This short piece is about the sport of free solo rock climbing. In this extreme activity, climbers scale the highest and most difficult rock faces without the aid of ropes or any other assistance. They could be thousands of feet above the ground with no safety net. Failure on such climbs means certain death.

Alex Honnold, featured in this short documentary, is said to be the best free climber on the planet. Having watched this video it’s hard to disagree with that. He is shown climbing the north face of the Sentinel in Yosemite National Park in the US, and is the only person ever to have conquered that route. His actions are so incredible as to be almost unbelievable. He also comes across as a genuinely nice and modest person.

When you watch, please keep a cushion handy as you may want to hide behind it at certain points…