The Last Forgotten Art: Award-Winning Film
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Is crack climbing the last forgotten art? Perhaps there are certain artistic aspects when learning how to contort yourself, on rock so steep you are practically upside down in cracks that are perfectly sized to take a hand jam, in rock that’s so sharp it’s like climbing a sharp, pebble-dashed crevice.
In ‘The Last Forgotten Art’, the film places emphasis on a different style of climbing that requires a certain amount of creativity to climb, focusing on the fringes of the climbing community drawn to all things wide at its heart. From hand-sized splitters, chicken wings to wedged knees, and whole-body wriggles, the film follows crack aficionados, Mel, Vicky, and Steve in their pursuit of climbing slightly more unusual, so-called ‘off-width climbs’ found at Ramshaw Rocks in the Peak District. Ranging from ‘VS’ to E4, the climbs not only require brute strength and mental fortitude, but a sense of play and tough skin to succeed in tackling some of the roughest, maddest, widest cracks in town.
‘The Last Forgotten Art’ is a film directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Jessie Leong, about finding a connection to oneself, connection to nature, and the bond formed through sharing a rope.
#rockclimbing #crackclimbing
This film is brilliant. The first trad route i remember properly fighting for was Imposition, seeing it again makes me want to get back to ramshaw
I’m unsure as to whether it inspired me to go back or to sell all my big cams and avoid the place like the plague 🤣
Mel is lovely. Such a positive member of the Outside team. The customer experience is such a pleasure with her there 👏🏼
Bad ass climber too evidently 🙌🏼
Yep, she’s an absolute legend - always got a big smile whenever you get into the shop.
Well done Mel! So wholesome x
A M A Z I N G video. Not about super stars , uber climbers - but ordinary people !
It just makes it so much more relatable doesn’t it
After spending at least a year thinking about cracks from UA-cam and then getting to try the odd crack on a boulder made of plastics holds that were a colour too hard for me, I finally got to try an f5(?) wholly crack boulder yesterday.. I was able to hold the starting position! I'm glad now my journey to the kraken can officially start 😎👍
I remember the first crack I did feeling absolutely desperate, but the more you do the easier they feel…although I’m not sure the Kraken will ever feel easy (at least for me)… 😅
What a class video.
Thanks Stephen 🙏
Back when I started climbing (in 1977) most of the local club members were still using big boots, this lead to some interesting route grading! I.e. the top dihedral pitch on "The Milky Way" (Melkeveien) in Fosen, Trøndelag had an off-width crack in the bottom which was the perfect size for those big mountain boots, so it was rated a 4+. In the modern guide book it has been significantly upgraded. Since we didn't have any bolts, crack climbing was the only kind we knew!
It’s amazing how climbing has changed. There’s so many different disciplines, be that trad, sport or boulder, then within each of these these there’s a whole load more. We’re spoilt for choice!!
@@ukclimbingofficial Yes indeed! I've been very fortunate in that I started early enough to experience the entire history of modern climbing. That off-width pitch I mentioned was originally aid climbed with wood wedges, then when I started we used the brand new aluminum Hexentrics.
They had been invented a few years previously by Tomas Carlström, a Swede who ran one of the two climbing gear mail order shops in Norway.
That was fun!
Thanks 🙏
Awesome video!!
Thanks Benjy 🙏
nice work Jessie :)
She’s done a great job hasn’t she
Almost impossible to find cracks set indoor here in the US. The bouldering and sport climbing gym I go to here in the US have one crack each that is part of the wall design. The crack at the sport climbing gym gets decent traffic from the trad dads coming in on their weekdays but every time I run laps on the crack at the bouldering gym a crowd of V7 capable boulder bros gathers around me in amazement that I can just hang there for seemingly indefinite periods of time.
Until recently there weren’t many in the UK, but I think the Wideboyz have driven a demand for it - partly through their online content and partly through the production of some decent cracks/volumes for gyms to use. Be interesting to see if there is a general trend towards more cracks set indoors within the next few years 🤔
Crack climbing is a whole different animal i could never get it even being instructed on the various jamb techniques. It was just pure pain to me.
I think there’s only so much you can be taught with jamming, after which the only way to improve is to go out and do it. Jamming gloves help with the pain too, if that’s a problem.
Love this made me laugh great work guys
Glad you enjoyed it!
When did this become its own thing? It's just climbing. Techniques everyone should know for climbing.
I don’t think crack climbing being it’s own thing is anything particularly new, in fact - it’s very, very old; however, I do think there’s been a rekindled interest in the genre within recent years. As for it being a technique everyone should know, I guess it depends what you’re into. I’m an all-rounder, so I’d be inclined to agree, but if you’re not - or you’ve got no interest in learning - why other? Either way, it’s great to see it being celebrated, because there’s no other discipline of climbing quite like it…
Great film, really enjoyed watching this.
Any clue as to the route at 0:38? Is that The Crank?
Yep, it’s The Crank 👍
@@ukclimbingofficial Thanks UKC, that's one for the wishlist 🙂
@@bstarpros I did it back when I first started climbing, prior to any jamming ability. I initially tried to layback it, which - as you can probably imagine - went pretty badly. Several falls later I summited, bloodied, bruised and beaten. Years later I went back and couldn't believe how straightforward (and short) it was. It was like I'd climbed two completely different routes, although I guess I had. It's amazing how easy jamming is when you know how to, but how hard it is when you don't 😅
Or, as we called it back in the early 80s, “climbing”.
I think you’d have to go back a bit earlier than that - maybe try the 50s 😅