Welcome to the Probe. Periodically, our Probe posse ponders the perplexing plethora of people, places, and paraphernalia of SoCal bouldering. We kick off our first debacle by sinking it deep into Rob Mulligan’s classic JT ree bouldering vid “Friction”. Certified Joshua Tree fanatic Damon Corso gets behind the wheel and drives this old school baby, VHS style, turning it inside out, and upside down, for our pleasure.


FRICTION: A Joshua Tree Bouldering Tour Video: Rob Mulligan Review: Damon Corso

Joshua Tree bouldering……… Friction is definitely the word that comes to mind, then follows pain, anguish, frustration, blood and of course pure ACCOMPLISHMENT! This video has it all. Rob (Mulligan) shows us around Joshua Tree (JT) and the classics hidden across the enormous park, a major feat to tackle. Being a devoted JT boulderer and photographer for the past 4 years I felt it was my duty to watch this video till my eyes hurt and let you know the outcome.

There are some great moments, some not so great ones, and some bad music. Do yourself a favor and put the video on mute and add your own modern soundtrack. Yes, this was made in 2002, but hey, I still listen to late 90’s music, yet the soundtrack had me lowering the volume by the 2nd viewing. Don’t worry, you won’t miss any important commentary, sorry Rob, but the two (maybe three) sections you added commentary were completely unnecessary and irrelevant to the film.

Ok, so now that I got my whiny asshole comments out of the way, I have to say this was a fantastic film. Whether you are a newcomer to JT, or a veteran looking to tick off the last few obscure classics, this video has something for everyone. Friction features about 40 climbs ranging from V3 fright-fests, to the most frustratingly thin V10’s you have ever seen. Almost every climb is a great chance to theif some sneaky JT ninja beta, which is key to anyone. Barry McWilliams does a killer job helping us navigate the park with his outstanding map graphics, while Rob tops it off with a quick wide establishing shot, pointing out the classics of the area.

Once established in one of the multiple areas that Rob takes us to we get to view such SoCal greats as Robert Miramontes, Brandi Proffit, Scott Sanchez, Chad Gilbert, Jonathan Wright and Rob Mulligan throw down on the classics. So here is the short of the long.

	No top out on the uber scary/classic ‘Scorpion Direct’, I really wanted to see Miramontes crap his pants on the V2 choss-fest…..damn
	Lots of top down shots, great for some climbs, way too much for others (like Y2K).
	Lots of Rob Mulligan and Brandi Proffit, luckily they both shred on some wicked hard classics.
	Brandi kills it, tossing down such king lines as ‘White Rastafarian’, taking a 15 foot whipper after making the ass puckering crux move, then getting up to send the rig in style. Brandi then goes on to dispatch of some bad-boy classics as ‘Chili Sauce’ (stout V7), ‘Meadows Direct’ (V7) and the King of em all ‘Pumping Monzonite’ (stout V7). Unfortunately Pumping was filmed horribly, great top down shot, but that's all we get. A lot of beta is missed, and the super wide shot I was hoping for was shown for less than 2 seconds…..bummer for one of the few female ascents to date I'm sure.
	The guys in the film need a fashion stylist in a serious way, come on Miramontes, white pants…..?
	Certain boulders got outstanding coverage like the ‘High Noon’ wall and Chad Gilbert on the Turtle boulder. Chad crushes three v7 variations in a matter of minutes, rob threw in some cool editing overlapping as well to spice it up.
	Excellent beta thieving on the Cap Rock Wash corridor. Rob and Rob toss down the mega classics in style (‘All Washed Up’, ‘Bald Eagle’ and ‘All Burned Out’) all very techy climbs.
	Some proud (sometimes with no spotter) ascents of the highballs: ‘Watergate Scandal’, ‘Slashface’ (needed better coverage), ‘White Rastafarian’ (noted above), ‘Kingpin’ and ‘Planet X’ (no good wide shots, excellent dyno coverage)
	Some of the More stout climbs have great beta coverage like Chad on ‘Y2K’ (v8), Miramontes on ‘Talon’ (V10 FA) and Mulligan on ‘Don’t Call me Bill’ (V8) and ‘Thin Lizzy’ (v9).

All in all, it’s a great video and I look forward to it coming to DVD, or available for download on the internet. It was too much of a hassle locating someone who still owns a VCR, that works! I will for sure be rewinding back to some classics to steal beta from the crew when next season rolls around. Next time, let's not end the video with Chad Gilbert saying ‘It’s good’……. Too goofy…..now go find some FRICTION!

Friction – A Joshua Tree Bouldering Tour, by Rob Mulligan and Thrutch Productions. Retails for $19.95 and is currently available only on VHS. This video runs approximately 55 minutes.