The Sends Reviewed by Carl-Ola Boström

Join a slightly different adventure through a not so well known venue. Sweden and Swedish climbers are in focus in Shawn Boye’s new film, The Sends. This is a 1½ hour action packed film featuring a part of all the different climbing styles that you can find in this long country.

We follow Swedish superstars Peter Bosma, Stefan Rasmussen, Scott Mooney, Stefan Wulf and Björn Strömberg on their lifelong quest of finding out what it takes to send. They travel through Sweden and explore the fantastic piscobloc (deep/shallow water solo), sport- and tradclimbing on the west coast in Bohuslän and the steep and crimpy bouldering on the east coast in Västervik, Stockholm and Åland.

A lot of the climbing pictured in the film really gets me psyched to go on yet another road trip in Sweden but surprisingly, for me as a notorious boulderer, the part that really gets me going is the trad from Bohuslän. I love the attitude of Scott and Dylan and it is really refreshing to see someone just shut up and climb.

Another part that gets my fingers sweating is Wulfs psicobloc ascent of Elefantsprickan. This is a steep crack around 8a+ and my only complaint is that it was practiced on toprope before the ascent. However, it is understandable as the water beneath him is only 1½ meters deep. That means Psicobloc with a big P. To see Stefan fliñar (a Spanish verb combing the verbs “to be high” and “to shit yourself”) in a way I have only seen in Mallorca before is really great.

As for the camerawork from Mr Boye it has really taken a big step since his last release. The angles, colors, editing etc exceed anything I have seen in a Swedish climbing film before. I know that his focus is still on getting real ascents, done in one take with multiple cameras and this does add to the experience.

Basically this is a film about passion, commitment and dedication. If you are contemplating a trip to Sweden it is a must to see The Sends before. If you are not planning a trip to Sweden, then watch out. You just might after watching it.

Carl-Ola Boström