Last year, Reel Rock was steamy. The greater outdoor community and their brave companions indulge in some of the most sexually explicit activity Maxey Auditorium has seen, besides Rocky Horror. Reel Rock — a series of documentaries dedicated exclusively to rock climbing and rock climbing related activities — pushed the students to engage in material that they never previously considered to be sexual intercourse. From Adam Ondra’s glistening body to the phallic shape of difficult climbing problems and routes, the general Whitman climbing community began to explore avenues that were not as … vanilla. 

However, that was nothing compared to this year. This year, the organizers of the event knew. The lights in Maxey were dimmed, lube was provided at the check-in table, the volume of the movies were turned to 100 (whatever that quantitatively measures) and small washcloths were provided to absorb any sweat. 

“It was literally revolutionary,” panted first-year Fork Brickson. “I had no idea that Whitman students were into this type of thing!” 

“They’re not. Only when rock-climbing videos are involved,” responded Naddie Happ, the club’s leader, when asked about the quote stated above. 

As a journalist at the event, I found it to be particularly provocative and unsettling. Groups of people were shedding their classic Patagonia half-zip pullovers and putting on material that starkly contrasted the typical rock-climber vibe. As Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell dawned their harnesses on screen, the climbers in the crowd did the same. With the ferocity of tigers, the audience began to tie themselves to the seats and engage in sexually explicit sex acts utilizing the harness and ropes as pleasure mechanisms. 

Each year, Reel Rock seems to escalate in size and intensity. However, with the national opening of “Reel Rock Hard: A Sex Club” at Whitman College, the campus really outdid itself this year.