Well, it seems that 2012 has kicked off well for Hot Aches Productions. With The Long Hope under our belts, we’ve moved on to a couple of really exciting projects. As you may know, one of these is ‘Wide Boyz’, a film about Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall and their successes on Century Crack.
It just so happens that Pete and Tom have been awarded the Golden Piton for the Crack Climbing category. On top of this, Dave MacLeod has been handed the same award in the Tradtional Climbing category for The Long Hope route.
This is great news for all three climbers, and we are incredibly excited and honoured to be documenting their successes.
With The Long Hope film in the can, it is great to end the project with such a prestigious award being given to Dave, and akin to this, it is brilliant to begin editing Wide Boyz, knowing that Pete and Tom have been commended in a similar way.
Rhapsody, the route Dave climbed in E11, earned him the same award for best traditional rock ascent back in 2006, so it's great to see him receive the award once more.
You can read more about the Golden Piton winners here.
Our new film, ‘The Long Hope’ is now available on DVD and HD download.
The Long Hope DVD, Cover photo by Lukasz Warzecha, design by Ifan Bates
We had a great time at the premiere last week, with a sold out theatre at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival. Folk seem to really enjoy it. It was great to be over hearing so many positive comments in the bar all weekend at Kendal… Not that we spent all weekend in the bar… just most of it!
The Long Hope premiere, pic Lukasz Warzecha
Highlights of Kendal for me include, Cory Richard’s and Anson Fogel’s short film 'Cold' and John Beatty’s A/V presentation, ‘Wild Vision’.
On the Sunday night we were all thrilled to win the People's Choice award, thank you to everyone who voted for the film.
The winning team! Andy Turner, Guy Heaton, Lukasz Warzecha, Ed Drummond, Matt Pycroft, Claire MacLeod, Dave MacLeod, Paul Diffley, presented by Nico Favresse
If you want to know what all the fuss is about, watch our new trailer and don’t fear the ‘Full Screen’ button, its 1080p!
'The Long Hope' - Trailer
Do you want to see it all? DVDs and HD downloads now available from hotaches.com.
Diff.
P.S. Please hit one of the magic buttons below to share this blog and share the love x
I've just spent two weeks shooting stills and video for the Gore Tex Experiace Tour - Norway. The 'tour' gave two winner of a competition, Julia Snihur and Helena Robinson, the chance to climb and explore Arctic Norway with Dave MacLeod.
Dave MacLeod, Helena Robinson, Julia Snihur below Blåmann
We were based at Ersfjorden (or as I like to call it Erik's Fjord) just 15min drive from Norway's northern city of Tromso. Tromso reminds me of a little of Inverness, its population is comparable, it's in the far north and it has a big bridge!
Ersfjorden (Sport crags and boulders)
Fishing boat on Ersfjorden
It is an awesome area, beautifully wild with tons of rock and amazing light.
Amazing Light
Dave was obviously very keen to get on to the 400m wall at Blåmann. In fact with in about an hour of picking up the hire car we had gone food shopping, dropped all our kit at our hut and we were walking in to crag. The walk in to the base is fairly short but stiff. I guess it's like the walk in to Orion's Face from the North face car park, or at least to the CIC hut.
The North Face of Blåmann
The wall felt quite alpine, you had to cross some short snow fields and a bergschrund before scrabbling up to its base. Dave then spent the next 3 days looking at freeing an existing aid route, Bongo Bar. I like to call it "Um Bongo" after the 1980's fruit drink:-
"Um Bongo, they drink it in the Congo"
After 3 days effort and working out all the moves on the hard lower pitches (upto F8a) Dave concluded that it wasn't a safe objective for the trip.
The team then focused on sports climbing for a few days.
Helena Robinson, climbing at "Erik's Fjord"
Dave MacLeod hanging out at "Erik's Fjord"
Dave MacLeod hanging off 'Fidel' at Gullknausen
Julia Snihur on Ramadanat "Erik's Fjord"
Helena Robinson on Granitveienat "Erik's Fjord"
Then Dave started to talk about Bongo Bar again, maybe there was a way it could be done. I remember asking Dave, "Is it niggling you"? He just laughed and said "Its more than a niggle!".
'Ghost Clouds over Blåmann'
So with only 4 days of the trip left we all hiked back into Blåmann again for Dave to attempt to lead the route free in a day with Julia seconding and sharing the lead on some of the easier top pitches.
Dave eyes up the route
With limited static rope, there was no way I could follow the ascent on the wall, so I got a position on a flank of rock overlooking the wall and shot video and stills from there. All the stills from this position have the theme of "Lost in a sea of granite"!
Dave and Julia swimming in the sea of granite
As Dave and Julia approached the top pitches I lowered down the last 50m of the cliff to film the final climbing. After 11 hours on the wall they topped out at sunset.
Dave and Julia top out at sunset. This picture was taken in the dark! ISO 800, 50mm f1.4, 1/30. It was lit by a head torch... I think it would have looked OK, but Julia was more interested in eating than posing for a picture after 11 hours on the wall.
Two days later, Dave and I were back on the wall for some reshoots of the hard lower pitches and to grab some close up stills.
Dave MacLeod on Pitch 2 of Bongo Bar
Dave MacLeod on Pitch 2 of Bongo Bar
So take the live footage from long shots and the top pitches, mix in the reshoot of the lower pitches, add some handicam footage taken on the wall by the climbers, cut with interviews from Dave and Julia and I think we have a film!
For now, here's a wee taster:-
Diff.
Thanks to GoreTex for supporting this trip and to Donald King providing safety and rigging support.
Yesterday at 20:40 Dave Macleod was sat on top of St John's Head having just completed the first ascent of Longhope Direct. The full route, at 500m, took Dave and Andy just under 10 hours to complete.
The Guillotine pitch - Lukasz Warzecha
When asked about the grade, an elated Dave said that he isn't entirely sure just yet, but knows that it's definitely harder than Rhapsody (E11 7a), the route he climbed at Dumbarton Rock in 2006.
Dave on Rhapsody - Hot Aches Productions
Upon hearing the news, Jon Arran stated that: "I find it incredible that this route has seen only three ascents in over 40 years and has never been repeated (or even attempted?) in the style of the previous ascent."
He continued to explain that the route was first climbed by Drummond and Hill using any means available to complete the route. After that the face went unclimbed for 27 years until Arran and Turnbull climbed it free, taking a different route between the two arêtes to make for a line that could be more easily free climbed. It is only now, after 14 further years, that Dave has climbed the entire face whilst incorporating the original aid crux in to his line.
Moving through the start of the crux pitch - Lukasz Warzecha
The route itself is fairly inaccessible, with access to the bottom of the line involving a 400 metre descent through a fulmar infested gully on steep overgrown terrain.
The Lost World: St John's Head from the beach - Matt Pycroft
It becomes even more daunting when you consider that working the 8b+ crux pitch involves shunting on an overhang suspended 400 metres above the rocks below. When you also factor in the inaccessibility of St John's Head (a pathless, heather infested moorland covered in dive bombing bonxies) it becomes clear that any line on the face is inevitably going to be a real adventure. Dave has been taking trips to Hoy for a while with the aim of working Longhope Direct, and yesterday was the first time he had linked the pitches together. Dave has just posted a detailed account of his ascent on his blog, and has stated that what he wanted from the route was a "super hard long route that was bold, loose, birdy, hard to climb in a day - as pure as possible." He says that "that’s absolutely what Scottish sea cliff climbing is about."
Guy, Lukasz and Diff filming Dave on the crux pitch. - Matt Pycroft
The Hot Aches crew all had a brilliant day, and needless to say we dragged our aching bodies through the doors of 'ME Cottage' that evening with grins from ear to ear. Guy, Lukasz and Diff all jugged a fair distance yesterday, and Guy was forced to make a speed ascent of about 50 metres to catch Dave traversing through The Vice. I spent the morning slipping and sliding my way down
A video of Diff filming on ropes on the crux pitch can be seen on the Hot Aches Facebook page.
The ascent is currently being discussed on the UKC forums.
Hi, I'm Matt Pycroft and I'm working on the Hoy shoot as a cameraman. I've put a quick post together to show you what's been going on since we arrived on the island.
Well the first few days on Hoy have been pretty exciting. The ‘ME cottage’ we are staying in is really swish, and is by no means the rundown bothy I was expecting.
'ME Cottage'
After arriving on Thursday night we packed our bags and grabbed a few hours sleep before heading out towards the crag on Friday morning. Between us we have a huge amount of kit, and as a result the walk in on Friday morning was a painful one when coupled with the initial section involving 400m of height gain on 45 degree terrain.
It's hard to keep up with Dave Macleod
Once we had made it to the coast, Diff and I shot some footage of Dave and Andy arriving at the crag, as well as capturing the moment where Andy saw the route for the first time. The crag is the biggest continuous sea cliff in Britain, and is an incredibly imposing piece of rock. From the promontory where I will be shooting some of my wide shots the line looks extremely impressive.
The view from the peninsula
Diff, Guy, Lukasz and I spent much of the day scouting out shooting locations and angles, whilst Dave and Andy checked out the route and had one last look at the moves (which, incidentally, was Andy’s first chance to catch a glimpse of the line close up).
Guy, Diff, Lukasz and Dave on the route
Whilst hammering in the stakes for the ropes at the top of the crag, there was a minor setback. I’ve put together a quick edit of the mishap below:
As everyone became confident that they were ready for the shoot, people started to filter off back to the ME cottage to sort out gear and pack bags. It got to around 10pm and eventually it was just Dave and I left at the crag. After sorting out our gear we headed off towards the car. The sunset was stunning, and considering the crag is West facing it made for some great footage as we walked out.
Sunset over Hoy. Hard to beat.
We spent Saturday just chilling out and resting to be fully prepared for the shoot today (Sunday), but unfortunately we woke up this morning to an island coated in drizzly mist. Dave and Andy reluctantly called it off at around 10am, and we made the decision to head up tomorrow, weather dependant.
Dave and Andy, having just called it off.
An interview with Dave Macleod will follow this post on the Hot Aches Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hotaches
This year's major film project is about to commence. We are shortly heading to the island of Hoy with Dave Macleod and Andy Turner to film an ambitious ascent of the Long Hope Route on St John's Head.
The Long Hope Route, Pic Dave MacLeod, Click to enlarge
But first, a bit of history. The Long Hope Route was first climbed in 1970 by Ed Drummond and Oliver Hill. They spent 7 days on the wall, sleeping on ledges and in hammocks, and several of the 23 pitches involved some aiding. A first free ascent was made by John Arran and Dave Turnbull in 1997, but this avoided the final pitch up the steep headwall, taking instead a slightly less direct line. Both ascents were landmark achievements for their time, both being onsight and showing real audacity in an unusually inhospitable environment. St John's Head is a 1000 feet of sandstone, making it the highest vertical sea cliff in the British Isles.
Topo drawn from memory by Oliver Hill, 40 years after the first ascent.
Click to enlarge.
This summer's challenge is for Dave and Andy to climb the Long Hope Route in a single day, freeing the final pitch up the headwall which Dave considers will come in around a hefty F8b+. Quite a challenge after 850 feet of sandy sea cliff and several pitches of E5 and above. This will certainly make it among the biggest undertakings in British climbing.
We have already interviewed John Arran, Dave Turnbull and Oliver Hill about their respective experiences on the wall and are privileged to have Ed Drummond joining us on Hoy this summer. The film will tell the story of the previous ascents as well as Dave and Andy's one-day mission.
Ed and Oliver gearing up for their 7-day epic (Pic. Oliver Hill)
For those of you who know sea cliffs and particularly sea cliffs on the Northern Isles, the varied challenges will be easily acknowledged. For starters, Orkney seems to have it's own weather system. While here in Edinburgh we might be basking in sunshine, St John's Head might be caught in a raging storm with gale force winds and lashing rain. In June, one needs thermals and Goretex. Having dressed for the weather, one is then left to contend with the wildlife, more specifically, the vomiting fulmars. As luck (or nature) would have it, the time when the weather is most clement for climbing coincides nicely with the seabird population reaching maximum density. Not least of the challenges is the approach. First, drive to the very northern tip of mainland Scotland. Then catch two ferries, followed by a stiff 2 hour walk-in and a horrific 1-hour scramble down a treacherously steep, grassy slope.....roadside it is not.
Dave at the top of pitch 1.
We had an unsuccessful attempt to film this route last summer. With a limited time available we had only one day to attempt the climb. The day started ok with footage of the first 2 pitches captured. But things started to unravel when a camera and tripod met with a gust of wind and a rock pool. Enough said. By the time I had scrambled back to the top of the cliff, soggy camera in tow, the mist was rolling in. As Dave reached pitch 5, the rain had started. Climbing and filming now both impossible, we abandoned ship. We've added some pics from last year to our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hotaches
Soggy kit
Optimistic....
Shooting plan for the crux pitch, Click to enlarge
Cameraman's view....birdseye
So this year, we're going back with the big guns. We have much more time, more crew and more film kit than we can possibly carry!! Mountain Equipment are key sponsors of the project and Stoats Porridge Bars will be keeping us well fueled.
Keep up to date with the trip via our social media pages:
As we walk up to Cloggy the Welsh clouds gather threateningly over the summit of Snowdon. Dave and Claire ride the train to the summit with all the climbing and rigging gear.
Ghost Train!
Dave abseils down the route and a few drops of rain spit a warning at him.
Spitting
I arrive at the foot of the wall; I feel rejected, resigned to another trip wasted because of British weather. I decide to gear up anyway, figuring that I might as well jug up the wall just in case Dave decides to at least work the moves before the rain sets in properly.
Llyn Du'r Arddu (here be dragons!)
I jug up and get comfortable on my skateboard seat. Dave climbs on a shunt and abs back to the base of the route.
Skateboard and Shunt
Dave shouts up that he's going to "give it 10 mins and see". I look at the sky and put on my belay jacket. The clouds still look angry, but as yet unproductive.
Dave and Claire chat at the bottom, I eavesdrop on the radio mic. Dave is worried about the rain, the route will take him at least 20 mins to climb and it seems risky to attempt when it could pour down at any minute.
Dave goes for a walk.
Dave returns and chats more about the weather. Claire seems more confident than Dave, pointing out that the weather hasn't got any worse in the last half an hour. Dave starts to gear up, once he's putting his boots on I radio Tom to check he is all set on the long shot.
Claire MacLeod, dressed for summer on Snowdon(pic Tom Kirby)
Dave starts climbing, all my focus is on the filming, all my attention is on the camera. There is an odd feeling of detachment from reality through a viewfinder. I've filmed a lot of scary and dangerous ascents over the last 5 years and it is very rare that this bubble of detachment has ever burst.
Video Grab - Dave Climbs Indian Face
Dave reaches the jugs at the end of the crux. He's done it. We chat briefly and I check he is happy to wait there while I jug the last 10m to the belay ledge for the top-out shot. I transfer my weight from the skateboard to the rope, but before I can set off jugging the Welsh clouds boil to life and start to spit angrily at us. Dave shouts that he can't afford to wait. The top section is relatively easy… in the dry, but not something to risk in the wet.
Race in the gloom
So now Dave and I are racing each other to the top, me on jumars, Dave on damp rock. I only just beat Dave to the ledge (although maybe he let me win!). I get the camera out and film the last few metres of the climb. As I'm filming the top out interview, a seemingly huge gob of rain hits the lens.
Lens cloth needed
By the time we're walking back down in the valley, the rain is torrential. I'm wearing full Gortex waterproofs but I'm still soaked through. It seems unlikely that anyone could have climbed anything today, let alone Indian Face.
The mist descends
Dave jokes that he is glad the ascent has been caught on film otherwise no one would believe he had done it today.
Filmmaker Tom Kirby enjoys some excellent soup courtesy of the very nice cafe at the foot of Snowden's Llanberis path.
That night Cailleach, the Celtic goddess of weather and water, exercised her power.
...
In the morning I'm first up and I head to Pete's to check my email. On the way out I bump into Johnny Dawes chatting with friends. I tell him the news, he is excited by it and keen to chat with Dave, the newest member of a very exclusive club of climbers. As we're chatting the door opens, a gust of wind enters the café... followed by John Redhead. Dawes tells him the news and then they chat with excitement about last nights storm.
Two of the members of the Indian Face Club
Shortly after I shot a quick interview with Dave and Johnny; you can see an extract of it on the Hot Aches Facebook page.
