“Free Solo” Movie - Climbing El Kapitan with no Rope

Its like racing the IOMTT wearing just Chuck Taylors, a wife beater, jorts, and some Oakleys. No lid.

Lol

 

we'll just agree that you don't understand climbing. and that's fine. i've been climbing nearly 20 years and won't free solo.

 

And I've been riding motorcycles for 20 years and wouldn't go on the track without a helmet... not sure how that's relevant.

 

The helmet/ropes comparison doesn’t hold up. The helmet doesn’t impact your ability to ride the motorcycle. Actually it enhances it by stopping the wind from blowing your eyeballs out and the noise from damaging your ears. Removing it from the equation does nothing to enhance your experience unless you’re one of those guys who thinks it doesn’t look cool.

I understand why you’re focusing on the risk as the incentive for free soloing, but that’s not it. Honnold climbed that route countless times with ropes. Over and over and over until it was like tying his shoes. Once every grip and every move was memorized, he went for it.

Again, you don’t have to understand. I’ll never free solo outside of some bouldering, but I understand and respect his desire to do so. The climbing community is pretty unanimous on this as well.

 

nope. there are more skills involved in soloing, and they aren't necessarily physical. the mental game is ridiculous for example. handling that is the unique skill that Honnold possess. hes probably the only one on this planet that can do all of this at this level.

 

Lol not quite that dramatic to scale something but if youve never climbed anything maybe so.

 

I was scrolling down, reading the thread, and was wondering if anyone would catch this. The beeb wouldn’t give anyone a hard time for a typo, would they?

 

Alex Honnold live on Rogan's boob tube now

 

The introduction of “consequence“ is the game changer. Controlling your mental game is huge. The racing without gear comparison works. Leaving aside the question of stupidity, how many would be able to control their emotions enough to ride their same pace. That’s what Honnold had to manage. His training climbs were difficult enough with protection. Then take it away, and introduce consequence, and he had to climb at the same high level with the addition of the mental. It was huge.
When I was in college, I did a lot of rock climbing. I preferred not using the rope, because I thought the accomplishment was greater if the consequences were greater. It wasn’t because I was a great climber, it was because I was young and dumb...

 

That was my analogy. I'm just as stunned as y'all I said something smart. I need ice cream.

 

Just went and saw this with the wife. We walked out and she goes racing motorcycles is completely sane compared to what he does. Then I got a lecture about not getting any ideas.

 

Saw it last night. Jimmy Chin is the shit. He did a great job with the film, and managed to tell a story that was compelling to both climbing enthusiasts and non-climbers.

I'm glad that Alex allowed the climb to be documented. There are plenty of very special humans in the world, and for better or worse, Honnold is one of a kind.

I didn't like that the movie took some "creative license" with information regarding free soloist deaths. Dean Potter was mentioned, as was Osman I think. Both of those guys died in the mountains, but Potter was BASE jumping, and Osman was rope jumping. Not that free soloing is safer than either, but the film leads people to believe that they died climbing.

Either way it's awesome, and definitely one of those films you have to see in a theater to get the full effect.

 

I haven't made it out to see Free Solo yet. Not totally sure I want to. I did go to see Dawn Wall with a couple of my old climbing friends a few weeks ago. That was amazing (Tommy Caldwell history and climbing the Dawn Wall free (not solo)).

I used to climb a lot, like 4-5 days a week, but that was back in the late 80's early 90's. Worked for a rope and gear manufacture. Never really got into really hard climbing, but did a lot of fun stuff climbing with friends. Took my daughter (10) to the climbing gym this summer a couple of times, it was good to pass the belay test on my first try without any practice. lol. I did a couple of routes that has the auto belay system as she doesn't know how to belay me. It was fun, if she gets into it I'll take her more often and get her some of her own gear (she's got a harness so far).

Climbing solo is a mental thing for most. I've done some short climbs unroped that were really just extended boulder problems. They were things I had done over and over and just decided to solo at one point or another. BUT these were like 40-50' short climbs, not 1k' or more. I didn't have that kind of confidence. or maybe I just had awareness that if anything little happened (bee sting, slip of the foot, etc) bad things would happen.

If you liked Free Solo, go see Dawn Wall, the cinematography was excellent and had some great background on the climbers and a great story.

guess I need to look and see if Free Solo is still playing around here and get out and see it.

 

This is my insight from a complete non-climber. The most I’ve ever done was some repelling on a cliff in Virginia back in middle school.

From my perspective, a lot of what you get with these achievements are truly unique individuals that for whatever reason are obsessed with perfection that comes with large consequences for small errors. He admits when he went up half dome he pretty much had luck on his side at one point and doesn’t want that feeling again.

Big wave surfers, skiers mountaineering and then skiing a line that’s never been done. These individuals are truly unique.

What made my palms sweaty from watching this was the consequence- there was only one in this situation. A bird flies by you can’t flinch, flies, bees, mosquitos, or worse a piece of rock breaks off while you grab. These are things outside your planning and control that have 1 consequence. Granted, he was on that rock almost everyday for a year training, but nature can be quite unforgiving.

Chin did a fantastic job filming it and telling the story. I’m happy to have seen it in the theatre.

 

Thought maybe this was a documentary about Hope Solo's arrest and domestic abuse charges from back in the day....hmmph

 

I was pretty blown away by this film. The level of insanity involved with this climb is just off the charts, even with what little I know of climbing (a long time ago in Joshua Tree). Chin did an amazing job schussing out Alex's personality and drive, and I think he did a great job paralleling the film to that persona. No hyperbole, superlatives or grandioseness... just basic dirt bagging reality. Alex is so down to earth and nonchalant about the whole thing, which is just unworldly. The guy is for sure a mutant alien!

I think Chin missed out on some cinematic opportunities to display the beauty of the valley, but that wasn't the focus of the film.

I'm a little confused about how they showed Alex on the face with the cameras with telescopic lenses, but the parallel climbers and cameras weren't in those shots. Were there no parallel climbers/cameras going up? Were all the closeups shot with drones? Pretty amazing drone usage, if so.

I love how Alex compartmentalized his relationship with his girlfriend, and how she fit into his life and goals.

I had the heebie-jeebies most of the film... I haven't witnessed many things in life as completely nuts as this stunt. Totally irrational and stupid, but I get it. Alex was 100% prepared to not survive that day.

 

I listened to him on the Joe Rogan podcast on a long drive last night. It was a cool interview which I think shes a little more light on Alex. He came off as super smart and super aware on the podcast.

 

It's still impressive that you kept your cool. I soloed a ~40' portion of a sport route on panty wall in Red Rocks about five years ago, I forget the name. It seemed like a good idea but the second I was 10-15' off the deck I was terrified and my arms pumped up like crazy. The route was easy, maybe 5.6-5.7, but exposed. I'll never do anything like that again.

 

There are some that would say, removing the helmet DOES enhance the experience, in the same reason removing the rope does, in one sense. It increases the engagement because the consequences increase. Much like walking a 3 inch beam suspended 1 foot off the ground is much less stressful than walking a 3 inch beam suspended 40 feet above the ground. It's not the action, it's the consequences. You cannot deny the consequences of riding without a helmet go up, compared to riding without. Much like climbing with, or without a rope.

You guys say this kind of stuff then talk about removing the risks by practice, or "mastery". Or being able to compartmentalize the part of your thinking that doesn't deal with the risk math well. Still sounds like risk is a portion of the incentive.

So really, the really impressive free climb would be a true free climb. No practice. Just look at it, and go.
If you've gone over and over the course, you remove a good percentage of the challenge, and risk. And that's what your playing on by saying it's "mastery" over the challenge and risk. Seems more mitigating foolish risk over manageable risk.

And using a lot of justification thought processes that motorcycling, and especially racing, people uses when talking to the non-motorcycling public.

This has veered way off the respect of the accomplishment, which should be unchallenged. And into discussion of mental minutia, and justification. I say justification because, many times, it ends up not being explainable...kind of like racing.

 

Dumb, non-climber question - I assume he gets a copter ride down?