MovieChat Forums > The Alpinist (2021) Discussion > I decided in the first 90 seconds that t...

I decided in the first 90 seconds that there is no way this guy is still alive

posted 3 years ago by joej2923 (3021)
11 replies | jump to latest

I'm watching this guy climb a sheer rock face in the first 90 seconds and I immediately wanted to look up WHEN (not if ) and how he died. They listed ten or so people who died doing this madness a few minutes later.

As a ten-year-old, I wanted no part of mountain climbing when a guy talked about losing his toes on Mt. Everest. I watched a few episodes of I Shouldn't Be Alive and they had plenty of episodes featuring mountain climbers who get stuck on a cliff face. I was hiking down the trail on Mt. Washington in the US when the weather changed from a sunny day to ten foot visibility in ten minutes.

[–] olioz (3673) 2 years ago

I had the same feeling right at the beginning. I thought that there is no way this guy is going to see old age. I'm terribly afraid of heights so these climbing documentaries are fun but also kind of terrifying to watch. Great documentary.

[–] joej2923 (3021) 2 years ago

I have a natural fear of heights but I'm okay on a ladder/roof a couple stories up in the air. I like to play video games and watch youtube videos on the big screen to experience some of these adventures with fewer risks.

[–] olioz (3673) 2 years ago

Yeah video games are a great way to experience stuff like this, but there is no way I'd go mountain climbing in real life. I do love hiking, but no mountains for me.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Ever see "Free Solo" about Alex Honnold, the rock climber? These guys are something else, you KNOW they're going to die falling 3,000 feet, but is that a bad thing?

I don't think they ever want to be old and unable to do what they love.

[–] joej2923 (3021) 2 years ago

I haven't seen Free Solo but I'm sure it's good. I can tolerate the mundane and routine machinations of society but many people cannot. I was perfectly happy on a guided tour of a foreign country but one guy was going nuts sitting on a tour bus and being forced to go to scheduled locations. He wanted more freedom and variety.

I experienced the exhilaration of maximum speed on a ski slope but I lost control and wiped out six feet from a big tree stump. I decided that the risk of smacking into a tree stump wasn't worth the additional speed.

It's nice to live to be old BUT there is probably a time when it makes sense to check out. I don't think anyone would enjoy living in an assisted living facility stuck in a wheelchair with limited acuity and an overflowing diaper.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Last year I broke my leg hiking... but I'm still hiking (with a good walking stick). Because life isn't worth living to me unless I'm getting out into nature, and anyway the health benefits probably outweigh the risks. At some point loads of us make the choice to accept risk and decide to do things we know are dangerous, like if we've ever been in an auto accident and gone back to driving.

So when these guys die doing what they love, it may be a tragedy for their mothers, but for me... I salute someone who chooses to live entirely on their own terms.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

Have you watched this in 360 on the Quest VR? It's amazing!

The first time I popped it on: "Hey, sweet, I'm right beside him here on El Capitan and... (looks down) OMFG!!!" Anus puckers as I look down at the forest 1000 feet below me.

The making of Free Solo is as fascinating a watch as the movie itself.

He has a new series in VR called The Soloist. Watching it on a giant screen in 3D 360 is what VR was made for.

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

Where's "The Soloist" available? "Free Solo" is on Disney Plus.

FYI I'm one degree of separation from Honnold, a former co-worker is a rock climber and has met him a few times. Says he's exactly the same dorky puppy-eyed modest-seeming guy in real life.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

In the Quest is an app called Oculus TV. It specializes in VR documentaries. The Soloist is one of the free shows on offer.

https://thesoloist-vr.com/#:~:text=A%20groundbreaking%20two%20part%20series,on%20Meta%20Quest%20VR%20headsets&text=Follow%20Alex%20as%20he%20takes,trip%20to%20the%20European%20Alps.

Another excellent documentary on the Quest is Everest VR: Journey to the Top of the World. There's one scene where you witness the full power of an avalanche coming down a mountain. The rumble is the one thing that you remember. To make the peak during daylight hours, the two climbers had to start in the early morning hours when it was pitch black. The scene is only lit by their headlamps casting a small spotlight of illumination around their feet. I thought to myself how terrifying it would be to hear that rumble of an oncoming avalanche but not be able to see how close it was... whether it was going to miss you... or not.

https://www.oculus.com/blog/brave-the-himalayas-in-everest-vr-journey-to-the-top-of-the-world/

[–] Otter (24464) 2 years ago

When I was in high school, the parent of a schoolmate was killed by a Himalayan avalanche, and is still there. The thing is, there's no way a climber can protect themselves from an avalanche, even if they see it coming, nobody at that altitude can move fast enough to run from one, and besides. If you're close to a huge avalanche and it misses you, the wind it creates can pick you right off the mountain and carry you a thousand feet down!

I read a lot about expedition climbing when I was younger, and it only took me a few chapters to decide that I would never, EVER, as long as I lived, attempt anything of the sort. I'm willing to accept some risk in life, I mean I've been kayaking in Antarctica and flown over a volcano in a helicopter (as a passenger), and I'm totally glad I took the risk! But I'm not throwing my life away, but I guess I have enough of the urge to go for the ultimate wilderness experience that I can empathize with those that do.

[–] javie (2216) 2 years ago

I kept my sense of humour and he was just flapping his arms.