A Crazy Adventure ..... And now a film!

Yosemite Valley, with El Capitan on the left, and Half Dome off in the distance.

There are people out there who seem to do things which would appear absolutely crazy to the rest of us, just crazy adventures which do not even appear possible.  And yet, these people, who do these seemingly crazy things, are not themselves nuts (or at least not totally).  One such person is Alex Honnold, one of the best rock climbers in the world, and one who did one of the most amazing things, just crazy, ever accomplished on rock.  Alex was the first person to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California, USA.  And this feat has been captured in a film which debuted in theaters around the country on September 28th.  The film, "Free Solo", was directed by Jimmy Chin (another great rock climber, and mountaineer, as well as an amazing photographer and cinematographer) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi.  This film is already being hailed by some as the best climbing movie ever made, and while I have yet to see the film, the trailer suggest the film is amazing, and the entire premise is just nuts.  The film is about Honnold's successful attempt to free solo El Capitan in Yosemite, which means that he climbed almost 3,000 ft of near vertical granite by himself, without ropes, without any protection, all while being filmed; a single slip, and subsequent fall, would mean certain death, captured on film.  On June 3rd, 2017, he free soloed the Freerider route on El Capitan in only 3 hours and 56 minutes (it typically takes the average climber on El Capitan 3 to 4 days to top out, depending on the route taken).  What he did was amazing, scary, and yup, just a bit crazy.

El Capitan is an iconic, giant chunk of mostly vertical granite in the Yosemite Valley of Yosemite National Park in California.  The most famous climbing route on El Cap is The Nose, which was first climbed in 1958 by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Witmore.  They relied on direct aid climbing, using pitons, bolts and ropes, and it took them 47 days, spread over 18 months.  The first free climb of The Nose, the most popular route on El Capitan, was completed by Lynn Hill in 1993.  Free climbing means that while you use a rope for protection if you fall, you climb without the direct aid of ropes attached to pitons or bolts; you climb the rock, not ropes.  Eventually, many other climbing routes have been established, first assents have been completed, speed climbing records have been set, and more, and then, Alex Honnold completed his free solo climb up El Capitan.  What an incredible feat, and just a bit crazy.  Congratulations to Alex, and those who followed him up with cameras so that the whole adventure could be available for all to witness, just amazing.  'Free Solo', find it a theater near you.

​'Free Solo' Trailer
​​https://www.nationalgeographic.com/films/free-solo/

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