The Alpinist

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its_not_a_tuba
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The Alpinist

Post by its_not_a_tuba »

Logged in to read yawl's banter about the movie The Alpinist that just premiered and didn't see anything about it yet. Saw it last night and walked out thinking it was the most insane climbing movie I have ever seen, simply nuts what Leclerc did in his short time on this Earth.
"Wilderness settles peace on the soul because it needs no help. It is beyond human contrivance." -- E.O. Wilson
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angry
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by angry »

I saw it last night too and had so much anxiety watching the routes he was climbing, pretty amazing. I was most impressed with his humility.
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by Wentzl »

had not heard of this one yet, but when I looked for it, found this and watched it spellbound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz4-PQizX1A&t=304s

Thanks for the tip!
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by bdloftin77 »

Thanks for the post! I’ve been curious about this movie since I first heard about it.
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courtc43
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by courtc43 »

I really enjoyed it! Definitely one of my favorite climbing movies so far.
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by susanjoypaul »

A very different film than 14 Peaks, but just as impressive!

This one just hit Netflix too and parts of it were hard for me to watch. Who free solos on ice and mixed climbs? Unbelievable.
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by seano »

I just watched this on Netflix yesterday, and it's amazing! Both are incredible athletes, but Marc-Andre is much more admirable to me than Nims, so I enjoyed this more than 14 Peaks. Watching his solo of the Stanley Headwall, and the scene before that where he pulls a mixed roof by blindly hooking some ice then cutting loose with his feet, is kind of mind-blowing.

Well worth watching, and you can stop it where the narrator says "here's where we thought we would end the movie, and let Mark get back to what he does."
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by Jorts »

seano wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:39 pm Marc-Andre is much more admirable to me than Nims
How so? Not trolling you or intending that question as a dig. Just curious as to why you feel that way.
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by seano »

Jorts wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:35 am
seano wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:39 pm Marc-Andre is much more admirable to me than Nims
How so? Not trolling you or intending that question as a dig. Just curious as to why you feel that way.
I guess I've softened somewhat toward Nims after letting 14 Peaks percolate; his effort to gain Sherpas the recognition they deserve is admirable. But mountaineering is a selfish activity, and I appreciate that Marc-Andre consciously did it only because it was something he needed, not to promote his "brand" or push some cause. He probably could have happily continued doing amazing things in obscurity, posting about some on cascadeclimbers.com (see here), for the rest of a long life. I also appreciate that he did them in true dirtbag style, living in a tent and hitchhiking to get to the mountains.
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by Skimo95 »

seano wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:59 am
Jorts wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:35 am
seano wrote: Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:39 pm Marc-Andre is much more admirable to me than Nims
How so? Not trolling you or intending that question as a dig. Just curious as to why you feel that way.
I guess I've softened somewhat toward Nims after letting 14 Peaks percolate; his effort to gain Sherpas the recognition they deserve is admirable. But mountaineering is a selfish activity, and I appreciate that Marc-Andre consciously did it only because it was something he needed, not to promote his "brand" or push some cause. He probably could have happily continued doing amazing things in obscurity, posting about some on cascadeclimbers.com (see here), for the rest of a long life. I also appreciate that he did them in true dirtbag style, living in a tent and hitchhiking to get to the mountains.
Nims couldn’t climb in the style Marc Andre did, and Marc Andre didn’t climb in the style Nims does. Equally respectful imho and Marc died way too young. Hard to hold back tears after listening to Brette at the end. I don’t think either are human.
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by timisimaginary »

this movie was more nerve-wracking to watch than Free Solo. some of the stuff he's doing, like going up a sheet of free-hanging ice, or the shot where a handhold peels off and he just calmly watches it fall a thousand feet before resuming climbing, just seems insane. as Honnold points out at the beginning when talking about his own climbing, he can control the amount of risk he subjects himself to, it's just the consequences of a mistake that are different. whereas LeClerc was putting himself in situations where there was a lot of risk that was beyond his control. the tragic irony is, for all the hand-wringing over the risks of free soloing, he ended up dying on a roped descent with a partner, killed by an avalanche, something no amount of skill could have prevented.

i think the film did a good job of explaining his climbing philosophy and his motives, though i don't think any film could ever truly capture the inner workings of why people like LeClerc or Honnold are able to, and driven to, do the things they do. it definitely felt like he was a guy who was living his life exactly the way he wanted, and maybe the only way he possibly could have without being miserable. it's not too hard to imagine that, if he wasn't a climber, he would've ended up a drug addict or suicide. is a short life of freedom and joy better than a long(er) life of misery and drudgery? for certain people like him, those seemed like the only two choices. like the decision to climb the routes he climbed, the way he climbed them, wasn't even really a choice but a necessity. there's also a danger though, in romanticizing that, because for the vast majority that's not the case, or at least not to nearly the degree it might have been for him.

when someone dies this way, the common cliche is to say "he died doing what he loved." but i think it's more apt to say "he lived doing what he loved." whatever he was doing the day he died, that was just a single day. it doesn't really matter if he died climbing or in a car accident. all the days someone spends leading up to that final day are a lot more meaningful and important.
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Jorts
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Re: The Alpinist

Post by Jorts »

timisimaginary wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:43 am he ended up dying on a roped descent with a partner, killed by an avalanche
Makes me think of Brad Gobright, another prolific soloist killed not soloing but also on descent - rappelling.
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