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General Climbing Discussion

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oh dear, climbing in the movies... 5-May-2006 At 10:10:22 AM Nottobetaken

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The highly regarded film and climbing cult classic 'Stone Monkey' has just been released on DVD. For anyone that hasn't seen it, it was created back in the mid-80's by Johnny Dawes and Alan Hughes (he of ITV), and centres around what then were the hardest/boldest traditional routes in the UK, if not the world. The original 25 minute film was '90% a Dawes idea' - which was broadcast on UK television. It features Johnny D. repeating his own creations - and displaying the gymnastic talent that he is famous for on such testpieces as The Quarryman Groove (30), Gaia (E8/26X) (recentely repeated by Lisa Rands) and what was to become Partheon Shot (E9/30R). The music and fashion of course are highly outdated - but it's a film that has to be seen both for the historical significance - as well as the climbing displayed. How many routes have you seen that involve palming into a crucifix - footless - 20ft above the gear for instance?

The big bonus however is the extra footage on The Indian Face - Johnny's trip up the dark cliff of Clogwyn Du'r Arddu in Wales - established in 1986. Now 20 years later, this climb has still only seen 2 repeats - which for a grade 27 might seem a tad strange - but perhaps not when you consider that it is solid E9 (ie. death if you lose it at the crux).

You can purchase it here: http://www.alhughes.tv/ - or read a review on the Planet Fear site: http://www.planetfear.com/review_detail.asp?r_id=733

Also of note is the re-release of 'Total Control' - a documentary on the late Jimmy Jewel soloing a bunch of routes on a single day - again back in the '80's. Watching him solo something like 'Silly Arete' at Tremadog or 'T-Rex' at Gogarth (or 'Left Wall' for that matter in Llanberis) has to be seen to be believed...