Down and Out and Under

Sometimes climbing trips are all glorious locations, perfect weather and incredible ascents. Other times they’re less perfect: rental vans from hell, lunatics with axes to grind, a climber reviled for his past abuses of wallabies. These are just a few of the factors that contribute to the wacky misadventures recounted in Down and Out and Under, a wry tongue-in-cheek climbing film by Rob Frost. Into the mix, Frost manages to weave lovely images of incredible climbing with a story of high adventure gathered from an unforgettable trip to Australia and Tasmania with climbers Heidi Wirtz, Cedar Wright, Matt Segal and James Pearson. It’s a saga. But at the end of it, the climbers learn an important lesson: Even the biggest junk show can come out on top.