If Masters of Stone 4 foreshadowed a changing of the guard, it arrived in full in the fifth installment. Stone Masters are out, Stone Monkeys are in. Two short years after MoS 5, Dosage 1 will drop, and the scene would pivot (nearly) in its entirety. Until then, the franchise keeps its Yosemite roots alive by making most of this film a showcase of up-and-comer Dean Potter.
But no Masters of Stone film would be complete without a hilarious opening disclaimer, “Do not attempt anything you see here if you value your life”, and some hilarious mood setting narration:
This entrance into the series starts slower than others, with Dean Potter bouldering a horizontal roof crack that appears to be 80 feet or more in length, without a pad in sight but a few spotters to hand. It’s implied that he’s able to do it “on command”, setting a bar for the level of fitness on display.
From there we meet Steph Davis, who, after deciding on an outfit, proceeds to solo a number of splitters in the 5.11 range with a practiced ease that almost makes to forget she’s ropeless. This marks one of my few gripes with this film, the camera placement give the audience the gratuitous butt shot for a few of the cuts, and the choice to highlight her goosebumps with a close-up of her thigh was odd. That said, I think of those interviewed, she speaks most relateably on soloing – she’s on her feet the whole time and super comfortable.
In a departure from that analytical sensibility, the next scene shows Dean sending what at the time was the world record highline at 120 feet. Unlike future features, he is tethered in this, and pontificates a bit about the feel and the self-talk and the primal nature of it all.
Back to the climbing we finally see some familiar faces, and a trio of disabled climbers. If you’ve never watched a legally blind man attempt to place cams while on the sharp end, its a palm sweating good time. There’s a brief moment of appreciated, if obviously forced, exposition where Mark Wellman discusses his paralysis, Hugh Herr his amputations, and Erik Weihenmayer his vision lost, before the the three of them make their way up the iconic Ancient Art. Watching each try and navigate up onto the diving board feature is an experience.
Back to Dean, we see his first proper solos of the film, starting with Scavenger, complete with exposition of his view of soloing, its headspace, and its ramifications. Stealing the show in this chapter however is a solo of Sinister, which is objectively gorgeous.
What follows are probably the two most diverse chapters – the mandatory shenanigans chapter (I won’t spoil it but a winch is involved), and the BASE jump chapter, suprisingly highlighting two newer faces making a massive exit off a shear vertical wall on Baffin Island.
Finally, into the Penultimate location, we find our way to Yosemite. We all know it was going to end up here, its Masters of Stone afterall. More impressive that the footage of hardman Scott Burk punching up Freerider is that they managed to capture near full frontal footage of his belayer relieving himself into a jug without including the censorable bits. From the big wall into the Valley, we catch up with familiar face Rick Cashner who lends some context to the area with tales of OG wildman John Yabo Yablongski.
In the last original climbing scene, we find the centerpiece, the crowning gem this has been building to – Dean soloing The Nose, at some level of speed. Is some of it probably played up a little? Yes. Does that take away from some free-soloing slippery laybacks with 3000ish feet of air below them? No. My palms were legitimately sweaty, moreso the famous Honnold Freerider solo. Yes, Dean aided solid portions, and could always clip in to take a breather, but he also seemed to be operating on narrower margins, and certainly without the cold calculation of the worlds most famous soloist.
The final act of this film is the most bittersweet. Anyone who has read previous reviews knows I often bristled at Dan Osman’s antics, because I can’t un-know how the story ends. This film’s tribute to DanO captures all of his greatest hits, his larger than life persona, a few quiet moments where he actually seemed a little nervous, all to an appropriate Metallica soundtrack.
Truthfully, the structure and pacing of this film was solid, ramping up as it went, although Steph Davis’s accomplishments could have been placed later in the sequence because they’re proper impressive. By focusing on that era of Dean and Steph’s life, it stays true to its origins of Bachar and DanO soloing, and I’m glad that wasn’t lost. The music was middling throughout, and its clear someone was smashing the mix slider its full length when fading soundtrack to interview and back, but on a bright note, the narration was confined to the opening.
The Verdict – Borrow It. This one was tough. I’m genuinely impressed by what is showcased, but unfortunately this entry in the series lacks some of the variety that it would need to get fully into Buy It territory. As close as it can get without going over the line.
The Who:
Dean Potter
Steph Davis
Scott Burk
Erik Weihenmayer
Mark Wellman
Hugh Herr
Will Oxx
Dave Barlia
Rick Cashner
Gemini Bridges, Moab, UT
Crackhouse Roof
Indian Creek, UT
Coyne Crack (Free solo)
Scarface (Free solo)
Potash Road, Utah
30 Seconds Over Potash
Fisher Towers, Utah
Ancient Art
Millcreek Canyon, Utah
Scavenger (Freesolo)
Sinister (Freesolo)
Baffin Island, Canada
Polar Sun Spire (Base Jump)
Yosemite, CA
Freerider
Short Circuit (Free solo)
The King (Free solo)
Get It Up (Free solo)
The Nose (solo)
