Alex Honnold lives life dangerously. Honnold, who is 33, is one of the best-known “free solo” rock climbers in the world. That means he climbs huge rock faces hundreds of meters up, alone and without any safety equipment. Now, one of his riskiest climbs, the 900-meter-high El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park, is taking him to the Academy Awards. A film about the 2017 climb has been nominated for a best documentary Oscar. It is called “Free Solo.” It looks at Honnold’s experience of preparing for and ascending El Capitan, one of the most famous climbing places in the United States. Many climbers make it their goal to ascend the huge wall. But most of them use the usual rock climbing equipment that helps keep them from falling to the ground. The extreme danger of Honnold’s climb and the ever-present possibility of death causes great fear for those around Honnold in the film. Even an extremely small misstep of his foot or misplacement of a finger could have sent Honnold falling to his death.
