Sacramento rock climber’s tale, ‘Free Solo,’ wins best feature documentary Oscar
National Geographic’s “Free Solo,” which follows Sacramento native Alex Honnold on his daring climb up El Capitan, won an Oscar for best feature documentary Sunday night in Los Angeles.
“Free Solo,” directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, captured Honnold’s journey as he successfully climbed El Capitan — a 7,573-foot mountain in Yosemite National Park — without ropes or harnesses.
Honnold was the first person to achieve the death-defying feat.
“Thank you Alex Honnold for giving us courage and teaching us how to believe in the impossible and inspiring us,” Vasarhelyi said after receiving the Oscar. “This film is for everyone who believes in the impossible.”
The New York Times predicted “RBG,” the documentary about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, would win.
This story was originally published February 24, 2019 at 6:21 PM with the headline "Sacramento rock climber’s tale, ‘Free Solo,’ wins best feature documentary Oscar."
