Solving for Z

In the Bernese Alps, the Agassizhorn peak memorialises Louis Agassiz – a controversial 19th-century scientist, who not only named the mountain after himself, but who claimed he had discovered the Ice Age and went on to become one of the century's most virulent, most influential racists.

A Nepali mountaineer risks everything on a record-breaking Mount Everest climb to secure a brighter future for her daughters.

L'Appel Des Cimes, directed by Alain Pol, is a documentary commissioned by the CAF and the various French ministries on the practice of post-war mountaineering. In 1946, climbers trained at the Fontainebleau Climbing School. Guy Poulet and Jacques Poincenot try to climb the Aiguilles de Chamonix but fail during the climbing phase. After a night in a refuge with Denise Rouzeau and the guide Pierre Allain, the mountaineers make a new attempt. Successful demonstration for those who continued the approach walk then the passage of the seracs of the glacier. On the rock, the roped party crosses a chimney and a crack to reach the summit and abseil down. Led by high mountain scouts, Guy and Jacques rediscover the glaciers and needles of the Mont-Blanc massif during the next lesson.

History, advice and demonstrations of mountaineering in the Mont Blanc massif by the renowned guides of the National School of Ski and Mountaineering from Chamonix. The film starts with an historical summary illustrating the aspirations and methods that lead man to conquer the mountains. Armand Charlet teaches mountaineering techniques and takes his students to the field for glacier or rock exercises. Gaston Rebuffat makes demonstrations of particularly dangerous climbs. At altitude, people move in solitude, cold and silence, like circus acrobats without spectators, but nothing stops the modern mountaineer.

BRAVE NEW WILD is an offbeat chronicle of America’s Golden Age of rock climbing before and after the controversial ascent of the Dawn Wall in 1970. Some forty years later, Oakley Anderson-Moore, the daughter of a pioneering climber, stumbles upon her father's old hi8 tapes, and sets out to answer the question: why climb when there's nothing to gain -- and everything to lose? Wry humor and an eclectic original soundtrack punctuate the delinquent antics of the Vulgarians in the ‘Gunks, the larger-than-life rivalry of Yosemite’s rock gods, and the fruit tramping, freight train hopping hobodom of her dad’s climbing life. This film is quintessential viewing for those who long for adventure.

This documentary follows the feats of high-altitude climber Jerzy Kukuczka and his ascent to higher heights before his death in 1989.

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Transcending cultural barriers and consistently going against the grain, female Nepali climber Pasang Lhamu Sherpa attempted to summit Everest four times in the early nineties. Although she was not allowed to attend school as a child, Pasang did not let that stop her from pursuing her dreams. After founding her own trekking company in Kathmandu, she blazed a trail for Nepali women via her efforts to summit Everest. Proving how big you can dream and how far you can go to achieve those dreams, she left a legacy not only for the family she has left behind, but for the myriad women following in her footsteps.

The dramatic story of the British expedition that made the first ascent of Everest. Combining interviews with the surviving members of the 1953 British and 1952 Swiss attempt on Everest with rare archival material, this film tells the story of the race to climb Everest in the early 1950s and its climax in 1953.

Dedicated to everything snowboarding, Travis Rice and a dream team crew set out on a seek-and-destroy operation for the new zone, the new trick and the new perspective on the sport. Aspiring to bring you closer, the Hi Def, 35mm, super16 footage answers the question why Trice and his friends have poured blood, sweat, tears and soul into a simple thing like snowboarding.

Faced with a traumatic injury that renders you permanently disabled; how would you reinvent yourself? Full Circle tells the story of Trevor Kennison and Barry Corbet’s shared resiliency and refusal to let their passion for life be limited by Spinal Cord Injury. It is an unblinking examination of the challenges of Spinal Cord Injury, and a celebration of the growth that such tragedy can catalyze.

Les Etoiles de Midi is an engaging docudrama about some of the more spectacular exploits of French mountain climbers over the last several decades. In one re-enacted story, there is a wartime escape through the mountains, and in another, a daring rescue of a pair of climbers who had been missing. The actors themselves are adept at the sport of climbing, and they give the scenes an immediacy and real daring that brings the stories alive. A combination of their acrobatics and skill and the outstanding episodes in the history of French climbing creates a winning 78 minutes.

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 Descent is a 2005 documentary film about snowboarding and its beginning in the 1980s. The snowboarders featured in this movie (Shawn Farmer, Nick Perata, Terje Haakonsen, Hannah Teter and Shaun White with guest appearances from Travis Rice) represent three generations of snowboarders and the progress this young sport has made over the past two decades. Most of the movie was shot in Alaska.

An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.

Teton Gravity Research is proud to present "Beyond the Fantasy," its 29th annual ski and snowboard film. This year, we're diving headfirst into the whimsical imagination that our athletes embrace to turn improbable mental images into reality. Mountains provide the ultimate canvas for our community to evolve dreams into truth, and with no lack of adrenaline-pumping action, this film is also a celebration of the contagious camaraderie and joyous absurdities that make riding on snow a way of life. Join us as we take you beyond the fantasy.

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.

The epic 1500km bivouac flight of Damien Lacaze and Antoine Girard, two French paragliders and mountaineers, through the heart of the Himalayas and the Karakoram ranges. This journey is actually a prelude and acclimatization for their attempt to climb Spantik (7027m) from the nearest town in two days, using only paragliders. Is it truly feasible? What are the limitations of such an ascent? Can they earn a living from it?

In their 58th feature film, Playground (narrated by Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley), Warren Miller Entertainment captures the latest in extraordinary winter sports action in stunning High-Definition with a killer soundtrack to match. From an indoor ski park in Dubai and the mystical elevations of the Japanese mountains to the frigid norther reaches of Sweden, this film follows the planet's leading skiers of the freeride movement - Jon Olsson, Sean Petit, Dan Treadway, Peter Olenick, and others - to exhilarating destinations where anything is possible.

The classic film that inspired the National Geographic Series. Join a global quest with world-class climbers in pursuit of the ultimate goal: the first ascent. Featuring Dean Potter, Timmy O'Neill, Sonnie Trotter, and the amazing Didier Berthod on his quest for the first ascent of the Cobra Crack.