Clair Popkin, Director of Photography on the feature documentary Free Solo, getting the shot of Alex Honnold topping out El Capitan after free soloing the Freerider. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_21.jpg
Jimmy Chin and Alex Honnold atop the summit of El Capitan just after Alex free solo climbed Freerider. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_29.jpg
Chai Vasarhelyi prepares to interview Jimmy Chin as Clair Popkin frames up the shot. They are in Jimmy's van in Yosemite. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_30.jpg
Jimmy Chin ascends a fixed line up Freerider on El Capitan after shooting Alex Honnold. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_37.jpg
Holding all his climbing gear-his shoes and bag of chalk-Honnold stands atop El Capitan four hours after he began scaling it. "At the bottom, I was a little nervous," he said afterward. "I mean, it's a freaking-big wall above you." So what's next? "I still want to climb hard things. Someday. You don't just retire as soon as you get down." (Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23MM8506_170603_04525.jpg
Alex Honnold being interviewed in El Capitan Meadow after free soloing Freerider. Clair Popkin and Jim Hurst document for the Free Solo documentary. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_22.jpg
Jimmy Chin during production of National Geographic Documentary Films Oscar nominated "Free Solo". (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_06.jpg
The crew sort and pack up all the ropes and climbing equipment used to document Alex Honnolds free solo climb of El Capitan's Freerider in Yosemite National Park. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_34.jpg
The crew sort through the ropes and climbing equipment used to document Alex Honnolds free solo climb of El Capitan's Freerider in Yosemite National Park. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_35.jpg
Alex Honnold arrives at the summit of Freerider for another practice day on El Capitan, greeted by Jimmy Chin. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_36.jpg
Production during National Geographic Documentary Films Oscar nominated feature documentary "Free Solo". (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_45.jpg
Cheyne Lempe, cinematographer, and Josh Huckaby, rigger and high angle safety specialist, double check ropes and climbing equipment while preparing to rig for the day on El Capitan. This production required the filmers to be both elite professional climbers and world class cinematographers. That meant we had a very small pool of candidates to choose from. Careful logistics planning was critical everyday for the shoot with camera crew members often deploying to several different sections of the route thousands of feet down the wall. You didn't want to end up 1200ft down the wall and find out you didn't have the right gear to anchor yourself, or worse yet, were still 200 ft short of rope to get to your shooting position. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_01.jpeg
Jimmy Chin, director / DP, Dave Allfrey, rigger, and Mikey Schaefer carry 50lb packs 6-7 miles into the mountains and up over 3000ft of gain to one of the shooting positions in Morocco. Once there, they will organize gear, build anchors, rappel into position, build cameras, shoot for the day, climb back out, pull ropes, repack and hike out. They will have an 18 hour day. (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_02.jpg
Clair Popkin our verite DP shoots a scene of Alex Honnold making dinner on his stove on top of El Cap after a day of practicing on the route. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_03.jpg
Cheyne Lempe, cinematographer, carrying a 45lb pack of camera equipment, rappelling over the edge of El Cap with 3000ft of exposure below. This was the beginning of a typical day of shooting. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_04.jpg
Jimmy Chin during production of National Geographic Documentary Films Oscar nominated "Free Solo". (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_05.jpg
Alex Honnold and Jimmy Chin enjoy their last few hours together atop the summit of Freerider on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The production has come to an end and they are soon hiking down to the valley floor. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_33.jpg
Jimmy Chin moving into position 2000ft up the wall to shoot the Enduro Corner on the upper part of Freerider. El Capitan. (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_07.jpg
Jimmy Chin moving into position 2000ft up the wall to shoot the Enduro Corner on the upper part of Freerider. El Capitan. (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_08.jpg
Jimmy Chin during production of National Geographic Documentary Films Oscar nominated "Free Solo". (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_09.jpg
Jimmy Chin during production of National Geographic Documentary Films Oscar nominated "Free Solo". (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_10.jpg
Jimmy Chin during production of National Geographic Documentary Films Oscar nominated "Free Solo". (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_11.jpg
The crew is never too tired for a game of bananagrams. Played at the top of Freerider on the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_14.jpeg
Jimmy Chin with 1500ft of rope coiled and ready to rappel down the wall to get into position for a day of shooting. (National Geographic/Cheyne Lempe)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_BTS_15.jpeg
Attached to ropes, Honnold practices a section of Freerider, the route he would free solo up El Capitan. Freerider tests every part of a climber's body-from fingers to toes-as well as mental and physical stamina. (Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23MM8506_160518_00013-628.jpg
Alex Honnold, 33, listens to music while brushing his teeth as he prepares for a day of climbing in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains, one of several foreign locations where he trained for his attempt on El Capitan. (Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23MM8506_160912_02780.jpg
For a free soloist, finger strength can mean the difference between life and death. Leading up to his climb, Honnold performed a 90-minute "hangboarding" routine every other day in his van, which for years has served as a home and mobile base camp. (Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23MM8506_161020_00032.jpg
With California's Yosemite Valley far beneath him, Alex Honnold free solos- which means climbing without ropes or safety gear-up a crack on the 3,000-foot southwest face of El Capitan. Before he accomplished the feat on June 3, 2017, Honnold spent nearly a decade thinking about the climb and more than a year and a half planning and training for it. (Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23MM8506_170603_03297.jpg
Holding all his climbing gear-his shoes and bag of chalk-Honnold stands atop El Capitan four hours after he began scaling it. "At the bottom, I was a little nervous," he said afterward. "I mean, it's a freaking-big wall above you." So what's next? "I still want to climb hard things. Someday. You don't just retire as soon as you get down."(Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23MM8506_170603_04524.jpg
Alex Honnold atop Lower Cathedral withþEl Capitan in the background,þYosemite National Park, CA. (National Geographic/Samuel Crossley)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_16.jpg
Jimmy Chin dangles on a rope above Cheyne Lempe as they wait for Alex Honnold to reach them. They're positioned on Freerider on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_03.jpg
Alex Honnold getting his haircut by his girlfriend Sanni McCandless before attempting his free solo of El Cap. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_04.jpg
Alex Honnold and Conrad Anker inspect the following ptich from a belay on El Capitan's Freerider route in Yosemite National Park. Alex plans on free soloing the route in a few weeks. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_05.jpg
Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell organize their climbing gear at the top of the Freerider route on the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, CA. They had just set a new speed record on the climb. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_06.jpg
Alex Honnold making the first free solo ascent of El Capitan's Freerider in Yosemite National Park, CA. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_07.jpg
Alex Honnold holds all of his climbing gear atop the summit of El Capitan. He just became the first person to climb El Capitan without a rope. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_08.jpg
Alex Honnold holds all of his climbing gear atop the summit of El Capitan. He just became the first person to climb El Capitan without a rope. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_09.jpg
Alex Honnold sits atop the summit of El Capitan. He just became the first person to climb El Capitan without a rope. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_10.jpg
Alex Honnold free soloing the Scotty-Burke offwedth pitch of Freerider on Yosemite's El Capitan. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_13.jpg
Alex Honnold peers over the edge of Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. He had just climbed 2000 feet up from the valley floor. (National Geographic/Jimmy Chin)Posted 11/07/23FreeSolo_01.jpg
