Tielma Productions: May 2009

Success!

Joel Berglund bearing down on the crux, Kattresan 7c, Skevik. It all culminated in a monumental battle on the slopers above with Joel finally sending after days of effort.

1/200s, F4.0, 105mm, ISO200 © 2009 Shawn Boye

Herakleia Reviewed

I wasn't quite sure why Sercan kept trying to convince me to take a trip to Turkey to check out this mountain full of boulders, especially, considering he'd just been there with Mike Call to film Herakleia...

The concept is solid, right? Take your friends climbing to some beautiful location, bring some cameras along and “Man, let’s make a movie!” Well, Mike Call has been doing this longer than just about everybody else, so here we go, “Hueco Plus”.

I remember taking a GR course a few years back, that’s General Relativity in case you’re wondering, and there was this guy sitting next to me trying to work out the tensors and no, not the type you use on your knee. Anyway, he was about 50, but easily 40, and I’m thinking “Man, if you don’t have an idea what it’s all about by now, you never will.” It’s just that, by the time you’ve got a handle on how to figure it out you’ve figured it out. Isn’t that the beauty of solving a boulder? So you look at yourself and you hope that in 25 years you’re just a bit further down the road, that your travels have led you just a bit further.

Maybe I digress, but I was left with that sinking sensation that the prom king was now living in a trailer. Back in the day Boone was the man, and while it still works for Josh, just because Sharma’s still cutting it, literally, some dogs have had their day. To quote a genius, “Do the evolution…”

It’s the lack of progression that comes through most evidently in Herakleia, the feeling that the collage kid never moved on, he just got slower.

Nonetheless, the Herakleia area looks fantastic. But seriously, with all that rock, what more motivation do you need? Or to put it this way, if my buddy pulls on a pair of headphones the next time he tries to send we’re probably looking for different experiences. I can understand why Sercan wanted a 2nd go at it, and while it looks like a fantastic area, when I go I’ll take my shoes instead of a camera, because as Herakleia is evidence you can’t take both and succeed…

Reviewed by Shawn Boye 2009.05.25

The DVD is available from www.tielma.com for 295 kr