Lake Tahoe Action
August 25-31, 2006

Youngster who learned to climb at Tahoe stars in adventure documentary

By: Rick Chandler

Lake Tahoe Action

Scott Cory ----- movie star?

When the young phenom began his rock-climbing career at Tahoe at the age of 7, he had no idea it would come to this. But here he is on the silver screen, one of the subjects of a documentary which will be screened in South Shore on Saturday as part of the Tahoe/Reno International Film Festival.

“It’s pretty amazing to get to do something like that,” said Cory, now 16, who is already one of the top climbers in the nation. “It’s a cool movie.”

But not as cool as the real thing. Cory was part of a group of seven ---- five adults and two kids ----- who scaled Yosemite’s El Capitan in 2001. The adventure became “Wall Rats,” a documentary by Steve Edwards and Hans Florine which has caused quite a sensation on the Independent Film scene. Cory, then 11- years-old, scaled The Nose route of Yosemite’s El Capitan, becoming the youngest ever to accomplish the world’s most famous big wall climb.

“Wall Rats” play Saturday night

The South Shore screening ----- on Saturday at Lake Tahoe Community College’s Duke Theater at approximately 7 p.m. ----- is just one stop on the film tour for “Wall Rats,” which has also been accepted at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival, The Boulder Adventure Film Festival, The Kids First Film Festival in Newport Beach, and a host of others around the nation.

But the Tahoe venue is extra special to the Corys, who consider Tahoe their home away from home. No one in the family had ever climbed anything more challenging than a ladder when they decided to visit Squaw Valley one day in 1998, when Scott was 7. There they saw the resort’s climbing wall, and decided to try it.

“It was the first time for all of us, and after a few minutes, Scott just looked at us and said “See ya!” said Scott’s dad, Jim Cory. “He took off to the top.”

And Scott Cory hasn’t looked back since. Within a year he was already the nation’s top climber in the 11-under division, with four national sponsors. Today, at 16, the junior-to-be at Heritage High School in Brentwood in he East Bay is still the nation’s top climber in his age group, and is sponsored by companies such as The North Face, and others too numerous to mention.

Cory had never ascended more than 500 feet or so when he embarked on the El Capitan adventure ----- with a peak that towered 3,000 feet above the Valley floor.

“Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden approached me and said they wanted to climb El Cap with me,” Cory said. “Then before I knew it, Steve Edwards and Hans Florine were involved to shoot a documentary.” The team making the climb were Cory: Tori Allen (then 13, and still the youngest girl to ever make the ascent): riggers Steve Schneider and Caldwell: Rodden and Lynn Hill: and Florine, who, in addition to being the film’s producer, is also a speed climber. Being that Cory was only 11, outsiders were skeptical that he could do it. As is his nature, though, Scott never had a doubt.

“I wasn’t fazed at all,” said Cory, who earned his climbing chops scaling Cave Rock and other locations around Tahoe. “What surprised me most about it was just what a physical workout it was. There is so much going on during a climb like that: you’re on the wall for three days, and all the time you’re figuring out strategy.”

It’s what Scott calls “the mental game,” in which a climber maps out in his head the best route to scale the mountain. There is only so much planning that can be done from the ground. Some of the El Capitan climb was free climbing (a minimum of gear), but most was aid climbing.

“Getting to the top was pretty amazing,” Cory said. “Just standing there and realizing you did it, that’s a great feeling.”

Did Cory’s parents have reservations about letting their 11-year-old attempt such an imposing climb?

“I think that they probably did,” Scott said, “But they knew also knew that I was in good hands, and that I could handle it. They totally trusted the team.”

And Cory has never been one to rest on his laurels. Three weeks later he was at it again, returning to El Capitan for a one-day speed climb to raise money for 9/11 victims’ families.

Cory has just started his eighth competition season in USA Climbing. He has won the USA Climbing Regional Championships six of the past seven competitions, and is one of the top ranked junior climbers in the world. He participated in the USA Climbing Adult Nationals in Boston this part March, finishing ninth.

He has also climbed at Red Rocks and Mt. Charleston, Nevada, and spots all around the world, such as Thailand, Mexico and Peru. In Thailand, he developed a fondness for traveling by elephant. He lists Peru as his most challenging climbing environment. And he has visited Yosemite numerous times since 2001, having summited Half Dome in seven hours and seven minutes with Florine and Caldwell in 2004.

Immediately preceding “Wall Rats” on Saturday, at 6:30pm is, “Pororoca,” the story of a mystic surfing expedition. At 8:30pm is he highly acclaimed animated film “Turtle World.”

There are also seven films each on Thursday and Friday at the Duke Theater, each evening beginning at 6:30pm.