While the Squamish Mountain Festival prepares to present extreme international climbing onscreen at the Reel Rock Film Tour on Sunday (Aug. 31), the world is already being projected on to the face of the Chief.With hundreds of climbers from around the world settling in the Chief campground this summer, the site has prompted legendary Chief climber Ed Cooper to compare it to Yosemite National Park's infamous Camp 4 during the mid-20th century - before strict regulations were imposed. He calls it Camp 4 North. "With all the climbers about walking around with their gear and so forth it reminds me of Camp 4 in the old days because Camp 4 now in Yosemite is so regulated that it just doesn't raise much similarity to the original," he said from his home in El Verano, California after visiting Squamish in July.Brazil's Mauricio Clauzet, who presented a film at the Squamish Mountain Festival, agrees. It's the 39-year-old's first visit to Canada and Squamish's spectacular climbing encouraged him to spend more than a month at the campground, meeting new climbing partners and tackling the rocks.He knew that traveling solo wouldn't be a problem. During his stay, Clauzet climbed with people from Germany, Australia, England, Austria, France and of course Canada and the United States. "It's pretty much characteristic of any international climbing place that you don't have to go with a partner because for sure you'll find someone."But the Chief campground is more welcoming than Yosemite, he said."The rangers in Yosemite treat themselves like policemen, sneaking around looking for someone to do something wrong and then whoosh!" he said, putting his hands up like claws.The message board makes it easy for climbers to meet and plan climbs - and exchange gear and other free stuff."The message board is amazing because you find such crazy things there - even free stuff that people are leaving like a free bicycle or whatever," he said.Clauzet started a bicycle tour to Banff this week so he'll be missing the Reel Rock Film Tour. But American Matt Segal, who can be seen climbing in the Czech Republic and Boulder, Colorado in the unofficial premier of The Sharp End, is extending his month-long trip to work away at the intense 5.14-rated Cobra Crack.Segal, 24, is one of many who take on some of the world's most dangerous climbs in the film by Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen. One segment features Segal climbing traditional routes in the Czech Republic where the use of metal gear and chalk is illegal. He had to cram knots into cracks as protection and search out handholds without chalk markings, making it very difficult to onsite the climbs."It's not the kind of climbing that you can just show up to the area and push it," he said. "It's really tricky [] we were all in situations that if we fell we were definitely hitting the ground pretty high. You just don't fall."So how does he hit those treacherous rocks while keeping his nerves from shaking him clean off? The key is mental - being confidant in one's abilities and finding "the zone.""It can be calming because you're just thinking about climbing. You're not thinking about the consequences. Before you leave the ground you can think of the consequences but once you're on a scary route there's no choice. It's fight or flight."The third annual Reel Rock Film Tour begins Sunday (Aug. 31) at 8 p.m. at the Eagle Eye Theatre. Tickets are $15 and are available at Valhalla Pure, Climb On, The Squamish Adventure Centre and at the door.
