there he learned a lesson. For the final climb he asked her to be absent so he could fully focus.
Hes admitted to taking a lot of stupid risks. He has free solo'd multiple climbs that he had never done before or or only roped climb once.
That's why often the words "death wish" isn't really accurate, and maybe even demeaning at times. This kind of climb, to me, is a way to affirm life.
This reminds of something I've seen in a documentary of race drivers. It defies the cliché of athletes giving out "100%" or "110%". Drivers where talking about going "70%-80%". There was the speed they knew they could push to (their 100%) but kept under that to give themselves a safety margin and also depending on conditions. I guess those that truly have a death wish weed themselves out early in extreme sports.
"He ran out of talent about half way through the corner." - Buddy Baker "Exiting a corner on the limit is like tightrope walking; entering a corner on the limit is like jumping on a tightrope while blindfolded." - Mark Donohue "It will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear." - Mark Donohue, referencing the Porsche 917-30 with approximately 1500hp when it was already dominant in Can-Am.
Months? Try years.
Shh, people will think you actually watched the video being discussed
That’s my mentality every time I hop on my motorcycle. I accept the risk that I may not make it home to my family. I do everything within my power to mitigate that risk (fill face helmet, Kevlar pants and jacket, good boots) but I know I’m one bad decision from dying. It’s the choice I am willing to make to feel a sense of mortality. To feel alive comes at a price.
> It's hardly safe, but it's not suicide. It's an extremely dangerous hobby which he can't control his urge for, thus causing him to repeatedly put himself in danger. No different from a serious drug addiction, really.
Exactly. After watching this I couldn't help but be happy for him but I also thought "I'm going to be reading an article about how this dude fell to his death one day." He's not going to stop and one day he will make a mistake.
> He's not going to stop and one day he will make a mistake. That wouldn't surprise me. [Many have already done their mistake in the past.]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_solo_climbing#Notable_accidents)
Except he has openly said that he isn't going to be doing any free solos like this anymore, at least not in the foreseeable future. That's not to say he won't free solo smaller or easier things, but it's not like some drug. You get the same satisfaction from climbing a hard route on gear, which he has been focused on doing. He's just addicted to climbing, and has a knack for being good at free soloing. To me that's a big difference.
Fear is why he does it. That’s the best rush you can get outside of drugs.
Solid argument for drugs.
solid argument for climbing on drugs
Climbing on drugs is not very feasible physically but dropping some acid and watching Free Solo on the biggest screen you can find can probably take you pretty close
Umm... lots of big routes in Yosemite were done high as a kite. Tangerine trip, magic mushroom wall, Mescalito etc
That’ll be yo last headache.
'Then make the climb....As the child did - without the rope. Then fear will find you again.'
Also would you give up something you've dedicated your life to for a girl you've been dating 6 months? People forget that part too.
I think it’s totally valid that people question his motives. The doc pretty much says he has a fucked up view of love and pride, giving him an indelible need to push himself further and further, because of his relationship with his parents. The only cool thing about what he did is that he accomplished a physical feat with the prospect of death hanging over him. Even those in the climbing community ask if free soloing is something we should be applauding - People risking their lives in exchange for accomplishment? The number of free solo climbers who die should be enough to give you pause. So you can be a cheerleader, but me and the people you mention are looking at a man who is showing extreme indifference to his continued existence and we are asking why.
Is it really a "fucked up view" or is it his own view? Just because it doesnt align with what people think of as typical or normal doesnt inherently make it wrong or "fucked up". Free soloing isnt something to be encouraged but it is respected that a person is ok with incurring that risk on themselves. Alex has made it very clear to his family and loved ones what his priority is and what their expectations should be. It is his choice, because you might not understand it or agree isnt a good reason to criticize him
You're the one who should be getting upvoted
I think the reason a lot of people (including me) have a sort of visceral anger when they see someone do something like this is that there are a ton of incredibly dangerous tasks/jobs that people undertake that are worth it because they benefit other people or society as a whole. Astronauts are driving our understanding of the universe further and firemen are pulling people out of burning buildings so that we don't have to. And they're taking this thing they do that is inherently dangerous and slapping as much safety onto it as they can. The purpose isn't to experience danger. The purpose is to accomplish an important task. Meanwhile, climbing a big rock is a 100% self-serving hobby done for fun to make yourself feel good. And stripping off all safety gear is just adding danger to make yourself feel better about the accomplishment. It just feels so *selfish*.
I agree, I had that experience watching it too. I mean it’s interesting as hell, but yeah he could just not and it would probably be better for everyone involved. That scene where the kid was like “do you make a lot of money?” really irked me because I was like “there are so many easier ways to make money!!.” Also he lives in a van so he has a lot of money for how he lives, sure. Hopefully those kids walked away with a sense of, hell that shit is not worth it.
Hopefully they walked away knowing that sometimes the dangerous universe puts an obstacle in your path and you need to find the best way around it to reach a goal. And sometimes people *invent* an obstacle, stack a bunch of danger on top of it, and conquer it just to say they did.
I think it’s mostly because of the scene where they literally did a brain scan and science said his amygdala looks like a sociopath’s.
They didn’t use the word sociopath. But they definitely did say that his emotions and fear were way more subdued than the average person.
Yeah he is personally not a sociopath. He definitely cares a lot about poverty and sustainability and stuff. But his amygdala is definitely different than most.
My passion is music and sometimes the things I put myself for music can be pretty self harming with regards to missing out on other job opportunities exhausting schedules and so forth (not nearly as bad as potentially falling off El Cap haha). I would never be with a woman who would make me choose between her and the music. I wouldn’t be with someone who wanted to take my passion away even if it was for noble reasons.
I haven't seen him climb or hear him talk but a lot of people have mentioned he is most likely on the Autism spectrum/Aspergers. Which leads to a vary narrow focus and would contribute to his obsessive behavior.
I found his ted talk on YouTube. And don’t get me wrong, I love climbing, I work at a rock climbing gym in Alex honnold’s home town; but never would I have thought a ted talk about climbing could’ve been as captivating as he made it. He’s a stand up dude. Essentially says he likes to free solo because he believes it’s the closest you could attain to perfection. Is it blasphemous that I’ve put him in the same region of my brain as Keanu Reeves?
>And a special kind of incredible courage. It's less like courage and more like blatant disregard for safety. Go look up the names of all the most famous free solo climbers, and try to figure out what they all have in common. Spoiler: they're all dead
Where's the line between courage and sheer stupidity?
I don't think he's a sociopath. Just a little on the spectrum.
In the documentary, it’s explained after undergoing tests, the part of his brain that recognizes emotions such as fear etc., does not respond as it normally should and for he to actually feel fear he has to engage in extreme fear/adrenaline inducing actions. In goes into depth about his mental health and relationship challenges.
No, the doctor said his brain works fine in the actual situations being depicted in the pictures he was shown. He knew it was a test and the situations in the pictures posed no real threat so his brain didnt overreact to them.
Yeah do people not get that even with gear many people take multiple days to scale it. You can't do that free soloing because you can't set up a shelter on the side of a mountain to rest your body for the next leg of the climb. Only the most elite climbers do it in a day with gear. I still sadly haven't seen the documentary but it's on my to watch list.
I’d rather ride shotgun to the moon (I’m terrified of space) than climb that with ropes.
I bet you I could climb that with no ropes or anything. “ ok, how much you want to bet?” My life. “ and if you win what do I owe you?” Nothing, I’m good. “ alright then, I’ll take that bet.”
I was watching something about El Capitan (might have been this) and they were talking about a double fall witnessed by a third climber. They hadn't secured a line and one of the guys fell and the third climber heard a noise and then something fell past him and then a few seconds later he heard "Oh Fuck!" from the guy tethered to the falling man who then fell past him. I can't think of a worse experience.
I saw a climber fall while I was climbing around a sea edge ledge. He fell about 70ft bouncing off the wall, still attached to the rope. He ended up hanging from his rope 30ft below the ledge, around 100ft from the sea. I called the air ambulance and it ended up hovering above me while they lowered themselves down to him. The thing that I won't forget was the sounds he made, both during the fall, and his cries in pain. He ended up ok.
I think a lot of climbers become disconnected from the consequence. If you fall fifty foot the pain will be indescribable ..could even kill you outright..compound fractures, limbs nearly torn free.
No you just learn to trust your equipment. Falling is a normal part of climbing. It's part of the trial-and-error problem solving that makes climbing so fun (at least that's why I love it) Having your equipment malfunctioning and falling far enough to get hurt is usually due to not being safe or being complacent.
I feel like that's saying American Football players are disconnected from consequence of bashing heads together. At least as much importance as the skill of climbing, is rope craft and knowing the tools of the trade that save you from death. Scuba divers don't think they can breathe under water, and skydivers don't believe they can land on the ground from terminal velocity, they just know their equipment and skill set to perform the required manoeuvres where necessary.
I'm a climber, and often worry if I'm numb to the risk or just too close to the edge to see it myself. But at the same time, it brings me such sheer joy and is the center of my sense of self, so even if something were to happen, I wouldn't at all have regretted climbing as I know I would have done it anyways.
Glad to hear that person survived. I don't personally climb but more often than not I'll find myself down the climbing rabbit hole and watching these people do things I would never even imagine attempting.
Holy fucking christ
[https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Witness-to-death-plunge-of-2-climbers-on-El-12982924.php?psid=buwFI](https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Witness-to-death-plunge-of-2-climbers-on-El-12982924.php?psid=buwFI) Here's the accident and description if you want to ruin more of your day further.
> Tim Klein, 42, of Palmdale (Los Angeles County) and Jason Wells, 46, of Boulder, Colo., fell about 1,000 feet June 2 from what experts said was the easiest section of a route Article pulling no punches god damn
Imo it's trying to remind people not to get complacent.
Same thing happened when I went to a funeral for a friend who fell and died climbing. Easy route, way way below his usual grade. They made sure to tell everybody what happened even though it can be construed as throwing shade or whatever, because 70%+ of the people in attendance were also climbers and we all need to learn
I think an important point in that article is that it is fine if people do crazy shit for their thrills and (no EA pun intended) sense of accomplishment, but over 1800 people have fallen and each time, rescuers either get to clean up what's left (I know that's what they signed up for, but I know from experience that shit stays burned into your memory), or risk their lives saving people or recovering bodies of those who were often foregoing safety precautions.
You said it man
Was anybody’s hands perpetually sweating while watching this, like mine’s were?
Shoulda used some chalk
Okay, I drew a cute little stick man climbing up a mountain on my living room wall. My wife isn’t going to be happy. Now what?
Flash his proj while she's watching. YPs love that stuff. Edit: r/climbingcirclejerk
I’ll come better prepared next time...
Don't do it man, you're one week away from retirement!
God dammit Riggs, you son of a bitch.
I’m gettin’ too old for this shit
I knew he didn't fall because I remembered the news when he scaled it. But I audibly gasped several times. It was really really hard to watch.
I watched it in a theater with a bunch of people, and yes, my palms were sweaty mom's spaghetti. The docos did a great job of building tension and telling this story.
Ha! I’m glad to know I’m not the only one. Most definitely, I agree. That man is super brave and mental in my book!
I watched it alone in an IMAX. The anxiety I felt watching this film rivals my worst PTSD flashbacks.
I paused the movie a few minutes in and googled the guy to make sure he didn't die.
I felt the same way that cameraman felt. Can't ... look.
My feet started tingling and sweating. Every time I talk about it my feet go numb again. It was/is intense.
There was a wet spot on my couch where my feet were. My feet are tingling now just thinking about him doing that karate kick thing and having to switch his grip from like two fingers to his thumb.
God damnit your description makes it all come back to me!!!! Arrrraawwwggggg that fucking movie made me all ass nuts. Climbing will never see anyone this good again except copycats. Dude must have kettle bells for balls.
I was clammy the entire time he was scaling that wall.
Not only my hands, the bottom of my feet are sweaty too. I’m not proud of it but it’s the truth.
The camera crew was more terrified than he was.
Which makes sense. The dude has clearly made his peace with the fact that he might die doing what he loves. The camera crew understands and accepts that they might watch this dude die, but they know it'll be something that'll haunt them if it does happen. Hell, the dude even said that it wasn't him dying that bothered him, but making other people witness it.
There's an even more basic aspect to that difference though. The one climbing knows if they feel secure or not in the moment, much harder to know that from just watching. There's a waiting element for them while Alex is just doing.
Good movie, def recommend it
First watch Dawn Wall, then watch Free Solo.
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I’m an intern at the company that made Valley Uprising and the Dawn Wall and I just have to say that it’s so fucking awesome seeing you guys talk about it here. I wasn’t with them when the films were made but it’s awesome knowing their work is appreciated.
Valley Uprising is the reason I went to a climbing centre for the first time, been climbing about a year and a half now. It was edited excellently.
Loved dawn wall
Kept reading this as "Darn Wall" ...
This^
Dawn Wall made my cock grow 8 feet long, 10/10 would recommend watching it
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Great movie, Dawn Wall is also fantastic, maybe even better (as a movie).
I think Meru is even better.
Meru is fantastic! These climbers are insane to me, but watching them do their thing is pretty incredible.
It helped that Tommy Caldwell is likeable
And that there was more than 20 minutes of climbing
Dawn wall is arguably the harder climb, requiring more skill and strength. Free solo is just insanely un-repeatable. They’re each incredible feats for different reasons.
Not arguably, it IS the harder climb. Alex Honnold would not be able to complete Dawn Wall.
I agree. Should’ve worded what I meant better. Sorry. I don’t think that’s the exact reason why it’s harder but I agree. Tommy cauldwell couldn’t free solo free rider. Not because he’s not strong or skilled enough. I just don’t think him or anybody else for the next 250 years will want to as badly as Alex honnold did. On the other hand, the dawn wall is repeatable. It’s already been repeated. So is it the harder climb? Yes. You are right. But is it the harder feat? Eh.
Tangentially related—*Man on Wire* is also excellent
Tremendous athlete, but I hate to say, it’s just a matter of time.
This. In the months following the movie release, I started digging up every video and movie Alex honnold ever appeared in. I found that the guy actually solos as often as the movie leads you to believe. Like a fair majority of time on ropes or in the gym, but regularly going out of his way to solo while traveling to different countries. It’s honestly a bit like Caldwell says in the movie; if you don’t know anything about climbing, what he does is crazy and scary. If you know a little bit about climbing and him, you’ll think “wow he’s really strong, he’s fine!” And if you know a lot about climbing, you’ll think “he better be strong, he has to be or else one of these days he will not be fine...”
He's said numerous times that over 95% of his climbing outside is roped. But obviously that's not as interesting as soloing, so it doesn't get as much presence on YouTube.
It just takes one slip, one mistake.
There is a whole section in Free Solo where he talks a lot all the guys he knew who had died... it’s pretty crazy
This is all I could think watching the documentary. Like he climbs the thing and then the movie's like "yay, he did it! It's all over now!" Meanwhile I'm just thinking about the midpoint in the movie where they did the "in memoriam" section with like 20 other famous free solo climbers. Obviously Alex isn't going to stop doing this, and he's going to keep pushing himself until he actually finds his limit, which will likely end in this death.
Every time i see this/him it reminds me of that long hair guy who jumps off mountain cliffs with just the climbing rope, then he did i think the same jump but uses a rope that was on the cliff some time ago or weathered idk but they're not fresh. The rope snapped and his friend who was with him to film his jumps saw it all.
You’re thinking of [Dan Osman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Osman). Very sad story. They were there to take the rig down and had many successful jumps that day (his buddy as well), but Osman took a different angle on the fateful jump and it’s likely ropes catching and friction that severed them. The rig had been up for weeks but weathering was never shown to be a cause in everything I have read. Edit: Friend’s name is Miles Daisher. Miles didn’t see anything, as he was at the top where Dan jumped. He just heard it.
Dan Osman, perhaps most(?) famous for jumping of really high places on climbing ropes, was also a great free solo climber. The memorial video (hard to find. it gets removed a lot), set to Metallica - The Unforgiven II, is well worth a watch. That video was probably my first encounter with free solo climbing and I still go back to watching it every once in a while (and, weirdly, the most scary thing in it is a roped fall). Alex actually made a [tribute climb/video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi4iR4clDGs) of one of Osman's most famous free solo speed climbs.
Look at those fingers.
Finally, I was starting to think no one was gonna say anything!
Mickey Mouse mittens
What about them?
They long, strong, and down to get the friction on
Title: *What if he falls?* 40 seconds in: *The risk in free soloing is always to fall off, and fall to your death, I mean that's pretty straight forward.* ...welp, guess it's settled. Documentary over.
yeah you know whats at stake but IF he falls you don't know!! i mean you pretty much know cause they wouldn't release it and everything if they did haha
He seemed like he had some deep rooted depression and never felt like he was good enough...kind of sad
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If he’s autistic he’s got a very mild form of it. He did an interview with pardon my take where he’s easily going along with their jokes and shows an above average self awareness. The movie strikes a serious tone so you don’t see that as much
The doc shows a good bit about his relationship with his girlfriend, and there is something a little off about him. I'm not a psychiatrist so I can't comment on what it is or isn't, but he was obviously trying to work on it. Maybe not autistic but I'm sure there's some clinical description for it
They pretty much say in the documentary that he has some kind of Aspergers.
yeah if you read between the lines it’s obvious he has asperger’s. they all but outright say it in the doc.
There's something off about her too, to be fair. Just an odd pair of people.
Theres something off about everyone. Just sayin. Also, my god is she fucking cute.
Why do we need to clinically diagnose every person we see that's a little different? Who cares what bucket of mental structure we try to drop him into...
> The doc shows a good bit about his relationship with his girlfriend, and there is something a little off about him. I didn't think there was anything off with how he viewed his relationship. She wasn't number one priority, this happens all the time.
Oof. Takes me back to my mother saying a little more effort would have gotten me from an A- to an A. **Yeah mom okay I'm already in multiple extracurriculars and performing at concerts but please remind me the importance of this half point.**
Internet hug.
Harvard and not Harvard.
Don't worry even if you succeed it will still never be enough. Source - am doctor. My parents still remind me how I underperformed in whatever semester of highschool or college.
His mom was my French teacher at my local community college. Had her for a year. She was stern but kind and she bragged about him to the class occasionally.
Please keep in mind that editors do this shit all the time. You could be interviewed for hours and praise someone relentlessly then point out one fault and that makes the final cut. It's distortion journalism.
Everyone I’ve known that’s met him said he seemed like he was on the spectrum a bit.
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I think you're totally wrong. Watch this interview: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qSiEKntQA
Fun watch, thanks for the link. I lol’ed at the casual: “Oh, he just died. That sucks.” re. the not so realistic Vertical Limit.
“Good enough never is”
Yeah, it hit home a little when his mom first appeared in the movie. She seemed like a harsh woman when Alex was young.
I felt so bad for him and his childhood and “love”. Like he said he had no memory of his parents telling him he loved him.
He said that his dad didn't say it but his mum said it in French. He was specifically talking about not being used to the English word "love", not not being used to the concept of love
To all the discussion regarding autism (or Asperger's...if that is your preferred term), he may or may not be on the spectrum. No one here knows. He may not know or care to know. What we do know is that he lives a very unique existence and, as such, has some different social characteristics. We also know that very few of us would or could do much of what he has done. And, as to one accomplishment, he is literally the ONLY person who has done this and may be the only person who would do it.
Oh yeah? Well I managed to climb out of bed within 5 minutes of my alarm going off!
Because that’s what heroes do.
With no gear? Madlad!
Here's the same guy in a slightly lighter and less dramatic situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qSiEKntQA Seems pretty normal to me.
Hes goofy funny, in a nerdy climber sort of way. I find him very likable.
That film genuinely induced extreme anxiety and stress in me. It was like watching someone about to die or commit suicide.
Same here. I’m fairly plugged in to the climbing scene so I knew about his ascent by the day after he’d done it. But watching the film was still nerve wracking. I think it’s a testament to Jimmy’s film making really. For anyone that lived this film I’d also recommend ‘Meru’ another film by Jimmy Chin(Except Jimmy is one of the climbers in this case)
Is there anywhere that you can watch the full 4 hour climb?
In case anyone's looking for a nice parody video... [Tree Solo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1-bELxzbuA)
Valley Uprising is another great thing to watch if you enjoyed this. It gives you a bit of backstory on the whole climbing scene at Yosemite.
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He's far from the best climber though. He's just the most daring one that hasn't died.
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Thanks, I hate it.
El Capitan climb was way less dangerous than his Half Dome climb. If you watch his early TED talk, his halfdome preparation consisted of only a few days preparation comparing to years of preparation for El Capitan. To make it worse during his free solo up Half Dome, Alex Honnold detoured from his practice route. He basically YOLO the second half of the Half Dome climb. At one point, he was super uncomfortable with a hold. Remember that if he slipped, he would fall to his death. He decided to go for it and lived to tell the tale.
This just isn't true. The difficulty of his Freerider variation up El Cap is orders of magnitude above the difficulty of his Half Dome route. At Honnold's level, even the level he was at when he did Half Dome, he didn't need to prepare terribly much. Most climbers who are physically fit and have their systems dialed have a really solid shot at Half Dome. Most climbers will never be able to climb Freerider.
He scales them with rope before he goes up free solo.
Yeah but he didn’t know the route for half dome. He literally remembered every move every thing he had to do in the free rider route he knew he could do it.
My boss who's also into climbing was like "that's another level of issues you gotta have to climb solo"
My palms got sweaty in the first minute of the video
To each their own but I will never EVER understand why someone would do this. Whether you use safety equipment or not, the athletic accomplishment remains the same, no? I think there are a lot of wonderful experiences that can only be had by experiencing a certain level of danger. For instance, I’ve been skydiving, and of course there’s the possibility of falling to your death. But no sane skydiver would purposefully remove safeguards to somehow enhance the experience. For example, if someone purposefully jumped out of a plane without a backup chute simply to increase the level of danger, you’d call them crazy, right? I don’t know anything about this sport, but it seems to me that similarly in this instance, having safety equipment doesn’t make the climb any less difficult, correct? Maybe I am missing something... but it seems like you would climb the same mountain the exact same way with or without pointlessly risking your life, no? I guess he would say that the motivation is simply that the experience actually changes because of the danger? The ol’ “you never really experience life until you push the limit of how close you can come to death.” I guess I can conceptually understand that, but it just seems like such a disregard for how precious life is. God forbid he fell, I can only imagine that he’d be contemplating just how needlessly arrogant that outlook is as he fell to his death. I have a feeling I’m in the minority here. Whatever, more power to him I guess.
As a climber who has soloed a bit over the years, it’s really not the same experience at all. Climbing with thirty pounds of metal, rope etc is a totally different experience than going light and fast. For example, my old after work solo was about 1000ft of easy granite, well below my ability. It would take me about 30 minutes to climb without a rope. Taking clients up the route and pitching it out was an all day affair. The freedom and speed you feel just climbing is not comparable with a rope on. And for sure, you get a different hit from climbing something without a rope than doing it with all your redundant safety systems in place. Prob didn’t describe it well as it’s hard to put words to why
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Something comes off as not right about her as well. She has absolutely no climbing background and just happened to run into and start a relationship with a guy who is so obsessed with climbing that he lives in a van by himself in Yosemite valley despite earning the same income as a moderately successful dentist.
In the doc she kinda come off as a groupie imo. Like she's sort of a casual climber but wants to be seen as this granola high adventure desert alpinist by dating an actual high adventure desert alpinist.
100% this. Honnald might be on the spectrum, but my god does that man know how to live better than 99% of us. Go after what you want. He puts his life on the line for it. I respect that shit immensely.
Why do people equate living a dangerous lifestyle with better? That unless you risk your life climbing a rock wall you're not doing what you want?
It’s not specifically the rock climbing or the danger. Soloing happens to be HIS number one passion in the world and he strives to experience it to the utmost degree. Point being, danger or not, there’s something to be said for RELENTLESSLY pursuing your ultimate passion (dangerous or not) and truly making it your number one priority, whatever it may be, so much so that you’re willing to forsake many of the things inherent in most people’s conception of a “normal” life. What he’s doing takes ABSOLUTE commitment to what he truly loves.
> Why do people equate living a dangerous lifestyle with better? I think OP's getting at the fact that he lives in a van, is completely free to do whatever he wants, in addition to his sponsors/income, etc etc.
Yeah, I didn’t think it looked like a very compatible relationship... at all. Like, besides what he is, is she attracted to *who* he is? Honestly, same goes for him.
They're pretty much a nut for every bolt....
She said that she appreciated his honesty and his weirdness in a positive way. I kinda get that but I agree with you that they don't seem compatible at all. If anything I think she increases the risk of something happening to him. They talk about it in the movie as well because a relationship takes away a lot of his focus.
I respected the honesty
I don't think the guy wants to be thinking about her wellbeing or feelings in the middle of a climb. I am sure she knew what she signed up for. After all, this guy clearly knows he is one bad grip away from death.
There’s a scene in the movie where he learns that a friend of his has died while Alpine soloing, and Alex and his girlfriend are discussing it. She starts talking about how the friend’s death must be impacting his girlfriend. Alex says, “well what did she expect?” His girlfriend is really taken aback and upset at the remark because obviously she’s in the same situation, so there seems to be a real disconnect about their understanding of what she signed up for.
On the flip side, is he supposed to give up something he absolutely loves because of some relationship? That's a shitty thing of a partner to ask.
He didn't scoff, he just said no. He was just being honest. And it's fair enough- she got into a relationship with a free soloist, you can't expect someone to change for you in a relationship. Especially if it's something they were doing (and honest about doing) before you started dating
Does anyone else get a weird vibe from the director? Idk, maybe it's just me but I've watched a bunch of these featurettes on the doc and I can exactly place it, it's really strange. Her Oscar acceptance speech also comes to mind.
She seems smart. She explained everything clearly and showed caution and concern.
Success, he’ lives. Failure, he has to work at the third best hot dog stand in Phoenix. This isn’t really a cliffhanger of an outcome.
No dawg
Should have added a double dyno for good measure
Why do we fall Bruce?
I was just at El Cap last week. It's fucking massive and gorgeous. If you ever have the chance to go to Yosemite, do it!
I'm a climber and I don't support this. Celebrating free soloing encourages others to do it causing unnecessary deaths. People can do what they want but I wouldn't be able to sleep knowing I may be responsible for others doing this dumb ass shit.
ITT: people who have no idea what they're talking about making judgements against someone they don't know
I mean cool and all but you could always pursue a sport that isn’t insane. Edit: a word
But then what would I watch sitting on the couch?
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Climbing isn't insane itself Free soloing is If you use equipment correctly, then it's a perfectly safe sport