321 Bridge 

The Free Soloing of El Capitan 

Thoughts 
1. Extremely dangerous; if you fall, you will die. 

2. Courageous to consider doing the climb in the first place 

3. Would be very frightening to watch 

Questions 

1. Why did he decide that he wanted to risk his life just to climb a mountain? 

2. What kinds of preparations did he need to make before the climb? 

Analogy 

Alex Honnold’s El Capitan free solo can be compared to Yves Rossy (Swiss military trained pilot) as they both risk their lives for a stunt. Alex Honnold was the first person to free solo El Capitan which was 3000 feet (about the height of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world). Yves Rossy was the first person to attach jet engines to wings and fly around. 

 

After reading the National Geographic page 

New Thoughts 

1. It was more dangerous than I thought, he had to also deal with spectators which could make him focus less. 

2. He consulted his friends and wife so that they would know the consequences. This was a viable choice because they must be mentally prepared. 

3. Spectators were allowed as some were also his film crew, though it could be distracting 

Questions 

1. Why were his friends not worried about the consequences of falling? 

2. How did they film him with a drone without distracting him? 

Analogy 

His motivation is like many people's rights activists. Despite not having to fight for his rights, his type of motivation is similar. An example of a people’s rights activist is Gandhi, who led many peaceful protests. He was in jail but had to persist. Honnold also had to persist. 

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Bridge 

Both thoughts were pretty similar in the instance that they were both related to the same topic. The questions were different because of the new thoughts. The analogies changed dramatically, as I thought of Alex Honnold in a new light. Before, I thought that Alex Honnold's free solo was just for show and self-satisfaction. This is true, but the climb was not only for self-satisfaction, it was also to show the world that you must persist in everything you do no matter how futile

 it may seem.