{"id":1945,"date":"2019-03-18T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2019-03-18T15:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/?p=1945"},"modified":"2019-03-11T09:48:28","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T14:48:28","slug":"free-solo-an-achievement-in-athletics-and-filmaking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/academics.winona.edu\/povwinona\/free-solo-an-achievement-in-athletics-and-filmaking\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Solo: An Achievement in Climbing and Filmmaking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The thrilling 2018 documentary Free Solo<\/em> tells the story of American rock climber Alex Honnold and his attempt to climb El Capitan. Directed by partners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin who previously directed climbing documentary\u00a0Meru<\/em> (2015),\u00a0Free Solo<\/em> focuses on Alex Honnold in the midst of his training to climb El Capitan–a three thousand foot climb–without safety ropes. The film was first released at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2018, receiving high appraisal and many positive reviews, and later receiving even more buzz after it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2019 Academy Awards. Free Solo<\/em> succeeds in capturing the true essence of Alex Honnold as an unorthodox climber with a magnetic presence while also utilizing impressive film techniques to capture his ascent unobtrusively. The film also can be commended for ethically addressing the various psychological issues surrounding the climb from multiple perspectives, including Honnold himself and friends and family.<\/p>\n

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Alex Honnold scales El Capitan without a rope.<\/p><\/div>\n

The film opens with Honnold hanging onto the wall of El Capitan as an interview plays in the background. \u201cOne little mistake, one little slip and you fall and die?\u201d asks the interviewer. \u201cThat\u2019s correct, you seem to understand it,” replies Honnold. From the moment Alex Honnold is introduced on screen, the audience quickly gets a sense of exactly who Honnold is: a soft-spoken climber who clearly understands and accepts the danger of what he is about to do, able to maintain a highly focused and confident demeanor through every conversation about his climb. Honnold speaks about where his passion for climbing sparked – due to his father\u2019s encouragement throughout his childhood to try the sport – and why he aspires to climb El Capitan. Traditional climbing is done with ropes, but Honnold explains he gets more enjoyment from free soloing (climbing with no rope or harness), because he gets more of a rush from it. Honnold\u2019s muted sense of danger and calm approach to risk is then described through interviews from his friends and family. \u201cEvery time I climb with Alex it\u2019s like cigarettes, I know it\u2019s taking a risk and that I should quit, but there\u2019s always going to be the urge to go back and climb with him\u201d said Tommy Cadwell, a close friend and skilled climber. It isn\u2019t until the end of the film that we see Honnold attempt a free solo ascent of El Capitan, an athletic achievement never before completed.<\/p>\n

The face of El Capitan is a sheer face of granite that reaches over 3,000 feet off the ground, which created a bit of a challenge for filmmaker Jimmy Chin. The wall contains very few ledges large enough for cameramen to fit on and those that did exist were very difficult to reach, even with ropes. The solution to this issue was to enlist a small group of professional climbers who were also proficient filmmakers that could maneuver the wall with film equipment. The other large issue Chin faced was being able to film Honnold\u2019s ascent without distracting or affecting his climb. This was a more difficult issue to overcome, but Chin used a few different solutions: setting up multiple long lens cameras on the ground that could not be seen by Honnold, placing camera men in strategic places along the route–specifically spots that didn\u2019t contain difficult maneuvers so Honnold wouldn\u2019t get nervous from their presence–and using remote-controlled cameras to capture these high-risk areas to alleviate any added pressure put on Honnold. The filmmakers additionally wanted to capture the audio of the climb, which they achieved by attaching a compact personal microphone, recording individual audio from Alex without transmitting (which would require attaching wires and a battery pack). Each technique and modification required intense focus and came with enormous pressure, every cameraman having to understand and accept the fact that they might end up recording Honnold falling to his death.<\/p>\n