If The Real Thing is the iconic UK bouldering film for Fontainbleau, Stone Love is its Swiss cousin.   This wasn’t a film on my radar initially, until a V-VeryStrong climber recommended it to me as one of his favorites.  Its an old Slackjaw flick, and I finally got my mitts on a real deal VHS copy.

Luckily for you lot, the man himself, Ben Pritchard, has been so generous in these times of COVID-19 fueled isolation as to post it to YouTube for all of us to see.  I’ll save you my rambling here – go watch it, its worth the hour of your time.  If you want to know why I think that, keep reading.

Stone Love tells the story of a crew of UK climbers heading to Cresciano for a few weeks of bouldering.  You know, just little known names like Andy Harris, Richie Patterson, Jerry Moffatt, Ben Moon, and some guy named Malcolm Smith, whoever that is.  In its 50 minute run time, the film packs in a lot of moderate and hard climbing, but it also packs in a lot of the humanity that’s usually lost on the cutting room floor, or not filmed at all. So, while you get to see the sending, you also get to see relatable footage – grumpy climbers hunkering down during rainy days that threaten to spoil the trip, climbers grumbling about injuries, climbers warming up.  There’s little that removes the god-like aura that I placed around Jerry Moffatt like watching footage of him climbing a wet 5+ (V2) just for the sake of scratching that itch that comes after too many days off.

This is a film that documents the trip, much less than it does the climbing itself – most of the footage only shows the interesting moves on any given problem, and most climbs sub 7C+ (V10) aren’t even graced with names.  This might be because the names weren’t well established in 2001, or the climbers where just ambling up whatever looked good that day without staring at the guidebook.  In the day and age where folks (the author included) agonize over the nuances of the lines, its almost refreshing to be unburdened by the titles we give each problem.  That said, watching Malcolm Smith yard on V13+ stuff, just a year after V15 was first established, is still awe inspiring for the raw power on display.

Most stand-out are the archetypes represented by each of the five climbers – I think most of us who have been on a trip recognize them.  Consider which you identify with, and then ask your compatriots which you are, maybe you’ll learn a little about yourself.  I found the personalities and social  dynamics as interesting as the climbing honestly.  How each climber supports or is supported by the others, how each copes with their expectations, how each defines success.

Its a great film of its era, and there’s charm in characters and their sarcastic banter that makes up for the now-dated VHS quality and production value.

Verdict: Watch It, if only to learn new ways to motivate or taunt your friends.

Featuring:
Ben Moon
Jerry Moffatt
Andy Harris
Richie Patterson
Malcolm Smith
Cameo by a special American Spotter

Problems:
La Boule
La Proue
Lo Spigolo Bianco
L’Appel
L’Appel Dyno
La Rondella Bassa