How "Free Solo" Filmed The First El Capitan Climb With No Ropes | Vanity Fair 

Bruh, I don't even free solo my chair to change a lightbulb.

I’m sitting in a chair watching this and feel like it would be safer I were on the floor instead.

Has to be one of the most amazing things ever accomplished by a human.

This climb was one of the hardest pieces of filmmaking I have ever watched because I just couldn’t comprehend how he could do that and not fall. Even though I knew that he had survived and broken the record, all I could think as I watched it was “Please don’t fall, please don’t fall”. I cannot even imagine the tension the cameramen were feeling at the time. A truly, truly astonishing feat by an extraordinary human being.

Alex did 23andMe and found out his DNA is 95% Mountain Goat.

_”He was not interested in dying in front of his friends...”_ No, I’d imagine most wouldn’t be.

Even now, even after all the recognition, I think it Alex's achievement still extremely underappreciated by the general public, only climbers know what it really means... What he did should have been utterly impossible, there should be no way a human could top it without ropes.

He was all about the climbing and she was all about the character development. 2 different people

Free soloing El Cap is amazing, but no one is talking about me holding my breath through the entire documentary.

No big deal... This is how our grandparents got to school back in the day.

I watch this video whenever I want to sweat without exercise.

Imagine asking someone who had been climbing without a rope for four hours to slow down so you could get better footage of them. Then imagine they stop what they're doing to *look at their phone* and they calmly tell you they can't, because they want to get to the top with a better time.

Mountain goats have a statue of Alex in their secret colony. Look it up.

It must have been incredibly difficult carrying those two 100 lb balls of steel up El Cap...

I just rewatched the documentary, and Alex hangboarding directly after the climb is the coldest thing I've ever seen.

The film was already hard enough to watch knowing full and well he made it out alive-I can’t imagine being one of the cameramen in the moment not knowing if he’d make it. really compounded by the fact that nobody has done something like this before, and at face value it seemed like a genuinely impossible feat.

Potentially the greatest athletic feat in history. Unbelievable

Jimmy Chin undersells himself here. "I'm a photographer and filmmaker". And also one of the best climbers in the world, no biggie.

I used to watch this climb all the time as a non climber. Now, two days after my first outdoor 5.8 I can barely stomach to see it. I have a whole new appreciation for Alex’s achievement which should be recognized next to the Moon landing as a great historical moment for humans. Sheesh

I can’t imagine trying to frame these shots thinking “is this going to be when I catch my friend dying?”

Id be up 20 feet and be like "call the helicopter"

waiting for the "how they filmed the film crew that filmed Free solo with no ropes"

"Free soloing is about perfect execution or instant death." In my case it would be guaranteed instant death.

My hands still sweat to this day when I watch this documentary and I’ve seen it 3 times. The most unbelievable physical accomplishment of any human being in history.

Never having heard of this movie, I turned it on last night as background noise because I couldn't sleep. Bad move, two hours after it ended I was still laying in bed with sweaty palms contemplating what I'm doing with my life.

I literally cannot wrap my head around someone actually doing what that man did

Jimmy is WAY more than a photographer. Just too humble to say it. He's a legend

It took me three attempts just to watch this film.

My hands are literally dripping wet just watching this.

Jimmy Chin - frustatres me to see him described as a movie maker. He is a rock climbing mountaineering legend.

during the film, my favorite moment was the smile after boulder problem. Just shows how in control he actually was, crazy to think about.

Perfection or death. It's what it boils down to.

this will most likely go down as the greatest sporting achievement in human history... I just can't imagine anything else beating what Alex did.

I tried to get into free soloing, but there was no one to show me the ropes

I'm scared of heights, but forced myself to watch it in order to overcome it. I can't imagine Alex going out there without any safety equipment. It is truly amazing what he has achieved. He is already a living legend!

6:46 Theres something profoundly beautiful about that. I can only imagine the joy of experiencing the kind of happiness Alex mustve felt after spending years mastering his craft for that one ultimate goal.

I couldn't even do a pull-up with balls that heavy, let alone ascend 3000ft.

I’d like to watch all 4 hours of footage.

If I was a cameraman, it would be so stressful filming this.

I thought climbing without a rope on a vertical mountain wall was just a movie thing until I watched this documentary. I think Alex is a living superman, he is a legend.

Imagine getting to the summit and one of the camera crew made the "I hope you remembered to press record" joke and they all laughed, but then they got to the bottom and discovered they'd left the lens cap on.

Jimmy is so humble, he's literally one of the best climbers in the world, not just a film maker

Alex is not fearless. He is able to handle that fear better than most. Thats all. That's why I respect him. You are a beast.

Alex is an absolute beast of a human being. The concentration and focus it must take to do something like that is just insane. Mad props Alex. You will likely hold that spot of being the only person to free solo El Cap, forever.

The fact that no one died in the making of this is incredible

6:44 - after 4 hours of free climbing El capitan, he casually eats an apple, and what seem to be the remains of a bell pepper ? what a mad lad

They're so well-spoken, intelligent, and talented. So much respect for this entire group of people.

Fee solo was the most intense movie experience I've ever had. Even knowing that he survives I was so nervous the entire time he was ascending. Watching this little clip brought back all of those feelings. What a wild experience. I still don't know what to make of it. The filming of this is incredible and callous all at once. It wouldn't be possible for me to film it (assuming I had the relevant skill set). Congrats on an absolutely amazing film making accomplishments.

I am a tree climber. I do utility forestry. Climbing trees is a major part of my job. When I was kid, I climbed trees in my backyard. My parents would regularly find me 50 60ft up a tree to their dismay. I fell once about 30 ft up. I paniced, closed my eyes and fell. I did plinko all the way the bottom and walked away with a broken arm. Anyways, climbing is something I am not unaccustomed to. But I will tell you this.. There are STILL times when I get about 50ft up a tree, and lock up. Suddenly stricken with fear and unable to look down. Squeazing the tree with all my strength. After a short time it passes.. I remember I trust my skills and relax. What this guy is doing is unimaginable to me. Nerves of steel mean something else here. If you made it even halfway and lost your nerves thats it. No tree limbs to hang on to. You are done here on earth. My hats off to this man.

Alex climbing El Capitan is the most astonishing thing I have ever seen in my life

These two do a magnificent interview. Their skillsets compliment each other so well

Watched this again yesterday and was sweating watching it. Unbelievable. Also a fantastic effort by this crew. Not only is it a hard job as it is, but the stress of something going wrong 😫

My hands are sweating....

My palms are literally drenched...

Alex Honnold is an exceptional human. literally one of humanity’s greatest achievements right here.

This film was absolutely insane. You are on the edge of your seat the entire time. Its unfathomable to picture yourself on that rock face so high up with no rope. Simply incredible.

Thankfully they didn't have to go with an alternate ending for this movie.

Uhh Alex, we didn't get footage of you during the Boulder Problem, can you do it again?

Ive wachted this documentary 4 times or so, and I get chills every time he makes it through the boulder problem!!!

One of the greatest films I’ve ever witnessed. An incredible undertaking by all involved. Bravo!

I heard someone say, “ after 50-70 ft. Any fall is death”. This dude is the greatest athlete I’ve seen. And I’m old. Epitome of badass. Crew as well. Congrats on Oscar win! Well deserved.

I once climbed my 6ft apple tree, friends thought that was amazing.

I want an hour of this. So so so sooo cool to hear/see the process

Alex: *Free solos Half Dome* Also Alex: "Hold my beer" *Free solos El Capitan*

Alex is one of those extremely rare human beings that just show the rest of the world what we humans are capable of doing if we have strong will, determination and last but not least - huuuuuge balls.... Respect Alex!

If someone had a gun to my head and said "Free Solo Climb El Cap!!" I'd be like just pull the mf'ing trigger homie I ain't doing that

Jimmy Chin you are just amazing, your climbing skills are beautiful and your filmmaking is enthralling. I follow everything you produce, and am overjoyed to watch. The Nat Geo article and the coverage of free solo was superb. Thanks for being so open and sharing with your marvelous accomplishments.

I remember watching this documentary it was simply amazing he's the only person to ever do this I was at awe watching this man climb up el Capt with no ropes in under 4hrs much respect to Alex

I would have gotten 30 feet up, look down and pass out.

I would be absolutely petrified if I had to film/capture this ...not because of the height, but because of potentially seeing something go terribly wrong and having that image imprinted in my mind forever

I just finished this amazing documentary. Sad that can't find anything as good as this one (yet). Well-deserved Oscar

Truly inspirational!!

I love how real they talk about the project without trying to sell it. So professional, yet so human. Grate storytellers!

People are complaining that "there isn't enough of him climbing!" "it's got too much about his girlfriend" blah blah blah, are really missing the point of the whole documentary. If it was intended to be a movie about him purely climbing it, they'd just release what they have of him climbing. So many people overlook the psychology and preparation behind something like this and get dissapointed because "there wasn't enough climbing". Appreciate what was put into the actual climb and the things Alex went through, that's what the documentary aimed to highlight. There's thousands of videos of people free soloing so go watch them. They showed what they did in this movie and to me it was a perfect representation of what Alex had to go through. They showed the hardest parts and what he struggled with which were the most interesting and showed parts of him climbing. In a way the movie perfectly parallels the situation. Alex spent YEARS preparing for this only for it to be a four hour climb which is shown through us watching an hour of a documentary for about 20 minutes of it to be the climb. But if you still sit there and say it's a waste of time then you missed the point of this entirely.

There should be a documentary of this documentary. Amazing mental and physical accomplishment and amazing photography

This is a person who has real guts. Hats off to you man. You have real balls of steel. You are a real hero in my eyes.

“Stopped to look at his phone” how do you even do that

Jimmy is an incredible photographer and DP.

Hands down best documentary ever constantly sweating watching that mad man alex do that

I’ve seen Free Solo a few times and the montage of dead climbers never gets any easier to watch. What these people do is astonishing, and they often pay the ultimate price. I can’t imagine what their family and friends go through. Godspeed.

If you have ever even looked at El Capitan with your own eyes you can sense the incredible greatness of Alex’s accomplishment. It wasn’t just reckless abandon, but an accumulation of training, experience and preparedness that brought Alex to this level of expertise. We should all respect this climb as one of the top athletic feats and human achievements in history.

Free Solo is one of the best movies of 2018. I highly recommend it.

Ive been next to a friend that died in the army infantry and it was no fun, being the camera man next to him if he were to fall, They most definitley were more nervous than alex plus if he were to fall you are still on the climb and have to finish. Hats off to all involved in this project much respect

That was a superb presentation by these two individuals. Thank you.

The thing about climbing is that you have to do it with the least amount of ego but the most confidence

6:32 He bought his phone...and looked at it???

These two are so well spoken and clear with their words, no wonder the documentary was so good

Why do I feel I’ve seen this lady in the movies. She has an amazing aura when she talks

I've been on top of the Eiffel Tower and I swear the massive velocity of the wind at that height could have easily blown away a 60kg man. All respect to Alex Hoonold for maintaing balance at such a huge height.

Getting sweaty hands just watching this. Great job to the filmmakers for creating this very compelling well-told doc.

I love Jimmy's voice and the way he explains things. I could listen to him for hours and hours.

I can’t even watch a video on the making of a documentary of the climb without having panic attack like symptoms. Simply the most brilliant feat of human athletics in history and that’s not even accounting for the mental component.

Congrats on the Oscar guys!

They really need to release the unedited footage of the climb. I'd love to just watch/listen to the raw organic video.

It just truly clicked for me how great that feat was because my feet started sweating just watching this, And even though I’ve seen this movie 3 times and watched dozens of clips of interviews and climbs and it is always the same reaction. I Don’t think anything’s ever done this to me ever before and probably won’t ever again lol

Alex's feat will still be remembered 10,000 years in the future as one of the greatest achievements of a human being.

*my soul has left the chat*

"..and he looked at his phone.." hey I'm 3000 feet about the ground with no ropes, lemme check my texts.

Great Video!! Crazy footage and amazing accomplishments all the way around!!

Alex is such a humble guy, a truly great human being!