Le Grand Paradis

The first ascent of the Matterhorn was made on July 14, 1865 by Edward Whymper, Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz and two guides from Zermatt, Peter Taugwalder father and son. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz are killed on the descent after Hadow slips and drags the other three men down the north face. Whymper and the two Taugwalders, who survive, are later accused of having cut the rope that connected them to the rest of the group so as not to be dragged into the fall, but the ensuing investigation finds no evidence of their guilt and they are acquitted. The Matterhorn is the last great peak in the Alps to be conquered and its ascent marks the end of the golden age of mountaineering. One hundred and fifty years later, a team undertakes the same expedition in order to unravel the mystery.

Adventure in Bleau is a documentary about bouldering that takes place in Fontainebleau. Directed by Jean-Paul Janssen in 1980 and produced by Antenne 2, it is part of the series "Les Carnets de l'Aventure" and broadcast on the same television channel. It features different generations of the finest free climbing artists of the time: Patrick Edlinger, Catherine Destivelle, Lucien Bérardini, Jean Pierre Bouvier, and Bertrand Roche 'Zébulon'.

When Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa, joined Edmund Hillary as the first men to summit Mount Everest in 1953, it alerted the world to the indispensable role of the Sherpas on any Himalayan expeditions. By 1954 the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) was founded to marry the high-altitude strengths of the Sherpa with technical climbing skills. The HMI’s arduous training program has been developing mountaineers who play crucial roles in the success of Himalayan ascents. In 1967, HMI’s field director Nawang Gombu, a Sherpa and the first man to summit Everest twice, was charged with training women as well. In Sherpa: the Proving Grounds we follow a team of intrepid young women as they attack the grueling 28-day course.

Filmmaker Dom Bush explores a personal relationship with risk by telling the story of one of his climbing idols, Pete Whillance. Pete is an understated pioneer of bold face climbing and established some of the hardest traditional routes in Britain throughout the late 1970's and 1980's. He is also one of the most prolific new routers in British climbing history, with around 1400 rock climbs to his name, established over six decades. Pete continues to climb and establish new routes at the age of 76.

The north face of Chamlang, nearly 2,000 meters high and culminating at 7,200 meters, is one of the last great unclimbed faces in the Himalayas. Benjamin Védrines, who had scouted the face during a previous ascent of Chamlang in 2019 with Nicolas Jean via the northeast couloir, decided to tackle it with Charles Dubouloz, a very strong mountaineer but a novice at high altitude. Snow slides, suspended bivouacs, pitches of mixed climbing and vertical ice… The gamble paid off for the Frenchmen, who opened a new route, "À l'ombre du mensonge" (1,600m, 5+, m5+, 90°), after four intense days on the north face—a magnificent first ascent of a coveted summit, as a duo, in alpine style.

Lucien Berardini and Edmond Denis are two mountaineers who took part in the French expedition to Aconcagua (Andes Mountains) in 1954. Both suffered severe frostbite to their fingers and toes, and three years later, they set out to climb the Aiguille du Géant, a legendary route in the Mont Blanc massif. The camera closely follows the efforts of the roped party, an example of strength and self-sacrifice, until their victorious arrival at the summit.

A documentary about André Payraud's descent of the Mont Blanc torrent by swimming down it. "I've always had a thirst for adventure. At 19, I was in a diving club and I loved Jacques Martin's show, 'Incroyable mais vrai' (Incredible but True). I dreamed of participating in this hit program." After careful consideration, André Payraud had the idea of ​​the century, an idea that would attract media attention: to descend the Grands-Montets glacier on his stomach, wearing a full wetsuit (mask, snorkel, fins, and neoprene suit). A crazy idea that drew a flood of press coverage. The film, "Swimming Down the Mont Blanc Torrent," directed by Didier Lafond, was broadcast twice on France 2 and even won an award.

Documentary about the first ascent of "Incantations" (E6-6b) on the Tophet wall in Wasdale, UK, by British climbers Pete Whillance and Dave Armstrong, in August 1984. The film is part of the Lakeland Rock documentary series (5/6), which today constitute important documents of the history of modern free climbing and its evolution.

Portrait of Jean-Claude Droyer, a famous French climber and mountain guide. He is known for having participated in the rise of free climbing in France in the late 1970s. Trained at the climbing schools of Fontainebleau and Saussois, he distinguished himself in 1965 by solo climbing the Pentecôte route at Glandasse. He also made first ascents in the Verdon Gorges, winter ascents in the Prealps and the Mont Blanc massif, notably in 1971 the first solo ascent of the Directe Américaine on the west face of the Drus. The film was selected for the "Les Écrans Documentaires" festival in 2004.

1967: Two of the world's best climbers, Yvon Chouinard and Royal Robbins, tackle the west face of Sentinel Rock, an iconic 2,100-meter granite peak located in Yosemite National Park, considered one of the most difficult in the world. The film's atmosphere is immersive, driven by a sober narrative that highlights the intimate relationship between man and the wall. The technical difficulty of the route, the prolonged physical effort, and the isolation reinforce the heroic dimension of this ascent. The documentary also reveals the essential solidarity between the climbers: each progression requires rigor, inventiveness, and total trust in both the equipment and the partner. This film is considered a benchmark in the history of mountain cinema. It testifies to the pioneering spirit of the era and the evolution of climbing techniques, perfectly illustrating the transition to a more athletic and thoughtful approach to large rock faces.

Un Pic pour Lénine

Annapurna, premier 8000 à ski

In 1954, a German-Austrian expedition led by Mathias Rebitsch set off for the difficult-to-access Karakoram Mountains, geographically north of the Himalayas. They come across the Hunza, a people who live in the valley of the same name and believe they are descended from the soldiers of Alexander the Great. The documentary conveys impressions of the poor life of the Hunza people, the harvest, a court hearing, festivals and the children's everyday school life. Finally, the expedition sets off again and sets up its main camp on the moraine ridge of a glacier, where they measure the glacier and the earth's magnetic field. Finally, some men from the research community set off for a sub-peak of Batura.

"In 1963, Swiss climber Norman Dyhrenfurth began 'a little war against a big mountain.' Leading 19 Americans, 32 Sherpas, and 909 porters carrying 27 tons of gear, Dyhrenfurth spearheaded the highly successful 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition for his adopted country. Jim Whittaker, accompanied by Nawang Gombu Sherpa made the first ascent by the Hillary-Tensing route. On May 22, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld made the first ascent by the unclimbed West Ridge. They descended by the South Col, making the first traverse of Everest. Orson Welles narrates the spectacular record, and the film includes the first ever filmed images from the summit."

An international expedition led by French mountaineer Benoit Chamoux reached the summit of Annapurna (8091 m) on Tuesday, May 10, 1988, via its south face, one of the most difficult routes in the Himalayas. The expedition, named "L'Esprit d'Equipe" (The Spirit of Team), financed by the computer company Bull (Chamoux thus secured one of the largest contracts in the history of mountaineering: twenty million francs to carry out his project), aimed to reach six peaks over 8,000 meters, as a full team, within three years: Annapurna, Everest, Manaslu, Cho Oyu, Makalu, and Kangchenjunga. The challenge results: in 1988: Annapurna (8091 m) - 5 out of 6 men reached the summit, 1988: failed on Everest, 200 m below the summit, 1989: Manaslu (8183 m) - 8 out of 8 men reached the summit in 4 teams of 2, 1990: Cho Oyu (8201 m) - 7 out of 7 men reached the summit, 1990: Shisha Pangma (8013 m) - 7 out of 7 men reached the summit.

To understand the difficulties of an ascent to over eight thousand metres, it is enough to remember the almost 300 victims these peaks have claimed. The Swiss alpinist Ehrart Loretan, the third alpinist in the world to have climbed all 14 8,000, and the Austrian alpinist Kurt Diemgerger cover the whole history of the conquest of the world’s 8,000, from the fifties to the present day, together with other alpinists and film directors who have climbed them. They talk about their experienced when they ventured into the death zone.

Sir Chris Bonington’s return to Torres del Paine, 62 years after the first ascent of the Central Tower. At 91 years old, and while living with Alzheimer’s disease, the documentary accompanies Bonington in a profoundly human return: an attempt to reconnect with memories that time has erased, but that the Patagonian landscape still seems to guard. During the filming, Chris once again set foot on the territory of Estancia Cerro Guido, closing a circle between past and present, between the epic of mountaineering and the fragility of memory.

Postwar life of eight remaining inhabitants of Strmec, a village located in the very corner of Slovenian Alps near Italian border. When local partisans killed a German officer, the Nazi occupiers shot all males in the village as an act of revenge; those who remained are seven women of different age who traditionally wear black scarves, and young boy who hasn't any friends to play with.

Breathtaking climbing sequences. As a guide, none other than "The Rock Queen" Catherine Destivelle. Climbing companions of the caliber of Chris Bonington or Tom Livingstone, one of the greatest Himalayan climbers today... for the production of "Great Britain, Journey to the Sources of Mountaineering," Vincent Perazio and Bertrand Delapierre have proven themselves equal to a complex but fascinating subject: the British origins of mountaineering. A journey through time. Since the second half of the 19th century and the beginnings of the British writer Albert F. Mummery, who would become the first sport mountaineer, notably in the Alps and the Caucasus.

Blind climber Erik Weihenmayer and his team's highly successful ascent of Mount Everest along with four other remarkable milestones on the mountain. Time magazine called this the most successful Everest expedition of all time.