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i-b-goB
Social climber
Nutty
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mouse from merced, posted a B&W of this spot...
Whoa, must be hard not to over grip!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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I see little to grip let alone over grip.
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Mei
Trad climber
mxi2000.net
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Interesting everyone's take on the Peter Croft scene... My read on it was it was freakin' awkward for everyone. Just like it was awkward for Mike the cameraman. Here Croft is asked to touch base with Alex on the progress of something that may very will kill him.. how do you not seem awkward in that situation. I thought Peter was encouraging with Alex when he realized he didn't feel 'right' on the first attempt and bailed. There is just not a lot to say in that situation.. so "yeah, right, see ya" is about as verbose as most climbers are going to get!
Two corrections if I may...
1) Not everyone
2) I think by Mike, you meant Mikey [Schaefer].
I think he [Peter Croft] should have been edited out. In the middle of shaming Alex for having a film crew around for his solos and telling us how his own style was so much purer back in the day, he's sure to look right into the very camera he's criticizing and drop that he's solo'd the Rostrum 50 times. Beyond this holier-than-the-film dynamic everyone seemed to play into, he had nothing else to add.
In the recorded conversation, Alex Honnold clearly asked Peter Croft, "how many times have you free solo'ed these two routes [Astroman and the Rostrum]?" He was merely answering the question truthfully. I get the awkwardness, but I sense that it comes from a master who truly understands what free solo'ing Freerider entails and he was genuinely worried for Alex.
As Mikey said in an interview, he'd witnessed Alex Honnold fallen many times on the route throughout the process. Don't think he had a weak heart looking away from the camera; he, being up close and personal, simply knew way more than most of us.
It confirms what Tommy Caldwell said in the film, "those who really understand what he (Alex) is doing, are FREAKED OUT."
I walked out the theatre believing that Alex Honnold took a huge risk, even for himself, and luckily got away with it. And I know I'm not alone in this thinking.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Even if Croft was being hypocritical with a look at me comment, and I don't think he was, I think Croft's comments were really valid and deserved to be in the film even if some, including the film audience, find them uncomfortable.
If Alex can make a comfortable living doing something he loves, more power to him.
If he has such little regard for his own life, and given that high risk soloing is so much more important to him than being in a relationship, I think he should be single.
And I was more than a bit reluctant to financially support what I see as the glorification of a dangerous undertaking. It was actually my non-climbing co-workers that convinced me to go.
Each to their own...
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McHale's Navy
Trad climber
From Panorama City, CA
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Considering my interest in El Cap started in the Late 60s, I'm glad I lived long enough to see this happen.
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Rattlesnake Arch
Social climber
Home is where we park it
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 5, 2018 - 04:46am PT
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And I was more than a bit reluctant to financially support what I see as the glorification of a dangerous undertaking.
https://www.climbing.com/news/opinion-the-free-solo-documentary-addressed-some-uncomfortable-truths-but-ignored-others/
Everyone in the film has a moral conundrum. Alex, GF, Chai, Jimmy, Tommy, Peter Croft, Mikey.... And it appears the audience has one as well.
Mea culpa. I must confess I went to see it for a third time. "Just for the cinematography" I told myself. "While it's on the big screen". And indeed I enjoyed the cinematography and the musical score immensely. But I found myself being drawn into the story again, even though I knew it well. I hope my financial support can be forgiven.
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fear
Ice climber
hartford, ct
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Promoters have been making lots of money drawing audiences to every imaginable daredevil activity for thousands of years.... this is no different. Alex is an adult and knows the risks.
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clinker
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, California
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Lovely to hear the critics explicate their enlightenment. Without movies being made and sports being played, critics would have no careers.
Critiquing Croft? Hahahahahaha! Stick with Little League.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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“Nobody would climb if they couldn’t talk about it,” a friend of mine once said. On a climber’s internet forum it’s no wonder that critiquing feats unimaginable for themselves is fashionable. I’m surprised more pundits don’t chime in....it’s Monday morning boys, time for some quarterbacking!
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JerryA
Mountain climber
Sacramento,CA
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Interesting point. I never found soloing as satisfying as interaction with partners on rock & ice routes.
Descending the East Ledges with a full haul bag was a big part of an El Cap climb .
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johntp
Trad climber
Little Rock and Loving It
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Interesting interview on the USC campus. What was interesting to me were the interviewer's monologue prior to the interview. One thing he said is something along the lines that our own minds are the limiting factor or empowering factor in out lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNWawAtGJoQ
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hacky47
Trad climber
goldhill
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i agree jerrya...i don't like climbing alone....i miss my partners when i do...that said when i think about it el cap takes me a week (atleast) to climb....4 hours alone i can understand and his friends were near by....i wonder if alex thinks it would have been easier or harder if nobody new he was going...and thus was truly alone (if that is even possible these days on el cap)....i feel like he was so prepared the cameras did not matter that much..,which makes sense in a way
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Don Paul
Social climber
Washington DC
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Most interesting comment at the end of Mikey's interview, saying that when he got to the top, Alex wanted to solo it again. Soloing can be very addictive, it is really a powerful buzz to come so close to death and live. I'm glad I don't do things like that anymore.
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Chief
climber
The NW edge of The Hudson Bay
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Finally got to watch Free Solo.
Mind blowing physical and psychological accomplishment.
The Boulder Problem and Enduro Corner sequences had me pretty stressed out even though I knew the outcome.
I couldn't detect any ill will in Croft's comportment but rather, a level of avuncular concern that could only come of his unique perspective on the enormity of the undertaking and the consequences of a mistake.
Now that he's done it, it would be nice to see Alex dial it back a bit.
Respect.
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hacky47
Trad climber
goldhill
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he free soloed moonlight butt twice!!!
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hacky47
Trad climber
goldhill
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he actually did monkey fingers, moonlight , then shunes butt(on sight) all before noon...nov 2012!!
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hacky47
Trad climber
goldhill
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he also mentioned that on the descent of shunes (backside) he thought a hold was dubious but that if it broke he could grab a tree >>>hold broke he grabbed the tree!!!!
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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Promoters have been making lots of money drawing audiences to every imaginable daredevil activity for thousands of years.... this is no different. Alex is an adult and knows the risks.
Sure. And there is a sucker born every minute. I'm trying to not be one of the suckers and perhaps I'm not being so successful at it.
I don't begrudge Alex pushing himself by taking calculated risk. Over many years of climbing, I pushed my much more limited skills and took some pretty big risk. Some of which, I don't think I realized how big until later. Stupid risk might be a better description than big risk. Maybe what he did is no more dangerous in the scheme of things than what I did.
I don't think I'm all so different than a lot of climbers about being conflicted about a dangerous activity that I really loved.
And although it perhaps goes against human nature, I would personally rather not contribute to the glorification of risk for risks sake.
Also, I think you can understand that people have the right to make decisions, that shouldn't keep other people from being able to criticize it. If someone making $10/hour is spending 10% of their income buying lottery tickets: it's their money and I think I should be free to point out they are also being stupid.
Again, if Alex can make a living by shouting look at me take these huge risk and succeed, more power to him. I'm just not real psyched to be a fawning fan financially contributing to that living.
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August West
Trad climber
Where the wind blows strange
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I never found soloing as satisfying as interaction with partners on rock & ice routes.
I did all my free soloing with partners. Sometimes coiling the rope just to move more quickly on the easier sections especially in the alpine environment. But even on completely unroped climbs, I never did anything more than fourth class alone.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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+1 for Donini
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