Climbing to the Finish

So, I don't really have any photos of our climbing shoot. Nor were any photos taken by anyone else. These two photos (and the HD footage) are the only documentation of the event. And what an event it was.

The climbing shoot was by far the most difficult shoot to date. Why? Well, first, there aren't that many individuals with spinal cord injuries pursuing rock climbing as their sport of choice. Or even their leisure activity of choice. It just isn't very common among the SCI community. It is however, very do-able. And I'm surprised that more folks with paralysis haven't caught the bug. Even I haven't dipped my numb toe into the climbing waters, and I of all people should, given the fact that I used to rock climb.

Needless to say, the search was difficult. Luckily, we found a climber from Colorado. His name is Vijay and he was more than willing to help us with our production.



We hired a climbing guide from Exum Utah Mountain Adventures, a fantastic company that helped us set up Vijay's ropes. If you ever need to rock climb, ice climb or canyoneer, mountaineer or do any backcountry recreation, Exum's the place to go.

I met with Vijay and Adam George, our guide, to discuss the shoot and pick the climb. There were several factors involved, including light, pitch, etc. We decided that the Dogwood climb would be the best for the shoot. It's a great spot with somewhat descent access. Vijay needed some assistance getting to the base of the climb, but other than that, Dogwood worked well.

I wish I could have stayed for the shoot, but I had to return to my "real" job. That was a bummer. Around 4:00, I returned to the shoot, just as everyone was returning to their vehicles. Jeff was happy with the footage and showed me a few clips. It looked fantastic. By the end of the day, the light on the rock face was perfect.

I hope our video spurs more interest in the sport of adaptive climbing. Utah's an ideal place for climbing, and it's strange that more individuals with disabilities aren't hitting the rock.

Up next... one more shoot and Post.