Free Solo 360 | National Geographic

Anybody could conceivably die on any given day, and we're all gonna die eventually. [Applause] So, Lange just makes it far more immediate. You accept the fact that if anything goes wrong, you're going to die, and that's that. [Music]

I wasn't the kind of kid that was into all kinds of different sports and teams. I didn't have a whole lot of hobbies or interests. I was quite a shy kid, a bit of a dark soul, I guess. Living in a van is the most practical way to be a rock climber; it's pretty civilized, really. I bought myself a big white panel van and then lived in it for nine years.

There are tons of things that I want to do as a climber, but they all feel trivial compared to the idea of free soloing. El Capitan was first climbed in 1958, and that took 46 days of climbing spread over 16 months to reach the summit. I've dreamt of free soloing El Cap for ten years, and every year it just looked too big. It's just a big wall, at least a thousand feet taller than pretty much anything else that's ever been free soloed in the world. Super intense, high-level focus and difficult climbing for probably four or five hours—quite a long time, really.

Climbing without a rope requires a level of mastery. Their opening day. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Climbing the route is not purely a physical challenge; it's also mental. I work to expand my comfort zone until there is no fear there. I shouldn't go up there unless I'm prepared, comfortable, and I'm not going to feel fear. [Music]

I'm not trying to overcome my fear; I'm just trying to step outside of it. [Music] Definitely for me, free soloing is as close to perfection as rock climbing gets. And it does feel good to feel perfect, even for breathing. [Music] [Music] [Applause]

Humans don't have any particularly special place on earth, certainly no more so than any of the other creatures. You're on this huge face, this overwhelming world around you, and you feel totally lost. Climbing is a real physical challenge in the real world—it's like man against nature. You're in this position that no other humans will ever experience. When you feel like you're climbing the best that you possibly can on something that's barely doable, that's pretty close to ideal.

There's just so much in life where you're like, "Oh, I'm not good at life," but at least I'm really good at this. For a few hours on El Cap, I got to actually experience perfection.