7 Free Solo Climbers Who Fell

Had to make some edits to re-upload this video (:

Discover the awe-inspiring story of these fearless climbers who dared to challenge their physical and mental limits and braved the ultimate consequences:
1. Kyle Walker (2019, The Flatirons, Boulder, Colorado): Survived a fall from 18 meters (60 ft) while free solo climbing.
2. Paul Preuss (October 3, 1913, Mandlkogel, Austria): Died after falling from a height of over 300 meters (984 ft) while free solo climbing the northern ridge of Mandlkogel.
3. Derek Hersey (May 28, 1933, Sentinel Rock, Yosemite National Park): Died after slipping on a wet rock and falling while free solo climbing the Stack Salad Trail at Sentinel Rock in Yosemite National Park.
4. Austin Howell (Shortoff Mountain, North Carolina): Died after falling from a height of 24 meters (80 ft) while free solo climbing.
5. Brad Gobright (2022, El Potrero Chico, Mexico): Died after falling 300 meters (1000 ft) when his rope slipped out of the belay device during a rappel with fellow climber Aidan Jacobson.
6. Jason Wells and Tim Klein (2017, Yosemite National Park, USA): Both died after falling from a height of 300 meters (1000 ft) while climbing the Freeblast route. The rope snapped under their combined weight.
7. GiGi Wu (January 11, 2019, Yushan National Park, Taiwan): Died from hypothermia after slipping and falling from a height of 30.5 meters (100 ft) and being unable to move due to severe leg injuries.

This video was made only for educational purposes, viewer discretion is advised.

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Thanks for watching. Share in the comments what kind of stories you'd like to be covered on the channel. See you in the next video

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[cadillacdeville]

Well straight to the point I see. No filler nor long intros. Thank-you ❤

[grivera]

How did Derek Hersey ascend a mountain 1933?!?! He was born in '56.

[alphaomega]

I climbed the stairs today and barely made it! 😳

[DaveTexas]

This video shows how little care, research, and effort this channel puts into their videos. There’s no excuse for putting out a video with errors and incorrect information that are as big as the ones here.

[johngruey]

Derek Hersey died falling from the Steck Salathe route not the Steck Salad Trail in 1993 not 1933

[apocyldoomer]

I find sitting on my keyster in the middle of the woods enjoying a fine Cigar therapeutic, not hanging on by a thread climbing a dangerous rock face, but that’s me.

[randallgvideos]

At 2:40 the image shown is not in Austria, it is Moraine Lake in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.

[philipholman]

Makes me nauseous everytime i watch solo climbing. I respect the commitment, i just could not help fro psyching myself out

[adambane]

He makes a video on Free but he can't tell the difference between hiking, climbing and free soloing ??

[miketausig]

It’s a difficult thing. Likely the greatest free solo climber in history, Alex Honnold, said:

“So many people condemn me for risk taking, but I find it sort of hypocritical because everybody takes risks. Even the absence of activity could be viewed as a risk. If you sit on the sofa for your entire life, you're running a higher risk of getting heart disease and cancer.”

…and he’s right. Getting in to a car is one of the riskiest things on the planet, but nobody ever talks about that.

Marc-Andre LeClerc, one of the most talented free solo climbers ever, not only did free solo, but he did winter free solo. Now THAT is crazy. Unlike free solo on boulders or rocks, winter free solo is on mixed mediums- ice, granite, snow, frozen waterfalls. At least with big walls and rocks the climber knows what is solid, whereas alpine free solo on mixed terrain, one never truly knows what is solid.

[alansmith]

My father taught my brothers and I how to climb just like his father taught him. My grandfather always used to say a real climber wears a helmet, safety harness and never goes alone.

[mirandahotspring]

At 14:10 "Limit your gear to 32kg/70lb" I doubt if Gigi would have been able to carry that much! That would be practically her own bodyweight!
32kg would be the maximum for a fit male on an extended expedition!
Recommended pack weight for trekking in the mountains is generally 20% of your bodyweight, so for someone of Gigi's build (probably around 40 - 45kg max) would be
around 9kg/20lbs.

[Bluebell-fn]

I would never have the guts to do this. These people are gifted with special talent and maybe a bit reckless. But who am i to judge. You cant stop people doing what they love. I am happy home watching TV

[fraserstone]

There’s no other options, either you die or you reach the top 😭

[TattooedMay]

Free solo climbing is only safe and therapeutic if the hill/mountain in question is low and not steep. I free solo climb all the time, but I've yet to break a bone in 35 years.

[MCECRG]

Mr. Klein. Tim klein was my freshman year teacher. He was very sweet and awesome to all of us and many graduating classes after. It was very sad that he passed and it really hurt the community. Thank you for telling his story.

[MrMannyfresh]

“He started rock climbing and got seriously hooked.” I hope that pun was intended lol

[JonMacCaffrey]

"Calm his swirling my man was manic when free climbing, it makes 100% sense now! And ofcourse being in a manic state he took numerous extremely risky maneuvers and eventually with odds stacked against him he fell to his death.

[claytontube]

I did quite a bit of hiking and climbing so I understand the lure of the mountains, but this stuff is nuts

[Hilltop_Hero]

@7:45 "Would things have been different if he used safety gear?" I don't think a single person can fathom what would have happened if he had used safety gear! Your commentary is absolutely enlightening and thought-provoking, and anyone that says this is just an AI rambling on for 20 minutes is a hater <3