Reel Rock 10 + Halloween + Dancing + <3

Every year, rock climbers around the world gather together to watch the madly anticipated Reel Rock Film Tour, a conglomerate of the greatest vertical adventure stories from the past year. The moments that can feel so far away and yet so close to home unfold on the screen before us in a masterfully shot, narrated retelling from the athletes themselves, and we creep a little closer to the dream itself. It's a healthy dose of psych shot directly into your pulsing, swollen forearm vein. 

The film this year came in five parts: A Line Across the Sky, a Tribute to Dean Potter, High and Mighty, Showdown at Horseshoe Hell, and a Dawn Wall Exclusive. The man behind the films and owner of Big Up Productions, Josh Lowell, was gracious enough to present the film. All attention turned to the big screen within the darkened lead cave.

The first film featured Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold on their mission to climb across the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia. The meat of it was lovingly shot by Caldwell and Honnold themselves, taking turns with the handy-cam between thousand foot pitches of 5.13, no biggie. Showdown at Horseshoe Hell, featured several of our Cliffs staff, including instructors Laura and Renee! Alex Honnold was in it too.  And the last film held a promise of more-to-come: the story of Kevin Jorgeson's and Tommy Caldwell's incredible summit of the Dawn Wall, the hardest big wall ever climbed.

We came together as a community to pay respect to the great athletes of our time, to watch their struggles, and to get psyched as hell from their successes. Personally, I'm glad that we can sit quietly, get inspired, and then party all night. 

A raffle to support the Gunks Climbers Coalition ran quietly in the background, with prizes from Arc'teryx and Patagonia. Rockaway Brewing Co supplied the buzz, Sexy Batch supplied the sweets, and you guys supplied the outfits. The costume contest was a huge success, with Potted Plant and Princess Mononoke taking the big win.

And our winning couple, none other than Totoro and Mei!

The party continued deep into the night with the comforting backdrop of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Spirits were higher than ever, and once again it was proved to me that climbers are a golden sort. We may range from bankers to bakers to students to engineers to artists to vanlife vagabonds, but our sport keeps us together like super glue. 

Check out the rest of the photos on our Facebook page! As always, thank you for being awesome. We love you guys.