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Hello, boys and girls.

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This is Tim Ferriss,
Welcome to "The Tim Ferriss Show."

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Today we have one of the climbers
most famous in the world.

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Alex Honnold.

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- Welcome to the program.
- Thanks for inviting me.

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Alex, who do you admire today?

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To this boy, Marc-André Leclerc.
The Canadian boy.

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Almost no one knows him
because it has a low profile.

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He is a fearless
of solo mountaineering.

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- What makes you fearless?
- Is able to climb

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the alpine walls and slopes
most difficult in the world.

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The biggest challenges
that none have climbed.

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Is it on another level?

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Yes, it's impressive.
Of not believing.

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And for those who want to see images
of this,

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We will provide videos and links.

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Something interesting about Marc-André,

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I don't know if there are recordings
of much of what he has done.

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It's just that he goes and climbs alone,

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in its purest expression. Very full.

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At 23 years old, Marc-André Leclerc

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He was already one of the most daring mountaineers
of his generation.

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But it was totally unknown.

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I spent two years following
to this elusive climber,

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trying to document his promotions

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and to understand
his crazy vision of adventure.

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On my trip with Marc,

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I always returned to the hidden mysteries
in mountaineering

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that have attracted me since childhood.

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Then, as a young climber
from Colorado,

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my idol was the famous climber
solo, Derek Hersey.

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Who climbed without ropes
the cliffs of the city.

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Just a bag with magnesium
and an old pair of hiking shoes.

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If you look down
you can admire the view.

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This is great!

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But one day, Derek was climbing solo

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and fell.

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Derek Hersey died last week.

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Some believed that he sought death,
but according to him:

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"There is nothing else
that makes me feel so alive."

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Since then, I have been fascinated

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for these incredible figures...

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Prepared.

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...that crosses the limits
of adventure in the mountains.

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I've seen amazing things...

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Tommy Caldwell attempts free promotion
at Dawn Wall.

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...and regretted the losses...

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Dean Potter lost his life.

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...watching friends die
doing what they were passionate about.

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One of the most famous mountaineers
of the world,

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Ueli Steck has died in an accident.

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I've been filming for 20 years,

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and I think I'm still far away
to be able to understand it well.

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Shit.

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Look at the kneeling maneuver,
no hands

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Alex, why the risk?

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Why not use rope?

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Those are stupid questions.

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Meanwhile, mountaineering
As a sport it has changed a lot.

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To the gym!

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What was before
a prohibited activity...

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ABSOLUTELY NO CLIMBING

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...for misfits and vagabonds,
now it is an event.

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rock climbing
in his Olympic debut.

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The climbers are now
athletic superstars...

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It has improved my image, without a doubt.

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...with armies of followers
on social networks.

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His promotions are admired
and promoted.

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Professional climbers show
Everest on Snapchat.

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This is Everest style hairstyle.
It's a new, trendy hashtag.

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- Everest style.
- Fashionable.

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So I was surprised

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when reading on an unknown blog

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about a young Canadian climber
called Marc-André Leclerc.

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He had climbed more than 1200 meters
of rock and ice

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in one of the most challenging environments
of the planet.

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THE CORKSCREW ROUTE
CERRO TORRE, PATAGONIA

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And all alone.

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It was a monumental feat,

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but there were only a few people
following him online.

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Audacity? There you have it.

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THIS IS AN AMAZING PROMOTION!

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Who was this guy?

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Who the fuck is Marc Andre Leclerc?

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To find out, I headed to Squamish,
in British Columbia,

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the heart of Canadian mountaineering.

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They are strange donuts.

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POOR DONUTS

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We have fresh food.

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- Do you want to buy a donut?
- Yes of course.

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It costs two dollars.

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OUTDOOR SEX SHOWER?

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When I met Marc,
I didn't know what to think of him.

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This is called
"free jump with forward turn."

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Want?

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Thank you.

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Evidently he was not used to
to be in front of a camera.

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- It is a very strong light.
- Hit your palms in front of your face.

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Good. Tell us your age,
where you're from and what you do.

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Good. I'm Marc-André Leclerc

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And I come from the Fraser Valley,
British Columbia.

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I lived there all my life.

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I am 23 years old

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and I am a climber, generally speaking.

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I am a young climber
who grew up in western Canada,

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and Squamish was the place to go.

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With the most accessible cliffs
and steep, and great routes,

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It is the center of rock climbing.

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Marc moved to Squamish,
He barely finished high school,

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eager to join
to local expert climbers.

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As soon as he moved to town,
was noticed...

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JASON KRUK
SQUAMISH CLIMBER

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...for the exuberance
and the youthful fire he had.

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Go down and go around the rope.

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I think I was kind of stupid.

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Like very exalted.

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And I was always kind of anxious,

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I got up early,

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and I climbed until I bled
the tips of the fingers.

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I wasn't afraid to jump
towards the deepest.

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No! Shit.

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Crazy.

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He came with all his intensity.

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I thought, "This guy
It's made of something special."

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WILL STANHOPE
SQUAMISH CLIMBER

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He was young and impetuous.

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As if to say: "Here I am."
Do you get me?

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HEVY DUTY
CLIMBER

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But if you're not young and impetuous
between 17 and 24,

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better commit suicide

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Well, that's the age to be like that.

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Marc was a real bum,
really penniless.

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I didn't have a car, not even a telephone.

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I had a phone for a while.

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I left it in a bag
along with smoked salmon.

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Then a wild fox
he took the phone.

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Incredible!

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I feel like I'm better off without one.

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He spent a couple of summers there,
living in a stairwell.

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It was a surprise when he met
to a pretty blonde

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and he took her to live there with him.

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His cave was just a futon...

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BRETTE HARRINGTON
MARC'S GIRLFRIEND

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...in the stairwell,
like a hallway.

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The more time I spent there,
the more I decorated it.

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So I had tapestries, photos.

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That space became a room.

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There was no need to live in luxury,

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Well we had what we wanted,
which was climbing.

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It was easier to live
in the most austere way possible.

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And then we decided to move
to a tent in the forest.

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I liked him

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for being different from anyone
that I would have known.

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But he behaved strangely in public.

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But I didn't care, because he is like that

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and I love him for that.

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- Do they go up?
- Look, there it is.

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They are very timely.
They almost didn't find me.

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They call me Hevy Duty.

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A nickname I've had since
the beginning of the seventies.

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Now I am more Light Duty
than Heavy Duty. Or Old Duty.

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Hevy is like the patriarch
of Squamish rock climbing.

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And he is also an expert
with the hula hoop.

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I went to a big party in the forest

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and we started talking
and to spin the ring, him and me.

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And that's how I met Marc.

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And I talked to him,
what he climbed and what he did.

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And it surprised me,
I had never heard of him.

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I see young climbers
everywhere, millions,

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bragging on Instagram:
"Look how good I am."

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The modern world can be tedious,
but Marc belongs to another era.

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He belongs to the seventies or eighties,
to those wild years.

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Very good.

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He's not a boy of his time, is he?

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That's why it's so special,
a blast of fresh air.

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This time I made it work for him.

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I'm the hula hoop guy.

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Tell me about Marc-André.

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I can talk about Marc-André
all day.

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Please, yes.

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My first memory of Marc-André

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It's from when he ran away
of the forest in Squamish,

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barefoot and shirtless.

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He had broken my speed record
on the Great Wall,

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and I thought: "Who is this?"

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The Great Wall is the route
most iconic in Squamish.

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GREAT WALL 305 MT
ALEX HONNOLD RECORD 59 MIN

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I was the fastest on the climb.

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Speed ​​is a game.

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It's not important for climbing,
but I love it.

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And then this village boy,
Whom he didn't know was faster.

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I used to go alone,

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and once I decided to try
How long would it take me?

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I reached the summit
and I took the time,

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It was two or three minutes faster.
than the established record.

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And suddenly,
Alex Honnold came to Squamish

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to recover the record on the Great Wall
that I accidentally snatched from him.

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I said, "God, I'll be quick."

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00:13:14,294 --> 00:13:17,381
It devastated. He did it
in half my time.

200
00:13:17,422 --> 00:13:19,216
I think I did it even faster.

201
00:13:19,258 --> 00:13:21,051
Here I am in the twilight.

202
00:13:22,135 --> 00:13:25,597
And it was enough to persuade Marc
to do it again.

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00:13:27,808 --> 00:13:32,312
Marc is a passionate climber,
but he doesn't care about the awards.

204
00:13:32,354 --> 00:13:34,773
He doesn't care if they know or not
what is climbing.

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00:13:34,815 --> 00:13:37,359
I take to escalation
from the athletic side.

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00:13:37,401 --> 00:13:39,695
I was climbing in the gym,
For me it is a sport.

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00:13:39,736 --> 00:13:43,532
But he cares more,
I don't know if the spiritual part,

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but the experience in the mountains,
the journey,

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00:13:46,618 --> 00:13:48,620
and he just wants to have a good time
while it's there.

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00:13:48,662 --> 00:13:52,082
And I really respect that. It's a...

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00:13:52,124 --> 00:13:56,211
Of course that helps you climb
at that challenging level.

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00:14:01,466 --> 00:14:07,347
The first climb we filmed with Marc
It was solo on the Great Wall.

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00:14:15,564 --> 00:14:20,194
It's always distressing
film someone climbing without a rope.

214
00:14:21,862 --> 00:14:25,449
But for Marc, it was only part
of your daily routine.

215
00:14:26,867 --> 00:14:29,369
When I climb solo,

216
00:14:29,411 --> 00:14:32,122
I don't like to feel like I'm demanding myself.

217
00:14:32,164 --> 00:14:35,459
I don't rock climb for that.

218
00:14:35,501 --> 00:14:39,421
I don't like to feel
I do something intense or scary...

219
00:14:39,463 --> 00:14:40,506
And why do you do it?

220
00:14:41,715 --> 00:14:47,554
It's more like
a fun and casual adventure,

221
00:14:47,596 --> 00:14:49,890
and it's like a walk.

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00:15:09,409 --> 00:15:12,454
When you see it climb,
It is pure magic in the rock.

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It has style, it is not snatched.
It is very precise.

224
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There is not the slightest margin of error

225
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from the minute
where do you start, right?

226
00:16:00,502 --> 00:16:04,506
Seeing Marc climb the wall
so wonderfully,

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00:16:05,716 --> 00:16:09,803
it was clear
that this simple and simple boy

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00:16:09,845 --> 00:16:11,972
He was a master at his craft.

229
00:16:37,998 --> 00:16:40,792
I love watching him climb.

230
00:16:43,629 --> 00:16:48,258
Marc is a very calm climber,
constant and controlled.

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00:16:48,300 --> 00:16:51,220
Hello, Marco, I missed you.

232
00:16:51,261 --> 00:16:54,264
Yes, I missed you too.

233
00:16:55,432 --> 00:16:58,519
I understand that you want to go alone,
Well, I like it too.

234
00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:01,855
I feel very calm and comfortable
alone, too,

235
00:17:01,897 --> 00:17:04,900
so I would also like to go
and climb...

236
00:17:06,108 --> 00:17:08,737
It focuses you directly on the present.

237
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You can't think about anything else.

238
00:17:13,659 --> 00:17:17,204
You act and improvise in the moment.

239
00:17:18,789 --> 00:17:21,625
And you are in control.

240
00:17:30,092 --> 00:17:32,177
When I met Brette,

241
00:17:32,219 --> 00:17:34,972
she certainly had
a big impact on me.

242
00:17:36,265 --> 00:17:40,811
At that time,
I had moved away from mountaineering.

243
00:17:42,563 --> 00:17:45,399
There is an intense party atmosphere
in Squamish.

244
00:17:46,984 --> 00:17:49,820
And I got right into the fun.

245
00:17:49,862 --> 00:17:54,074
At first it was simple experimentation.

246
00:17:54,116 --> 00:17:59,705
It was fun to live
those different states of mind.

247
00:18:01,123 --> 00:18:03,709
Almost what happens when climbing.

248
00:18:03,750 --> 00:18:08,046
My friends like to explore a little,
and I like to explore a lot,

249
00:18:08,088 --> 00:18:10,716
and the same thing happened with the holidays.

250
00:18:10,757 --> 00:18:15,888
Everyone wanted to take a tablet of acid
and have a good time,

251
00:18:15,929 --> 00:18:20,267
and I consumed six tablets
and was gone for 20 hours.

252
00:18:23,854 --> 00:18:28,108
But I got to the point where I felt
that he couldn't live without drugs.

253
00:18:31,111 --> 00:18:33,530
And it is not a very healthy life.

254
00:18:34,656 --> 00:18:36,074
I remember that.

255
00:18:36,116 --> 00:18:38,577
When Brette and I
we started climbing together,

256
00:18:39,286 --> 00:18:40,954
She was fascinated.

257
00:18:42,164 --> 00:18:46,084
Going out with her reminded me
what I had lost,

258
00:18:46,126 --> 00:18:49,880
what it was like to feel encouraged.

259
00:18:54,218 --> 00:18:57,554
- Fun.
- Yes, super fun, right?

260
00:18:58,847 --> 00:19:03,644
I could see how Marc
I could have gone downhill,

261
00:19:03,685 --> 00:19:05,896
to the dark side of addiction.

262
00:19:10,734 --> 00:19:13,445
- Have a good time, guys.
- Thanks, guys.

263
00:19:15,989 --> 00:19:19,868
Marc is interested
have intense experiences

264
00:19:19,910 --> 00:19:21,411
and live to the fullest.

265
00:19:22,538 --> 00:19:27,251
Drugs offer something similar,
but it's not real.

266
00:19:27,292 --> 00:19:32,172
And I think he realized that climbing
It is a true experience.

267
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,133
- Good, Brette.
- It's great.

268
00:19:35,175 --> 00:19:36,927
I know, isn't it beautiful?

269
00:19:38,554 --> 00:19:40,973
- A fun tour.
- Do you see it?

270
00:19:41,598 --> 00:19:43,225
I know that for Marc,

271
00:19:43,267 --> 00:19:46,979
rock climbing in Squamish
It's for fun.

272
00:19:48,772 --> 00:19:54,653
But I know what you're thinking
on the great alpine slopes

273
00:19:54,695 --> 00:19:56,947
of beautiful mountains.

274
00:19:56,989 --> 00:20:01,326
He loves the mountains,
and it has that purpose.

275
00:20:02,035 --> 00:20:05,414
Want to improve what has been done before

276
00:20:05,455 --> 00:20:09,209
to make your contribution
in the history of mountaineering.

277
00:20:15,215 --> 00:20:16,592
mountaineering,

278
00:20:16,633 --> 00:20:20,554
the discipline of climbing
great technical mountains,

279
00:20:20,596 --> 00:20:22,389
It is more than a sport.

280
00:20:22,431 --> 00:20:26,518
It is an ideal that has evolved
throughout the generations.

281
00:20:29,688 --> 00:20:31,899
In the first half of the twentieth century,

282
00:20:31,940 --> 00:20:37,446
large scale expeditions
They used a lot of equipment and resources

283
00:20:37,487 --> 00:20:39,781
to conquer
the highest peaks.

284
00:20:39,823 --> 00:20:43,869
They stand victorious
on the windy roof of the world.

285
00:20:46,246 --> 00:20:47,789
Around the year 1950,

286
00:20:47,831 --> 00:20:51,793
It didn't matter so much anymore to get to the top,

287
00:20:51,835 --> 00:20:53,754
but how you got there.

288
00:20:53,795 --> 00:20:55,255
FRENCH ALPINE CLUB

289
00:20:55,297 --> 00:20:56,924
In the European Alps

290
00:20:56,965 --> 00:21:02,596
there was a revolution in techniques
and the philosophy of mountaineering.

291
00:21:02,638 --> 00:21:05,724
Smaller groups with less equipment

292
00:21:05,766 --> 00:21:09,520
they attacked more dangerous slopes
and steep.

293
00:21:09,561 --> 00:21:13,357
That was the next step.
in the evolution of mountaineering.

294
00:21:13,398 --> 00:21:16,235
Climb more, faster,
and with better style.

295
00:21:16,276 --> 00:21:17,361
BARRY BLANCHARD
ALPINIST

296
00:21:17,402 --> 00:21:21,865
One rope descent system
and backpack on your back, that's all.

297
00:21:21,907 --> 00:21:24,159
And you have to deal with that.

298
00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:28,622
When you read about history
of mountaineering,

299
00:21:28,664 --> 00:21:31,291
climbing was a form of freedom.

300
00:21:33,794 --> 00:21:36,588
It was physical freedom,
but also philosophical.

301
00:21:36,630 --> 00:21:38,298
BERNADETTE MCDONALD
MOUNTAINEER, HISTORIAN

302
00:21:39,007 --> 00:21:43,971
And the greatest expression of freedom
It was solo climbing.

303
00:21:45,222 --> 00:21:49,643
Free, without ties,
purely alone.

304
00:21:51,478 --> 00:21:55,983
High-level solo climbing
It is an expression of art.

305
00:21:56,024 --> 00:21:59,361
The art of surviving
in the most incredible situations.

306
00:21:59,403 --> 00:22:00,988
REINHOLD MESSNER
ALPINIST

307
00:22:01,947 --> 00:22:07,995
Solo mountaineering may be
the purest and most daring form,

308
00:22:09,329 --> 00:22:11,623
but also the most deadly.

309
00:22:11,665 --> 00:22:18,297
Almost half of the climbers
of all times died there,

310
00:22:18,338 --> 00:22:23,677
and that is tragic and difficult to defend.

311
00:22:26,180 --> 00:22:28,599
But that's the philosophy.

312
00:22:29,391 --> 00:22:31,935
To live an adventure,
you need difficulties.

313
00:22:32,728 --> 00:22:34,688
You need danger.

314
00:22:34,730 --> 00:22:40,194
If death were not a possibility,
going there would be nothing.

315
00:22:40,235 --> 00:22:42,196
It would be like a kindergarten.

316
00:22:43,363 --> 00:22:47,409
But not an adventure, and not an art.

317
00:22:54,541 --> 00:22:56,835
CANMORE
ALBERTA, CANADA

318
00:22:56,877 --> 00:22:59,922
A few months after filming in Squamish,

319
00:23:01,131 --> 00:23:03,675
we follow Marc
to the Canadian Rockies,

320
00:23:05,177 --> 00:23:08,722
where had he come
for the famous ice climbing.

321
00:23:09,890 --> 00:23:11,141
At one point,

322
00:23:11,183 --> 00:23:13,769
I always wait for the season
ice climbing.

323
00:23:14,311 --> 00:23:17,439
I'm ready to climb
the frozen waterfalls.

324
00:23:18,899 --> 00:23:23,445
Ice climbing is a crucial skill
in mountaineering.

325
00:23:23,487 --> 00:23:28,742
Over the years, it became a sport
sophisticated technique,

326
00:23:28,784 --> 00:23:32,246
and the ice in Canmore
It's a test track.

327
00:23:34,081 --> 00:23:35,791
When we arrive,

328
00:23:35,832 --> 00:23:38,752
Marc had already been there for a few weeks,

329
00:23:38,794 --> 00:23:42,297
camping outside the town
and climbing

330
00:23:42,339 --> 00:23:44,299
that gave the locals something to talk about.

331
00:23:44,341 --> 00:23:46,385
the first time
I heard about Marc-André,

332
00:23:46,426 --> 00:23:48,178
he lived in a snow cave.

333
00:23:48,220 --> 00:23:49,304
WILL GADD
ICE CLIMBER

334
00:23:50,264 --> 00:23:53,267
And he made those trips alone
all day.

335
00:23:54,434 --> 00:23:58,063
I said: "Here is someone tenacious
and looking for challenges

336
00:23:58,105 --> 00:24:01,024
that almost no one knows."

337
00:24:08,824 --> 00:24:13,704
Solo ice climbing
It's not something that many do.

338
00:24:15,539 --> 00:24:17,040
Scales on frozen water,

339
00:24:19,668 --> 00:24:22,087
with just centimeters
of your tools

340
00:24:22,129 --> 00:24:24,464
and crampons inside the ice.

341
00:24:30,762 --> 00:24:32,681
It is a very ephemeral medium.

342
00:24:37,269 --> 00:24:40,522
You scale something that wasn't there
a few weeks before

343
00:24:40,564 --> 00:24:42,774
and maybe he won't be there the next day,

344
00:24:42,816 --> 00:24:44,318
RAPHAEL SLAWINSKI
ICE CLIMBER

345
00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:46,612
If you climb something that decides to collapse.

346
00:24:51,325 --> 00:24:53,785
People think that free climbing
alone it's crazy,

347
00:24:53,827 --> 00:24:55,329
but I do it on rock.

348
00:24:55,370 --> 00:24:58,040
It is safe in many ways.
The medium is very solid.

349
00:24:59,291 --> 00:25:02,503
And then I see Marc-André
do it in ice and snow,

350
00:25:03,587 --> 00:25:07,424
and shows all his experience
on various types of terrain.

351
00:25:13,388 --> 00:25:15,724
In all my years climbing,

352
00:25:15,766 --> 00:25:21,146
I don't think I've ever seen a climber.
as passionate as Marc-André.

353
00:25:21,188 --> 00:25:22,397
JON WALSH
ALPINIST

354
00:25:26,944 --> 00:25:30,531
has a concentration
that no one else seems to have.

355
00:25:34,451 --> 00:25:36,286
Nothing disturbs him.

356
00:26:02,396 --> 00:26:07,192
Marc not only climbs ice alone,
but also combined routes.

357
00:26:10,112 --> 00:26:12,364
Mixed climbing consists

358
00:26:12,406 --> 00:26:16,451
where the ice doesn't have to be
fully formed to climb it.

359
00:26:17,786 --> 00:26:21,206
Instead of burying the peaks
on the ice,

360
00:26:21,248 --> 00:26:24,168
you just insert them
on those little edges in the rock.

361
00:26:25,419 --> 00:26:28,297
That adds insecurity.

362
00:26:50,694 --> 00:26:56,283
Filming Marc on that unsafe terrain
It was terrifying.

363
00:27:00,662 --> 00:27:03,916
But no he couldn't have been
calmer.

364
00:27:03,957 --> 00:27:05,751
Shit, dude.

365
00:27:06,877 --> 00:27:09,463
Then it went up another level.

366
00:27:09,505 --> 00:27:14,134
when climbing solo
the famous Stanley massif.

367
00:27:14,176 --> 00:27:15,385
MOUNT STANLEY

368
00:27:15,427 --> 00:27:19,556
Mount Stanley is the center
of mixed climbing in the Rockies.

369
00:27:20,641 --> 00:27:23,101
The ice is not one hundred percent even.

370
00:27:23,143 --> 00:27:27,481
Forms drops, columns
and daggers suspended.

371
00:27:27,523 --> 00:27:32,069
You have to climb steep rock
and outstanding at getting to the ice.

372
00:27:33,987 --> 00:27:37,157
And that makes climbing
an interesting experience.

373
00:27:43,038 --> 00:27:45,374
There is a high degree of skill

374
00:27:45,415 --> 00:27:50,254
necessary in this equation
combined climbing.

375
00:27:50,295 --> 00:27:54,424
The beak of the ice ax can get stuck
even in the smallest edges.

376
00:28:01,723 --> 00:28:04,852
But you don't dare to carry the ice ax
to the bottom.

377
00:28:06,353 --> 00:28:09,898
You have to evaluate well and try.

378
00:28:13,569 --> 00:28:17,698
The difference between
secure the tip well to hold

379
00:28:17,739 --> 00:28:22,828
and let the tip break free and jump,
It's very, very small.

380
00:28:33,088 --> 00:28:36,884
I don't think I've ever seen anyone
climbing with tools and without gloves,

381
00:28:38,802 --> 00:28:41,013
at extreme temperatures,
and be able to improvise

382
00:28:41,054 --> 00:28:44,308
between taking from the bare rock
and use ice tools.

383
00:28:45,893 --> 00:28:48,770
He combines all these
unconventional tactics.

384
00:31:19,087 --> 00:31:23,425
Marc on Mount Stanley
alone generates: "Wow,

385
00:31:23,467 --> 00:31:26,678
It hadn't occurred to me,
not even in my wildest dreams."

386
00:31:28,430 --> 00:31:32,351
- How was it?
- Very funny. Yes.

387
00:31:32,392 --> 00:31:34,937
- Was it scary?
- No, not really.

388
00:31:37,105 --> 00:31:42,402
- Like any excursion?
- A very good excursion. Yes.

389
00:31:42,444 --> 00:31:45,030
Without a doubt a memorable ride.

390
00:31:45,072 --> 00:31:49,868
Marc-André doing those routes
alone was amazing.

391
00:31:49,910 --> 00:31:52,371
I think that's where I sat
and I exclaimed, "Wow!

392
00:31:53,038 --> 00:31:54,915
"Who is this guy?"

393
00:32:06,593 --> 00:32:09,096
I grew up near a town
called Chilliwack.

394
00:32:09,137 --> 00:32:10,681
CHILLIWACK
BRITISH COLUMBIA

395
00:32:10,722 --> 00:32:16,103
Chilliwack makes you numb
to the stench of cow dung,

396
00:32:16,144 --> 00:32:18,689
but it is surrounded
of beautiful mountains.

397
00:32:19,648 --> 00:32:22,943
When we were children,
my father works in construction

398
00:32:22,985 --> 00:32:25,904
and my mother was a waitress in restaurants.

399
00:32:25,946 --> 00:32:28,782
- Do you have a close relationship with her?
- Yes.

400
00:32:29,241 --> 00:32:33,662
My mother influenced me a lot,
without a doubt.

401
00:32:33,704 --> 00:32:35,038
It's hard to explain.

402
00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:38,834
We have been very good friends
all my life.

403
00:32:38,876 --> 00:32:41,003
Marc-André went through difficult things
when I was a child.

404
00:32:41,044 --> 00:32:42,546
MICHELLE KUIPERS
MARC'S MOTHER

405
00:32:42,588 --> 00:32:44,715
Without a doubt he did not come to this world

406
00:32:44,756 --> 00:32:46,800
like a peg ready to fit
in a structure.

407
00:32:47,467 --> 00:32:50,804
He was diagnosed with ADHD.

408
00:32:50,846 --> 00:32:53,098
He had a hard time staying still.

409
00:32:53,140 --> 00:32:58,812
and it didn't fit much
in the typical educational system.

410
00:32:58,854 --> 00:33:01,940
Kindergarten was great,
that first year.

411
00:33:01,982 --> 00:33:07,571
You build things with blocks, you paint,
and you do that kind of thing.

412
00:33:07,613 --> 00:33:11,575
But when he started first grade,
and we had to sit on chairs,

413
00:33:11,617 --> 00:33:13,869
It became hell for me.

414
00:33:15,162 --> 00:33:18,165
He was a child with so much energy,
he loved to learn,

415
00:33:18,207 --> 00:33:22,878
and lost the pleasure of learning,
of being at school.

416
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:27,424
So I decided to homeschool him.
for a while.

417
00:33:27,466 --> 00:33:32,304
Part of the day we did homework.
We used to finish by lunch.

418
00:33:32,346 --> 00:33:34,556
Then we did fun things together,

419
00:33:34,598 --> 00:33:37,809
how to explore the forest
and identify plants,

420
00:33:37,851 --> 00:33:40,687
instead of always sitting
behind a desk.

421
00:33:40,729 --> 00:33:44,399
If they don't let go of the reins
to have your own adventures,

422
00:33:44,441 --> 00:33:46,985
You never really learn who you are,

423
00:33:47,027 --> 00:33:49,696
what are your strengths or weaknesses,

424
00:33:49,738 --> 00:33:52,574
and you never learn what you are capable of.

425
00:33:53,534 --> 00:33:57,204
She wanted me to find out
what did you want to do,

426
00:33:57,246 --> 00:34:01,667
instead of deciding what I should do.

427
00:34:01,708 --> 00:34:03,836
We didn't have two cents,

428
00:34:03,877 --> 00:34:07,756
but the books were not missing,
and Marc-André was a voracious reader.

429
00:34:09,257 --> 00:34:12,719
The adventure captivated him,

430
00:34:12,761 --> 00:34:15,054
so the house was full
of those types of books.

431
00:34:15,429 --> 00:34:18,391
And the more interested he became in them,
I gave him more books.

432
00:34:18,433 --> 00:34:20,811
I must have been eight years old.

433
00:34:20,853 --> 00:34:26,024
There was a huge and great book
with photos and stories of expeditions.

434
00:34:26,065 --> 00:34:27,860
LIFE, NATURE COLLECTION
THE MOUNTAINS

435
00:34:27,900 --> 00:34:31,237
And the photos of mountains
They always attracted me.

436
00:34:33,072 --> 00:34:36,243
See images of snow-capped peaks,

437
00:34:36,284 --> 00:34:39,288
guys with ice axes trying to climb,

438
00:34:39,329 --> 00:34:40,581
It just seemed to me...

439
00:34:41,831 --> 00:34:43,208
bold.

440
00:34:43,250 --> 00:34:47,880
All those climbers from the past
they inspired me,

441
00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:49,547
and I wanted to be part of that.

442
00:34:50,966 --> 00:34:53,760
Continue the tradition.

443
00:34:57,639 --> 00:35:00,350
At first, I only used
jeans and sports shoes,

444
00:35:00,392 --> 00:35:02,561
I had granola bars
in the pocket.

445
00:35:02,603 --> 00:35:06,273
Always off the trail,
without rope or anything.

446
00:35:07,774 --> 00:35:11,737
Sometimes I worried
that something could happen to him,

447
00:35:11,778 --> 00:35:14,156
but he had great orientation,

448
00:35:14,198 --> 00:35:17,117
and he had a lot of confidence in himself
when I was outside.

449
00:35:18,368 --> 00:35:22,122
After some years
to walk there alone,

450
00:35:22,164 --> 00:35:25,459
naturally I passed
to climbing with technique.

451
00:35:26,251 --> 00:35:28,754
When I'm in the mountains
on a great adventure,

452
00:35:28,795 --> 00:35:30,631
life is so incredibly simple.

453
00:35:32,216 --> 00:35:33,926
I am totally focused.

454
00:35:33,967 --> 00:35:38,222
I don't feel that mental restlessness
or that kind of thing.

455
00:35:40,307 --> 00:35:45,062
And clarity invades me,
calm and control.

456
00:35:46,772 --> 00:35:51,193
Everything was put in order during
that part of my life where I was climbing.

457
00:35:51,235 --> 00:35:54,238
But I went back to school
for secondary school.

458
00:35:55,864 --> 00:35:59,826
Had to go back to school
to finish the official program.

459
00:35:59,868 --> 00:36:01,995
For him that was like a prison.

460
00:36:02,579 --> 00:36:03,664
Aid!

461
00:36:03,705 --> 00:36:08,877
I never looked for problems,
but I always ended up finding them.

462
00:36:08,919 --> 00:36:10,587
Firecrackers explode!

463
00:36:18,720 --> 00:36:19,888
INJURED MAN WITH KNIFE

464
00:36:19,930 --> 00:36:21,348
A FILM OF
MARC-ANDRÉ LECLERC

465
00:36:23,851 --> 00:36:28,814
It was clear that he would never have one
normal life or a job with fixed hours.

466
00:36:28,856 --> 00:36:31,233
He wasn't born for that.

467
00:36:31,275 --> 00:36:35,696
Hello, I'm Marc-André Joseph Leclerc.
Maybe they know me.

468
00:36:35,737 --> 00:36:38,699
I'm climbing
the largest slopes in the world.

469
00:36:38,740 --> 00:36:43,412
When he graduated, at 16,
He made money from construction.

470
00:36:43,453 --> 00:36:47,583
So I didn't have a plan yet.
or firm purpose.

471
00:36:47,624 --> 00:36:51,170
I told him: "If you want to continue
with this climbing,

472
00:36:51,211 --> 00:36:52,671
"What are you waiting for?"

473
00:36:53,922 --> 00:36:58,302
And there it was. Marc-André found
the freedom to be himself.

474
00:36:58,343 --> 00:37:02,139
He's going to go as far as he wants to.

475
00:37:03,974 --> 00:37:06,768
- Ready!
- Yes, yes.

476
00:37:07,269 --> 00:37:09,855
- Can you be expressionless...?
- I'll look like a fool.

477
00:37:09,897 --> 00:37:11,231
Smile.

478
00:37:13,483 --> 00:37:17,196
Marc's plan
to be a full-time climber

479
00:37:17,237 --> 00:37:19,239
began to materialize.

480
00:37:20,449 --> 00:37:23,368
recently got
his first sponsorship.

481
00:37:24,536 --> 00:37:28,081
And now we were here,
making a movie about him.

482
00:37:28,123 --> 00:37:30,334
- Serious.
- Very serious?

483
00:37:30,375 --> 00:37:32,002
Very serious, like in the passport.

484
00:37:33,170 --> 00:37:36,507
But Marc had little patience
to pose.

485
00:37:37,633 --> 00:37:39,510
And he was getting restless.

486
00:37:41,011 --> 00:37:45,516
While we were planning the next shot,
Marc suddenly disappeared

487
00:37:47,976 --> 00:37:49,895
to go who knows where.

488
00:37:54,066 --> 00:37:57,361
We even bought him a cell phone.
to stay connected...

489
00:37:57,778 --> 00:37:59,488
- I'm sorry.
- ...but he didn't respond.

490
00:37:59,530 --> 00:38:02,574
The person you are trying to contact
You do not have the message box active.

491
00:38:02,616 --> 00:38:05,869
It is a very frustrating situation.

492
00:38:05,911 --> 00:38:08,038
Marc must be
in some remote place.

493
00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:10,916
He disappears and spends months without calling us,

494
00:38:10,958 --> 00:38:13,710
and has us all waiting.

495
00:38:13,752 --> 00:38:16,046
My bag is ready.
We're all already packed.

496
00:38:16,088 --> 00:38:18,298
If Marc doesn't communicate,
Maybe we won't do the filming.

497
00:38:18,841 --> 00:38:22,344
We started to see it on social networks
from other climbers.

498
00:38:22,386 --> 00:38:24,054
CRASH THOSE BEERS

499
00:38:24,096 --> 00:38:28,100
It's the sixth day on the slope
and the fifth of the storm.

500
00:38:28,141 --> 00:38:30,269
Brette posted these videos.

501
00:38:30,310 --> 00:38:33,897
- What are you doing, Marc?
- A slot for skis,

502
00:38:33,939 --> 00:38:36,733
to take Brette off the cliff.

503
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:41,655
We saw that they had gone
to Baffin Island.

504
00:38:41,697 --> 00:38:43,782
This is incredible.

505
00:38:45,325 --> 00:38:47,911
Then Marc was in Scotland.

506
00:38:47,953 --> 00:38:52,332
Where he made many climbs alone,
as if they were golf holes.

507
00:38:52,374 --> 00:38:54,209
Very good. Very well, then.

508
00:38:54,251 --> 00:38:55,961
He's on a good streak.

509
00:38:56,879 --> 00:38:58,964
Climb one route after another.

510
00:39:01,633 --> 00:39:03,927
He's just getting carried away.

511
00:39:04,344 --> 00:39:06,138
Marc has a fire inside him.

512
00:39:06,180 --> 00:39:08,140
A real fire burning.

513
00:39:08,182 --> 00:39:10,851
Once,
I was climbing in South America,

514
00:39:10,893 --> 00:39:14,855
and we saw a small spot
on a wall of more than 1200 meters.

515
00:39:14,897 --> 00:39:18,317
We looked and said:
"That's Marc-André, alone,

516
00:39:18,358 --> 00:39:20,235
on a tremendous journey to the heights".

517
00:39:20,277 --> 00:39:23,447
I thought, "This is crazy.
"I can't believe I'm doing it alone."

518
00:39:23,488 --> 00:39:25,991
MARC-ANDRÉ LEFT US MUTE!
WITH AN EPIC CLIMB!

519
00:39:26,033 --> 00:39:29,244
Finally, we learned that Marc
had returned to Canada,

520
00:39:29,286 --> 00:39:31,788
and was climbing in a very remote place.

521
00:39:33,248 --> 00:39:36,710
Desperate, I called a filmmaker
of the area

522
00:39:36,752 --> 00:39:40,422
to go to that remote place
to look for Marc.

523
00:39:40,464 --> 00:39:41,507
Sender Films,

524
00:39:41,548 --> 00:39:44,009
they say they have lost
to his star climber.

525
00:39:45,052 --> 00:39:49,681
He disappeared, they can't contact him.

526
00:39:49,723 --> 00:39:53,101
They want me to go see
If I can find it.

527
00:39:57,272 --> 00:40:02,611
He went there, and there was Marc
with Brette and a friend.

528
00:40:02,653 --> 00:40:06,031
And they were doing
his first promotions

529
00:40:06,073 --> 00:40:08,033
on those giant slopes,

530
00:40:09,952 --> 00:40:12,496
living unforgettable moments.

531
00:40:15,415 --> 00:40:16,959
Good, Brette.

532
00:40:24,591 --> 00:40:25,717
I fall!

533
00:40:27,970 --> 00:40:32,099
- Marco, how is everything going down there?
- Brilliant.

534
00:40:34,434 --> 00:40:35,435
Here we go.

535
00:40:39,690 --> 00:40:42,609
I think it's great
Let them make a movie about Marc.

536
00:40:43,735 --> 00:40:48,073
But honestly,
He's not interested in movies.

537
00:40:48,115 --> 00:40:50,450
You will not invest time or energy

538
00:40:51,451 --> 00:40:55,163
on doing your own major climbing
for the world.

539
00:40:56,999 --> 00:40:59,209
He's too busy climbing.

540
00:41:03,755 --> 00:41:05,591
Incredible, the weather.

541
00:41:06,884 --> 00:41:10,470
He is different from any climber
that we have known.

542
00:41:11,638 --> 00:41:14,308
Does not share any information
with us.

543
00:41:14,933 --> 00:41:19,104
It's kind of frustrating
but very noble at the same time.

544
00:41:20,314 --> 00:41:24,860
Marc follows his own path.
He is a free spirit.

545
00:41:24,902 --> 00:41:27,613
And it can be difficult to project like that.

546
00:41:27,654 --> 00:41:30,741
In a strange way, it generates tenderness.

547
00:41:30,782 --> 00:41:32,492
He doesn't give a shit.

548
00:41:34,119 --> 00:41:37,331
All this time looking for Marc,

549
00:41:37,372 --> 00:41:41,001
It was obvious that he was preparing
for something big.

550
00:41:42,336 --> 00:41:45,172
But we had no idea what it would be.

551
00:41:46,507 --> 00:41:48,509
Then the news came.

552
00:41:49,510 --> 00:41:51,261
MARC-ANDRÉ LECLERC ESCALA
THE EMPEROR

553
00:41:51,303 --> 00:41:57,100
His first solo climb
from the Emperor slope of Mount Robson.

554
00:41:57,142 --> 00:41:58,227
SOLITARY ON MOUNT ROBSON

555
00:41:58,268 --> 00:42:00,604
It shocked the mountaineering environment.

556
00:42:00,646 --> 00:42:03,315
When I found out that Marc
I had climbed it alone,

557
00:42:03,357 --> 00:42:07,110
I was one of those who said: "Shit!
Marc made the Emperor slope."

558
00:42:07,152 --> 00:42:08,487
JIM ELZINGA
ALPINIST

559
00:42:08,529 --> 00:42:12,491
Without a doubt the solo climb
most impressive and extraordinary

560
00:42:12,533 --> 00:42:15,536
of all those that have been made
in North America.

561
00:42:19,206 --> 00:42:22,209
Robson is the king.

562
00:42:22,251 --> 00:42:25,170
It is the highest mountain
of the Canadian Rockies.

563
00:42:27,256 --> 00:42:30,884
It's like three El Caps together.

564
00:42:30,926 --> 00:42:32,469
The Robson is not Yosemite.

565
00:42:34,429 --> 00:42:39,101
It has glaciation, cracks,
has avalanches.

566
00:42:40,060 --> 00:42:44,398
Scales on rock, ice and snow,
all at the same time.

567
00:42:45,065 --> 00:42:49,862
It is a mythical and legendary objective,
even with rope.

568
00:42:53,115 --> 00:42:57,911
It was frustrating for me that Marc
I would have made this historic ascent

569
00:42:57,953 --> 00:43:00,831
and it didn't even include us
in your plan.

570
00:43:03,166 --> 00:43:07,671
We finally located Marc
and we asked him the reason.

571
00:43:07,713 --> 00:43:10,048
When they contacted me
to make the movie

572
00:43:10,090 --> 00:43:11,800
It seemed like a great experience,

573
00:43:11,842 --> 00:43:16,180
but I never allowed them to come to film
one of my real solos.

574
00:43:16,221 --> 00:43:17,306
Why not?

575
00:43:17,347 --> 00:43:21,226
Because it wouldn't be alone
if there was someone there.

576
00:43:22,811 --> 00:43:27,441
Yeah. I mean, I think... that's true.

577
00:43:27,482 --> 00:43:31,570
The experience is very different
if someone is with you.

578
00:43:31,612 --> 00:43:33,614
Even if they don't help you.

579
00:43:35,157 --> 00:43:39,828
It wouldn't be even remotely
the adventure I was looking for.

580
00:43:39,870 --> 00:43:43,081
I was only interested
if he did it totally alone.

581
00:43:43,123 --> 00:43:46,460
And if I did,
I could come back to film.

582
00:43:47,961 --> 00:43:53,800
I had a really great experience.
Now I'm ready to share it.

583
00:43:56,929 --> 00:44:01,183
So Marc invited us to film
on Mount Robson...

584
00:44:01,225 --> 00:44:02,809
MOUNT ROBSON PARK

585
00:44:02,851 --> 00:44:08,649
...to see first hand
how he did solo mountaineering.

586
00:44:13,529 --> 00:44:16,323
For me, the best climbs

587
00:44:16,365 --> 00:44:19,535
are when you climb the mountain with nothing

588
00:44:19,576 --> 00:44:23,080
except your ability to climb.
That's all.

589
00:44:27,668 --> 00:44:32,005
be alone there,
immersed in your environment,

590
00:44:33,465 --> 00:44:36,301
with the sound of rustling leaves,

591
00:44:37,803 --> 00:44:40,180
the wind whipping the ridge...

592
00:44:42,266 --> 00:44:45,185
the aura that the mountain has.

593
00:44:47,855 --> 00:44:52,317
In his great solo ascents,
Marc follows basic rules.

594
00:44:53,777 --> 00:44:56,655
Does not have communication devices

595
00:44:56,697 --> 00:45:00,701
that could save your life,
if problems arise.

596
00:45:02,703 --> 00:45:04,705
And scale in situ,

597
00:45:04,746 --> 00:45:07,791
that is, it has never been
in the mountains before

598
00:45:07,833 --> 00:45:10,210
nor rehearsed the route.

599
00:45:12,004 --> 00:45:14,923
You have to solve it in the moment.

600
00:45:18,468 --> 00:45:22,890
The gold standard of mountaineering
It is in situ and alone.

601
00:45:22,931 --> 00:45:28,395
The climber goes up the mountain
without prior knowledge about it,

602
00:45:28,437 --> 00:45:31,023
scale only.

603
00:45:35,360 --> 00:45:39,448
But that's for the best climbers
and on his best days.

604
00:45:39,489 --> 00:45:40,908
It's a deadly game.

605
00:45:43,535 --> 00:45:46,246
The goal is to scale
in the safest way possible.

606
00:45:47,331 --> 00:45:49,541
But when you enter the mountains,

607
00:45:51,627 --> 00:45:53,795
and there are things that are beyond your control,

608
00:45:56,840 --> 00:45:58,759
you can control what you are doing,

609
00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,011
but not what the mountain does.

610
00:46:01,053 --> 00:46:04,306
And I think that is, by far,
the greatest danger.

611
00:46:04,348 --> 00:46:07,893
The mountains around you are alive
and you are at their mercy.

612
00:46:09,811 --> 00:46:11,897
You must think about the avalanches,

613
00:46:12,856 --> 00:46:15,359
ice blocks that can fall.

614
00:46:16,318 --> 00:46:20,572
You must know how to interpret the signs
that the mountains send.

615
00:46:22,324 --> 00:46:27,412
The state of the snow, ice,
when will there be sun,

616
00:46:27,454 --> 00:46:31,124
What will the weather be like?
It's like a game of chess.

617
00:46:32,876 --> 00:46:34,753
You have a supreme goal,

618
00:46:34,795 --> 00:46:38,173
but unpredictable things happen.

619
00:46:46,807 --> 00:46:51,645
I think the interaction
with the environment, with the mountain,

620
00:46:51,687 --> 00:46:56,024
largely explains why
mountaineering is so interesting.

621
00:46:58,151 --> 00:47:01,822
And if you're smart
and you do what you have to do,

622
00:47:01,864 --> 00:47:07,452
you can, sometimes against all odds,
achieve a great climb.

623
00:47:17,129 --> 00:47:18,714
One of the greatest things

624
00:47:18,755 --> 00:47:22,301
What can a human being feel?
It's feeling so small

625
00:47:23,468 --> 00:47:25,512
in such a big world.

626
00:47:40,861 --> 00:47:44,448
Move freely through the mountains

627
00:47:44,489 --> 00:47:47,201
It's the closest thing you'll feel
as a climber

628
00:47:47,242 --> 00:47:51,288
to spread wings
and feel totally free.

629
00:47:55,042 --> 00:47:58,462
Absolutely awake and alive.

630
00:47:59,296 --> 00:48:03,217
Receiving any impulse that appears

631
00:48:03,258 --> 00:48:06,011
and reacting to it almost by instinct.

632
00:48:08,347 --> 00:48:10,057
It is a wonderful dance.

633
00:48:32,246 --> 00:48:36,667
Marc does things
that people believed were impossible.

634
00:48:36,708 --> 00:48:39,545
He is redefining the possible.

635
00:48:39,586 --> 00:48:42,005
This is the evolution of mountaineering.

636
00:48:42,047 --> 00:48:44,174
And it's happening now, right here,

637
00:48:44,216 --> 00:48:46,218
and it's happening with this boy.

638
00:48:57,312 --> 00:49:02,025
But I feel sincere concern
by Marc-André,

639
00:49:02,067 --> 00:49:06,488
and for anyone who wants to transfer
what he achieved alone.

640
00:49:06,530 --> 00:49:11,535
The place where he is
It is a finite and special place,

641
00:49:11,577 --> 00:49:13,745
and incredibly risky.

642
00:49:14,997 --> 00:49:18,584
Marc-André is playing
with difficult cards.

643
00:49:18,625 --> 00:49:23,964
He moves very to the limit
in very large environments.

644
00:49:24,006 --> 00:49:27,092
I think you can do that
and may it go well,

645
00:49:27,134 --> 00:49:28,760
but sooner or later...

646
00:49:29,887 --> 00:49:31,263
that can fail.

647
00:49:31,305 --> 00:49:34,975
Achieve recognition
for his solo climbs,

648
00:49:35,017 --> 00:49:39,062
and all that is wonderful for him,
and it's great to hear about it,

649
00:49:39,104 --> 00:49:41,190
read about it and observe it.

650
00:49:43,233 --> 00:49:47,279
Maybe it's just an age thing.

651
00:49:47,321 --> 00:49:52,701
But I find it a little scary,
and I just hope he's careful.

652
00:49:52,743 --> 00:49:57,664
It feels very comfortable
in mountainous terrain.

653
00:49:57,706 --> 00:50:02,544
sometimes I wonder
if you are not too comfortable.

654
00:50:02,586 --> 00:50:06,715
It can be said that it is
something crazy and irresponsible

655
00:50:06,757 --> 00:50:12,012
expose yourself to that risk. So that?

656
00:50:12,471 --> 00:50:13,764
Pleasure, glory?

657
00:50:13,805 --> 00:50:16,683
Free solo climbing
It has a great emotional charge,

658
00:50:16,725 --> 00:50:18,894
and generates strong reactions in everyone.

659
00:50:18,936 --> 00:50:21,438
If you fall and die,
everyone thinks you're a fool,

660
00:50:21,480 --> 00:50:25,025
you are risky, you are daring,
They say: "What an idiot."

661
00:50:25,067 --> 00:50:27,819
If it goes well for you,
Everyone considers you a great hero.

662
00:50:27,861 --> 00:50:29,655
But you are always the same person.

663
00:50:33,659 --> 00:50:35,994
People are terrified
solo climbing.

664
00:50:36,036 --> 00:50:38,747
"It is an unacceptable risk.
They shouldn't do it.

665
00:50:38,789 --> 00:50:41,041
What example is given with this?"

666
00:50:41,708 --> 00:50:44,002
I know it's dangerous.

667
00:50:44,044 --> 00:50:48,131
I'm not delirious thinking that it's not dangerous,

668
00:50:48,173 --> 00:50:55,305
but maybe I have a different opinion
Of all things, I think so.

669
00:50:55,347 --> 00:50:57,516
For me, it is not an unacceptable risk.

670
00:50:58,433 --> 00:51:01,562
I'm still so young.
There are so many things I want to do.

671
00:51:03,105 --> 00:51:06,066
I've thought about that
Regarding our own lives,

672
00:51:06,108 --> 00:51:08,151
because we expose ourselves to situations

673
00:51:08,193 --> 00:51:10,487
where anything can happen.

674
00:51:10,529 --> 00:51:13,073
an avalanche
It can drag you away unexpectedly.

675
00:51:13,115 --> 00:51:15,117
The more you expose yourself to that situation,

676
00:51:15,158 --> 00:51:17,536
the more likely it is to occur.

677
00:51:17,578 --> 00:51:23,250
And yes, sometimes I worry about the amount of
solo climbs you want to do.

678
00:51:24,168 --> 00:51:28,714
Has an insatiable desire to do more
and at an extreme level.

679
00:51:29,923 --> 00:51:33,343
I worry about him, of course.

680
00:51:45,189 --> 00:51:49,359
A few months after Mount Robson,
Marc left for Patagonia,

681
00:51:50,110 --> 00:51:53,113
at the southern tip of South America.

682
00:51:54,364 --> 00:51:58,452
His goal was a promotion
never done before.

683
00:51:58,493 --> 00:52:05,167
A solo winter climb
to Egger Tower, the most difficult peak.

684
00:52:06,335 --> 00:52:08,670
The rugged peaks of Patagonia

685
00:52:08,712 --> 00:52:12,466
They are a testing ground.
for experienced mountaineers,

686
00:52:12,508 --> 00:52:15,636
that meet every summer
in the town of El Chaltén.

687
00:52:17,387 --> 00:52:22,267
But in winter, terrible storms
they hit the mountains

688
00:52:22,309 --> 00:52:25,145
and El Chaltén is a ghost town.

689
00:52:31,318 --> 00:52:35,822
Climb solo
in the winter of Patagonia...

690
00:52:35,864 --> 00:52:37,991
He is certainly raising the bar.

691
00:52:38,033 --> 00:52:42,120
Patagonia in winter!
It's something overwhelming.

692
00:52:42,162 --> 00:52:43,956
The weather is horrible.

693
00:52:43,997 --> 00:52:45,123
"THE WORST CLIMATE IN THE WORLD"

694
00:52:45,165 --> 00:52:46,917
There is a high risk of avalanches.

695
00:52:46,959 --> 00:52:49,503
Make an upload
to the Egger Tower in situ.

696
00:52:49,545 --> 00:52:52,756
Egger Tower is a coveted peak,

697
00:52:52,798 --> 00:52:56,093
and for many
It is the most difficult in America.

698
00:52:57,261 --> 00:52:59,555
They ask me:
"Aren't you worried that he won't come back?"

699
00:52:59,596 --> 00:53:00,931
I just nod.

700
00:53:01,640 --> 00:53:04,810
"Marc will be back.
"He has a sixth sense."

701
00:53:09,940 --> 00:53:14,528
For a long time, Marc has dreamed
with doing the Egger Tower alone.

702
00:53:14,570 --> 00:53:17,364
And I didn't want a big film crew.

703
00:53:18,407 --> 00:53:22,327
But this time,
agreed to bring a cameraman,

704
00:53:22,369 --> 00:53:25,455
fellow climber, Austin Siadak.

705
00:53:25,497 --> 00:53:27,708
I'll try to keep up with you,

706
00:53:27,749 --> 00:53:30,085
stick to it and document everything
as best as I can.

707
00:53:30,794 --> 00:53:33,046
I don't want to disturb your experience.

708
00:53:33,088 --> 00:53:34,464
HOSTEL

709
00:53:34,506 --> 00:53:37,676
Austin accompanied Marc in town

710
00:53:37,718 --> 00:53:41,221
and filmed the climbs
in the lowest parts of the route.

711
00:53:43,599 --> 00:53:47,603
But in the effort towards the top,
Marc would go up alone

712
00:53:47,644 --> 00:53:52,274
with a small camera to capture
what I could in real time.

713
00:53:53,233 --> 00:53:55,444
Yes, this is Egger Tower.

714
00:53:57,905 --> 00:54:03,243
I have thought about this promotion
for the best time of the year.

715
00:54:03,911 --> 00:54:06,205
If there is ice, it would be faster

716
00:54:06,246 --> 00:54:09,583
go up that ravine
to the block of ice and...

717
00:54:09,625 --> 00:54:13,253
Egger Tower is a rock pillar
of a thousand meters

718
00:54:13,295 --> 00:54:17,341
rising from the glacier
with a ridge of ice in the center.

719
00:54:17,382 --> 00:54:23,472
It's not always the perfect rock
and is covered in ice at the tip.

720
00:54:24,306 --> 00:54:26,600
When I looked at the image I said:

721
00:54:26,642 --> 00:54:30,771
"This is mathematically possible."

722
00:54:31,897 --> 00:54:34,775
But at the same time,
It seemed challenging to do so.

723
00:54:34,816 --> 00:54:38,111
Like: "This is already another level."

724
00:54:39,279 --> 00:54:42,533
I spent much of last year
doing things

725
00:54:42,574 --> 00:54:44,493
to prepare for this climb.

726
00:54:44,535 --> 00:54:47,913
Lots of combined ascent,
and a lot on the ice,

727
00:54:47,955 --> 00:54:50,249
and then the Emperador slope.

728
00:54:50,290 --> 00:54:55,212
Everything was a preparation,
because I was thinking about Egger.

729
00:54:59,132 --> 00:55:01,844
I'm going to check climate models.

730
00:55:01,885 --> 00:55:05,055
I check these possible models
several times a day.

731
00:55:05,097 --> 00:55:08,600
Friday morning, it's windy,
with rain

732
00:55:10,811 --> 00:55:14,982
When the lines meet,
It means a lot of wind.

733
00:55:16,441 --> 00:55:19,278
At this moment,
the peaks are being whipped.

734
00:55:19,319 --> 00:55:22,990
We have to stay in town
to wait for the weather to change.

735
00:55:25,033 --> 00:55:27,828
Coming here alone,
in winter time,

736
00:55:29,329 --> 00:55:32,583
you are immersed
in the life of El Chaltén.

737
00:55:35,335 --> 00:55:37,296
You interact with the locals.

738
00:55:37,337 --> 00:55:40,549
And you become part of their family.

739
00:55:44,136 --> 00:55:48,015
Yes, that's really part of it.
of the whole experience.

740
00:56:23,008 --> 00:56:26,803
HUGO ACOSTA
CLIMBER, HOSTEL OWNER

741
00:56:51,620 --> 00:56:53,914
I'm checking the latest meteogram.

742
00:56:54,790 --> 00:56:57,876
You can see it well. Tuesday, Wednesday.

743
00:56:57,918 --> 00:57:00,712
- What does it mean?
- That we are going to climb.

744
00:57:07,135 --> 00:57:09,429
The question of going solo
in these mountains

745
00:57:09,471 --> 00:57:11,682
is the amount of things
what to wear

746
00:57:11,723 --> 00:57:13,225
It's very heavy.

747
00:57:13,267 --> 00:57:15,269
You have to carry everything on your back

748
00:57:15,310 --> 00:57:17,187
and walk with that weight.

749
00:57:17,229 --> 00:57:21,275
This bag is all open.
I closed it with tape.

750
00:57:21,316 --> 00:57:24,736
I took out half the insulation.
And it was lighter.

751
00:57:25,946 --> 00:57:27,906
It's even more superlight.

752
00:57:29,658 --> 00:57:33,328
What diet do you have to prepare
For the mountains, Marc?

753
00:57:34,037 --> 00:57:39,126
Well, I don't want to sound gloomy...
or fatalistic,

754
00:57:39,168 --> 00:57:44,298
but it is undeniable
that every time you go to the mountains

755
00:57:44,339 --> 00:57:46,842
It could be your last time,

756
00:57:46,884 --> 00:57:50,971
so you have to value
all the things you love.

757
00:57:55,058 --> 00:57:57,686
The dinner you would like
that it was the last,

758
00:57:57,728 --> 00:57:59,229
you have to eat it.

759
00:58:00,814 --> 00:58:04,401
Well, you go to the mountains.

760
00:58:06,612 --> 00:58:08,030
Yeah.

761
00:58:28,675 --> 00:58:31,053
The game itself is very simple.

762
00:58:37,893 --> 00:58:40,979
We're going somewhere we shouldn't be.

763
00:58:43,565 --> 00:58:47,945
While our instinct tells us:
"Don't go there."

764
00:58:53,534 --> 00:58:54,910
Many things can happen.

765
00:58:57,579 --> 00:58:59,248
We can fall.

766
00:59:00,582 --> 00:59:02,709
The storm can take you away.

767
00:59:03,544 --> 00:59:06,004
We know we can die there.

768
00:59:12,094 --> 00:59:14,972
But still, we keep going.

769
00:59:17,057 --> 00:59:20,978
We try to do
our dreams come true.

770
00:59:22,187 --> 00:59:23,814
Our visions.

771
00:59:27,442 --> 00:59:30,821
I spent a whole year
imagining this climb,

772
00:59:30,863 --> 00:59:34,116
and I felt that I had
the skills to do it,

773
00:59:34,157 --> 00:59:36,076
and that he had to use them all.

774
00:59:36,785 --> 00:59:39,413
But I don't know the route at all.

775
00:59:39,454 --> 00:59:44,459
I have no idea what this will be like.
I don't know what to expect.

776
00:59:46,628 --> 00:59:49,631
Conditions are harsh
in these moments.

777
00:59:49,673 --> 00:59:51,216
You can see my trail there.

778
00:59:51,258 --> 00:59:54,136
I literally dug a trench
As I moved forward,

779
00:59:54,178 --> 00:59:57,139
I sank up to my chest in the snow,
with the wind in my head.

780
00:59:57,181 --> 01:00:02,019
And I think there could be
a lot of snow of this type

781
01:00:02,060 --> 01:00:03,937
on the hanging glacier in the hollow.

782
01:00:03,979 --> 01:00:05,939
And not only is it very hard work,

783
01:00:05,981 --> 01:00:09,776
but there could be a lot of risk
of avalanche.

784
01:00:09,818 --> 01:00:14,156
So I'll go see
rock conditions

785
01:00:14,198 --> 01:00:16,116
and see if it's possible.

786
01:00:17,659 --> 01:00:22,039
I started on rock with a lot of snow,
and it took me a long time.

787
01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:27,920
Two sections of ascent,
and it really is atrocious.

788
01:00:27,961 --> 01:00:29,129
These are my footprints.

789
01:00:31,340 --> 01:00:33,383
I have to border
the cracks of that serac

790
01:00:33,425 --> 01:00:35,719
and bivouac on it.

791
01:00:35,761 --> 01:00:40,098
The ascent was difficult and slow.
The conditions were horrendous.

792
01:00:40,140 --> 01:00:42,267
I think the route goes up there.

793
01:00:46,522 --> 01:00:48,941
I had to take off my gloves
all the time.

794
01:00:48,982 --> 01:00:51,735
My hands were numb from the cold.

795
01:00:53,487 --> 01:00:55,656
I'm almost at the top of the glacier.

796
01:00:57,157 --> 01:00:59,785
So far very difficult, without a doubt.

797
01:01:00,702 --> 01:01:03,205
That's my backpack, I'm carrying it up.

798
01:01:03,247 --> 01:01:04,540
Look at my hands.

799
01:01:04,581 --> 01:01:09,461
My fingers bleed
and everything is an extreme experience.

800
01:01:10,212 --> 01:01:13,841
Here I am, at the top
of the hanging glacier,

801
01:01:13,882 --> 01:01:16,343
and I will spend the night here.

802
01:01:16,385 --> 01:01:19,471
I thought I would spend the night
six sections higher,

803
01:01:19,513 --> 01:01:23,183
on the snow ridge.
I'm not going as fast as I wanted.

804
01:01:30,399 --> 01:01:33,318
You leave the hanging glacier

805
01:01:33,360 --> 01:01:36,989
and you reach the snowy ridge
in the center of the eastern pillar.

806
01:01:39,283 --> 01:01:40,868
I have advanced quite a bit.

807
01:01:40,909 --> 01:01:44,705
Here is the snow ridge
that I hoped to achieve yesterday.

808
01:01:44,746 --> 01:01:46,874
But you know,
things go the way they do.

809
01:01:46,915 --> 01:01:49,668
That's the top
of the back wall, we'll see.

810
01:01:49,710 --> 01:01:52,963
Maybe I can continue
although I must bivouac another night,

811
01:01:53,005 --> 01:01:54,298
one more than planned.

812
01:01:55,799 --> 01:02:00,012
You change boots all the time,
crampons and rock shoes.

813
01:02:01,555 --> 01:02:03,348
You climb a stretch of ice

814
01:02:03,390 --> 01:02:07,644
and suddenly you find yourself
ascending a rock pillar at 5.10.

815
01:02:11,106 --> 01:02:14,026
Or on a mixed climb,

816
01:02:14,067 --> 01:02:17,237
through narrow gullies
filled with ice.

817
01:02:25,162 --> 01:02:28,332
It's like the entire repertoire together.

818
01:03:10,374 --> 01:03:12,626
I'm at the top,

819
01:03:12,668 --> 01:03:15,003
and I look down the road.

820
01:04:00,424 --> 01:04:05,304
When you face a situation
where you say, "Okay, this is real.

821
01:04:09,683 --> 01:04:13,437
I can stay in control and do this

822
01:04:13,478 --> 01:04:16,273
or I can break down and collapse.”

823
01:04:20,068 --> 01:04:21,987
It's one or the other option.

824
01:04:32,206 --> 01:04:35,834
And that process of evaluating the situation,

825
01:04:35,876 --> 01:04:39,171
pull yourself together and continue,

826
01:04:42,216 --> 01:04:44,384
It's a challenge every time.

827
01:05:03,612 --> 01:05:07,658
Persevere, and things will turn out well.

828
01:05:08,283 --> 01:05:09,785
What a view.

829
01:05:09,826 --> 01:05:12,704
I am literally
in the center of the rear wall.

830
01:05:13,163 --> 01:05:17,209
I'm affirming this little platform
to sleep there.

831
01:05:17,251 --> 01:05:20,587
It's the only place I found
to bivouac, it's great.

832
01:05:20,629 --> 01:05:25,175
I'll freeze tonight, that's for sure,
but it doesn't matter.

833
01:05:25,217 --> 01:05:28,345
Yesterday, progress was slow and difficult.

834
01:05:28,387 --> 01:05:32,266
That discouraged me,
but now I'm in better condition

835
01:05:32,307 --> 01:05:36,061
to reach the top tomorrow
in the morning. I have few sections left.

836
01:05:36,812 --> 01:05:39,857
As long as the weather cooperates,
I have high morale.

837
01:05:52,703 --> 01:05:56,498
Hi Brette, this video is for you.

838
01:05:56,540 --> 01:05:58,375
I just wanted...

839
01:05:59,626 --> 01:06:03,338
tell you that when I'm alone
in these mountains,

840
01:06:03,380 --> 01:06:04,590
I really miss you.

841
01:06:05,716 --> 01:06:10,095
And I think about you a lot.

842
01:06:10,137 --> 01:06:14,141
And there is a part of me that...

843
01:06:15,184 --> 01:06:19,229
want to return to solid ground
immediately,

844
01:06:19,271 --> 01:06:22,065
leave here, change my flights,

845
01:06:22,107 --> 01:06:26,486
and come back to see you,
well I would love...

846
01:06:27,988 --> 01:06:31,408
just... see you.

847
01:06:34,995 --> 01:06:36,747
I love you.

848
01:06:44,838 --> 01:06:47,090
I woke up around five
in the morning,

849
01:06:47,132 --> 01:06:50,636
I got out of the sleeping bag to see.
A snow storm was starting.

850
01:06:52,387 --> 01:06:54,806
I have to lift everything
as fast as i can

851
01:06:54,848 --> 01:06:59,061
and rappel down the entire mountain
in stormy conditions.

852
01:07:02,064 --> 01:07:06,652
I hope it turns out well,
It is a long and complicated descent.

853
01:07:11,323 --> 01:07:12,449
Shit!

854
01:07:30,300 --> 01:07:33,136
Here I am, back to the tent.

855
01:07:34,179 --> 01:07:38,267
I'm sorry to say I didn't make it to the top.

856
01:07:39,309 --> 01:07:42,521
But... I survived,

857
01:07:42,563 --> 01:07:45,357
which I think is very important.

858
01:07:46,817 --> 01:07:49,695
A shame, since it was
four sections from the top.

859
01:07:50,821 --> 01:07:55,534
I think it was one
of my best solo challenges,

860
01:07:55,576 --> 01:07:59,913
as for me to persevere
and I was very close...

861
01:07:59,955 --> 01:08:03,166
And you know, I usually say...

862
01:08:03,208 --> 01:08:05,627
that I always dreamed of
with climbing the Egger alone,

863
01:08:05,669 --> 01:08:07,796
and always said

864
01:08:07,838 --> 01:08:11,884
what if you are alone
in a storm at the top of the Egger,

865
01:08:11,925 --> 01:08:17,680
It's the worst nightmare.
And that happened to me.

866
01:08:17,723 --> 01:08:24,020
And I managed to get down, so...
That was... It was great, I think.

867
01:08:28,942 --> 01:08:32,571
It was a relief to know
that Marc had been able to get down.

868
01:08:36,325 --> 01:08:42,080
And after such an adventure,
I thought he would come home.

869
01:08:42,122 --> 01:08:44,625
Without having achieved it, but safe.

870
01:08:45,917 --> 01:08:52,299
It's incredible to feel how tired
that gave me this promotion.

871
01:08:58,514 --> 01:09:01,808
But Marc wasn't going to give up.

872
01:09:02,684 --> 01:09:06,313
Saw another weather window
in the forecast.

873
01:09:06,354 --> 01:09:09,107
This time,
even shorter than the previous one.

874
01:09:09,149 --> 01:09:11,818
On Friday the weather will be good
half the day,

875
01:09:11,859 --> 01:09:13,612
and at night it will be good.

876
01:09:14,696 --> 01:09:18,408
And he decided to try again.

877
01:09:18,450 --> 01:09:21,411
This time, he was going to raise the bar.

878
01:09:21,453 --> 01:09:25,249
Since I already knew the route,
I decided to do the tour in one day

879
01:09:25,290 --> 01:09:27,292
without carrying campaign equipment.

880
01:09:28,627 --> 01:09:32,130
But I won't be able to spend the night
in the mountain

881
01:09:32,171 --> 01:09:35,634
I must travel light and move fast
to achieve it.

882
01:09:38,011 --> 01:09:39,345
Here we go.

883
01:09:41,849 --> 01:09:46,395
For your second attempt,
Marc carries only a small backpack,

884
01:09:46,435 --> 01:09:50,023
no sleeping bag or extra food.

885
01:09:50,524 --> 01:09:54,027
Just the basic tools
to climb light and fast.

886
01:09:56,989 --> 01:09:59,408
Starting the ascent that night,

887
01:09:59,449 --> 01:10:03,704
I was hoping to get to the top and go down

888
01:10:03,745 --> 01:10:06,206
before it hit
the next storm.

889
01:10:10,210 --> 01:10:11,503
Good luck, Marc!

890
01:10:30,689 --> 01:10:36,236
It's 5:45 in the morning
and I am in the first place where I slept,

891
01:10:36,278 --> 01:10:37,779
on the hanging glacier.

892
01:10:37,821 --> 01:10:39,948
It only took me a couple of hours
get here.

893
01:10:41,241 --> 01:10:43,619
So it was a good start.

894
01:10:51,877 --> 01:10:54,379
So I go for her,

895
01:10:54,421 --> 01:10:59,259
I'm going on this little adventure
on this giant mountain.

896
01:11:02,721 --> 01:11:05,432
The sun is rising.

897
01:11:05,474 --> 01:11:08,393
Look how incredible it is.

898
01:11:09,144 --> 01:11:11,438
I've already done half the journey.

899
01:11:20,656 --> 01:11:22,324
I'm at the top.

900
01:11:27,287 --> 01:11:28,747
It's going well.

901
01:11:41,176 --> 01:11:43,095
I'm at the top of the Egger!

902
01:11:43,846 --> 01:11:45,305
How crazy!

903
01:11:47,891 --> 01:11:50,519
Yes, look at this!

904
01:11:51,395 --> 01:11:52,938
Good God!

905
01:11:53,939 --> 01:11:55,482
Do the Egger Tower solo

906
01:11:56,316 --> 01:12:00,612
It was the perfect combination
of everything he had learned.

907
01:12:01,864 --> 01:12:04,658
In maximum conditions.

908
01:12:04,700 --> 01:12:09,997
It's like my whole life
led me to a certain place.

909
01:12:22,634 --> 01:12:23,927
Good job, friend.

910
01:12:25,053 --> 01:12:26,054
Hello.

911
01:12:27,139 --> 01:12:29,349
- How are you doing, friend?
- How do you feel?

912
01:12:30,726 --> 01:12:33,478
- Perfect.
- Yes, everything turned out great.

913
01:12:33,520 --> 01:12:37,024
No promotion ends
until the clash of beers.

914
01:12:37,858 --> 01:12:39,985
- Health.
- Cheers, friend.

915
01:12:50,370 --> 01:12:54,917
When you grow up, you're going to climb
the Egger Tower many times.

916
01:13:08,388 --> 01:13:12,893
- Excited to come home?
- Yes, I'm dying to see Brette,

917
01:13:12,935 --> 01:13:16,647
and then go to Canada to see my family.

918
01:13:16,980 --> 01:13:18,398
There's the taxi.

919
01:13:18,440 --> 01:13:21,276
I have to negotiate,
because I don't have pesos.

920
01:13:39,002 --> 01:13:45,092
When Marc returns from the mountains,
radiates a special energy.

921
01:13:45,133 --> 01:13:49,096
You have had a strong experience

922
01:13:49,137 --> 01:13:52,599
that has reached deeper
than anything else.

923
01:13:54,017 --> 01:13:57,104
When you are in the mountains
with a mission,

924
01:13:57,145 --> 01:14:01,233
the superficial things in life
they evaporate,

925
01:14:01,275 --> 01:14:04,695
and you find yourself
In a deeper state of mind,

926
01:14:04,736 --> 01:14:07,739
and you remain in that state for a while
after a significant promotion.

927
01:14:09,283 --> 01:14:12,703
You value all things very much.

928
01:14:12,744 --> 01:14:15,080
The same ones that almost always
you take for granted.

929
01:14:18,959 --> 01:14:20,002
It's curious.

930
01:14:21,336 --> 01:14:24,047
True achievement does not change your life,

931
01:14:24,089 --> 01:14:27,259
as you thought
while you were preparing for it,

932
01:14:27,301 --> 01:14:31,263
but you stay
with what you bring from that trip.

933
01:14:31,305 --> 01:14:34,057
And if you made such a big trip,

934
01:14:34,099 --> 01:14:35,851
and you had to solve many things,

935
01:14:35,893 --> 01:14:39,146
and you had to plan,
and it was very immersive,

936
01:14:39,188 --> 01:14:42,149
and you were in a beautiful place
a long time,

937
01:14:42,191 --> 01:14:44,443
and you had to work very hard

938
01:14:44,484 --> 01:14:46,987
and overcome mental barriers,

939
01:14:47,029 --> 01:14:53,368
you are left with much more than a memory,
a story or an experience.

940
01:14:53,410 --> 01:14:56,121
I think for me
that's the most important thing.

941
01:15:01,877 --> 01:15:04,963
The two years filming
Marc's climbs,

942
01:15:05,631 --> 01:15:08,634
It was like trying to catch lightning.
in a bottle.

943
01:15:13,680 --> 01:15:20,854
Now we had to edit the film
and set Marc free.

944
01:15:21,230 --> 01:15:24,691
There were still many mountains left
for climbing.

945
01:15:26,568 --> 01:15:28,737
Ready, Brette, I'm stable!

946
01:15:31,532 --> 01:15:32,824
Hi, friend.

947
01:15:33,283 --> 01:15:37,871
And I thought that this story
would end there.

948
01:15:39,414 --> 01:15:40,874
But while we were editing,

949
01:15:40,916 --> 01:15:45,796
Marc found a weather window
in Juneau, Alaska,

950
01:15:45,838 --> 01:15:48,757
where he met
with an important local climber.

951
01:15:49,258 --> 01:15:50,717
Ryan Johnson.

952
01:15:51,969 --> 01:15:55,973
Climbing as a team and with a rope,
they made a first ascent

953
01:15:56,014 --> 01:15:59,434
on the north face
of the Mendenhall Towers.

954
01:16:00,727 --> 01:16:04,022
At the top there was coverage.

955
01:16:04,064 --> 01:16:07,067
So Marc sent messages
to his mom and Brette.

956
01:16:07,109 --> 01:16:09,611
LIVE UPDATE...
MOUNT FAIRWEATHER IN THE FAR.

957
01:16:09,653 --> 01:16:12,573
HONEY, I MADE THE SUMMIT.
AN INCREDIBLE PROMOTION!

958
01:16:12,614 --> 01:16:15,909
And Ryan sent a video message
to his girlfriend.

959
01:16:15,951 --> 01:16:18,120
Hello darling.
Don't you regret not being here?

960
01:16:18,161 --> 01:16:21,081
- Marc is there.
- Yes.

961
01:16:21,665 --> 01:16:22,916
It's amazing up here.

962
01:16:22,958 --> 01:16:25,544
The way back is long,
so we're leaving.

963
01:16:25,586 --> 01:16:27,796
The descent will not be direct and easy.

964
01:16:32,634 --> 01:16:36,597
But the next morning,
no one had news of them.

965
01:16:39,308 --> 01:16:43,937
Brette was surfing
on the coast of Tasmania.

966
01:16:43,979 --> 01:16:48,609
She was the first to realize
that they had not communicated yet.

967
01:16:49,318 --> 01:16:53,655
Contacted Search and Rescue,
took the next flight

968
01:16:53,697 --> 01:16:56,992
and he called us when he landed in Alaska.

969
01:16:57,034 --> 01:16:59,411
They couldn't reach their skis.

970
01:16:59,453 --> 01:17:03,040
- Shit!
- Yeah, so I don't know, Pete.

971
01:17:03,081 --> 01:17:06,585
- I'm so sorry.
- I don't know what to do.

972
01:17:06,627 --> 01:17:11,924
I don't know what will happen
or what would happen if...

973
01:17:14,051 --> 01:17:17,471
A Squamish climber
He is missing in Alaska.

974
01:17:17,513 --> 01:17:22,142
March 4 was the last appearance
by Marc-André Leclerc and his partner.

975
01:17:22,184 --> 01:17:24,853
We followed Brette to Juneau,

976
01:17:24,895 --> 01:17:27,981
and we met with Marc's family
at the Search and Rescue office.

977
01:17:28,023 --> 01:17:30,943
MOUNTAIN RESCUE

978
01:17:31,735 --> 01:17:36,657
Some friends of Marc from Squamish,
They joined in the search.

979
01:17:37,533 --> 01:17:39,159
But a storm came,

980
01:17:39,201 --> 01:17:41,703
so it was impossible to leave
by helicopter.

981
01:17:43,872 --> 01:17:48,168
I just had to wait
for the time to change.

982
01:17:49,670 --> 01:17:54,842
And wait for, somehow,
were still alive there.

983
01:18:03,058 --> 01:18:08,105
After four days of agony,
the weather finally cleared

984
01:18:08,146 --> 01:18:14,570
so that Search and Rescue
I could go out by helicopter

985
01:18:14,611 --> 01:18:17,698
and do an aerial inspection
of the descent route.

986
01:18:19,366 --> 01:18:23,579
With all that new snow,
It was very dangerous to go down there,

987
01:18:24,538 --> 01:18:27,207
but they saw a rope.

988
01:18:30,377 --> 01:18:33,964
was covered
by the remains of an avalanche,

989
01:18:34,006 --> 01:18:40,179
and it was clear that Marc and Ryan
They were buried there.

990
01:18:42,723 --> 01:18:45,809
There was no chance of survival.

991
01:19:09,625 --> 01:19:13,879
We hoped to recover
their bodies, but...

992
01:19:14,838 --> 01:19:17,883
It was impossible.
They just disappeared inside the glacier.

993
01:19:24,139 --> 01:19:29,269
I remember I was sitting
on the ice and I thought:

994
01:19:30,646 --> 01:19:33,398
"Why wasn't I with him?"

995
01:19:35,108 --> 01:19:37,319
I felt like I should have been there.

996
01:19:39,196 --> 01:19:43,325
I didn't even know
that life could be so painful.

997
01:19:43,367 --> 01:19:46,411
Nor did this pain exist,
until you feel it.

998
01:19:46,453 --> 01:19:51,750
It's like you live
In a magical and happy world,

999
01:19:51,792 --> 01:19:54,211
and then tragedy hits you,

1000
01:19:54,253 --> 01:19:56,171
and you are never the same person again.

1001
01:20:02,427 --> 01:20:05,806
After his death,
I lost interest in everything.

1002
01:20:07,641 --> 01:20:08,809
Nothing mattered.

1003
01:20:10,686 --> 01:20:13,814
Maybe I should disappear too.

1004
01:20:18,443 --> 01:20:22,447
And then I remembered a conversation
that I had with Marc.

1005
01:20:23,657 --> 01:20:26,201
Marc said that if something happened to him,

1006
01:20:26,243 --> 01:20:28,537
He wanted me to move forward.

1007
01:20:31,748 --> 01:20:33,417
He didn't want me to lose heart.

1008
01:20:34,877 --> 01:20:38,255
He wanted me to continue climbing
and loving life,

1009
01:20:39,506 --> 01:20:42,843
and that he was happy. Yes.

1010
01:20:44,303 --> 01:20:45,971
They have no idea how hard it is.

1011
01:20:46,013 --> 01:20:48,974
It's easy to say,
but having to go through this...

1012
01:20:54,563 --> 01:20:56,565
I returned to Alaska.

1013
01:20:57,524 --> 01:20:59,693
It's so beautiful there,

1014
01:20:59,735 --> 01:21:04,573
but be there without him
It felt so horrible.

1015
01:21:08,285 --> 01:21:09,703
You are right there.

1016
01:21:10,871 --> 01:21:14,291
I felt such excruciating pain,

1017
01:21:14,333 --> 01:21:18,253
and I felt like I could only escape from it

1018
01:21:18,295 --> 01:21:19,880
being in the mountains.

1019
01:21:22,883 --> 01:21:26,345
I kept coming back to those places
that we climb together.

1020
01:21:29,473 --> 01:21:32,100
They are full of it.

1021
01:21:34,102 --> 01:21:38,190
I found this python,
and I'm sure it's Marc's.

1022
01:21:40,275 --> 01:21:41,902
I feel like you're here, Marc.

1023
01:21:43,278 --> 01:21:46,532
I miss him so much,
I miss our adventures together.

1024
01:21:50,994 --> 01:21:53,413
If only we could be here
together again.

1025
01:21:55,666 --> 01:21:58,502
But I know that you would want
that was here,

1026
01:21:58,544 --> 01:22:00,462
and I know you would be proud.

1027
01:22:02,172 --> 01:22:03,966
Thank you for giving me your vision

1028
01:22:04,007 --> 01:22:06,176
and share everything with me.

1029
01:22:19,773 --> 01:22:21,191
That's his smile.

1030
01:22:27,990 --> 01:22:30,951
It looks like yours.

1031
01:22:33,787 --> 01:22:35,789
I walk one day at a time.

1032
01:22:38,166 --> 01:22:41,420
Without Marc-André, yes,

1033
01:22:41,461 --> 01:22:47,926
It was like there was something sudden
and irrevocably wrong with the universe.

1034
01:22:47,968 --> 01:22:52,598
Like things shouldn't be like this.

1035
01:23:02,524 --> 01:23:03,984
I'm sorry.

1036
01:23:07,362 --> 01:23:13,577
In some indefinable way,
you find yourself taken to another place

1037
01:23:13,619 --> 01:23:15,996
and you must learn to live like that.

1038
01:23:29,551 --> 01:23:31,887
A few months after the accident,

1039
01:23:32,346 --> 01:23:38,018
friends from all over came to Squamish
the world to honor Marc.

1040
01:23:43,273 --> 01:23:47,736
I traveled from Patagonia, Argentina,
for the tribute to Marc.

1041
01:23:47,778 --> 01:23:52,074
I think it left a magical impression
in all of us.

1042
01:23:52,115 --> 01:23:56,411
There will never be another Marc-André Leclerc.

1043
01:23:58,372 --> 01:24:00,874
He was a special being.

1044
01:24:00,916 --> 01:24:02,793
A unique person.

1045
01:24:04,044 --> 01:24:05,921
He lived fervently

1046
01:24:05,963 --> 01:24:10,133
and left an indelible mark
in many people in a short time.

1047
01:24:14,888 --> 01:24:16,598
Wow, that's a lot of friends.

1048
01:24:18,475 --> 01:24:22,187
As parents know,
raising children is hard,

1049
01:24:22,229 --> 01:24:23,814
but I appreciate

1050
01:24:23,856 --> 01:24:27,860
May God allow me at least
understand this about my son,

1051
01:24:27,901 --> 01:24:31,154
that I shouldn't get in the way
in his passion for the mountains.

1052
01:24:44,835 --> 01:24:46,003
I was worried, of course.

1053
01:24:47,296 --> 01:24:49,882
What mother is not worried
that the children he raised

1054
01:24:49,923 --> 01:24:51,133
leave her and go out

1055
01:24:51,175 --> 01:24:54,803
to this beautiful world
but dangerous and complex?

1056
01:24:55,470 --> 01:24:56,972
I feel vulnerable.

1057
01:24:58,098 --> 01:25:01,393
I think Marc-André lived
how I wanted to live.

1058
01:25:02,519 --> 01:25:05,314
Born to climb mountains,

1059
01:25:05,355 --> 01:25:09,067
summit,
make your way through lonely valleys...

1060
01:25:09,109 --> 01:25:10,360
Very happy.

1061
01:25:10,402 --> 01:25:13,071
...and love a woman
with all my heart, your little B.

1062
01:25:13,113 --> 01:25:16,533
- How are you, Brette?
- It's very cold.

1063
01:25:19,203 --> 01:25:20,829
Tolkien in The Hobbit says:

1064
01:25:20,871 --> 01:25:24,166
"There are no safe roads
in this part of the world

1065
01:25:24,208 --> 01:25:26,585
You are on the edge of the unexplored now.”

1066
01:25:26,627 --> 01:25:28,128
Wow, look at that.

1067
01:25:29,004 --> 01:25:31,882
Well, Marc-André, now you are
on the edge of the unexplored.

1068
01:25:31,924 --> 01:25:34,384
The storm came
with a strong north wind.

1069
01:25:34,426 --> 01:25:38,096
I hope there are the mountains
and the sunsets are beautiful.

1070
01:25:38,138 --> 01:25:41,892
And then it cleared up a little,
when the storm passed over us.

1071
01:25:41,934 --> 01:25:47,147
We are all richer for being able to call you
son, brother, companion and friend.

1072
01:25:49,149 --> 01:25:51,610
Thank you for giving us 25 wonderful years.

1073
01:25:51,652 --> 01:25:53,445
Shit!

1074
01:26:08,919 --> 01:26:13,423
After meeting Marc as a friend
and as a climber,

1075
01:26:16,385 --> 01:26:21,557
hard to reconcile
the idealism of his promotions

1076
01:26:21,598 --> 01:26:24,184
with tragic consequences.

1077
01:26:28,272 --> 01:26:32,609
That's why mountaineering, in my mind,
It's still a contradiction

1078
01:26:32,651 --> 01:26:33,819
a mystery

1079
01:26:37,781 --> 01:26:41,827
But I think Marc's time
In this world it was beautiful.

1080
01:26:45,706 --> 01:26:49,001
The course continued
of his own dreams.

1081
01:26:53,297 --> 01:26:56,758
Many of us live thinking
in what we would like to do,

1082
01:26:56,800 --> 01:27:00,512
or the adventures we would like to have,
but we hold back.

1083
01:27:03,265 --> 01:27:07,436
That's what I highlight
of Marc-André's journey.

1084
01:27:09,229 --> 01:27:12,649
What would we do,

1085
01:27:12,691 --> 01:27:18,030
If we could get over things
what we consider limitations

1086
01:27:18,071 --> 01:27:20,949
or those things we fear?

1087
01:27:20,991 --> 01:27:22,659
What would we do?

1088
01:28:20,801 --> 01:28:25,013
Subtitles: IYUNO Media Group
Translation: Graciela Cuello


