“The challenge of doing something that’s never been done before: how do you know that you’re ready?” Alex Honnold asks.
In this high-budget Jimmy Chin/National Geographic joint, we don’t get the answer. Only the proof of concept.
Settle in for a Greatest Hits-style tour of Alex Honnold’s free solo climbing career — albeit with an off-beat focus on the climbs that led up to El Capitan.
The dramatic footage and melodramatic background commentary from Jimmy Chin make this a must-watch for any of the (dwindling) uninitiated. Playing the hits from El Potrero Chico to El Capitan to Chin emphasizing on camera that “if he makes one mistake, he dies,” this one is designed to appeal to the masses.
Still, the outsized focus on some of Honnold’s lesser-known climbs in Morocco make for an offbeat focal point. So does the appearance of occasional partner Tommy Caldwell, who saddles up one more time as the shabbiest master in the dojo.
Tommy Caldwell. Photo: Screenshot
See your favorite characters and learn the basics of how Honnold prepared to solo the world’s most famous big wall in Before Free Solo.
