Film Review: Reel Rock Tour

The Reel Rock Tour comes to town. 

This Wednesday, November 28, the Reel Rock 13 Tour brings its action-filled climbing films to Bozeman. This year's lineup features four of the year’s best, showcasing adventure, breathtaking landscapes, and incredible climbing prowess. Although Bozeman is no Yosemite, it has a disproportionate amount of dedicated and passionate rock climbers who comprise a community all their own—and who will surely rejoice in these four films that celebrate climbing done right. 

In Valley of the Moon, a team of three bands together to set a route in the Valley of the Moon, a picturesque desert wilderness in southern Jordan. Featuring both Israeli and American climbers, the film shows climbing in its raw form: loads of huge, accessible rcok; gritty, grimey conditions; and very few climbers. The Jordanian locals want more tourists, so the team sets out to create a modern route on an 1,800-foot rock face, in the hopes of drawing international climbers. “The film encompasses the passion of these people and how connected they are to the places in which they climb,” explains Henna Taylor, director of the film. The end product? Fifteen pitches of extreme and fierce climbing in a remote desert full of massive sandstone walls.

In Queen Maud Land, six climbers go on an expedition to the far reaches of Antarctica, led by renowned mountaineer and Bozeman resident Conrad Anker. They all set individual goals to summit different peaks. Watch as these elite climbers surmount snow-covered towers rising from a vast, frozen landscape, their hands turning to icy bricks as they strive to reach their goals. But that's all part of the process: suffering through adversity only makes one's accomplishments that much more worthwhile.

Up to Speed is about speed climbing, one of three climbing events set to premiere at the 2020 Olympics. In its simplest form, speed climbing is a 15-meter dash, straight up. It may seem simple, but it requires working on the same route for months or even years at a time. And watching a climber whiz up a wall in under five seconds is impressive indeed.

The final film, Age of Ondra, shows the climbing prowess of one man, Adam Ondra, as he attempts an intense 5.15 route. Ondra hasn’t stopped pushing the boundaries of climbing since he completed the first ascent of “Silence,” a 5.15d in Norway widely considered the hardest route ever climbed. See Ondra as he puts his name out there again—and puts the rest of us to shame.

For tickets and more information, visit reelrocktour.com.