Comment by prein
4 hours ago
I know nothing about climbing. beyond the straight flex of "I could die if I make a mistake", is there a point to doing this without safety equipment?
4 hours ago
I know nothing about climbing. beyond the straight flex of "I could die if I make a mistake", is there a point to doing this without safety equipment?
He's spoken about it extensively in interviews. Watch his El Capitan movie or recent interviews before this climb.
He just finds it very peaceful and thrilling. "Just him and the climb" kind of language.
Also I suppose clout has to be involved: only person to free solo El Capitan, as far as I know the only person to climb Taipei 101 let alone free solo (did the spiderman guy ever make it or was he arrested?)
I guess watching the film ('free solo' is the one you mention) is the lowest effort way of getting his perspective and I recommend the film.
For a deeper dive, the book "Alone on the wall" is a good read and I recommend it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36531127-alone-on-the-wa..., although that said the book might be less appealing to someone who 'knows nothing about climbing' and is more of a time investment than the short documentary :)
I believe it's also documented that he has an underdeveloped amygdala, so he literally doesn't experience fear in the same way most people do.
Second person to climb it (Spidey got there first), but only one to free solo it.