Une Vie au dessus du vide
High and Hallowed: Everest 1963 is the deepest story of the greatest Himalayan climb in American mountaineering history. Showcasing the daring and visionary efforts of the 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition, the film examines the sheer commitment, step-by-step struggle and lasting impact of America's first ascent of Mount Everest and the pioneering first ascent of West Ridge by Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld. Five decades later, High and Hallowed returns to Everest to find out if the essence of risk, adventure and the unknown that drew the first Americans to the summit still exists on Everest today.
What has four legs, five arms and three heads? The Gimp Monkeys. Craig DeMartino lost his leg after a 100-foot climbing fall. Pete Davis with born without an arm. Bone cancer claimed Jarem Frye's left leg at the age of 14. While the three are linked by what they are missing, it is their shared passion for climbing that pushed them towards an improbable goal - the first all-disabled ascent of Yosemite's iconic El Capitan.
Bravo Marcel
Daredevil mountain climbers on their attempt to break yet another speed climbing record.
Specimen
A wrongfully convicted boy is sent to a brutal desert detention camp where he must dig holes in order to build character. What he doesn't know is that he is digging holes in order to search for a lost treasure hidden somewhere in the camp.
This film by Yannick Bacher tells the passion of brothers Frédéric and François Nicole for climbing. Through the sites of Cuzzago (Italy), Zurich, Murg, Pelzli, Montreux, St-Loup, Yverdon-les-Bains, Saint-Triphon or Erde, we learn to know these 2 living legends better, their life choices, their philosophy... United by blood ties, those of fraternity but also by the same passion, that of the rock, of climbing. Fred made climbing history by pushing back the difficulty ladder in the discipline of bouldering. François him, founded a family and carried out a parallel professional career. But both have never stopped exploring, traveling and climbing.
Marcel is on the eve of his 95th birthday. He trained his two sons, Claude and Yves, in the world of climbing where they are key figures. When old age came, a climbing buff, Marcel could not give up his passion. He then begins a final procession towards his last Mirror at the age of 94, accompanied by his sons. The northwest wall of the famous 450-meter Argentine Mirror (canton of Vaud, Switzerland) is the scene of Marcel's adventure, at the height of his art, a feat and a beautiful family story.
Every year, over a thousand climbers try to reach the summit of Mount Everest, with the annual record for successful attempts currently standing at 633. But of that number, nearly half were Sherpas - the mountain's unsung heroes. Yet the Sherpa community has remained secretive about their nation, culture and experiences living in the shadow of the world's highest mountain. Now, for the first time, they open the door into their world. Without the expertise of the Sherpas, only the hardiest and most skilful climbers would succeed. Every day they risk their lives for the safety of others, yet they seek neither glory nor reward, preferring to stay in the background. Following the stories of four such Sherpas - Phurba, Ngima, Ngima Tenji and Gelu - this film reveals the reality of their daily lives, not just up the mountain, but with their families after they return home.
A year after losing his friend in a tragic 4,000-foot fall, former ranger Gabe Walker and his partner, Hal, are called to return to the same peak to rescue a group of stranded climbers, only to learn the climbers are actually thieving hijackers who are looking for boxes full of money.
Urban free climbers are a new breed of daredevils, young men and women who illegally climb cranes and buildings without any safety equipment, then hang from them, hundreds of metres above the ground, one slip from certain death... Free climbing originated in Eastern Europe, but has recently spread to Britain. James Kingston is a 23-year-old who lives with his mother near Southampton. In his spare time James scales the local 100m cranes and 200m radio towers. Now James embarks on a journey to the spiritual home of urban free climbing, Ukraine, where he teams up with the infamous Mustang Wanted, the craziest climber of them all. As Mustang and James explore Kiev, the pair push themselves to new extremes, climbing derelict buildings and tightrope-walking hundreds of metres above the city, before finally heading to the iconic Moscow bridge to attempt Mustang's latest death defying stunt. Don't Look Down is fascinating, revealing and nerve-wracking.
Record of the first ascent of Everest made without the use of oxygen equipment, made in May 1978 by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Could it be done? Would their blood vessels burst? Would they suffer brain damage leading to madness? Nobody was sure. Messner: 'I would never come here for trying Everest with oxygen. That is not a challenge for me.' A fascinating piece of history, well filmed by Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones (above the South Col Messner used a cine camera to continue the filming), featuring Messner and Habeler's thoughts. The film follows the usual sequence from Namche to Base Camp, through the Icefall, to Camps I, II and III. It also shows historical footage of the pioneering Mallory and Shipton expeditions.
Boulders in Valais presents the canton of Valais in Switzerland, its bouldering climbing spots and some of its historical and current actors and driving forces including Lucien Abbet, Benoît Dorsaz, Fred Nicole, Dave Graham... Frédéric and François Nicole gives us spectacular demonstrations of this sport, showing us routes like "Radja", the world's first 8b+. A topo-video part contains 28 climbing sites with a geographical map, and more than 160 video sequences for as many chosen blocks... more than 2h30 of climbing.
This Traveltalk short visits Rocky Mountain National Park and a nearby dude ranch in Colorado.
Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, "Everest" documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.
A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by Indians when he proves to be the match of their warriors in one-to-one combat on the early frontier.
Trapped near the summit of K2, the world's second-highest mountain, Annie Garrett radios to base camp for help. Brother Peter hears Annie's message and assembles a team to save her and her group before they succumb to K2's unforgiving elements. But, as Annie lays injured in an icy cavern, the rescuers face several terrifying events that could end the rescue attempt -- and their lives.
Kukuczka
In 1970, ‘The Wall of Early Morning Light’ was an unthinkable climb. For larger-than-life climbing legends Warren ‘Batso’ Harding and Dean Caldwell, it represented a near impossible physical and mental challenge. For iconoclast Batso, it also offered one last chance to stick it to the naysayers who thought him too old, too out of touch, and too crazy. For novice Dean, it was a way to see beyond his 9-5 existence and unlock the awesome potential of the human spirit. What began as an almost farcical exercise became one of the great underdog stories in the history of the sport. The estimated 10-day climb stretched into a 28-day marathon of grit and determination which sparked a media sensation.