Films

February 2007
E11
By Paul Diffley and David Brown
www.hotaches.com $30

*****

E11 TELLS THE story of Dave MacLeod's first ascent of what some call the world's hardest route, Rhapsody. It is the first E11, a grade that in this case means 30 feet of 5.14b/c above an RP. The film is an impressive collection of footage, expertly edited to show the process of working a route at the threshold of one man's physical and mental limits.

E11 follows MacLeod throughout the year it takes to send Rhapsody, an extension at the gently overhanging Dumbarton rock, Scotland. The film could've been mostly about the sickness of the route, but instead it's about the person behind it. This is why E11 may be the best climbing film I've ever seen. At its heart, E11 is a profile, a genuine rendering of Dave MacLeod.

"Well, that's it," MacLeod says after he finally links the route on toprope. "No excuses. I've got to lead it now." He ropes up and climbs the first half of Requiem, an E8 6b crack that when it was put up in 1983 was one of the world's hardest, places his final RP and launches up a crimpy, technical face. He nearly does the climb on his first lead, but instead careens into the air like a suicidal hell-bat, riding 60 feet with the rope behind his leg. Upside-down, he crashes hard into the wall an screams - you'd like to think he's merely upset, but the cries are those of pain. MacLeod hobbles home.

Coincidentally, it's the MacLeod household that occupies the most interesting parts of the film. MacLeod's wife, Claire, expresses both sincere admiration for her husband, and jealousy of his lifestyle. She also explains, poignantly, how MacLeod's climbing style affects their lives- they are waiting to have kids until he gets the "death routes" out of his system.

E11 makes you care for it's characters, and that's no small Achievements.