The Totem Pole - Filming an Iconic Ascent

David writes the following about the trip and the making of the video:

Given all the iconic rock formations in the world, The Totem Pole has always been high on my list. Seeing it for the first time in a picture book, I never could have imagined going to a wild place like Tasmania, much less The Totem Pole.

On my travels in Australia, I was fortunate enough to meet two keen climbers at Mt. Arapiles: Richard Pike from The Isle of Wight in the UK and Erik Carleberg from Linkoping, Sweden. After about six weeks of climbing at Araps and the Grampians, we decided to escape the approaching summer weather for the more mild climate in Tassie.

After visiting many the islands great climbing destinations like Ben Lomond, Freycinet Peninsula, and Mt. Wellington, we decided to have our go at The Totem Pole. In order to have a chance, it was necessary to climb the route when the ocean swells were at their lowest. Otherwise the entire lower have of the first pitch would be drenched with saltwater. Given the right conditions and timing, we went for it. Richard's digital camera had a video mode on it, and it was decided that since I was the photographer, I should film the climb also.

Filming was quite the experience. I soon realized how much more difficult it is to film that to shoot still photos! Shooting snippets of the whole day and finally viewing them on the computer weeks later inspired me to make the video to include it in a slide show, which i gave in my home town of Burlington, VT. Being a total novice to video editing, it took me many days of work to make the movie worth while and interesting. In the end the movie, at its full length of about 22 minutes, was a hit. (I hope to release the full version soon).

About two days before the deadline for the rockclimbing.com video contest, I logged on the website and saw the contest. Having to rush, I quickly re-edited the film to 5 minutes and submitted it 2 hours before midnight, the day of the deadline.

Thank you everyone for your comments and votes and keep a lookout for the full length video!