If you haven't seen, or even, heard of Alex Honnold's "Free Solo," you need to make time to go watch it. That isn't because I have watched it and I need you to go. While I'm writing this, the movie hasn't even come out yet in theaters. What I have watched in the past that excites me beyond anything else are Honnold's other free climbs, and his humble acceptance of his accomplishments.
Alex Honnold is one of the most prominent, current rock climbers in the world, and Wikipedia notes him as "best known for his free solo ascents of big walls." And "big walls" is an understatement when you learn that those include Half-Dome and El Capitan, both wonders of nature located in Yosemite National Park. Honnold specializes in free-solo ascents, which are ascents without the use of climbing or bouldering gear. This effectively means that Honnold used only his own body to scale rock formations that most people feel terrified to climb with the assistance of trials, ropes, and harnesses.
If you want to take a look at exactly what Honnold does before "Free Solo" comes out in theaters, here's a video that explains why I have been so fascinated with the climber since I first discovered his climbs.
Watching Honnold, of course, I feel terrified, but with the safety net of knowing that he has survived to film the interview portions of the short film that I'm watching. However, nothing changes the vicarious, and yet, simultaneous exhilaration and peace that I feel watching Honnold work on a climb. There is something about the simplicity of having nothing but one's body to scale a natural wonder that is stunning.
And to add to all of that, Honnold seems to be a genuinely humble subject for the short films and documentaries that are out there about him. He has risen to major prominence in the last few years in the extreme sports community, and nothing has seemed to faze him. I highly recommend that you go and find the time to watch Honnold do what he does best, and watch "Free Solo" when it comes out in theaters.
