The ledge he’s standing on looks like its already detached and ready to fall
It’s Alex Honhold. He’s wired differently than most people. Definitely not tethered.
Wired very differently. Free-climbing El Capitan is certified bonkers.
That’s a nope for me, dawg.
He’s got a harness on but it doesn’t look like it’s connected to anything.
I don’t think that’s a harness I think it’s a chalk bag. You can see the bag just behind his hand.
Isn’t the chalk bag connected to the harness?
To the contrary: You can sometimes recognise beginners by observing that they have their chalk bag attached to their harness with a carabiner. Usually, you attach the chalk bag with a strap around your waist. The harness is reserved for protection gear (nuts, cams, etc.)
This guy is Alex Honnold, famous for free soloing (climbing without a rope). He has a movie called “Free Solo” where he solos El Capitan, it’s a good movie if you’re interested :)
I always wear mine on my harness but I usually sport climb and rarely trad climb where I’d need nuts and cams.
I was maybe a bit rough when saying “beginner”, I’m probably should have said “people with little outdoor-climbing experience”, sorry about that.
But, if you care what others at the gym think (you shouldn’t, just let your climbing speak for itself), it’s definitely a thing that people with their chalk bag attached to their harness with a carabiner (even worse, a safety carabiner), are quickly assumed to be beginners. At least it looks like they’ve done little or no outdoor climbing. But again: Don’t give a shit what people think, just have fun climbing :)
