Of Choss and Lions

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.