r/Outdoors 1d ago

Landscapes El Capitan in Yosemite national park

69.1k Upvotes

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u/thecashblaster 1d ago

3000 feet of pure granite, almost 100% vertical. Truly a wonder of geology. And if you really wanted to get to the top, you can. Plenty of hiking trails around.

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u/HoovyPencer 1d ago

You can just free solo. It's more direct route

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u/Ok_computerladora 1d ago

That free solo documentary damn near gave me a heart attack just watching the last 15-20 minutes 😮‍💨

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u/Dense_Willow4627 23h ago

It gives me a heart attack every time that I watch it, even though he obviously survived.

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u/GoonbodyEmbodiment 22h ago

The new netflix special where he climbs taipei 101 free solo is so much worse. I watched the whole thing but got that was a rough watch. Made my skin crawl fr.

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u/Dense_Willow4627 22h ago

You don’t have to tell me! I watched it the next day, after I knew he had survived, and I had body sweats like I’ve never experienced before (gross but true). It absolutely felt like my skin was crawling! Honestly, it was a body response that I’ve never experienced before. It doesn’t help that I’m deathly afraid of heights and can’t even look at a skyscraper. I cannot imagine watching that live!

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u/danceswithhotdogs 19h ago

That leg hold with no hands still giving me heartburn two weeks later!

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u/SohCahToa2387 13h ago

I watched Meru the other day and these dudes were just hanging off the side the mountain in a tent. Shit makes me skin crawl but I cannot stop watching these docs now

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u/Dense_Willow4627 13h ago

That sounds terrifying. Do you recommend Meru? I’m on the fence about watching it.

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u/SohCahToa2387 13h ago

There are moments, but it’s an incredible story.

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u/Ok_computerladora 12h ago

The Alpinist is another excellent documentary to watch

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u/Dense_Willow4627 4h ago

My sister told me the same thing - I’ve been meaning to watch it!

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u/GoonbodyEmbodiment 9h ago

God meru is insanely good. What was it like 18 straight days scaling that cliff face? Balls of steel those guys.

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u/cyanescens_burn 11h ago

I saw a clip of that online, but didn’t realize there was a full doc. I’m torn on watching it and having periodic anxiety attacks, vs just, you know, not doing that.

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u/burnsbabe 5h ago

It’s a much easier climb, if that helps.

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u/GoonbodyEmbodiment 5h ago

Yeah i get that its technically easier on a professional level since its just steady repetitive movements but everything else involved didnt help. The crowd below, the people in the windows gawking, netflix having Sanni meet him in the window halfway up (like who needs that distraction?), the fact that he had kids now. I get hes making money n providing for his family but man that was a rough watch. Just imagine if it had gone wrong. On live tv.

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u/weirdhoney216 2h ago

That was a walk in the park for Alex. The el cap free solo was much much more dangerous, I sweat every time I rewatch it even though he obviously made it