Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Llaso, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.
Buddhist monk and photographer Matthieu Picard as he returns to the Asian country in the Himalayas where he spent a decade after seven years away, revisiting breathtaking landscapes and experiencing local traditions.
Makoto Fukamachi is a Japanese cameraman. He finds an old camera on a backstreet of Nepal. The camera might possibly solve the mystery of whether George Mallory became the first person to successfully climb Mount Everest on June 8, 1924 or not. Pursuing the old camera's past, Makoto Fukamachi meets legendary Alpinist Joji Habu. Joji Habu is isolated from other people because of his reckless and thoughtless personality.
Young Pooja lives with her mother in a village in Nepal. Though saddened by the death of her grandfather, she is secretly thrilled at the prospect of meeting the man she hopes may be her father — Chandra, a former Maoist guerrilla who is returning home after a decade-long civil conflict.
Filmmaker Giles Walker takes an informal look at how our best skiers work and live. Filmed in 1976, this short movie follows the Canadian ski team on a tight schedule in Chile and Argentina. With 2 ½ tons of equipment, speeds of up to 140 km/h, gruelling workouts and a dramatic theft, it's safe to say that downhill racing is not for the faint of heart.
Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.
Professional snowboarder and mountaineer Jeremy Jones has an intimate relationship with the outdoors. It’s his escape, his identity, and his legacy. But over the course of his 45 years in the mountains, he’s seen many things change: more extreme weather, fewer snow days, and economic strain on mountain towns. Motivated by an urge to protect the places he loves, Jeremy sets out on a physical and philosophical journey to find common ground with fellow outdoor people across diverse political backgrounds. He learns their hopes and fears while walking a mile in their shoes on the mountain and in the snow. With intimacy and emotion set against breathtaking backdrops, Purple Mountains navigates America’s divide with a refreshing perspective: even though we may disagree about climate policy, our shared values can unite us
When two former top orienteers end up in a snowstorm in Lapland wilderness, they face an impossible orienteering task: how to reach your destination when you can't tell earth from sky?
British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash land in the Himalayas, and are rescued by the people of the mysterious, Eden-like valley of Shangri-la. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-la provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.
This episode is part of the series "The Conquerors of the Impossible (2/3)". From the 1950s to the 1980s, René Desmaison achieved a large number of "firsts". A specialist in normal routes (west face of Les Drus, Pilier du Freyney, Shroud...), he experienced a tragedy at the Grandes Jorasses, where his exceptional resistance allowed him to survive against all logic. He is the first to claim the practice of the mountain as a high level sport. A man of contrasts, his apparent strength hides great shyness and an unalterable enthusiasm despite the years. Beyond mountaineering, it is the spirit of adventure that has always inhabited him. A whole life devoted to mountaineering.
Thomas de Dorlodot and Horacio Llorens journeyed for a personal adventure across the Himalayan mountains. They covered roughly 350km and became the very first paragliders to fly over Rohtang Pass.
A Himalayan legend of a love struggling against the inevitability of death, an astonishing tale spanning from the early 19th century mountain existence, to hectic, bustling modern day Tokyo.
A professional skier gets into a life-changing car accident the day he discovers he has qualified for the Olympics. After losing a leg in the wreck, the athlete sinks into a deep depression- until one day he is offered a chance to try his luck with the country's Paralympic team.
Lhotse - l'anno nero del serpente
May 25, 1996 - Bruce Herrod, a South African mountaineer reached the summit of Everest at 5 p.m. On the radio, we urge him to come down as soon as possible because the descent is dangerous in the middle of the night. A few hours later, no news from him. From this South African expedition which turned into a fiasco and another expedition carried out in parallel, the testimonies of the members of these expeditions show to what extent the thirst for climbing to the top of certain mountaineers, combined with the lack of oxygen , can alter the lucidity of climbers to the point of changing their relationship to death and thus lead them to neglect other expedition members in order to ensure their victory or save their own life.
One day in the life of a 50-year-old couple. Blind Krzysztof goes skiing with Wiola, who is his wife and guide. They prepare for skiing in the early morning. Krzysztof mounts bluetooth kits on the helmets that will connect them to each other. They go to the top of the mountain in a chair lift, and the higher they go, the more we learn about their life. At the same time, weather conditions are changing, thickening mist falls on the mountain slopes. When Wiola and Krzysztof finally reach the summit, they must find each other and connect in the surrounding fog. A short documentary about love and passion.
Patabang, una storia degli anni '70
Eikou e no Spur: Igaya Chiharu Monogatari
Flying over Everest
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is credited as being the World’s Greatest Living Explorer. Among his extraordinary achievements, he was the first to circumnavigate the world from pole to pole, crossed the Antarctic on foot, broke countless world records, and discovered a lost city in Arabia. He has travelled to the most dangerous places on Earth, lost half his fingers to frostbite, raised millions of pounds for charity and was nearly cast as James Bond. But who is the man who prefers to be known as just ‘Ran’?