His first words had me hooked.

“Somewhere in Switzerland, there is a hike known as one of the most dangerous in the world,” with “some of the most insane features I’ve ever seen on a hike.”

That is how Bernardo Bacalhau introduced his YouTube post. (Link coming below.)

Like his video that kicked off his current bike ride from Singapore back to his home in Portugal, the young video celebrity exuded confidence and charm with his usual unassuming personality. As he looked up at the via ferrata (“way of iron”) in the Dolomites, he said his research had led him to conclude that “the only reasonable thing to do is climb it alone.”

A few hours later, after he had clipped two leashes linking his harness to steel cables, which were attached to posts in walls of rock, he donned his helmet. “Should be safe with this.”

However, near the end, after 12 hours on the mountain, he gave up filming as he finished, guided only by his headlamp, and concluded the climb was “a risk not worth taking.” But it was too late to turn back.

Accompanied by music that builds tension, the video shows Bacalhau as he became exasperated, overcome with emotion. He vowed, “I was not going to allow myself to fail.” All the while, there were background sounds of his metal clips sliding along the steel cables. He described the many narrow ladders as the easy parts.

“It’s insane. It’s insane,” he pleaded to the camera attached to his helmet as it captured the incredible views of the valley floor that loomed behind him. “What am I doing?” Then, “This is the craziest day of my life.” And, “My heart!” He vowed to not look down. He squinted. “My muscles are screaming.” He gasped. “This is just dangerous. Nobody’s going to come to save me.”

”My grandma is going to freak out when she watches this.”

Racing sunset, he came to a section I could barely stand to watch: a steel cable bridging a long gap that he must walk like a tightrope. He clipped into a higher cable and gingerly inched across, suspended thousands of feet in the air.

This is an astounding film that may disturb some. I found myself hanging onto his every step; I cringed each time he reclipped his leashes that would keep him from plunging to his death. And that was the second time I watched it.

Bacalhau is a master storyteller who has attracted 397,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel; nearly half a million have watched this post.

I eagerly await his next adventure.