1 HN user recommended this documentary2 months2015–2017score 3
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
It is linked whenever Honnold or free soloing comes up, as a gripping and frightening example of extreme climbing.
A short film of Alex Honnold free soloing El Sendero Luminoso, a 2,500-foot route in El Potrero Chico, Mexico, in a little over three hours with no rope. It was made by The North Face with climbing footage and music.
“one of the most frightening videos I have ever seen” (HN, 2015)
Fantastic achievement if they pull it off. Incidentally, Alex Honnold, one of the climbers interviewed in the article, is the star of one of the most frightening videos I have ever seen - him free-soloing El Sendero Luminoso: [this video] Even though I know perfectly well that nobody fell to their death on that climb, and have done a fair bit of climbing myself, I can’t watch this video without having a powerful physical reaction. It’s mind-boggling what some people are capable of.
Frightening free solo of El Sendero Luminoso by Alex Honnold.
Here's a video that touches on Honnold's prep for his ascent of El Sendoro Luminoso. Given that it's likely the most difficult ropeless climb in history (and on limestone, which is far more prone to breaking holds than Yosemite granite), he wasn't exactly super meticulous: [this video] At lower grades he has been known to just go for it.
I really hope that guy practiced repressing the instinct to lunge at a bad throw when juggling. Extremely rare occurrence with such a simple pattern, but ooph! I feel like any of Alex Honnold's ropeless climbs deserves a link too, for example: [this video]
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