MovieChat Forums > Free Solo (2018) Discussion > Climbs Fully Equipped. Finds Route Than ...

Climbs Fully Equipped. Finds Route Than Can Be Easily And Safely "Free Soloed" And Rehearses Climbing It With Equipment.

posted 5 years ago by [deleted]
9 replies | jump to latest

Rehearses dozens or hundreds of times using equipment before trying the rehearsed route with minimal equipment.

Has pegs hammered into route to make it easier to grip. He climbs fully equipped and finds the easiest route with the most beneficial finger/foot holds then he climbs it repeatedly, and embeds equipment along the route as well, to facilitate the climb before climbing without a harness.

He details all of this in his "Alone On The Wall" book. I already knew this before watching the documentary. I rated this a 10/10 and now I've changed my mind because all the people watching this who know nothing about him really think he's climbing "free solo" when he's not. You've all been conned. Read one of his books already.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

He pretty much shows the truth in the documentary. If anyone thought he just walked up to it and started climbing before seeing this they're likely a moron, if they thought so after seeing this then they're certainly a moron and a few other choice words that I'll leave to your imagination.

[–] tricksoftrade (82) 5 years ago

Dude...try to be happy for a persons accomplishment, not put it under a microscope. Nobody likes people like that, it does not reflect well on the person pointing it out.

[–] Otter (24464) 5 years ago

Well, how the hell else can a person free solo and live? Planning and rehearsing and practicing the most difficult moves!

And you need to explain the remark about hammering in pegs. I thought modern climbers had stopped doing that, and were all about taking out pitons because they are now considered uncool and not real climbing.

[–] TerraFirma69 (1929) 5 years ago

Thanks for your insights, debbie downer. Or is it captain obvious?

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

You called?

[–] wineandkerosene (14) 4 years ago

I just read Alone On the Wall and Alex did not cheat when he free soloed El Capitan. He did not grab any pegs or pitons during the climb. At one point he joined his finger and thumb within the loop of a carabiner that was on the wall, just in case his foot slipped, but he did not put any of his weight on it or use it to aid his climb. During another part of the climb he apparently used two fingertip wide piton scars (man made holes) to aid one particular move, but to my knowledge that is not against the rules.

[–] maul (1533) 3 years ago

What an absolutely stupid post. Boggles the mind.

[–] liscarkat (16625) 3 years ago

Practicing, training, rehearsing--these things are not cheating. OP is an idiot.

[–] ExTechOp (2757) 2 years ago

Agreed about rehearsing & OP being an idiot

I only noticed on second viewing how nearly all of his handholds were already smeared with chalk

That's not "cheating." It's "preparation," and actually MORE impressive because it shows how often he's climbed this extremely difficult face just to prepare for the one climb that matters.

OP's basically criticizing an Olympic-level athlete for training properly