Free solo

[Emma Raducanu]

Okay, I'm really into hiking and bouldering so when I heard about this, it was right up my street.

It's a pretty great documentary following Alex Honnold free solo climb el capitan.

Unfortunately it's mainly a character profile of the guy and only the last 20 minutes involve the actual climb. It does a pretty good job of showing how insane climbing it is but I wish they'd shown more footage.

For anyone that squirms at people at great heights it's pretty decent; it's a fairly remarkable human achievement.

[Bazooka]

The guy is a freak, but very likeable. I've not watched Free Solo yet, but became aware of Alex probably 9 years ago now and watched most stuff on him.

[Johnny Textface]

It looked to me like the filmmakers had to take a step back, even hide their presence from him. When he tried to do it when they were all setup watching, he bailed. Also they mentioned that they were worried (and rightly so) that something like a drone could cause his death due to a distraction.

What an incredible achievement though. He's obviously not normal and the brain scan result bears that out.

5 out 5 slight slips.

[BlodwynPig]

his hands are fucking monsters in their own right.

Immense stuff. I've been watching extreme climbing videos for a year or so now and I get vertigo in the Honnold ones.



ugh...

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

[tag]Jerry Dammers pens song for Return of the Jedi[/tag]

[MidnightShambler]

I've just watched some of his stuff. It's absolutely disgusting, I felt like I was dying watching it. I've worked at height a lot and there's been occasions where I've frozen 35 feet up a ladder etc, not able to move until you regain your composure, wobbly legs, the lot. Most tradesmen will have had a similar experience, it can happen to anyone at any time, doesn't matter how much experience you've got. Fred Dibnah laddering his own 300ft chimneys and getting up ridiculous overhangs still brings me out in a cold sweat when I think about it.

Imagine having a panic attack 3,000 feet up a vertical wall, christ it doesn't even bear thinking about. Hats off to him, amazing.

[Al Tha Funkee Homosapien]

A truely horrific watch. I was so nervous, my palms were so sweaty, there was nearly carbonara all over my nice new jumper.

[BlodwynPig]

I've just watched some of his stuff. It's absolutely disgusting, I felt like I was dying watching it. I've worked at height a lot and there's been occasions where I've frozen 35 feet up a ladder etc, not able to move until you regain your composure, wobbly legs, the lot. Most tradesmen will have had a similar experience, it can happen to anyone at any time, doesn't matter how much experience you've got. Fred Dibnah laddering his own 300ft chimneys and getting up ridiculous overhangs still brings me out in a cold sweat when I think about it.

Imagine having a panic attack 3,000 feet up a vertical wall, christ it doesn't even bear thinking about. Hats off to him, amazing.

I have "fantasies" of suddenly waking up on a ledge of a very high mountain without any memory of getting there and no chance of getting down or up. When I see an unusual and tall structure I also imagine waking up balanced on top of them.

[Bazooka]

I've just watched some of his stuff. It's absolutely disgusting, I felt like I was dying watching it. I've worked at height a lot and there's been occasions where I've frozen 35 feet up a ladder etc, not able to move until you regain your composure, wobbly legs, the lot. Most tradesmen will have had a similar experience, it can happen to anyone at any time, doesn't matter how much experience you've got. Fred Dibnah laddering his own 300ft chimneys and getting up ridiculous overhangs still brings me out in a cold sweat when I think about it.

Imagine having a panic attack 3,000 feet up a vertical wall, christ it doesn't even bear thinking about. Hats off to him, amazing.

Funny you should say that, I just watched a Dibnah episode only the other day of him laddering a chimney(a grand stack), had me sweating like a mad gibbon, "What if the ladder slips?! Fred, FRED, FRREEEED!". Watching window cleaners work can make me almost whitey, find it easier to watch Alex Honnold to be honest, maybe its the beautiful scenery.

[BlodwynPig]

Funny you should say that, I just watched a Dibnah episode only the other day of him laddering a chimney(a grand stack), had me sweating like a mad gibbon, "What if the ladder slips?! Fred, FRED, FRREEEED!". Watching window cleaners work can make me almost whitey, find it easier to watch Alex Honnold to be honest, maybe its the beautiful scenery.

This one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-a27xwcLfU

The way he casually turns to the camera and reels off some brickwork fact is terrifying.

[mothman]

It's John Noakes on Nelson's Column always gets me. Wearing jeans & trainers, with no safety equipment worth the name. And that ladder going up the overhang...

[MidnightShambler]

This one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-a27xwcLfU

The way he casually turns to the camera and reels off some brickwork fact is terrifying.

Thing is, he's going up that parallel to the chimney, no angle on the ladder at all. To go up that even 50ft with no safety measures takes an absolutely breathtaking amount of bollocks, never mind going 300ft then climbing up and over a scaffold that you've made yourself while you're up there. Incredible.

[BlodwynPig]

Famously died after falling down the front step of his bungalow

[mobias]

I just got the blu-ray of this after enjoying it when it was on TV. I don't really climb much these days but used to many years ago. I'd followed the rise of Alex Honnold from his early free solo climbing exploits and all the youtube films of him. When the news broke that he'd free solo'd El Capitan it did leave me speechless. Its difficult to convey just what an incredible thing it is he did. The physical and mental achievement of it is just so far beyond any comprehension.

Anyway I loved the movie. Inevitably there's a trade off in a movie of this length between telling the human non climbing part of his story to showing climbing footage and to that end I would have maybe liked to see slightly more footage of the actual climb itself but its still a fantastic documentary of an incredible achievement.

Some of the behind the scenes stuff is good. There's more palm sweating footage of his free solo practice climbs leading up to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RseYkyEoCI0&t=191s

This is quite funny and interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7qSiEKntQA&t=414s

[BlodwynPig]

The ledge traverse...gah. I'd be vertiginous at the bottom of that.

[touchingcloth]

What is point free solo when you can free climb without the chance of bouncing to your death?

[Noodle Lizard]

Just watched it again the other day, funnily enough. I think it's great, not only for the truly incredible footage of him actually making the climb but also for the repeated awkward interactions between him and his girlfriend. There's a good bit where she asks him a very leading question (something along the lines of "If it meant extending your life and relationship with me, would you stop climbing?") and he just coldly says "no" after barely any thought.

I'd forgotten that he gets some sort of brain scan early on in the documentary, which loosely diagnoses him as being "abnormally understimulated" by regular stimuli, or something like that. To me, it seems clear that he has one passion and everything else is rather perfunctory, which itself makes it far easier to understand how he can be so casual about his potential (even likely) death as a result of it. I couldn't care less about rock-climbing, but the documentary gives you plenty to think about with regards to passions/obsessions, purpose and life in general.

[mobias]

What is point free solo when you can free climb without the chance of bouncing to your death?

Historically people have free solo'd because you can just go off and climb by yourself. If you rope up you usually always have to have someone climbing with you. Also, because you don't have a heavy rope hanging from you its physically easier to climb. For someone like Alex Honnold you mainly do it because the mental challenge of doing it is as compelling as the physical challenge.

There's a good bit where she asks him a very leading question (something along the lines of "If it meant extending your life and relationship with me, would you stop climbing?") and he just coldly says "no" after barely any thought.

During lockdown he did a live viewing party commentary of the movie on youtube. It was quite interesting. He said he cringes at pretty much all the domestic scenes in it because he thinks he comes across as a complete twat. He did say that the movie really changed how he now behaves towards people. 

[touchingcloth]

Historically people have free solo'd because you can just go off and climb by yourself. If you rope up you usually always have to have someone climbing with you. Also, because you don't have a heavy rope hanging from you its physically easier to climb. For someone like Alex Honnold you mainly do it because the mental challenge of doing it is as compelling as the physical challenge.

During lockdown he did a live viewing party commentary of the movie on youtube. It was quite interesting. He said he cringes at pretty much all the domestic scenes in it because he thinks he comes across as a complete twat. He did say that the movie really changed how he now behaves towards people.

You can get screw in things which let you attach anchor points without a belayer, can't you? If so then "less weight" would seem a poor trade off against the possibility of just falling into the nothing.

[Noodle Lizard]

During lockdown he did a live viewing party commentary of the movie on youtube. It was quite interesting. He said he cringes at pretty much all the domestic scenes in it because he thinks he comes across as a complete twat.

And he sort of does, mostly because his interest and focus is so far removed from anything "normal", to the point where he genuinely doesn't seem to care too much if he dies doing it. It's hard for any of us to really relate to that attitude, so it does come off as unusually cold and cavalier. I'm sure when he sees it through other people's eyes (i.e. in the context of a documentary) it becomes easier for him to relate to how it comes off by normal standards.

[mobias]

You can get screw in things which let you attach anchor points without a belayer, can't you? If so then "less weight" would seem a poor trade off against the possibility of just falling into the nothing.

There's one or two ways you can climb alone with a rope but for most people the safest way to climb is roped up with at least one climbing partner. 99% of climbers do not free solo for the big obvious reason. The one percent that do will be divided up into two camps. One camp is the adrenalin junkie thill seeker who also does it for prestige and the 'wow look at me aren't I bad ass' factor. Two famous free-soloists, Dean Potter and John Bacher fall into this category. Both of whom are dead now.

Then the other camp is people like Alex Honnold and Peter Croft (who's featured in Free Solo) who do it for very personal reasons and see it as a pure form of climbing and the ultimate test of their climbing ability. You cannot make a mistake and thats a big compelling part of the challenge. Peter Croft refuses to be filmed when he free solos because he sees it as a really personal almost spiritual experience.

[BlodwynPig]

That Hansjorg Auer free solo in Italy was bloody terrifying as well. Dead now, but because of avalanche in Canada and not a fall. Probably as terrifying a way to go as free falling for 10 seconds from El Capitan.

[touchingcloth]

There's one or two ways you can climb alone with a rope but for most people the safest way to climb is roped up with at least one climbing partner. 99% of climbers do not free solo for the big obvious reason. The one percent that do will be divided up into two camps. One camp is the adrenalin junkie thill seeker who also does it for prestige and the 'wow look at me aren't I bad ass' factor. Two famous free-soloists, Dean Potter and John Bacher fall into this category. Both of whom are dead now.

You could say they fall into the category!!!!!!!?!

[Kryton]

Those Fred Dibnah videos are incredible. The man had bollocks.
I'm absolutely terrified of heights, watching those videos gave me cold, sweaty palms - But there's no denying he was a master of his craft.

One thing I can't watch is those cunts doing front flips on the ledges of massive buildings.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

We watched this the other day. Absolutely gripping stuff - I'd love/hate to see it in 3D.

I was fine with the amount of climbing footage. I think too much more would have blunted the impact of the climactic ascent (and given me a fucking panic attack). Thematically, it's not really about climbing as much as it is a portrait of an extraordinary individual - even the title works on a metaphorical level, as a description of Honnold's lifestyle. Obviously, the stakes here are much higher than your average artistic venture, but the film could just as easily be about some tortured creative type.

While he is fascinating and quite magnetic subject, Honnold does also come across as a bit of a prick...ly character. It didn't remotely surprise me when he reveals that he didn't get much parental affection as a child. You can't even really say that the film is some biased hatchet job either, since everyone involved seems to be quite fond/in awe of him. I like to think that if the price of genius truly is being a bit of a wanker, that must mean that being a nice person is pretty genius in itself.