UKC

Austin Siadak introduces his video:

Alf Randell is a self-described "dirtbag" who has spent nearly a decade of his life climbing amongst the soaring sandstone cliffs of Indian Creek, Utah.

In November, 2011, I spent some time climbing with Alf and documented his life in "The Creek"...

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=66037

In reply to UKC News: Charming!! Makes me want to do something similar..

In reply to UKC News:

Brilliant little video - could have watched another several hours like this!

In reply to Jon Didymus:

Yes indeedy , What a wonderful video, Now that chap has got his priorities sorted truly inspiring , great way to live & what a back yard ! Stunning .

In reply to UKC News:

The world needs more blokes like him.

In reply to Clauso:

f@ckin A Hombré . . .

Can you imagine him as next U.S president ? compulsory chilling out for all at least four times a week . .

In reply to UKC News: Beautiful Video.. Great area..Funny some of us who love and climb in the remote parts of the Utah deserts now find most of Indian Creek just a little too restricted and crowded.

Sadly capitalism wants people to be consumers and producers and economic assets. Lifestyles like this are patronized and made difficult by our great and wise anarcho-capitalist leaders. Long live the multinationals. Long live consumerism. Long live our mighty freedom (to screw others over)

And I should have said, if Austin is reading this, thank you very much. It's a beautiful piece of work about a beautiful man!

In reply to UKC News:

Beautiful film. Praise the souls, like he, who tread lightly on the earth. I like to think there's a part of this film and his life that everybody can relate to on some level.

In reply to UKC News:

...off to the office.... . .. .. oh crap when did I sell my soul?!

In reply to UKC News: Innit great!

In reply to UKC News: Fanastic video, easily the best I have seen on here.

In reply to UKC News:

That's a delightful video. Simply enchanting.

In reply to UKC News:
A simply brilliant video. Thank you for that Austin and Alf.
James

In reply to UKC News:

Sweet!

E

In reply to UKC News:

Best video I've seen on here.

Brilliant and touching. At a difficult time it is so good to see someone so straightforward with the right priorites. Thank you Austin for bringing Alf to us - Alf I wish I was there with you to shake your hand - and climb!

Supberb! Thanks for bringing this to us. He's doing something the rest of us wish we had the guts to do.

In reply to UKC News: wonderful thankyou

In reply to UKC News:
I'd be interested to know how cheaply he lives like this...

In reply to UKC News: Great video, really interesting, and a beautiful place.

In reply to UKC News:

A beautifully shot film, and a nice guy

BUT (and it's a big but)

am I really the only person that finds the general reaction to this a bit odd?

So some bloke drops out to go climbing somewhere nice and survives on odd jobs... and it brings out a heap of rose-tinted misty-eyed romanticism.

I would hate to live like that for a prolonged period. A couple of months with everything on my back is quite enough. I love to climb, sure, but afetr that I also like flushing toilets, a shower, maybe a trip to a gallery or a restaurant, some mental stretch, clean sheets once in a while and a variety of company and diet.

There's actually nothing preventing anyone stopping what they do now and heading off to live in a derelict campervan. Send us a postcard in 2 years and let us know how living the dream is working out. Don't get me wrong - I'm not criticising the chap and it's clearly right for him - but for 99% of people it won't be.

Lovely film nonetheless.

In reply to UKC News:

What about having a family and be able to provide for them? Id love to do something similar to this guy, but I know that at some point youll have someone to provide for, and better be somewhere up in your career ladder than starting of on a minimum wage.

In reply to JJL:

Well for me anyway, all I want to do is go climbing, to the exclusion of everything else. The problem is, I feel like I need a proper place to live and flap about not having a steady job. It was just nice to see someone that was happy doing exactly what he loved, without feeling like he needed to be part of regular society. All that mattered was that he could go climbing.

In reply to JJL:
A very hobo way of living and only in America.

I enjoy my family too much to have that sort of lifestyle, it could be very lonely.

Lovely film Austin.

In reply to UKC News: Major mock-up at UKC towers? This film does not seem to be advertising anything.

In reply to James Oswald:

Get a job!

In reply to Jon Stewart:
I'm a student! You haven't got one either!

I'm not really considering it, just curious....

In reply to UKC News:

Beautiful. My alter ego personified.

In reply to UKC News:

Really enjoyed the video. Peaceful and beautiful.

It really does take a lot of bravery to live your life this way - must be particularly so in the states. It's not just a rejection of conventional consumerist values but also abandoning the security (or imaginings of it) that comes with a more typical lifestyle. Not much of a safety net in the US for guys with no health insurance after a fall, social care for the older climbing shoe repairman etc etc. On the other hand, maybe he's recession-proof?

It's great that this way of life suits him, I guess it's where you put your marker on the balance between work and play.

I respect his choice but don't want to swap.

In reply to UKC News:

Charming and captivating.

'The Wizard's Apprentice' and this in one day - not too shabby!

In reply to UKC News: In the 70's there were many such people and climbers living this life style.Even now it is still MUCH easier to lead this life stlye in the US than Europe. Two things often make this possible (not saying suggesting this chap) . A)Lots of free camping in the Western US in beatiful areas... more so in parts of Utah and Colorado .and B) one that is quite common with drifting US climbers etc... back up if things get desperate from fairly well off parents (the last generation of US parents did quite well)They also often have trust funds from their grannies.Yes sometimes not a lot but enough to survive if you live really cheap.So save up your money over there... take a course in shoe care... your accommodation is waiting. PS. Indian Creek and most other SW desert areas have over 250 days of sunshine per year.. Gets cool in winter ...but sunny sunny.Its not the Lake District and just imagine this lifestyle in NW Scotland !

In reply to UKC News:

Pure gold! Thanks!!

Interesting to read other people's thoughts on this - how many people think it looks like the ideal life and so on.

Probably about three times a week I think about packing in being a doctor and doing something similar to this. And it's important for me to know that I have that choice - I really could do this if I really wanted to and decided it was the best thing to do. That's a total privilege - a lot of people in the world are genuinely trapped in their circumstances, whereas a lot of us just feel like we are. However, I (usually!) manage to convince myself that I'm doing what I'm doing here for other, good reasons, and that I have family and friends to whom I have a responsibility of sorts, which is worth upholding. I'd like to have a family of my own some time, which this sort of life is not particularly conducive to.

Still, it'd be nice to try it out for a year or two...

In reply to mlt: All the chipped holds he left in Hueco aren't treading lightly

In reply to srichard:

Thanks for that. Hope it makes you feel better.