In a film about a free solo rock climber—one of the very best in the world, no less—you can expect to experience a fair share of jaw-dropping scenes mixed with stunning mountain scenery. And in The Alpinist, viewers get exactly that.
One of the most memorable scenes, however, takes place on the ground rather than thousands of feet up. Filmmaker Peter Mortimer asks Marc-André Leclerc, the subject of this jaw-dropping documentary, about the experience of his recent climb. Mortimer asks him if it was scary. “No, not particularly,” a completely subdued Leclerc responds. “Just another day out?” Mortimer then asks. “It was a really good day out,” Leclerc says with a blissful look on his face. “A really memorable one.”
This short scene stands out because it’s totally in keeping with the personality of Leclerc that we see throughout the film: casual, humble, happy, pure. There’s no theatrics, no over-the-top mannerisms. What matters to Leclerc is the climbing experience and the inner peace that emerges from it. Despite the fact that he can do things that almost no one else on Earth can do, he seems not to have the slightest itch for fame or attention.
The Alpinist (2021) is directed by Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen, who have previously worked together. In Valley Uprising (2014) they explored a ragtag band of climbers in Yosemite and the culture surrounding them. Both Mortimer and Rosen are long-time climbers, and both have been making films for years. But as Mortimer informs viewers (he does the film’s narration, and is occasionally on-screen), he’d never heard of Marc-André Leclerc prior to making the film. In fact, almost no one had. It was “an obscure blog post” about the young Canadian climber that put Leclerc on Mortimer’s radar, and which subsequently prompted a 2-year project to capture on film the incredible feats of the heretofore unknown climber.
For various reasons, it wasn’t an easy process. As other documentary filmmakers about rock climbers have discussed, it’s incredibly unnerving to watch someone climb free solo knowing they could fall to their death. That brings up related questions: Is it even right to film? Could it negatively affect the climber’s performance and attention, and thus make things more dangerous than they already are? Mortimer and Rosen faced these issues, as they presumably did in their previous climbing documentaries.
But there was another issue that came up that they almost certainly didn’t expect. After they’d completed part of the project, they couldn’t find Leclerc; nor could they get a hold of him, despite the fact that they’d even purchased a cell phone for the off-the-grid climber.
Eventually, they located him. At least, sort of. They came across him in pictures on social media, posted by his girlfriend. He’d been in Scotland, among other places, climbing like a mad man and reveling in the experiences.
Oh—and he’d also “made the first-ever solo of the Emperor’s Face on Mount Robson.” As one highly accomplished climber in the film puts it, “It’s a legendary, mythical objective, even with a rope.” Leclerc, of course, did it without one. It’s no wonder so many climbers in the film have found themselves essentially asking the same question: “Who is this guy?”
When Mortimer and Rosen finally made contact with Leclerc, they asked him about his prolonged, unexplained absence. This scene happens roughly midway through the film, and since viewers have a feel for who Leclerc is, his response is hardly surprising. “It’s just a completely different experience if somebody comes with you,” he tells them. “It just wouldn’t be even remotely close to the adventure that I was looking for.” However, now that he’s had these special experiences alone, he tells them that he’s open to having them come along. (One would have thought that these things would have been discussed in detail prior to filming in the very first place…)
Ultimately, viewers see plenty of scenes of Leclerc climbing, including on some of those most difficult routes he’s faced. And as you would expect, watching him climb with no rope, in chaotic conditions of snow and sleet and ice while somehow managing to stay as cool as a cucumber makes for an engrossing experience. Viewers, just like Leclerc’s fellow climbers, are also likely to ask themselves: “Who is this guy? What makes him tick? How did he become this way?” Viewers won’t, however, find many substantive answers in the film.
Which is not for a lack of trying by the directors. The Alpinist features a number of climbers who comment on the skills and accomplishments of Leclerc, which give viewers helpful perspective on the magnitude of what he’s doing. One of those climbers is none other than Alex Honnold, who was featured in the 2018 film Free Solo. It’s quite eye-opening to hear one of the best free solo climbers in the world say this about the danger and skill involved in Leclerc’s activities: “People think [the] free soloing that I’m doing seems crazy, but what I’m doing is on rock. Like, the medium is super solid [….] And then I see Marc-Andre free soloing on ice and snow.”
Leclerc’s girlfriend, Brette Harrison, also appears in the film, which provides some perspective on his personal life. Soft-spoken, calm, and also uber passionate about climbing, it’s not hard to see why they were drawn to each other. It was Brette that partly steered Leclerc away from the addictive highs of drug use that characterized some of his teenage years. She helped Leclerc rediscover the irreplaceable joys of climbing and being wholly immersed in the moment. Leclerc’s mother is also in the film, and she talks about her son’s ADHD and the troubles it caused in a class environment. She homeschooled him for a while, and together they went on outdoor excursions, something he speaks about in the film with clear fondness.
These scenes are illuminating to a degree, but they hardly bear out a narrative in which someone goes on to climb mountains without a rope. When asked by Mortimer why he does what he does, Leclerc’s answer is characteristically laconic: “Like, more just to have casual, fun adventures and cruise around.” Clearly there’s more going on underneath the surface than that. In the same way he doesn’t care whether or not his feats are captured on film or known by others, he also doesn’t care about trying to explain his rationale or motivation. Which is a perfectly fine stance to take.
In a world where an increasing number of people seem to prioritize attention above all else, it’s refreshing to see the subject of this film quietly go about his life, doing what he loves most with the people he loves best. His story is far from a fairytale—as viewers will see—but it’s a genuinely inspiring one. At times, even profound.
Spectatio 