The To-Do list. Its a staple of getting through your trip to the grocery store, a home improvement project, or the workday. For many climbers, its also a way to focus in on the season ahead and know where to focus efforts. Lisa Rands knows that, and that’s why she wrote herself a “hit list” on bright pink paper.
This is a short review, its a short film (less than 30 minutes), but the boulders Lisa loves are anything but short. She loves the tall, proud lines and has for a long time (just see her cameo’s in Sharp End and Specimen). This film by her then-boyfriend (now husband) Wills Young captures one season in the American west ticking off all the highballs that had caught Lisa’s eye on previous trips, or that had gone up in recent seasons.
Wills Young is a fantastic climber and phenomenal guidebook author, and while his film isn’t Big Up! material, it was better shot and edited than Big Up!’s first film. Multiple camera angles, close-ups on holds where appropriate, and soundtrack split between techno-club music and girl-vocal punk rock, there’s a lot to like, even if its not in today’s ultra-HD quality.
Forget the editing though. What makes the film is the boulders. It opens with a sizeable fall onto the pads. Lisa has high ambitions, and picks some real gems to tackle for this flick, including well known lines like Thriller, Bruce Lee, and Checkboard. I’ve had the pleasure of climbing with and around Lisa very briefly and she is the real deal and then some, Hello Kitty gear and all. She speaks candidly about her motivations, and what about each boulder drew her in.
Verdict: Worth a watch. If you’re like me and you like highballs, this is an excellent greatest hits for the California area
The Who:
Lisa Rands
The What:
Bishop
High Plains Drifter
Redrum Sit
Center Direct
Checkerboard
Plain High Drifter
Lake Tahoe
White Lines
Black Mountain
Cracker Boy
Gimme Some
Smack Down
Yosemite
Bruce Lee
Thriller
Horse Flats
Orange Flambe
Sword of Damocles