Since directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi took the Oscars stage with Alex Honnold and girlfriend Sanni McCandless to celebrate their historic win for Free Solo, the hype around the film has slowly subsided. And we’re guessing that all parties involved are grateful to have a break from media tours, interviews, and all that comes with promoting a feature film.
But, if you’ll return with us for a moment to the height of the media storm, we’d like to recommend one Alex Honnold interview you may have missed – one the world’s greatest free soloist gave to Funny or Die last fall.
For those unfamiliar with the complexities of big wall climbing, a common question often thought but never asked aloud is, “What do you do if nature calls?”
In the interview above, Honnold explains the complexities of going number one and number two on El Capitan and that “[he] peed all over the route” during his historic Free Solo – a detail the filmmakers thankfully left out of the film.
As for pooping, apparently Honnold just held it for the nearly four hours he was climbing. But, on longer ascents, he says, wiping is a matter of using the resources you have at your disposal when you don’t carry toilet paper with you. Namely: rocks.
“You don’t always have something so you use little rocks and things,” he says.
“He wipes his ass with rocks, guys,” says the interviewer.
