PRODUCTION. PEAK POWER
When filming in extreme conditions, having reliable equipment is absolutely paramount Peak power
WORDS. Robert Shepherd IMAGES. Renan Ozturk
H ave you ever had a nightmare nothing to catch you when you lose your grip? Well, there’s a very real extreme sport fitting that exact description – free soloing. It’s a niche and technical form of rock or ice climbing performed without ropes or harnesses. In fact, it’s so niche, it’s been described as ‘a niche of a niche’ – yet some practitioners have used it to climb to celebrity status. One of the most recognisable names in the business is Alex Honnold, whose name entered public consciousness after his 2018 documentary Free Solo . The film follows the daredevil as he realises his where you’re thousands of feet in the air, desperately hanging on to something by your fingertips, with
lifelong dream: scaling Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan without a rope, via the climbing route Free Rider. Not only did he become the first person to free solo the 3200ft vertical rock formation, but the film won the Academy Award for best documentary feature – as well as the corresponding category at the Baftas. Thanks to Honnold, all of a sudden free soloing was in vogue. For those of us who prefer to free solo vicariously, the American’s latest death-defying adventures have been chronicled in Alex Honnold: The Soloist VR , an immersive two-part documentary available in the US on Oculus TV, part of the Meta Quest platform. Produced by Jonathan Griffith Productions, in
24. DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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