post
What's Your Scene?
It's been about a month now since Chuck Fryberger's latest movie, The Scene, was released. In that span I've watched the movie three separate times and my impressions of the movie have improved with each viewing.
My first viewing left me feeling a bit nonplussed underwhelmed afterwards, but this was probably due, in part, to climbing movie burnout I was experiencing at the time. Since people seemed psyched about the movie when I brought it up on the ClimbingNarc Facebook page I watched the movie a 2nd time with a clearer head and then again this past week when it was screened at the local climbing gym. I enjoyed the movie more each of these times, especially in the large group setting at the gym. It was fun to see people's reaction to various scenes like Nalle Hukkataival sending Mask Of God or Dave Graham being Dave Graham.
Like Fryberger's previous movies Pure and Core, The Scene is shot in beautiful Super Ultra High Definition1, and there is a nice diversity of climbing and climbers covered including one of the few times you'll see Chris Sharma in a movie not shot by Big Up Productions. The movie covers basically all kinds of rock climbing inside and out, both here in the U.S. as well as in Europe. There are still things about the movie that I didn't care for like the general overuse of slow-mo and cutaway shots, and the segments on Bishop and Joe's Valley didn't seem to fit in with the "scene" theme of the movie either.
So, like I said, my overall impression of the movie went from somewhat ambivalent to generally positive and the movie has a firm home in my "watch again" pile of climbing movies.
The Scene is available for purchase on either HD Download (several languages), DVD or Blu-Ray at prices ranging from $19.95 to $39.95. If you'd like to win your own copy read on.
I have three copies of the movie to give away on the winner's choice of either HD download, DVD or Blu-Ray. The contest will run until the end of the day on November 4th. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment with a valid e-mail address on this post with a funny slogan, haiku or some other type of description of your local climbing scene. As an example, here's what I might say about the scene where I live from my perspective:
Winters in the gym
Real rock is a real long drive
I just hurt myself
Or whatever. Have fun with it and I'll come up with some method of voting to pick the three best. I may even throw in a free ClimbingNarc.com T-Shirt if the entries get real impressive. Good luck!
Footnotes
- 1. Not a technical term back
60 comments
Stout and sandbagged climbs.
Always someone on Sometime
Stuck to slipping feet.
sticky icky icky icky, oh wee! i mean the rock.
Anti-hydral cream
Perfect temps and monkey calls
Rocktober is now
-Sol Wertkin
Leavenworth, WA
solwertkin@gmail.com
My bouldering gym
It's not Yosemite rock
But I can walk there.
All
Routes
On the wall
Contain
Kryptonite
The mountains are best in Colorado they boast
We got the rock in California they toast
Search wide and far, when it comes to gnar
Nothing can beat the East Coast.
:D
Endless splitter hands
Walls that go on forever
Squamish granite rocks
The four seasons here
Rain, rain, rain, and rock climbing
Welcome to Portland.
Great rock on east coast,
but my partner is betrothed.
Hey girl, hold my rope?
Hipsters claim to climb
Gym is a singles bar, so
Smith every weekend
Portland, OR
Climbing CT rock?
Your protection has been chopped
Put your trad rack on.
--- and one bitter one for The Scene:
Dropped the twenty bucks
Fight or flight scene was a joke
False advertising
=p
Leave the stick clip at home
Dont fall before the first bolt cuz you'll slide to the ground
Jackson Falls slab can stick with the best around
-Andy
sletten1@illinois.edu
Sadly felt the same way about the Bishop segment. Film could've used a bit more focus on a select few 'scenes' rather than trying to cover more with breadth. Nonetheless, a fun experience overall and the soundtrack was really well done.
lol @ the Fight or Flight haiku - I kind of felt the same way TBH. I kept waiting for that crazycakes double dyno everyone's been talking about, but don't recall seeing any clean footage of that.
The mountains are beautiful
and the projects are vast
but todays first snow
has me sitting on my @$$
-Joe (Colorado)
2busyclimbing@gmail.com
Desert Ho!
My climber friend has got the
rope
And I have packed the rack.
We're all set for the trip ahead.
We're never coming back!
We're abandoning this life we
led!
So long, rain and dark!
We're sick of climbing in the
gym,
And now it's going to stop!
We're going where the sun shines
all day,
Where life can have real meaning.
Around every corner sit more
boulders,
Perfect stone. I must be dreaming!
The Desert is the place for us!
That's where we want to live.
Down there we'll get to yell and
cuss
And act real primitive.
We'll never have to not crack
climb,
Force gear into the fissures,
Treat battered skin at days end,
In pursuit of the next big send.
We'll never have to take rest
days
Only top out big red towers.
Merrily we’ll rap on down
To our beers waiting by the fire!
The climbing scene provides our
friends,
The nights with laughter ring
Telling tales of far off crags
And plans to visit in the spring.
Oh what a life! We cannot wait,
To be in that sun drenched land,
Where we'll be masters of our
fate,
And lead a life that's grand!
No more wasting of the clock!
Now down south we go
Good riddance to those plastic
holds,
We're leaving! Desert Ho!
An Ode to Sunset Boulders, Goat Rock CA
Alas, a rock named for a goat
Where a mammoth scratched his ass
Polished fine, time over time
Still yet, a decent line
I've come to late, the wind doth blow
Oh well, it’s time for a beer
One last go, cram the toes in slow
Chalk up, the end is near
Topped out! I voice a soliloquy
Conquered! I endured
The rush, it’s gone, a subtle frown
Now, how do I get down?
senior year and foodstamps
no fall trips, Red, New, or prime Temps
but come 2012 Earthtreks' Expansion and college graduation!
Tulsa, where the climbers like it on the rocks.
fingers hurt. too much trad. guess i'll go back home and stick to plastic. aint no trad in the plastic warehouse.
Rock Canyon, UT. No ostentation there.
Darren
my scene is summed up by a lot of guys walking around the gym with their shirts off and bragging about sending their 5.10d "project" while lines for the top ropes are five people deep
Climbing always fun
So I thought before this post
Zach's scene proves me wrong
try not to pull the really good holds off
sandbagged at least two number grades
2 pure lines = 19 contrived link ups, reverse starts, and traverses
the choss pile I call home
Athens, OH
Jake
Ode to Northern Man:
Rumney Rock's the Schist,
Great Barrington is Gneiss,
Lynn Woods Granite Bites.
http://www.mountainproject.com/v/lynn-woods/105908096
Nonplussed means surprised. Just sayin'
Hmm. In my head it meant something slightly different. I need to get my head examined...
Haha no I think its a pretty common misconception. I always though it meant something akin to unimpressed or unfazed. It just sounds like it should.
Some bash Jersey but
Gunks are a stone's throw away
And we have Snooki
Red River Gorgeous
Ten hours away, still local?
Always worth the trip
here i am, a grad student at Pitt
The climbing scene here is quite a drip
i miss my old gyms, and climbing friends
i need to go on a serious climbing movie bend
i was getting strong then hurt my wrist
my climbing life unfortunately has taken a chossy twist
I started three years ago and now im obsessed
Id love to see this movie, id really feel blessed
climbing is great and i miss pullin with my group
in one short year hopefully ill be back
sending and not barn-dooring on to the stack
i love everything about climbing
plus my bday is nov 6th, what perfect timing
- to go with my poem, im a grad student at university of pittsburgh, the gym isnt great and the ppl there arent the friendliest unfortunately, and since my wrist is a little busted Id love to have some climbing media. THANKS NARC
dude, i was at Pitt 10 years ago. i feel you 100%. the scene is lame sauce! i kept my head down, found a few friends and did coopers and local sandstone every weekend. make sure to try the V2 over the fountain at the front entrance of the cathedral.... also a good 5.12+ is to (solo) from the ground floor to the third floor of the cathedral,assuming you can still study in there at night... and it's a bit empty.
Here at Northwest Branch
People have sex in public
It is not so cool
P.S. it would be nice to something more aesthetically pleasing to watch!
Sincerely,
Matt (A disturbed climber from MD)
I am stuck in Hell. No really I climb in Hell!
For some reason I like Hell Choss.
Other people like it too I am not the only crazy person in SLC.
Nik
Because of "The Scene" i got to meet the legend
Because of "The Scene" premier i got to meet Chris Sharma
Because of Chris Sharma i got to meet Daila Ojeda, addition to Step Davis
Because of "The Scene" im going back to Bishop where i got shut down the first time
Because of "The Scene" im gonna climb my S%$# out of bishop till my fingers fall off
o0canadaeh@yahoo.com
Prius, check!
Leaf eater, check!
They must be from Boulder.
Montana - where every flake could be your last....
jason_1424_143@hotmail.com
Sending temps perfect
Projects everywhere I look
Knuckles dragging low
My dad and I bolting new routes with great friends, on perfect stone. It doesn't get much better.
andrew.john.wheatley@gmail.com
My dad and I bolting new routes with great friends, on perfect stone. It doesn't get much better.
Andrew.john.wheatley@gmail.com
Ode to Northern Man:Rumney Rock's the Schist,Great Barrington rocks are Gneiss,Lynn Woods Granite Bites.
needed an extra syllable...whooops
The season is here in New England, with vivid colors and cool temps
I just finished my hardest send to date, an FA all alone on a steep arete
So I quickly logged on to 8a.nu to add the tick to my list
But Jens' had already downgraded it, even though it didn't exist
It rains alot.
no good climbing gyms,
rude local climbers,
bitch fits on mountain project,
so so rock thats way too far away,
sandbagged grades,
and working way to hard to stay positive and sane!
welcome to the midwest!
"Current Conditions"
Climbing in the rain
Climbing in the cold
Climbing and Climbing
Up we must GO!
In Davis, we got Rocknasium.
Where the people are amazingium.
And that’s good, cause it’s flat
there ain’t a rock
around, cept plas-tac
So we crank and pull on what we got,
Cause ain’t no shame in not having real rock.
I can’t count the days I’ve lamented,
Over not having Yosemite in my backyard.
And it’s too bad because I’ve always said driving’s demented,
So I stay in Davis and don’t go far.
But that’s OK cause we got rocknasium,
Where the people are super amazingium,
And everybody still pulls down real hard.
From the Last Frontier I came
where skiing, fishing, and hiking reign
twasn't till a move to Western Granite did I meet
the movement and lifestyle of climbing so sweet
The road forebode of tales yet told
of camping and climbing in the cold
Bishop, J-Tree, and nearby lands
welcomed the few of us, and our eager hands
Now I find myself a mile high
where fresh snow fallen from the sky
orders the "Boulderites" to send inside
There waits the sandstone, granite and gneiss
and for the time being, its well worth the price
the rock, the people, the times to hold near
will keep me climbing (I hope) year after year.
-chris v.
vunamese@gmail.com
Will that tri-cam hold?
Of course it will, it's the gunks
Now sack up and climb!
Sixty hour work week
The Climbing Narc keeps us psyched
Virginia sandstone
Climb Austin! But don't pull too hard.
cdurchholz@gmail.com
Live near Chicago
No rock for hundreds of miles
FML so much.
Climbing scene in London:
Busy at the wall
Dreams of classic routes at work
Weekends in the rain:
East coast has snow,
Sandstone is calling
I'm not in Mass anymore
- Castle Rock State Park
Dont worry about the grade just try it and have fun!
Sharp holds, sharp as shit
Beginners cries, make 'em quit
Hard climbs, make me spit
Too much webbing
Sound of cow bellsSurrounded by FIBs
I was born in Florida
All that's seen is flat
Who knew I'd be born to climb?
Fight or flight, eyes ignite,Flipped flopped and ready to drop,words like bombs in Vietnam,I'm in an irate state of a refugee ape,without the patience to wait,on butterfly strokin, chokin, and smokin,through this ether,to the top of the theater.This is the feature,so don't forget your medicinal tincture.An I'll be the teacher,and you be the creature.Movin up in the third dimension,Holden the tension,you wishin, that thisis,a mission that's free for admission,when you go fishin,for complements inthis,environment of that which we piss in,so listen cause I'm a man on a mission.Lay off of the media that feeds ya,the meaningless news, views, and interviews,chasin the ceiling, and dealing with anonymous feelings,that ulcerate the dear, sphere,which is near,to the heart,of every Clark Kent from the start,when he leaves his mark.Leaving a number on the Terra firma,and a hole in the soul,so look behind the derma,which Sharma, and Sherman, and other men,didn't see comin.Its becoming a patheticstudy of genetics,the "haves" and "have nots"to which we have forgot,the blood and tears and all of the years,that we and they spent wasting,cutting and pasting,at the same time shaking,and wagging our mutilated pointer finger,at the wake of what's conquered,and the opinions they offer.So what a shocker,that we need to evolve or,get lost in this coffer,and pay homage to the fathers,of vertical walkers.Stop being a stalker with nothing to offer.Time to defeat the monster,that feeds off the roster,of sprayers that foster,this snake that's eating his tail,and hammers the nail,in the coffin of climbing,that will die before I do,unless we do what we have to,and loosen this noose and go back to our roots,and get rid of those in cahoots with the suits,who seek to loot such a worthy pursuit,to bear a tainted fruit and meet a bottom line.Well, its time to shine,for those opinions who are aligned with mine.This is the bottom line:Its time to climb.
Climbing away in the garage
In mind we all send the hardest line
The Scene a head Mirage
Big thanks to everyone who entered. The winners will be notified soon.