Alex Honnold On FREE SOLOING with Magnus Midtbø

It's more like a Harvard Mathematician taking a high school exam, but with a Gun to his head ready to fire if he gets a question wrong.

It is one of the best videos Magnus has ever made, in terms of the videography and editing and communicating what it feels like to the audience. He really did a fantastic job putting it together.

Magnus impresses me with how relentless he is about putting himself under test after test. The guy just is willing to put himself on the limit.

I wanna see Magnus take Honnold to a boulder gym.

My palms were sweating watching that vid. I was amazed he agreed to do it. It’s also crazy listening to Alex’s perspective and how he justifies it.

"There's a big difference between being stressed and falling to your death." I'll try to remember this the next time I'm having a stressful day at work 😂

The highest respect for magnus. He was scared and in a life or death situation, had no reason to do it other than for the experience and he followed through. I'm a big tough guy and I would've either chickened out or fell off from shaking like a leaf. Magnus has my total respect forever, courage is off the charts.

"I was kinda sick that day" He is a monster 😂

There's one point in the video where Magnus is wearing a gopro on his head looking up at Alex and Alex climbs up backwards with one hand holding a camera and looking down on Magnus, like it's the easiest thing ever... and I think my brain actually melted a little bit.

The problem with Alex in all of this, and it was highlighted in Free Solo as well, is that he has had a mental “breakthrough” of sorts. He can find calmness in one of the most terrifying positions a human can be in. Nearly everyone else, including experienced climbers, can’t do that. It’s like balancing on a beam 1 inch off the ground vs 100 feet off the ground. He’s mastered the balance beam which others are fearful of.

Holy hell,,, this was such a terrifying video…. I couldn’t believe Magnus agreed to do that haha

I've seen the original climb video and I've seen Free Solo a couple of times, I climb a bit myself and feel OK, never get sweaty palms, etc, but with all this said --- watching this video and being reminded of Magnus/ Alex climb freaks me out and gives me sweaty palms. Taking that degree of responsibility for another person and/or having that much confidence in them freaks me outttt. Good job to both men.

Alex Honnold is insane.

The funny thing about hearing Alex talking about this is that free-solo climbers die. They do! Many of them do it until they die. So, as easy as it might be for Magnus in a vacuum, skill-wise, he doesn't want to die on a climb. Lots of free-soloists often sound like "If I'm gonna go, I'll go climbing". I don't think that's how most people, including most climbers, feel at all! I think it's hard for soloists to realize that sometimes.

I’m southern Sierra miwuk (Ahwahnechee) aka Yosemite native. Our tribe was native to Yosemite for over 10,000 years. Yosemite remained untouched until the mid-1800s by whites and we were able to keep our traditions until the gold rush. My great grandmother was the last tribal member allowed to live on Yosemite park property before she was kicked out and they burned her cabin down. We have legend about El Capitan (tutocanula). Back in the days when the land was ruled by animals, two children fell asleep on a rock. During their sleep, the rock grew and grew until they scraped their heads/faces on the moon. They cried out for help and the animals began looking for ways to save the children. The mouse tried and sprung up but only reached a little higher than a hands reach, the rat two. The raccoon only reached a little higher and so on and so on. A bear decided that his size and strength would be what would save the children. He jumped and grabbed the mountain but fell back down. Finally the lion came, and though he reached higher than any other animals, he could not reach the top. Then tul-tok’-a-na, the lowly inch worm. The other animals laughed when he said he would help the children. How could a weak, insignificant little worm do what a lion or bear could not? The worm started the ascent. Inch by inch he made his way up the mountain, day and night passed many times until, at last, he made it to the children, who he saved. Our name for “el capitan” is literally for an inch worm who slowly and surely climbed the face of the big rock without the assistance or help of others. Alex is that inch worm. He is not an imposing person, not someone you would immediately look at and think “wow, I bet that man does some of the scariest shit on earth with what seems like no struggle”. I’m sure he’s been under estimated more times than he can count. Yet like tul-Tok’-a-na, he climbed the face, one inch at a time, and did what many others couldn’t on their best days.

Alex should have let Magnus climb with rope at first to have some experience with the route. It was a bit sketchy actually seeing magnus's condition in that climb.

insane to see him become half a different person when hes interviewed and then on climbs. In the studios and stuff hes uncomfortable, nervous, etc but as soon as hes on those rocks he sinks deep into such a comforting position and attitude

I’ve talked with multiple climbers about the Magnus and Alex soloing video and everyone has pretty much the same perspective that Alex is just too casual about it (both during the video and in subsequent interviews). Alex certainly realizes that many people look up to him, but he doesn’t seem to realize the direct influence his attitude and actions have on climbers getting into free soloing or scrambling 5th class terrain. It would really suck if Alex became like Alain Robert with respect to portraying free soloing as easy and casual. Specifically, Alex forgetting the crack section and that there was little chalk (especially on the slippery black rock section) seriously affects the way people view him. I guess you could say it comes down to “with great power comes great responsibility.” I know Alex is “just a climber” and shouldn’t have to worry about the example he is setting, but he needs to really respect the influence he has on the climbing community. Of course you can’t attribute an increase in free solo/scrambling deaths to any one person’s influence, but these little things Alex is doing will add up in my opinion.

This is gold. and Magnus and Alex are both very honest.

Alex was definitely negligent in terms of failing to properly inform and warn Magnus about the nature of the climb. It was because Magnus is so skilled that he was able to keep his composure enough to make it through unscathed.