I don't go to the cinema. I have trouble sitting still for the length of a movie, and most movies are crap anyway, but I was stoked to find out that The Alpinist, the story of the extraordinarily talented Marc Andre LeClerc was screening in Sydney when I was up there for my Mum's birthday.
Sender Films, makers of Valley Uprising and The Dawn Wall, had a tough time making a movie about LeClerc who frequently disappeared to complete audacious solo climbs without informing the film crew. In his short but extremely full career Marc Andre completed a series of stunning first ascents of striking technical difficulty including solo climbing the Stanley Headwall, the Emperor Face on Mount Robson, and Torre Egger (solo in winter).
I think the sheer audacity of some of LeClerc's climbs might be lost on people with no alpine climbing experience, after all, he makes climbing technically difficult routes, like the Stanley Headwall, look easy and describes some of his most impressive solo climbs as having a “casual fun adventure, and cruise around.”
But, you don't have to be a climber to appreciate LeClerc's drive and determination, his ability to step out beyond the bounds of what society deems normal, to live with very few possessions yet many lifetimes worth of experiences, to pursue his passions without regard for financial success or recognition, and to love life so deeply that he was willing to let it go.
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