Alex Honnold: ‘My new film is almost too much for some people’

The great promise of virtual reality lies in its potential to replicate otherwise unattainable experiences. And few in the physical world can match the experiences of Alex Honnold, the American rock climber who has distinguished himself with ropeless ascents up some of the world’s most fearsome cliffs.

No one had ever completed a “free-solo” climb of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park before Honnold famously did so in 2017, a feat that was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary.

Now comes another film about Honnold, one that takes viewers as close they will probably ever get to the hair-raising exploits that have made him a rock star.

The new virtual reality series, Alex Honnold: The Soloist VR, invites you to tag along as he embarks on free-solo climbs in the Italian and French Alps. Strap on a headset, and you’re immersed in a panorama of sky, snow and rock. Crane your head upward to watch as Honnold navigates his way to the summit. Peer over your shoulder, and you’re met with a sweeping view of wilderness. Look down, and – well, maybe don’t look down.

The two-part series, which was released last week, offers up plenty of mind-blowing scenery. But it could be difficult viewing for some, and not just because it’s only available on Meta’s line of Quest VR headsets.

“I think for some people it might be one of the most intense things they’ve ever watched,” Honnold tells the Guardian. “Even when I’m watching I’m like, ‘This is a lot.’ I did the actual climbs and it still feels pretty intense.”

Honnold said even his family of climbers has only been able to consume the two half-hour episodes in “small doses.”

“They’re really struggling to watch the whole film because it really puts them there,” he says. “I don’t