What if He Falls? The Terrifying Reality Behind Filming “Free Solo” | Op-Docs

In 2017, when Alex Honnold made his stunning free-solo ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan, he was taking an unimaginable risk: nearly three thousand feet of climbing without any ropes or safety equipment. But was the climb made even riskier by the filmmakers who accompanied him?

In “What if He Falls?” filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin take us inside the process of documenting Honnold’s quest for climbing glory — and the ethical calculus of filming a friend who could, with the slip of a finger, plummet to his death.

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[briansmith]

He comes from a very humble background, his mom being a teacher and his dad a mountain goat..

[megamax]

This isn't just the most impressive athletic feat ever; it's the most impressive mental feat I've ever seen. His mind is more solid than the cliff he climbed.

[HK-swvi]

Alex asking the guy with all the safety equipment, "are you ok?" is the second biggest unintentional flex in the history of this planet.

[julianhansen]

If you’ve been to Yosemite and stood at the base of this massive wall, then you can start to understand how unbelievable this feat is. I was on the edge of my seat watching the film.

[Cutflood]

DO NOT start a thumb war with that man.

[benapfel]

If I would climb that wall I would probably survive, too.
I would fall within the first meters.

[DJAntonetti]

3 years of hard training and I MIGHT be able to watch Free Solo.

[hafblkhafamazin]

Extremely professional crew who all comprehended the gravity of the situation and how anything they did might have an effect, positive or negative. It felt at times as if they weren't even sure if they should be there at all; point being they made all their choices around what was best for Alex. Mad respect to the whole crew for not being focused on if they "Could" do it, rather asking themselves "Should" they do it...?

[benza]

This dude earned unlimited and unconditional bragging rights

[lavendertaps]

"Alex's biggest issue wasn't that he didn't wanna die, it was that he didn't wanna die in front of his friends."
We love you Alex, you definitely deserved the profit off this. Also never do this again

[Shusha]

Watching him do it knowing he was going to make it safely still had me on the edge the whole time. I can't imagine what it was like being there filming it not knowing if he was going to die trying. I would have been a nervous wreck and probably throwing up. What a amazing feat!

[jonq]

Watching this, even knowing he survives, makes my hands sweat.

[BillThaPill]

He was more worried about his friends watching him die than actually dying. The balls on this guy

[fin]

"Alex's issue is not that he could possibly die, it was that he didn't want to die in front of his friends"... wow

[Gdfbgy]

"Alex's problem was not that he could die, it was that *he did not want to die infront if his friends* "
I don't know why but that hit me hard

[maddoxwhite]

They really just made a documentary on a documentary

[TheJustinAlexander]

Even just him sitting on the edge of the cliff at the end makes me want to throw up from anxiety

[Buphido]

Big ups to the crew for being so mindful of the ethics of what they wanted to do and the safety concerns their actions would raise.

[michaelmyers]

I've been training for six months to watch one of Alex's solo climbing clips. I'm proud to say that I watched this video in it's entirety.

[BTM]

This is one of the greatest athletic accomplishments of all time