I've written before about rock climber Alex Honnold.  As you may remember, Honnold specializes in climbing the most massive rock faces in the world, without using any ropes.  He enjoys risks, he says, and he loves climbing.  And he's still alive.

     A few weeks ago, I took in a movie made about Honnold.  It's called "Free Solo," so named because it is built around Honnold's recent free solo scaling of Yosemite's El Capitan, a three thousand foot high glacially sculpted slab of granite.  He is the first person to climb El Capitan solo and without ropes.

     El Capitan is probably the most famous rock face on the planet.  Thousands of climbers come from every corner of the globe to scale it.  And they all use ropes to do it.  Most live to tell the story, a few die.  Most require several days to climb it.  Honnold free soloed the face in slightly under four hours.  His climbing powers are unfathomable.  And he seems to have conquered any sense of fear while he climbs.
     
     Although Honnold has made clear elsewhere that he does not believe in God, and that he therefore, by logical extension, does not believe in life after death, that's not the point.  The point is that if life is that precious, our individual wishes and whims seem inadequate in the face of the greater good.  If there is no God, and if there is no afterlife, we really are in this adventure together.  We can't leave anyone out.  Even those in whom we may not believe.
     Climb on, Alex.  But be careful.