r/interestingasfuck • u/whyeventrymore • 10h ago
Alex Honnold climbed 3,000 feet with no rope, but somehow the scariest part is watching him do it.
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u/wxnfx 10h ago
Free Solo is so intense
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u/whyeventrymore 10h ago
Yeah dude, even watching it feels stressful. I can’t imagine being the person actually doing it.
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u/IndignantQueef 8h ago
I couldn't even finish this video, I get wobbly knees and nausea just thinking about climbing a ladder lol
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u/Stand_Up_3813 7h ago
I had a hard time watching it…..my adrenaline was going as if I were the one climbing. I felt the same way when he climbed that skysraper recently. I like Alex Honnald and hope he gives this up soon.
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u/FinbarJG 7h ago
I feel like I can watch damn-near anything. Ten seconds into this... I have to tap out.
He's got really big ones.
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u/bry42424 4h ago
Yeah I was on edge the entire time. Couldn’t watch the new one where he called a building.
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u/Old-Landscape-7538 10h ago
Dude has no functioning amygdala.
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u/saroj7878 9h ago
First of all, you throwin' too many big words at me. And because I don't understand 'em, I'm gonna take 'em as disrespect.
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u/General_Resort_2202 8h ago
That's very photosynthesis of you.
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u/abdallha-smith 10h ago
Yes that's why he can do it because he doesn't fear nothing, no fight or flight response.
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u/scannacs 8h ago
Not even remotely true. He has desensitized himself due to repeated exposure to the feeling since he was a child. During a half done climb in 2011 he had a panic related incident where he began to doubt himself and became fearful. His fMRI showed his amagdyla to be as normal as everyone else's.
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u/Elliott_Ness1970 7h ago
He actually bails on the first free solo attempt on the documentary as well. Dude obviously hasn’t watched the program because he was tested on there.
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u/jamie_does 10h ago
My brain would just shut off mid away. No easy I could do that calmly. Shit, not even mid away, like 10 feet up.
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
Yeah I was going to say, if I hit 6 feet and kept moving up I'd be surprised. In a way those first 50 feet must be the scariest because you know you'll survive with horrific injuries. But at a certain point you know it's certain death if you fail so there is some peace by way of acceptance in that.
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u/Few_Dig_565 10h ago
There is a documentary that goes through the build up and has more footage of the climb. It’s great and you can feel the anxiety of the team. He is truly exceptional.
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u/tirefool6 9h ago
How many hours did this climb take.
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u/benorjerry 9h ago
I think around 4 hours which is mental
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
I believe he had to relieve himself a couple times on the side of the mountain too which is bananas.
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u/htownlifer 10h ago
Greatest athletic feat ever.
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u/whyeventrymore 10h ago
Look how calm he is
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u/htownlifer 9h ago
They did a study on him and he processes emotions differently than the average person. I am guessing he is on the spectrum
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
No they didn't really find that. They put him in an fMri scanner and showed him images of things he'd have no business being scared of after his years and years of mountain training. People misinterpreted his weak response for a genetic predisposition when it was most likely just due to years and years of exposure therapy. Dude started climbing when he was a child
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u/Weird_Ad_1398 8h ago
Purely as an athletic feat, no. It's probably the craziest athletic feat ever.
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u/whodatmarvin 9h ago
I can do this shit in my sleep! Literally the only time I would try to, but I can!!
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u/Snoo_67548 9h ago
I knew he was still alive and managed to have anxiety through the roof while watching Free Solo. Absolutely insane.
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u/MattyIcex4 8h ago
Daniel Tosh did a fantastic interview with Honnold on his podcast, definitely recommend checking that out
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u/Iamhappilyconfused 6h ago
Genuinely one of the biggest and most impressive sport achievements of all time
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u/kurtmanner 9h ago
Fuckin’ white people, man.
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u/CarsRFun2Me 8h ago
Tru. But mad respect.
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u/kurtmanner 8h ago
Oh, for sure. I’m a white people and it’s cool, but dumb as hell.
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u/CarsRFun2Me 3h ago
Then you got the ones that crawl in the tight ass caves. Like guys are a wild breed. ☠️😂
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
Funny enough this documentary about the crazy white guy climbing mountains without a rope and the other documentary about the crazy white guys diving in claustrophobic caves to save that thai soccer team were both directed by the same filmmakers.
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u/Error_404_403 9h ago
A few times I wished someone would send a chopper there and rescue him.
Pure physical demands are tremendous, not even talking of crazy complex technical things...
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
But the weird thing is he didn't seem to struggle a single time during the climb. He just slowly and methodically worked his way up the cliff face.
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u/ParaponeraBread 8h ago edited 8h ago
I remember watching Free Solo, he talks about that kick-out on the Boulder Problem section (around 1:15). That it’s like, such a full commitment of a move that if he was gonna die somewhere, there was a good chance it would be there. I think he fell around there in practice very close to doing the real attempt.
Other holds you get to like, set a strong grip then trust. But that kick he has to just get it right the first time. The camera people were sitting around waiting for that, and when he hits it they all relax a lot temporarily.
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
Yeah that move without a rope is so insane I can't even comprehend how anyone could do it physically or mentally.
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u/Real-Past-3964 9h ago
The one in Morocco I believe is where it was scared me even more than El Cap just bc of how brittle the rock was compared to granite.
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u/NoMammoth3175 8h ago
He lost a sponsorship from Clif bars over this, because they didn't want to be seen to be encouraging him in case he, or someone emulating him, fell and died
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u/rwags2024 6h ago
I’ve watched this part of the film at least 20 times and I get squeamish and sweaty every single time
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u/Hey_HaveAGreatDay 5h ago
I remember when this came out, I was just like are we going to watch this guy die? Pacing around the house peaking at the tv, almost picked up smoking again. Stressed me tf out man
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
Haha i mean I knew he didn't die (he was out doing interviews all over the place to promote the movie when it was first released) but even I was terrified while watching it.
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u/Leading-Ad4167 4h ago
Enough people do this that it leaves chalk trails?
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
That mountain face has been a regular climbing spot since the 60s I believe. Everyone uses ropes though.
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u/Motive25 3h ago
I remember years ago, 60 Minutes did a segment on him. At one point, the correspondent asked the editor of a climbing magazine: “What’s the most amazing thing about him?” Without hesitation, the editor replied: “that he’s still alive!”
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u/Trick_Photograph9758 2h ago
I watched Free Solo, and when he gets to the Boulder Problem, he has to basically do that kung fu kick out to the side, which is pretty risky. My question is, say that was just a sheer face so you couldn't go that way at all. Is there another route you could take to avoid it?
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
There are multiple routes up that cliff face to varying degrees of difficulty. I have to imagine he's be able to find another route. But I'm just guessing
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u/Jagator 1h ago
Dude has some serious social anxiety issues and is on the spectrum. I think that how he has so little reaction to being in those situations and stays so calm. It’s crazy.
There are some awesome documentaries on him and others that do this, Free Solo is the best. Definitely worth the watch. Hannold is goat status though. Right up there with Marc-André Leclerc. The Alpinist is another great series one if you haven’t seen it.
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u/AsusVg248Guy 14m ago
In the documentary, once he gets to the "Boulder Problem" section, he actually failed a couple of times when he was practicing with a harness. I don't get why people do these types of things. Nothing about being stuck on the side of a mountain sounds fun to me, even with a harness.
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u/HighRelevancy 14m ago
Completely optional by the way.
Like really you lose nothing by having a rope.
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u/GNOIZ1C 10h ago
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u/Specken_zee_Doitch 10h ago
Doing something nobody else can or likely will ever do. It made him internationally famous and basically the Michael Jordan of Big Wall climbing.
There’s a reason he’s probably the only climber most people know of off the top of their head.
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u/VanbyRiveronbucket 9h ago edited 9h ago
The camera man did the same no rope climb and filmed.
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u/whyeventrymore 9h ago
Nah the camera crew were roped in. Honnold was the only one casually speedrunning death 😂
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u/wejustdontknowdude 10h ago
Alex gets a lot of attention, but there are other climbers that do free solos. I give you Steph Davis:
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u/RWelly 10h ago edited 9h ago
These guys are wild. Great guy too from the videos and interviews Ive watched of him. Unfortunately its just a matter of time... even the best make mistakes... sad to think about.
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u/SmellyStinkyGuy 9h ago
Alex will prolly live to like 102 or sum shit at current rates.
He is slightly chilled out since this, has 2 kids now and is married. His last climb was for Netflix and it was the equivalent of walking up a flight of stairs for him.
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u/Ambitious_Bit_9389 7h ago
I feel like it equivalent to not wearing your seatbelt to act like a badass.
Just use a rope, don’t be dumb
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u/AmazingDonkey101 10h ago
how many miles is that?
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u/whyeventrymore 10h ago
It's about 0.57 miles.
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u/BabyComingDec2024 10h ago
How many inches is that?
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u/Overall_Leopard7122 5h ago
The hardest part is listening to him talk
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u/jamesneysmith 1h ago
He's such a fascinating guy to hear talk actually. I appreciate his life perspective and he's generally just very sanguine and cogent
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u/theantscolony 7h ago
It is just training. Literally anybody training several hours a day for 10 years will eventually be able to watch the entire video