I’ve been following Alex Honnold from a distance for some time now and I am a great admirer and when I heard he was going to free solo El Cap, it never occurred to me he would fail. I just wanted to be sure I saw the film.
I loved the film and it gave me more insight into this amazing young man. (Nobody ever talks about his hands which are massively large and I think one key to his climbing success.)
But what this NYT writer doesn’t seem to grasp, or at least address, is that Alex’s perspective is a perspective of living a performance-based life, which can be a very exhausting and, really,an unrewarding, life. It often can be, as it may be in Alex’s life, a result of rejection (ex. Alex’s mother) and, thus, “proving” oneself. This is true with many, though not all, high achievers.
Better, IMO, to live a life of acceptance and let doing what you want spring from that fountain of acceptance. A happier life IMO.
Lol, I watched a video of him reviewing some climbing scenes from popular action movies and literally didn’t listen to anything he said because I was completely distracted by his hands. They’re like cartoon hands.