by chh » Jan 22, 2012 5:28 pm
What gets me about this whole phenomenon (and it isn't limited to Alex) is the video cameras. There are plenty of videos of people, both professional and unprofessional athletes free-soloing.
For me, free soloing has been an activity that is purely personal. I've had wonderful times free soloing by myself and with good friends. I've also turned around to go back for the rope if there were other people around. Not because I don't want to give other people bad ideas, but because for me having strangers around watching detracts from the experience. I always felt that if there were other eyes in the equation it would equal showboating, regardless of my intention, and so I wouldn't continue. Humility was always one of the biggest emotions accompanying free soloing for me.
This is how I feel about people who free solo for a camera: they're showboating, even though this may not be so in their minds. It's just a gut reaction that I have.
People have, and will continue, to do things far more stupid and reckless than free soloing. And I would argue that they will continue to do these stupid reckless things more often than free soloing is done. I cannot police these folks, nor would I want to.
People are responsible for their own actions, just as they are entitled to have their own interpretations of other's actions. If joe shmoe viewer sees Alex Honnold free soloing and then decides that this is a safe and intelligent thing to do with no experience and subsequently gets himself killed, it's joe's fault. Not Alex's. I believe this even though I hackle at people choosing to videotape free soloing.
And insofar as endangering the lives of rescuers, I have mixed feelings. I would guess that the instances of rescuers responding to roped climbers vs. unroped climbers is much higher if we allow for a certain level of skill. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, I certainly haven't done the research.
On the one hand I believe wholeheartedly that you should consider the impact of your actions on other people in everything that you do. On the other, I recognize the subjective nature of what is and isn't "dangerous". What if someone who liked to free solo shook their finger at cave divers and said "Thats crazy and dangerously irresponsible!" Does that make it so?
Life is a subjective and very often dangerous experience no matter what activities you may be involved in. Get over it.
Your words of caution are no match for my disaster style!