Of Choss and Lions
2017 · 15 min · Trad, Big Wall, Documentary · The North Face
Alex Honnold and Cedar Wright go to Kenya to climb Mt. Poi, described here as Africa's biggest big wall, and find the rock about as trustworthy as the name of the film suggests. Wright directed it for The North Face, which means it is shot with real money and edited by someone who was also on the sharp end of the choss. This is the Honnold and Wright pairing at its most characteristic: an ambitious objective, a mostly unclimbed formation, and a running commentary that refuses to take any of it too seriously. Between the wildlife, the debauchery and the actual first ascent attempts, it is a reminder that expedition climbing on unknown rock is mostly logistics, dust and nerve. Good company for anyone who likes their big walls unpolished.
Review
The Honnold and Cedar Wright pairing at its most characteristic, and Wright's direction is the reason. The two go to Kenya to climb Mount Poi, described as Africa's biggest big wall, and find the rock as trustworthy as the title suggests. Wright directed it for The North Face and was also on the sharp end of the choss.
This is for anyone who likes their big walls unpolished. The film is an ambitious objective, a mostly unclimbed formation, and a running commentary that refuses to take any of it seriously. Skip it if you want a clean route record. The first ascent attempts are real but the film treats them as one part of a trip that also includes wildlife and what the writeup politely calls debauchery.
What works is the honesty about what expedition climbing on unknown rock mostly is: logistics, dust and nerve. The choss is not a joke here, it is the subject, and the footage of loose rock is genuinely uncomfortable. What it gets wrong is that the jokes sometimes cover the fear rather than showing it. Fifteen minutes is short for a wall this serious.
Alex Honnold Climbs Angola, the VICE Sports film, is the closest comparison: same continent, same climber, unclimbed rock and a country most viewers know nothing about. That film is a travel documentary. This one is a climbing film with a sense of humor, and I prefer it.
