The Conquest of K2

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.

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.

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.

First broadcast on Channel 4 in 1985, Lakeland Rock is a classic of climbing. Presented by Sir Chris Bonington, this 1990 documentary comprises four films that retrace five iconic routes, each representing a major milestone in a sport that reflects the social transformations of Great Britain. From the 1940s, when working-class people began climbing mountains, to the 1980s, marked by technological advancements, the rise of female climbers, and the soaring difficulty of sport climbing with its near-Olympic levels of physical preparation. In three of the films, the climbers recreate their first ascents, with a tribute to their deceased climbing partners, Don Whillans and Bill Peascod. Also included is the first filmed ascent of "Incantations" on Gable Crag by Pete Whillance and Dave Armstrong, which, rated E6 6b, was considered at the time to be the most difficult route in the Lake District.

In a battle for El Cap’s coveted Nose speed record, rock legends Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold go head to head with Yosemite dirtbags Jim Reynolds and Brad Gobright. Highball bouldering ace Nina Williams flexes her guns and tests her nerves well into the no-fall zone. In rural Utah, conservative Mormon coal miners collide with an influx of out-of-town climbers - with surprising results. And two adventurous Brits, Hazel Findlay and Maddy Cope, pursue first ascents in wild and remote Mongolia.

The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

A breathtaking look at The French Spiderman, Alain Robert, a lone climber who scales tall buildings, bridges and cliffs all over the world. His physical training and climbing technique allows him to climb using window sills and frames. From its height of 180 meters, the Citigroup Center in Chicago will be the first of a long series of more than 170 buildings that Alain Robert will climb.

Before tackling the ascent of urban buildings, Alain Robert was considered one of the best specialists in the "climbing" of cliffs. His passion nearly cost him his life in 1982, when a fall rendered him 66% disabled. At the time the doctors were convinced that he could no longer indulge in this passion. This does not prevent him, by dint of motivation and training, from climbing more than 170 buildings around the world to date, and from soloing technical routes at his maximum level, such as "La Nuit du Lézard". (8a+) in Buoux (France), where here is "L'Ange en Décomposition", in 1991, a mythical course in the Gorges du Verdon.

This multiple-award winning documentary chronicles the life of acclaimed mountaineer Ruedi Beglinger. Living with his wife and two young daughters on a remote glacier in the vast mountains of British Columbia, Beglinger has built a reputation as one of the top ski mountaineering guides in the world. The film follows his family’s unique life off the grid and their journey in the years following a devastating avalanche that killed seven people. Documenting the sublime beauty and ever-present risk of a life lived on the edge, the film ultimately explores the power of nature as both an unforgiving host and profound teacher.

Bastien Lardat and Jordi Noguere, two rope brothers, invite us to pay tribute to the pioneers of modern Pyrenees, through a new kind of sporting journey. Pierre and Jean Ravier opened the way several decades ago, drawing on the Pyrenean reliefs one of the most beautiful pages of amateur climbing excellence. In three days, climbing and connecting 3 legendary north faces by Ravier on foot is the crazy challenge that Bastien and Jordi have set themselves. 3 days, 3 routes, 85 km of pedestrian connection, to arrive at the end of the north face of the Tour de Marboré in Gavarnie, the Dièdre Jaune du Vignemale and the Embarradère du Pic du Midi d'Ossau.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Jill Lawrence and Gill Price, members of the women's climbing club Pinnacle Club, made the first female ascents of difficult routes, laying the foundations for what would develop in the 1980s. In 1984, in the Lake District, Gill Price and Jill Lawrence were filmed climbing Empire E3 6a at Raven Crag, Thirlmere, for a Channel 4 program, Lakeland Rock, with Chris Bonington, broadcast on Channel 4 on 25 May 1985. This event marked a turning point in British women's climbing, as few, if any, women appeared on television climbing difficult sport routes.

27-year-old German alpinist Jost Kobusch wants to climb Everest, alone, without oxygen and in Winter, when the roof of the world is deserted.

The Center Of The Universe chronicles four days in the life of German climber Alexander Huber in Yosemite Valley, California. Living the typical Yosemite vagabond lifestyle, Alex reflects on his goal of successfully free-climbing "El Corazon" (35 pitches, 8a) on the famous El Capitan face, which is a combination of the historic routes "Salathé," "Albatross," "Son of Heart," and "Heart Route," connected by newly laid out sections. 35 challenging pitches, combining technicality, stamina, and commitment, with difficulty levels up to 8a. The film showcases the unique style of climbing in Yosemite, as well as a piece of history of the famous valley, narrated by Heinz Zak, Jim Bridwell, Lynn Hill, Alexander Huber, and Chongo Chuck themselves.

Catherine Destivelle has deservedly become the most famous female climber in the world. She rose to prominence with historic climbs, such as the free ascent of the Nameless Tower in Pakistan, and solo winter ascents of the classic north faces of the Matterhorn and the Eiger, climbs that have never been repeated by any woman. She also made history in sport climbing by winning the world championship title. In 1997, this time in Scotland, on the iconic Old Man of Hoy route, opened by Bonington, Patey & Baillie, Martin Belderson crowned Destivelle Queen of the Rock. She was four months pregnant when she made this 137-meter ascent, which was not difficult but on tricky rock.

The climbing couple Heinz Mariacher and Luisa Iovane abandon their usual winter training spot to go in search of places more conducive to free climbing in Algeria in the Sahara desert, more precisely in the Hoggar massif, which saw pass the cream of world climbing Lionel Terray, Roger Frison-Roche, Lucien Bérardini, Michel Vaucher, Pierre Mazeaud, Guido Monzino, Patrick Edlinger, Patrick Berhault and many others. Their objective, to climb the east face of Garet El Djenoun, 500 m high, failed because the wall was too smooth and the cracks unstable. The journey continues in the Hoggar massif towards other peaks, where they find the climbing conditions they were hoping for. An overhang in the face of Tizouyag Nord will prove to be a major challenge for Heinz Mariacher.

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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.

For decades, an elite handful of climbers have competed for the coveted speed record on the 3,000-foot Nose of El Capitan, risking big falls to shave mere seconds off the fastest time. When a record held by superstar Alex Honnold is broken by little-known climbers Brad Gobright and Jim Reynolds, Honnold drafts fellow climbing legend Tommy Caldwell to establish a new mark that will stand the test of time. Honnold pushes for perfection while Caldwell, a family man, wrestles with the risk amid a series of accidents on the wall that lay bare the consequences of any mistake.

A scenic documentary record of a climb up to Mount Assiniboine, the 'American Matterhorn' in the Canadian Rockies.

Reinhold Messner - The Fifteenth 8000er