The ascent of Alex Honnold
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters point to it as a nerve-wracking look at Honnold's free soloing, often when climbing, risk or van life comes up.
What it is
A CBS News (60 Minutes) profile of free solo climber Alex Honnold, who scales sheer rock faces without ropes. Lara Logan reports on his climbing and his apparent lack of fear, including his Half Dome ascent.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2012 to 2017.
What Hacker News said
Recommends sharkweek · 2012-10 · on “Living in a Van”
If you think you can handle some sweaty palms, Alex Honnold, one of the best free solo climbers in the world, lives in his van so he can easily get from park to park and seems to absolutely thrive off the lifestyle -- [this video] There is something that appeals to my personality to live out of a van and just move on a whim but I don't think I would ever have the guts to go for it.
Recommends sharkweek · 2015-03 · on “Where the Real Skyscrapers Are (Hint: North Dakota)”
For some more sweaty palm fun, check out professional climber Alex Honnold "free soloing" various rock walls. [this video] The whole video is worth watching, but the meat and potatoes starts at about 11:30
Recommends wlll · 2016-11 · on “Czech climber Adam Ondra has conquered the Dawn Wall in record time”
That's what chalk is for :) [this video] The whole video is pretty interesting, but may make your hands sweat even more.
Cites justinator · 2015-10 · on “Default Alive or Default Dead?”
That's psychotic. I don't rope rescue, but I sure do rock climb. You can rock climb with ropes or without. Ropes = a large safety margin, and the majority of people who climb, utilize them, as part of their safety system. Unless you're pushing your own grade level, the actual safety system isn't actuated - you're just using it "just in case" (like, "just in case you fall from a cliff, 500 feet up - gee it's nice I'm tied to something). There are also those who climb without ropes. Perhaps you've heard of some of them [0], and most likely, because they actually climb without a rope. High Risk. Your idea of startups, let's say. But that's just what the public sees. The free soloist has to be a
Cites rrauenza · 2017-06 · on “Alex Honnold Scales El Capitan Without Ropes, and the Climbing World Reels”
A month or so ago I watched this 60 minutes of his Half Dome climb ... [this video] I seem to recall him saying in it one of the big risks is suddenly being overcome with fear or vertigo from the height.