If you haven’t seen Free Solo, it’s a film about Alex Honnold, a professional rock climber, becoming the first person to climb El Capitan without ropes or safety gear. It won Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars this year.
For those who’ve seen the film - it was good right?
The cinematography is amazing. Set in the famous Yosemite National Park, book a trip for early spring, if you have never been. You will not regret it! As you awe over this massive granite rock, you may think there is no way anyone would climb that without a safety net!
Well, you just need to watch the first five minutes to see Alex conquer El Capitan. The other 95 minutes is a story of struggle, love, everyday life and spectacular views. The finale is heart pounding, as he scales the 3,200 foot rock without any ropes. One mistake and it’s all over.
The crew is made up of experienced rock climbers who understood the risks. Not wanting to capture Alex falling to his death on film, the crew struggles with filming the climb. This was the most fascinating subplot to me; the struggle to film or not to film.
An older climber goes to Alex before his first attempt and asks why he is filming the climb and if it’s for the right reasons. Is he doing it for fame, notoriety or for pure self-achievement?
Today with cameras readily available in every pocket capturing both horrific and awesome events available for everyone to view; maybe we should pause before pressing record and ask ourselves, “Why should this be filmed?”
If no one was there to record Alex’s achievement, would anyone believe him? Probably not. Would that matter to Alex? Again, probably not. What does matter, is to always do things for the right reasons.
Free Solo is on Hulu right now. So climb on the couch and watch it!
My final thought; did anyone else notice that he ate like every meal with a spatula? “Now that you’ve climbed El Capitan, Alex, what are you going to do?” Skip Disney World and go to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy eating utensils, you heathen! :)
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