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Anne Elk
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Anne Elk
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PostMon Mar 11, 2019 3:43 pm 
An interesting review of The Impossible Climb by Mark Synnott. Sounds like the author's foibles were seriously in the way of telling the story and the main point of the book, which perhaps could be gathered as well just by watching "Valley Uprising" and "Solo", and maybe reading Honnold's pre-climb memoir. rolleyes.gif

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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moonspots
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PostMon Mar 11, 2019 7:46 pm 
Anne Elk wrote:
An interesting review of The Impossible Climb by Mark Synnott. Sounds like the author's foibles were seriously in the way of telling the story and the main point of the book, which perhaps could be gathered as well just by watching "Valley Uprising" and "Solo", and maybe reading Honnold's pre-climb memoir. rolleyes.gif
Yeah, it is/was necessary...."make hay while the sun shines", and all that. Alex is a very desirable commodity now. Next year? Perhaps, or maybe not..... Now if someone were to document MY climbing/life adventures, then that would seriously raise the same question! agree.gif lol.gif

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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Pahoehoe
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PostTue Mar 12, 2019 2:05 pm 
Why wouldnt one book be "necessary" as opposed to another? I mean, anyone can write a book. Anyone can read said book (or not). Anyone can review a book, dispute information or opinions in said book. Is any book "necessary"?

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nordique
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PostTue Mar 12, 2019 3:43 pm 
And to think that Free Solo won the Oscar for best documentary! Still, the film was made by the team that made the very fine film called Meru. Now I just hope it doesn't somehow encourage other young people to climb without a rope! I still think Lynn Hill's first free climb of the Nose of El Cap, way back in 1993, was a greater achievement. The only solo climbing I've done, high up a cliff, were two occasions when the rope between my belayer and me got stuck--and I had to solo up to free the rope.

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skiorkayak
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PostTue Mar 12, 2019 4:36 pm 
I enjoyed Free Solo, but I was much more impressed with The Dawn Wall. Had all the makings of a Hollywood movie without needing any embellishments. Very different styles of climbing.

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Eric Hansen
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PostTue Mar 12, 2019 6:25 pm 
I enjoyed the film Meru Free Solo was way too intense for me. Abstractly, I knew he survived, didn't fall and die. Watching the movie at a theatre tho was very real for me, and I literally couldn't watch.

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Anne Elk
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PostTue Mar 12, 2019 11:13 pm 
moonspots wrote:
Yeah, it is/was necessary...."make hay while the sun shines"
Well, maybe necessary for the author, but that's not what I meant. wink.gif
Nordique wrote:
I still think Lynn Hill's first free climb of the Nose of El Cap, way back in 1993, was a greater achievement.
I enjoyed her memoir Climbing Free. It was interesting to learn that she'd been a gymnast before taking up rock climbing, a skill that gave her an obvious "leg up", so to speak.
skiorkayak wrote:
I was much more impressed with The Dawn Wall
Thanks for mentioning it as I was unaware of that doc. Must watch.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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moonspots
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PostWed Mar 13, 2019 6:49 am 
Eric Hansen wrote:
I enjoyed the film Meru
So did I, and I particularly liked an interview of Jimmy Chin I ran across on youtube one night, and that led me to "Meru", and based upon that film, I had to see Free Solo. His videography is superb. I actually liked Dawn Wall a bit better, but the several minute long actual climbing sequence in FS was what I enjoyed most. It was interesting to watch his deliberate and careful finger/foot placements as well as his overall movement to accomplish what I cannot even on a plastic wall. Well done.

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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moonspots
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PostWed Mar 13, 2019 7:16 am 
Anne Elk wrote:
moonspots wrote:
Yeah, it is/was necessary...."make hay while the sun shines"
Well, maybe necessary for the author, but that's not what I meant. wink.gif
Uh-oh, I must have read your post too literally...I think. What was your intent?

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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reststep
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PostWed Mar 13, 2019 7:18 am 
The Dawn Wall is available to stream on Netflix now.

"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir
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Anne Elk
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Anne Elk
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PostWed Mar 13, 2019 10:21 am 
moonspots wrote:
I must have read your post too literally...I think. What was your intent?
What I meant was that the review makes it sound like the book maybe isn't adding much to what we've already learned about Honnold, but as you suggest, is taking advantage of Honnold's popularity to "make hay while the sun shines". Worth looking over a library copy of, but not something I'd buy.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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PorcupinePhobia
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PostWed Mar 13, 2019 11:02 am 
While we're at it, Sufferfest and Sufferfest 2 are additional funny Honnold flicks that give you an idea of how good he is. And the film "Safety Third" is a short and interesting companion to Free Solo.

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Anne Elk
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PostThu Mar 14, 2019 1:03 am 
Skiorkayak wrote:
I enjoyed Free Solo, but I was much more impressed with The Dawn Wall. Had all the makings of a Hollywood movie without needing any embellishments. Very different styles of climbing.
Just got a look at The Dawn Wall doc this eve. As engaging as Free Solo, but conveys more of the minutiae of the route in all its exhausting, bloody details. The climbing style seems different only in that they're not risking their lives by going ropeless, and the difficulty of the route requires bivouacs. Didn't know that Caldwell has been climbing missing a finger! eek.gif

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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moonspots
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moonspots
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PostThu Mar 14, 2019 7:10 am 
Anne Elk wrote:
Skiorkayak wrote:
I enjoyed Free Solo, but I was much more impressed with The Dawn Wall. Had all the makings of a Hollywood movie without needing any embellishments. Very different styles of climbing.
Just got a look at The Dawn Wall doc this eve. As engaging as Free Solo, but conveys more of the minutiae of the route in all its exhausting, bloody details. The climbing style seems different only in that they're not risking their lives by going ropeless, and the difficulty of the route requires bivouacs. Didn't know that Caldwell has been climbing missing a finger! eek.gif
I believe the book "The Push" is what the movie was based on. Whether that's so or not, it's a very good read anyway. He (Tommy Caldwell) is an excellent climber, and especially so after losing a finger to a table saw! That is some serious determination and focus!

"Out, OUT you demons of Stupidity"! - St Dogbert, patron Saint of Technology
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