Alex begins to climb. We see the team begin to finalize camera angles and at 3:30am Honnold leaves to begin free soloing El Cap in the dark. Before this we see him talking with Sanni about whether or not he feels obligated to make decisions that maximize his life span. While talking he accidentally lets it slip that he plans on soloing the following day. After making it up to the slab Alex ends up cheating by grabbing an anchor in the wall. He ends up bailing and doesn’t complete the climb. Honnold is clearly frustrated but doesn’t end up saying what happened causing him to grab the anchor. In my opinion, it is because he told Sanni he was up there and the distraction of the cameras filming. Now he has to wait before he can attempt it making the whole thing drag on longer. In the meantime, we see him buy a house with Sanni. He continues to go back and practice the failed section and try to come up with alternatives. Jimmy talks about the comfort that Alex was willing to turn around last year gave him, knowing he didn’t feel pressured to keep going because of them. Honnold continues to work on the climbing moves until he is near a point where he would be comfortable if there was a whole stadium watching. A very interesting part is when we see Alex’s notebook full of every single step he has to take and how to do it. Eventually, the atmosphere changes and we can see Honnold’s mindset change to game time. Unfortunately, it is reported his friend Ulie Steck has died in an accident. They used to climb together and talk about dangerous climbs you try to squeak out once and just hope it’s a good day. Somehow Alex shrugs this off and keeps moving forward with his plans to climb.
After moving in with Sanni, Alex talks about how Sanni seeks fulfilment through happiness but he looks for it through performance.
“Nothing good happens in the world by being happy and cozy. No one achieves anything great just because they’re happy and cozy. It’s about being a warrior. It doesn’t matter about the cause necessarily; this is your path and you will pursue it with excellence. You face your fear because your goal demands it. That is the warrior spirit. You give something 100% focus because your life depends on it.”
I struggle between Alex’s and Sanni’s view of life and fulfilment. On one hand, I think I could be content to live a simple life with a family and a stable job. Yet part of me thinks about how much I could be missing out on and what my purpose really is in life. I want to do something great and be something great but I struggle academically and my athleticism is very questionable. I can accept that I won’t be setting any crazy records or receive awards but I will not accept that my life doesn’t have a purpose for something good. I think that plays a part in why I decided to become a teacher. Maybe I won’t change the world or receive recognition for anything I do, but I know a difference will be made.
