United States of Joe's

The challenging bouldering terrain in Emery County, Utah offered everything a climber could ask for, but the “punk” climbers from Salt Lake City who arrived in the ‘90s were an alien culture to the descendants of Mormon settlers who inhabited Joe’s Valley. The epic culture clash between “dirtbag” climbers and traditional ranchers, miners and power plant workers is captured in archival footage and fleshed out by reminiscence. “Honestly, we thought we were being invaded by a bunch of potheads,” the county sheriff recalls. To find common ground and break barriers, a community festival encouraged longtime locals to boulder and recently arrived climbers to ride bulls.

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