When Filmmakers Say 'Jump!,' Czech Climbers Do Reprinted with permission from The Aspen Times
Now, a pair of Colorado filmmakers have contributed a similar film to the genre and appear set to similarly capture the imaginations of climbers on both sides of the Atlantic. Jump!, by Basalt cinematographer/producer John Catto and Denver-based producer Allen Hill, depicts a virtually unknown sub-sport of rock climbing in the Czech Republic's Adrspach and "Czech Paradise" regions, called "jumping"—a bit like climbing, but with a much greater need for the rope as jumpers are actually gravitating toward earth when they pursue their sport. The film, which recently won "Best of Festival" and "People's Choice" at the Teplice International Film Festival in Czechoslovakia, focuses on a group of climber/jumpers from the Adrspach and "Czech Paradise" regions north of Prague. For the uninitiated, these are not a typical mountain arenas as most climbers might consider them—really, we're talking about areas of low hills in the countryside. The area boasts, however, some of Eastern Europe's most fantastic rock formations. Sandstone walls and towers jut up through the forests and jut out into the blue sky. Mottled walls of yellow and orange stand like strange natural fortresses among the trees. The Adrspach area alone has reportedly over 1,000 rock towers, many up to 300 feet tall. As you've no doubt read, for dozens—if not hundreds—of years climbers have sought out these towers as objectives. Because of the brittle and non-compact nature of the area's "soft rock," the Czech climbing community developed its own uniquely bold style. Normal climbing gear is taboo (because it damages the fragile rock), and climbers use knotted pieces of rope wedged into cracks for safety while climbing. Climbing various towers first was a big goal for many of the early Czech pioneers of the region. Jumping, they soon learned, let them get to the top of neighboring towers easily, without all the bother of climbing. And it was fun! "What we tried to do was first ascents of towers," explains lifetime jumper Petr Prachtel, a legendary Czech climber and jumper, in the film. "We could climb them, but we would jump them because it was easier." The sport of jumping has been around since at least the 1900s (there is, apparently evidence that establishes it as far back as the mid-19th century), and with each passing generation it has gotten more extreme. Today, it boasts its own rating system, separate from the climbing ratings—1 (easy) to 5 (severe). According to Catto, the idea for the film was serendipitous. "Allen was researching a story idea on the role of the Czech climbing community's role in fighting the Nazis after they occupied Czechoslovakia," Catto explained, "when he stumbled across a photograph of someone tower jumping and I said 'let's make a documentary on that!'" From Catto and Hill's first foray into Czechoslovakia to scout and learn about the activity, the film took four years to produce. Partly, that was due to Catto's demanding career as a freelance cameraman working on dozens of films around the world. The two-time Emmy winning cameraman is a regular shooter for National Geographic and other big-time production houses. Although he has dangled off walls from Patagonia to Baffin Island while on assignment, Catto acknowledges there were unique challenges in shooting Jump! "The rigging was quite tricky as we often had to climb
towers to set ropes for camera positions-this we did with
the help of local climbers," he said. "Filming
was done in 35mm and 16mm at various speeds for slow-motion
effects with several cameras covering each jump. We did
two major trips over there with crews and friends from the
U.S. and spent most of our time swilling the world's best
beer waiting for the weather to clear for long enough to
shoot. |
