Colorado-based climber, mountaineer, skier and
photographer Jimmy Chin can now add
the title “Academy Award-winning
film director” to his already-presti-
gious resume and ever-growing list
of accomplishments.
That’s because when Chin, along with
his wife, co-director/producer Elizabeth
Chai Vasarhelyi, and an elite high-angle
team descended into Yosemite Val-
ley, they were ready to document Alex
Honnold’s ropeless attempt to scale El
Capitan in the National Geographic film
“Free Solo,” which won this year’s Oscar
for Best Documentary Feature.

Chin is no stranger to acrophobic

experiences, having done everything

from climbing and skiing Mt. Ever-

est from the summit to making first

ascents on big walls and staggering

mountain towers in the Karakoram

Mountains of Pakistan and the Gar-

hwal Himalayas of Northern India.

Chin will be the first to acknowledge

that Honnold’s achievement—of scal-

ing “El Cap” without a rope—puts

him in a different class.

But in terms of filmmaking, Chin

is remarkable in his own right.

For instance, when he began his

cinematographic efforts in 2003

under the mentorship of Rick Ridge-

way, it resulted in the National Geo-

graphic special “Deadly Fashion,”

which revealed how Chin has often

played double roles—shooting stills or

video or both to document high alti-

tude expeditions.

Yet, as Chin and his team moved

into position on June 3, 2017, to record

Honnold’s free solo 2,900-foot climb

up El Capitan, it was clear from the

start that this project would undoubt-

edly present a host of new challenges

for all of them.

How To Film A Mountaineer

Who Aspires To

Extremes

Discover what it took for Jimmy

Chin and his crew to document

Alex Honnold’s ropeless ascent up

El Capitan in the award-winning

documentary movie "Free Solo"

By Mark Edward Harris | Photography By Jimmy Chin

Alex Honnold climbs Freerider on El

Capitan in Yosemite National Park.

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