What if He Falls? The Terrifying Reality Behind Filming “Free Solo”

In 2017, when Alex Honnold made his stunning free-solo ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan, he was taking an unimaginable risk: nearly 1,000 metres 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.

I don’t think I’ve ever posted specifically about @chaivasarhelyi and all the incredible work she put into crafting Free Solo. Chai technically co-directed the film with @jimmy_chin – but everyone knows how much time Jimmy likes to spend skiing… Chai’s the powerhouse who actually did the hard work of crafting the film. @freesolofilm is still in theaters all over the country (just got a text from a laggard aunt of mine who’s just getting around to seeing it). Still time to appreciate Chai’s hard work.

A post shared by Alex Honnold (@alexhonnold) on Nov 16, 2018 at 2:25pm PST

What if he falls?