Wiz Kids. Every sport has them. In the 00s, climbing’s rising stars were Tori Allen and Scott Cory.  Sure they are crushing the indoor circuit, but how would they fare on real stone?  What about the Big Stone?

Hans Florine is an ambitious man.  He wants to take these two young guns up onto The Nose, which up until then was only climbed by Lynn Hill, Lynn Hill, and Scott Burke. Can they onsight it?  Can they each free all the pitches?  Could they at least team-free the climb?  Can they even just cope with the exposure and get to the top at all?

Lynn Hill makes clear she thinks this “Pie-in-the-Sky” list is just that, overly wishful thinking.  They watch the legendary “Freeing the Nose” for that dose of psyche, and set off up the face.  They’re joined by Hans, Beth Rodden, and Steve Schnieder, with Rob Raker and Tommy Caldwell on camera duty.

This film has it all, and I will capture its magnitude in the following disjoint list:

• Stuffed animals
• Rough starts
• Tears
• Young people bickering over stuck gear
• Selfies taken with a disposable camera (15 years ago was a long time ago)  
• Shipoopi as some sort of wild-eyed song-singing camp councilor persona  
• A plethora of voiceover – it is a documentary afterall 
• Cranky mornings
• Beth seeming 100% stumped with the Changing Corners pitch (hilariously described here as “Rated 5.13b, but it may be harder”)  
• A teenager stepping into the stirrup of their first ever aid placement 1500 feel off the deck
• Young people bickering over candybars

Verdict: Better than I thought it would be. I’m not gonna lie – I was expecting some sort of after-school special fluff-piece.  The sort of thing you’d catch on the evening news caked with hyperbolic adjectives that miss the point, but this is actually a film made by those familiar with climbing.  It’s not some epic, but it is an incredibly human piece, as youth have an honesty to them that adults often keep shielded.  Its still hokey in spots, but as an adult I have an appreciation for the indirect coaching that Hans and Steve engage to keep Tori and Scott in the right mental space while ensuring safety, its a real art.

The Who
Tori Allen
Scott Cory
Hans Florine
Lynn Hill
Beth Rodden
Steve Schnieder
Tommy Caldwell

The What
The Nose, El Cap