Free Solo (2018) Alex Honnold climbs El Capitan, a 3,000 ft vertical granite wall, basically using only fingers and toes.

Well, good for him. A young man should have a hobby.

I cannot relate on any level. I even hate artificial rock climbing inside of a gym. I'm scared of heights.

I climbed Half Dome this summer. There are cables you hold onto but no harnesses and I hated it. I got panicked and dizzy and couldn’t wait to get down. His achievement is sort of beyond my comprehension because I don’t even want to imagine the danger involved and the height he was at. I do have the movie in my Netflix queue though and will watch it.

Badly made film, how the fuck did a TV movie win an Oscar? Strange times

A dangerous endeavor without a pair of levitation boots.

Strong hands! Imagine how strong his hole is!

best fllm ive seen all year.

the guy is a hero (and cute)

He is cute. But I have no understanding of his drive to do death-defying things. As a risk averse person, I have no desire to do any extreme sports or put my life on the line in any way. But good for him if it floats his boat.

Also show us that tight climbing booty!

Not sure I can bear to watch it even knowing the positive outcome. Just thinking about it gives me anxiety.

Just watched this last night. Never felt the way I did watching anything in my life. Anything! Obviously I knew he lives cause he was at the Oscars but that did not matter. My anxiety level was through the roof and my mind was blown! When he was attempting the climb with no ropes, holy shit! If you really think about what this guy did it boggles the mind. If you’ve never been to Yosemite you might not really get the scope of what he did, to see it in person. Don’t understand it at all but that’s what makes life so beautiful that we have so many different people in this world. Everyone should watch this film. Beautiful photography (of course it NatGeo), gripping story, unbelievably unfathomable. Watch it!

"Could somebody please, you know, GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!"

My favorite part of the movie is during the climb. He climbs for an hour, up a sheer cliff, and comes to a ledge where two guys have a little climbing tent and are just getting up. So basically, the two guys in that tent are serious climbers, and it took them all day yesterday and lots of expensive equipment to get to where Honnold got in an hour with just his bare hands!

FYI I know an ex-climber who knows Honnold. He says that yes, he really is just like that in real life, this gawky, spacey, seemingly innocent, really cute guy.

It was just too easy; however, I did dock him eight lives.

really loved this film, he like some kind of angel able to climb to the heavens like we all can do maybe....somehow....yes

OP + R13 reminds me of this

Yea, he has his wings.

He doesn't have wings, he has the hands and feet of a gecko!

Sizemeat?

I know some of you would like to know.

Can't even look. I turn away whenever a character even threatens to jump off a roof on L&O.

It really was an amazing film, the most beautiful cinematography of the year, as well as THE most suspenseful and gripping film of the entire year.

Haven't seen a dramatic or thriller film that suspenseful in years and years, even though I knew how it ended.

I want to watch it, but every time I even look at stills from the movie, my palms start sweating profusely. I am not sure I can sit through it.

I loved it. The fact that it made no real effort to understand the mindset of the free climber but rather let him just express himself, letting us making our own decisions about him, only enhanced the astonishing cinematography. It was also the most suspenseful film I've seen in ages, despite knowing how it ended.

I haven't seen Free Solo yet but I watched a movie called Meru last year and it's directed by the same guy, Jimmy Chin. That movie was excellent. I highly recommend.

My friend hooked up with him once. She said he was too clingy.

R22 they literally had him take an MRI on camera and discuss the results indicating his brain was different. He requires much more stimulation than average to activate his something or other. That explained everything.

His amygdala, which is responsible for emotional responses such as fear, etc. R25.

Just thinking about this makes my balls shrink way up into my abdominal cavity.

Bump

Those ears though!

Impossible to listen to all the male vocal fry in this doc.

LOL R24.

I watched this in my local theater my hands sweated profusely watching him climb El Capitan.

how can I hook up with him, he my hero, will pay to worship and sniff his hole...

He has a great bod and forearms. And BDF.

Is he on the spectrum?

White people...

He appears to be the closest thing to a space alien I have ever seen. Those big ears, and those giant jet black eyes.

Remarkable achievement and he comes out as humble and grounded.

The actual climb is hard to watch, especially a couple of stages where he fell while practicing with ropes. One of his mates filming turns away and I had to work really hard not to turn away, as he did so, myself. Found myself thinking about it days after. Can’t help feeling that, if he continues, it is inevitable he will die. I sincerely hope that is not what happens but so many others have already. In fairness, he is intelligently aware of that.

[quote] Can’t help feeling that, if he continues, it is inevitable he will die.

My thoughts exactly. I really hope he quits while he is ahead. Stick with the ropes at least.

John Bachar made it to 52. My god, he was hot.

I love him, he is my fave sports guy, and he lives in his camper. so kool.

best to u alex, stay alive !!!!!

[quote]Not sure I can bear to watch it even knowing the positive outcome. Just thinking about it gives me anxiety.

No way I could watch this. The mere thought of it is frightening. Heights, for whatever reason, utterly terrify me. Plus, the idea of being stuck up there, unable to move because of a sudden burst of fear, and having no way to get down. . . . Just no; my hands are sweating simply thinking about it.

He's got a house in Las Vegas with his girlfriend. I wouldn't be surprised if he settles down with her and tones down the free soloing in general, but who knows. I hope he doesn't die... that'd suck. We need some survivors form this sport.

imagine the strength of his cock, and of his ass sphincter.

Idiotic pointless stunt. Dr McCoy was correct.

He's clearly on the spectrum so he doesn't experience emotions the same way as the rest of us.

R46 I think that might save him. He isn’t processing emotions like the rest of us and that allows him to go out on a suicide mission and hold his nerve. Nevertheless, I think he should quit now when he’s 1-0 up on death. His girlfriend is going to get hurt, I just can’t see him being an effective husband and father. To make it work she’s going to have to do 90% of the work and get nothing much in return. I guess it helps that she was a groupie he met at a book signing so she’s probably a bit infatuated and seeing the man in the book rather than the real man.

Sidebar for those who don't speak Spanish: El Capitan means "The Captain."

Listen to his podcast with Rich Roll.

Anyway his girlfriend will get tired of being “ignored”. I dated someone who was obsessive and I just felt alone all of the time.

[quote]they literally had him take an MRI on camera and discuss the results indicating his brain was different. He requires much more stimulation than average to activate his something or other. That explained everything.

[quote]His amygdala, which is responsible for emotional responses such as fear, etc.

He's probably a psychopath.

He’s mean to his girlfriend and shows little interest in who she is. She doesn’t seem to mind.

R51 mean how

In the film, when the gf was nagging him pretty hard about "having a reason to stop" (i.e. her or a baby) I thought for sure we'd see her poking holes in the condoms or something. She seems like a stage 5 clinger who will happily accept scraps provided he doesn't cheat.

Every decade I get older I can deal with heights less. When I was 10 I was fearless on the Palisades and in the Gunks. When I was twenty I could hike narrow precipitous trails. When I was thirty I was getting queasy on high trams and when I was 40 I had to stand in the middle of those trams and there were ski trails I would never take again. Around 50, I couldn't watch death defying thrill seekers on film and video, it gave me panic attacks and deep dread.

When he said he liked having her around because she’s small and doesn’t take up much space 😂 He’s got Aspergers like his dad, he has such a low EQ. His mom said his dad’s passion was travel when he wasn’t travelling things were bad. I think it will be the same with Alex if he stops climbing.

He also blamed her for his injuries

The gf did cause the one fall. She's an inexperienced climber, not sure why he even had her out there.

Aspie climber.

The gf seems like the type who wants him to change and give up the thing he really loves the most. Trying to get him to tone it down, not do these crazy risky climbs. Hello, you knew exactly who he is and what you were getting into! She could have dated an accountant or something, but then she wouldn't have the celebrity and prestige of being Alex Honnold's gf. Watching the film, I couldn't figure out what exactly it is that she does, or did before she met him. Apparently she is a "life and transition coach." Sounds like a bunch of crap to me.

I mean, she seems a nice girl and all, but would she would have people hiring her for this shit if not for dating Alex?

She can't have a regular 9-5 job because she probably feels she has to make herself available to him and his life 24-7.

It's a different way of life. 9-5 doesn't fit.

Free climbing is what he is and it will always be the most important thing. He knows the risks and is willing to die to do what he loves. Not that he wants to die it’s just that the thing he loves to do most carries that risk and it is what it is.

This guy has OCD to a level I have never seen before. Calculating and testing each move, but very cavalier about death. I think rock climbers are mentally damaged. Impressive feat but also huge ego and death wish. I hope other people don't attempt it because unless you are OCD and willing to die, you will never succeed and will mostly die.

Haven't seen the doc yet. This as a good listen, fascinating person.

The girlfriend claims to not have known who Alex was before she met him at one of his book signings. I doubt that. I wasn't all that connected with the outdoors like she apparently is and I've known who this guy was for years.

Either way, her asking him to put herself before his climbing goals seemed strange. She wouldn't have the status as his girlfriend if he weren't a world renowned free soloist. It's like marrying a law student and asking him to put the bar before her happiness or something. Doesn't really make sense.

I'm certain he's on the spectrum, and I'm sure he knows it too, but he is who he is and he's not hurting anyone. Also, not all climbers are as intense as him. Tommy Caldwell, who's in the documentary, seems to be pretty stable and emotionally sound. He's much safer when he climbs and has a wife and kids and everything. Also a cutie. There's a documentary on him called The Dawn Wall. You can watch it on Netflix. I think it's a more emotionally engaging film with a more sympathetic lead.

"He’s mean to his girlfriend and shows little interest in who she is."

He's not mean! He's thoughtless. Not cruel or unkind, just clueless about how his actions affect normal people.

As for the girlfriend, in the movie it looked like she was working hard to resist the impulse to change him. Of course that will end the minute she thinks she's pregnant.

As someone with bad acrophobia, I'll pass on watching this documentary.

Thought Alex came across like a self obsessed asshole.

But I did wonder how he makes money? How does he just criss cross the world climbing? Who funds him?

Pretty sure he's sponsored through North Face.

I've been following him for a while now, and whilst he does seem to have very little understanding of how people process emotions (or rather he csn only understand it as a concept but not experience them himself) which in turn makes seem sound like a bit of asshole, from all accounts of people who met him it looks like guy is really down to earth, no big ego at all and super nice in person. He does a nice job with his fundation and I picked some nice books from his reading list.

He doesn't seem like good boyfriend material but comes across as a sweet and decent person. Hope he stays alive a long time! Free Solo is excellent.

The girlfriend was certainly always on the verge of doing that ‘ I should be enough for you now ‘ thing. I know someone who has always been into bikes and, through that, became a member of a somewhat notorious club that demands a lot. I also know his girlfriend. While she reluctantly accepts he will always put the club first she exhausts herself wanting him to change. It’s clear he won’t. In turn, she can be exhausting because of that. I don’t really understand why women do that. Become attracted to men who have a very specific passion and then try to make them put it aside for them.

It will be interesting seeing what Honnold does in the future. His body will betray him at some point. Hopefully he can channel his focus into his foundation.

R72 I think people with a real passion come through as really attractive (well that's true for me), so it is no surprise women go after them.

R72, the straights have this weird thing where men expect their woman to make him their #1 priority in life. Ahead of her work, her hobbies, her friends and familyl if she doesn't treat him like he's more important than anything in the world except maybe their children, he'll look for a woman who will put him first.

Some straight women just accept that their man will never return that level of commitment, others try to get their man to return something like the same level of devotion, and maybe 1-2% of them succeed.

Where can i watch this moovie?

[quote]But I did wonder how he makes money? How does he just criss cross the world climbing? Who funds him?

He was living in a van for a long time. In the doc he says that he makes "dentist money" or something to that effect. I don't think he's living large.

Dentists make $500,000.

Where are you getting your stats?

He seems like he doesn't need a lot to live fullfilling life, he still donated round 25% of his salaries to his foundation. My guess is that most of his travels are sponsored by North Face or done in collab with Nat Geo or other outdoor media.

But she needs life coaching .to get her to realize this relationship has serious limitations ..

Yeah, I thought he was a douche. And, not even remotely attractive.

Wonder if the gf is related to Chris McCandless.

What's the documentary where those 2 at R65 do deep throat 69 halfway up Pic Longs?

Incredible to watch, almost impossible to believe. I think his girlfriend is a jinx for him.

The girlfriend's not related to Chris McCandless. She was an event planner in Seattle before she became a certified life coach.

Bitch be cray!

Here he is, shirtless and barefooted!

His fingertips must have fingertips.

I don't care how mean or emotionless he is.

he is hot and interesting and unique and packs ten inches of wonderlust.

[quote]Wonder if the gf is related to Chris McCandless.

I thought she just adopted his last name because she has a fetish for that kind of dude (the kind that never showers!)

He’s right that all you need to free solo is your hands... and lube and tissues 🤗

[quote]His fingertips must have fingertips.

His hands are meaty from all his climbing. They almost look cartoonish. You can see them clearly in this vid:

I used to love to fly. My first flight as an infant was on a PanAm Lockheed Constellation (yeah, elder me). Now I HATE being up in the air. I have vivid plane crash dreams, including a reoccurring one where I watch a 747 nosedive into a Japanese footbridge.

All that said, more power to Alex Honnold's extraordinary achievements. He knew what he was doing and nobody else could do what he did. So what if he is "different" for whatever reasons? I think BASE jumpers and flying suit people are far more foolhardy. The number of deaths in those activities is off the scale.

Fuck flying, even if I still have to do it to go anyplace interesting.

R74 gets it. You just know if she had a passion she put first Alex would have rid himself of her long ago. It was uncomfortable watching her desperately looking for some validation that he was devoted and loved her.

If I had to guess I’d say he earned 175-250,000 at the time of filming but he has no real expenses or at least didn’t until coupling up. It’s prob more now that the movie was such a success. He also said he got insurance money after his father’s death that allowed him to start living a van life and spending months in Yosemite so he has no debt either. He’s from Sac so to him dentist money is low 6 figures not 500,000. In my hometown dentist money is 90,000 so it’s all relative.

r7, heroism is when you do things for other people. He's risking his life... that's not heroic, that's insulting.

[quote]he is hot and interesting and unique and [bold]packs ten inches[/bold] of wonderlust.

You have no idea.

I don't understand how people find this fascinating, So what that he does this. He gets a rush and that's fine but as someone pointed out he's no hero because what he does is pointless and helps no one.

But then I feel that about pro sports players. What they do must be fun for themselves but is boring to me and in no way heroic.

Of course he's not saving the world. He's doing exactly what he wants to do with life, and that can be inspiring to people who feel trapped in boring "normal" soul-sucking existences. They don't have to be rock climbers, but they might feel a little more motivated to make the most of their banal lives since we're all going to die at some point anyway. And he gives a pretty sizeable chunk of his income to charity. What have you done lately, R97?

It's because he's hot, r97.

Even though he's hot, I mean really attractive, I can believe he's been unable to get a steady girlfriend until now. Because he doesn't really put anything into the relationship, everything he does is about the climbing and that's not going to change. He couldn't have anyone with their own career or passion as a significant other because he would just see that as something that interfered with the climbing, the only kind of person he could have around is someone who accepts him just as he is and who doesn't try to change him, and who is willing to be ignored and treated as a low priority. Hopefully she'll get tired of it before she gets pregnant.

Because yeah, that kind of focus is what it takes to be the best in the world at something. It's the same for any kind of sport of physical pursuit, nobody at that top level has any sort of "normal" approach to life or relationships with other humans. But unlike most at the top of their sport, Honnold seems humble and innocent, there's no ego there.

A lot of bitter queens on here. R98 is spot on.

I don’t think he’s hot but he seems pure. It’s great that his Asperger’s helps him succeed at doing what he loves.

I wonder if he will have crippling arthritis when (if) he gets old.

R103 he'll die way before that

R97 entertainment industry also fall in that category. Pointless and helps no one.

Oh,god, I was practically hyperventilating when I saw the last parts of the docu.

That was intense! Even though I remembered seeing him at the Oscars. It was still stupid nerve-wracking. .

I just saw this yesterday. I wish I had seen it on the big screen though -- it induced vertigo for me.

I find him ugly-cute with a rocking body. I'm sorta surprised he's still together with the girlfriend -- he seemed to have more of a real bromance connection with the other climber, Tommy Caldwell.

Tommy was cute and sweet in the documentary.

R23, thank you. I was contemplating whether to watch Meru or not. Looks like some gorgeous cinematography.

That was insane. No rope, no grip.

R42 watching that would make my kishkas fertootzed.

R42 I watched it in a theater and my hands were sweating profusely as I watched him climb the mountain.

R112, me too. How is he even hanging on in the video still below?

[quote] had him take an MRI on camera and discuss the results indicating his brain was different. He requires much more stimulation than average to activate his something or other. That explained everything.

Yeah, IMO he has some type of autism.

The funny thing is, when the girlfriend and he go climbing together, he loses concentration and falls. It happened twice and he suffered a break in his spine and ankle. It's really hard to keep this up. Some former climbers-- and famous ones-- have fallen to their deaths.

Guys like him climb until they die. I hope he doesn't have kids.

He can climb like he does because of several factors: concentration, fearless to the point of not being neurotypical, fantastic physical condition, genetic gifts of long arms and perfect balance, obsessiveness, and the strongest hands in the world. I mean look at this - he works out each fucking finger until it can bear most of his weight!

Aging won't agree with him, if he ever ages. Arthritis in the fingers is common enough, putting this much stress on his fingers will probably cause joint damage in time, and that will be that for his climbing career.

Another video of his feat.

I'll bet he has a tight ass.

All these climbers have hot bods. All of them.

R118, here he is assuming the position.

Does he ever free solo while he’s free soloing?

^^^"If one muscle is swollen or achy, it might mean I can't fit my fingers in a crack."

So true!

It was pretty amazing!

From that pic on R120, it looks like his feet and toes have to hold his weight also.

My palms sweat just looking at the photo at R120.

R97,And what do YOU do that is both helpful and heroic?

Anyone who extends, and therefore expands our knowledge of, what the human body is capable of is a worthwhile person.

Since we inhabit corporeal entities, it is natural to admire people who display extraordinary strength, agility, speed, dexterity, and, yes, beauty, for we are curious about our species.

He reminds me of Bishop from Aliens. Looks like him and has the same semi-robotic personality.

^He is sorta like Spock.

Gorgeous body and nice face

Maybe his GF (wife?) has tamed him. It doesn't appear that he's attempted very many other death-defying climbs since then.

He must be a freak in bed.

He'd be a good person to have in a death pool. Young and almost certainly not long for this world. He reminded me of Shane McConkey, another great documentary that's less painful to watch.

I loved Free Solo but could barely watch his free solo climb because I kept thinking he'd drop, even though I knew he was alive.

He and his mother both seem like they have psychopathic tendencies and an inability to really connect with each other or any other people.

I get more slightly autistic vibes than psychopathic, but if he is, at least he's a philanthropic one -- seems like he at least shows empathy for some of the people in the poorer countries where he's climbed.

[quote]Many of the holds are less than one millimeter deep.

How is this physically possible? A centimeter, sure.

R97 must be a blast at parties

There's nothing to it really.

In action.

You can tell Alex's climber bro buds can't stand the GF. They probably think she's a Yoko Ono

What if he drops the chalk bag? Or the chalk is taken by the wind.

The gf is very needy.

The GF is just trying to do what girls do when they set their sights on a bachelor. Change them. It’s not a simple case of getting him to stop gaming or buying new clothes in this case. He was obviously a bit fed up with van life so I wasn’t too shocked she got him into to a house. If he wasn’t a celebrity his indifference would have sent her packing by now.

Yes R141 and she knew what she was getting herself into

Fish ruin everything.

Shits like R144 stink up threads.

Do they have kids yet?

No, but he's got sperm on ice...

Having kids would be a mistake in his case I think.

Agree. I think it would be a very selfish thing to do R148.

Since when has being selfish kept men from having kids?

And since when is having kids not selfish?

You pay your parents back with what you give your children.

What a fucking nightmare.

[quote]He must be a freak in bed.

I don't get that vibe at all. These one-track-minded Aspie types are often pretty asexual. Sex might not be stimulating enough for him. The brains of people like this don't function like ours.

R135 I was thinking the same thing and I'm surprised no one else has brought this up. It's gotta be an error.

R145 = fat frau

I thought this had something to do with the actor from Han Solo, like the actor doing a climb for the next Star Wars. I was so confused lol.

HOLD ON, HONNOLD!

Kudos to the GF for getting Alex to settle down for a house I guess.

I bet she wants a baby next.

The more remote one partner is in a relationship the needier the other person gets.

Any day now Alex is going to be as remote as someone can get, I fear.

He said in the doc that having the girlfriend around had its advantages, or something to that effect. I took that to mean he liked how she cooked and cleaned for him. He basically needs a mother-type girlfriend, and she seems happy to fill that role. He did seem extremely annoyed by her at times, particularly when she tied to go climbing with him. He hurt himself fairly seriously the one time.

He hurt himself twice with her, no?

R156, you wag you!

The R33s of the world need to be collectively castrated.

Referring to R33

Unnecessarily harsh R164

He should try Everest

R166 or K2

I think maybe this ascent put a temporary end to his danger-seeking. It's pretty hard to top El Capitan.