74-year old Rob Matheson not only refuses to stop climbing hard routes, but he also insists on attempting the kind of rare gems of trad routes that send most people scurrying off to find a fitting excuse not to jump on the sharp end. ‘The Bells, The Bells!’ is one such route, a perplexing and dangerous line winding its way up North Stack Wall at Gogarth in Cymru. First climbed by John Redhead in 1980, this E7 6b has a fearsome reputation that refuses to be diluted - a bit like Rob’s enthusiasm for hard climbing. Rob’s relationship with ‘The Bells’ is now a part of UK climbing history, having made a successful ascent in April this year - a legacy that will fire the imagination of future generations of climbers of all ages.
After the ascent, we were incredibly honoured to be asked to make a short film about Rob and ‘The Bells.' Rob didn’t really need our help in telling his story - his ‘Angry Pensioner’ YouTube Channel tells you all you need to know, and has almost a cult following. But we threw everything we had at the production in a fairly small time frame, with the very wonderful support of Pertex, Rab and DMM, and feel very proud of being able to play a small part in bringing Rob’s story to the screen. Hopefully a fitting tribute to Rob, with an ending that makes you think - ‘yikes, what’s next!?’
You can watch ‘The Bells’ over on the Pertex YouTube channel.
Huge thanks to everyone involved, especially
@charliewoodburn for bringing this to our door!
And Rob, next time there won’t just be lawn mowing to do, there’ll be hoovering and dusting too!
Featuring:
@matheson98 @charliewoodburn @CraigMatheson_climber
Directed by:
@emmacrome
Story Producers:
@charliewoodburn ,
@jen.i.Randall
Produced by:
@harrietforpm
Lead Editor:
@jen.i.randall
Editor:
@heatherMoshermedia
‘The Bells’ Cinematography:
@neil.gresham @charliewoodburn adriannelhams
Cinematography
@dombush @rygoff @emmacrome @petefilm
Assistant camera
@laurajeacocke
Drone Pilot
@philharrisco @jethro_kiernan
Safety
@nickcannonjones
Supporting Photography
@ray_wood
Sound Recordist edensound1
Sound Design
@we_are_audio
Colour Grade
@mikegamble
Animation and Graphic Design:
@ordinary.kaylan 
