Magnus Midtbø on Viral Free Solo with Alex Honnold

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Magnus Midtbø is a professional climber AND the biggest climbing Youtuber. He has climbed 5.15b (9b), and his YouTube channel recently hit 1M subscribers.

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[thestruggleclimbingshow]

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[TheJeffDing]

I climbed that route (Armatron) a week ago and it actually made the video seem a little less nervewracking . The style of climbing is very secure with big positive holds and I can see why Honnold thought it was a good choice. I'm not saying I'd *ever* want to solo it, and no doubt would be shitting my pants if I did, but I'll put it this way: if I were forced to choose between playing Russian roulette or soloing Armatron to escape with my life, I'd pick the soloing option without a doubt

[tonyb]

That Midtbo Honnold video is epic and should win awards. It's excellent at letting the viewer "feel" what it takes from a mental state to do that. I've climbed the traditional red rock area many many times and it's like climbing on flypaper. That smooth baked stuff is not like that. I felt like Magnus on the flypaper stuff. But after you get through it you feel like Superman. And that's why you do it again.

[boogaloo]

Could have done with this interview being way longer. Given all the criticism that Alex got for 'peer pressuring' Magnus into the climb, it was interesting that, while acknowledging that Alex talked him into it, Magnus took full responsibility for his decision to actually do it. This was the first time I'd heard about them having to stop filming & it looked as though Magnus was very stressed even just talking about that part.

[baileyayyy]

Alex: lets just hope we dont kill Magnus
Magnus: yeah....

[TheArmyKnifeNut]

I've climbed Armatron (the climb Magnus and Alex climbed) twice now and both times I used it as an "introduction to long multi-pitch trad" for my partners because of the ease of the climbing and gear placement (especially if they don't need to lead the crux pitch with the 20 feet of crack). I am not a 5.13+ climber, but never once was I even remotely worried about falling. Even still, I would never want to free solo the route. I understand at some level that I physically could, but I can't imagin how the nerves and head game would change that for me. Long story short, that mental element puts free soloing firmly outside of my window of risk tolerance.

[ejl]

I get so stressed every time I’ve watched that video. Magnus is a total stud for climbing solo w Alex.

[yungthunder]

Most people on the internet seem to be vlimbers who hate scrambling, but for those of us who are scramblers and not interetsed in ropes, I just want to say thank you to anyone beinf civil in these comments

[Tatsuota]

The zoomed out shot of alex and magnus on the wall is just awesome. They both look so casual and calm. Just two dudes chilling on a wall

[Savvas]

I need a chalk bag just to watch this video

[chris_devlog]

I remember the first time watching that video I was so stressed. Cool to hear about him asking Alex to stop filming

[johnnyd.j.]

Magnus explains here what Alex did wrong in the situation -- not informing him of various sections/lack of chalk. Alex did not "peer pressure" Magnus, and it's fine that he had to convince Magnus into it. However, you never want to look back on a scrambling/soloing experience and feel any luck or unexpected difficulty in completing the route (like you got away with one), and it seems Magnus being vulnerable here has a bit of that feeling. We don't need to point fingers here, but a larger point could have been made to fully study and respect all routes below your level when scrambling/soloing. Will be interesting to see if Alex is in any more soloing videos for some time

[sudstahgaming]

Alexx honnold is just one of those rare guys were it is obvious that he just thinks differently to everyone else, also shows me all climbers are nutters.

[IronJohn]

That route would (I imagine) be an easy flash for the majority of your listeners - with a rope. Taking away that security put him in a position where he's second guessing his decisions, freaked out by the exposure, etc. One brain fart and it's over. I would never free solo, but even for an elite climber it seems insane to free solo something you haven't climbed already and/or where there's any risk of breaking holds.

[daphnesuarez]

I was absolutely terrified for Magnus as I watched this. I mean even though I knew that this video had a good ending, that meant nothing to me. Talk about pushing yourself beyond your limits & then going farther than that, this has to be the 2nd most heart stopping video next to Free Solo I've ever watched!

[ooolol]

I was freaking out watching that video coz Magnus seemed so stressed, my heart kept pounding like crazy untill they reached the summit.
Though in Alex's defense I would say that he knew and understood how good a Climber Magnus is and that it would be a cakewalk for him, which Magnus himself acknowledges here that there was no chance he would fall off unless he really freaked out.

[the_zenclimber]

We use a rope to avoid accidents in and out of our control. I’m sure the route is bomber.. but what if a climbing party above them accidentally dropped a bottle or a small backpack? Anything out of your control can have huge consequences if you free solo.

I’ve encountered snakes in a route, huge spiders, loose rock, have been hit by ropes of people rappelling, I’ve even had to avoid getting hit by a ropebag. That’s why I don’t free solo.

[lws]

The fact that he managed to free solo that after doing all that marine training the flights and long drives show you what kinda beast magnas is

[robertobreve]

Happens to me when I climb easy routes, I expect them to be easy but when I encounter something not so easy my expectations fall and I freak out. Also it’s easy to get confused and take another direction.

[Doctor_Yuri]

I'm glad this was finally talked about openly.
Armatron is an easy route, and to anyone thats climbed it knows that you spend more time placing nuts on that glorious chunky brown sections than climbing sometimes!
People are way too quick to project their own fears onto him or their own unrelated experiences, even though most of us might as well be crawling while Magnus is an olympic sprinter in this sport.

I also hope it introduces a broader conversation about solo climbing in general, which is far more common in trad and alpine climbing than many casual climbers believe. If you spend enough time in the mountains you will end up in sections were falling means dying, and your level of comfort with that increases hopefully over time. For a mere mortal that is usually 4th class or 5.2 climbing, but considering someone who climbs 5.15 that level of acceptance is wider.