I just finished watching the much-hyped “Rotpunkt” film and enjoyed it thoroughly.
The best parts of this flick may be the historical dive into the genesis of redpoint climbing, which began in the Frankenjura in the late 1970s and progressed throughout the 1980s. Some of the archival footage of Wolfang Gullich ripping off front levers with a half-boner bulging out of his tights are just too classic.
The way this section was edited calls to mind the style popularized by the Reel Rock Tour in such films as Valley Uprising. In fact, this whole era of climbing is one of the most important eras of our sport, but also one of the least mythologized. It really does deserve its own an homage on par with what Valley Uprising gave the StoneMasters. This film comes close to achieving that.
It’s never clear how any of this history really relates to Alex Megos, other than the fact he is German. But it’s pretty easy to get over that, not think too hard, and just enjoy all the climbing and training porn of Megos doing splits, levers, one-finger pull-ups, and ultimately, succeeding on the first ascent of Perfecto Mundo.
If nothing else, Megos is impressively strong … but you never get a real sense of how deep he is since his trainer does most of the philosophizing and projecting his thoughts on Megos’ behalf. Here, the trainer is an excellent observer and narrator of what makes sport climbing so fulfilling.
Check it out. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Nice quick summary. I was also really stoked to learn more about that era- time and place, and the history of the redpoint. Definitely got overtones from Valley Up.
I feel like mego’s style relates well as he’s basically trying to push the next level of the sport; just as the 80s frankenjura climbers were doing. in regard to philosophy… megos is pretty young. It’s sorta nice they didn’t ask him to dig too deep into his own head. I’m not sure what we’d get out of that at this point as he’s still basically working on it all. It’s sorta summed up in the moment of reflection at gulich’s gravestone. Not much needs to be said.
The info about the red dot on the coffee pot blew my mind! I loved that. 30 years I’ve been climbing I never knew that. The film also helped give Kurt Albert his due as one of the major figures in free climbing. Learning about the old school German climbers adds extra weight to his classic lederhosen free soloing photo. Great little film.
Nice quick summary. I was also really stoked to learn more about that era- time and place, and the history of the redpoint. Definitely got overtones from Valley Up.
I feel like mego’s style relates well as he’s basically trying to push the next level of the sport; just as the 80s frankenjura climbers were doing. in regard to philosophy… megos is pretty young. It’s sorta nice they didn’t ask him to dig too deep into his own head. I’m not sure what we’d get out of that at this point as he’s still basically working on it all. It’s sorta summed up in the moment of reflection at gulich’s gravestone. Not much needs to be said.
The info about the red dot on the coffee pot blew my mind! I loved that. 30 years I’ve been climbing I never knew that. The film also helped give Kurt Albert his due as one of the major figures in free climbing. Learning about the old school German climbers adds extra weight to his classic lederhosen free soloing photo. Great little film.