We are Alex Honnold (professional climber), Chai Vasarhelyi (filmmaker and director), and Jimmy Chin (professional climber and director) here to talk about our movie, Free Solo—Ask Us Anything!

Did you hold your poop?

The key is to poop before you go up.

- Alex

Or the key is to get up at 4AM so that you're done pooping beforehand.

- Jimmy

How do you deal with your giant fucking balls while you did this?

They just swing to and fro.

- Alex

Alex - Big fan. Do you ever get scared? Of anything?

Definitely yes, I get scared of all kinds of things.

- Alex

Alex what was the worst accident you've had, and any close calls? Hope you stay safe into old age! We marvel at your skill.

I fell snowshoeing off Mt Tallac above Lake Tahoe once upon a time. I broke many things.

-Alex

Chai & Jimmy — The film looks absolutely beautiful. How will you top what's being considered by some to be the greatest climbing film ever made?

Alex — When you're not climbing/training, how else do you like to spend your time?

We plan to top it by not make another climbing film.

- Jimmy

Jimmy missed a few shots. It could be better haha

- Chai

Hey Alex, what did you think of your experience at Cal and how did you make the decision to drop out and pursue climbing?

I didn't even really have much of an experience at Cal because I was pretty disengaged from the whole studying part. Though I never specifically dropped out, I just took a semester off and then I never went back.

- Alex

1) What was the most challenging thing about this movie from a filmmaker/directors perspective?

2) If you could give any advice to a beginner climber, what would it be?

1. Focus on your footwork. It's all about technique.

- Alex

1. Managing the burden of the risks, doing justice to the climb, and weaving in an emotional narrative that humanized Alex and also gave his achievement context.

- Jimmy

1. The risks involved and doing justice to the risks involved.

- Chai

Hi Chai and Jimmy, how much planning went into the filming of the actual climb? I know after the first attempt you had to re-think the filming positions, was this the toughest shoot the two of you have ever participated in?

Two years went into planning the filming. Yes, this was the toughest shoot.

- Jimmy

Yes, this was the toughest shoot. About a year and a half went into planning because the failure itself is turnaround. His bailout was part of the training and we learned the most important lessons from that.

- Chai

After something like this, what's motivates you? What is next??

I think that I'm motivated by the same things I was before the climb - the right kinds of challenges on inspiring walls. Since Free Soloing El Cap I've also gone on an expedition to Antarctica with Jimmy and set the speed record on the Nose - basically just normal climbing challenges. . .

- Alex

Alex - About how long did you spend researching and preparing for your climb? How long was it before "I want to free solo El Cap" became a reality?

Watch the film and you see the roughly two years that I spent directly preparing, but I'd been thinking about it for maybe 6 or 7 years before that. Not that that time is all necessarily researching or preparing but it's sort of wrapping my head around it.

- Alex

Alex/ Jimmy have you guys had any major climbing related injuries? How did you rehab them? Are you scared of re-injury?

Can’t wait to see the movie!

I've had lots of relatively minor overuse injuries, things like tendonitis or pulley injuries. I have basically climbed through them all, but carefully. I rarely take real time off, but I'm careful to not make things worse. Overall I maybe should have rested more.

- Alex

*knocks on wood* no climbing injuries so far.

- Jimmy

During the making of the film did any of you guys have any funny moments that happen behind the scenes or even while filming?

The film was basically two years of my normal life. So there were plenty of funny moments. It's like asking somebody what were the funny moments of their last two years. Life has all kinds of random shit going on. - Alex

Alex online dating at the beginning of the film. And the guys were always so tired so they would fall asleep on command. The funniest moment was when Claire and Alex would sometimes lose the cat and everyone running in the dark. - Chai

I did spend hours looking for a cat in the dark and then realized I was looking for a one-eyed cat. - Alex

There was a cat that we were care taking while we were staying at this person's house. And we were not supposed to lose the cat. - Jimmy

The cat's name was Mr. Tut Tut. - Alex

Favorite climb near your guys home towns? Sacramento Area? Minnesota?

Freerider. Close enough to Sacramento.

Or more seriously anything at Lover's Leap. Or Donner.

- Alex

Barn Bluff.

- Jimmy

What books have you all been reading while working on this (2yr?) project? What ideas which were not your own did you fixate on and adapt while working on Free Solo? And for Alex specifically, did you read anything that really hyped you up or put some thinkings in you head for the climbs?

A particular thing about our process is that I try to stay away from things that could be related in terms of movies. We were focused on other things like Westworld (the TV show) and we had a child 2 months into production. I read Homo Deus and the Incendiaries and in general reading was a way to distract my mind. I also read tons of children's books.

- Chai

I climbed, skied, and surfed a lot.

- Jimmy

I actually have a pretty comprehensive reading list for the last several years posted at honnoldfoundation.org/books.

One of the things that hyped me up for wanting to put in the work to free solo Cap was Tommy finishing his project on the Dawn Wall.

- Alex

Alex,

Do you think space is infinite?

If not what do you think forms the barrier at which it “stops”?

I think space is probably infinite, though I'm really not the best person to ask.

- Alex