After years of mass tourism in the Alps, a rethinking is slowly taking place. Whether researchers, artists or philosophers, many are trying to approach the essence of the mountains in new ways.
Claudio Landolt
as
Jörg-Michael Janke
Luc Moreau
The documentary film Art of Freedom answers the most poignant questions on the phenomenon of Polish expeditions to the Himalayas. Poles have reigned the highest mountaintops of the world for more than 20 years. They not only set down new trails, but new rules of behavior. They set themselves apart with an original style of climbing, endurance, conscientiousness about the overall well-being of the team - and solidarity.
Vertical Opera is a documentary film directed by Jean-Paul Janssen, with climbers Patrick Edlinger and Jean-Paul Lemercier in the Gorges du Verdon. The film opens with a training sequence of Patrick Edlinger then he links the routes with Jean-Paul Lemercier "L'Ange en décongelation" (7a), in which he falls voluntarily to demonstrate the usefulness of the rope, then "Le Septième Saut" (7b+). Finally, the final scene, an anthology, consists of a close-up of Edlinger who climbs free solo and barefoot the route "Débiloff", still in the Verdon, above hundreds of meters of void, all to lyrical music. It is "Wie Furchtsam Wankten Meine Schritte", the aria for alto voice from Johann Sebastian Bach's cantata BWV 33, music not unrelated to the subject of the documentary: "How faltering and fearful my steps were".
Every climbing reward comes at the cost of a potential risk, but when you are a climbing pioneer, driven by the unknown and unexpected, you are willing to risk whatever it takes for the chance to find the perfect first ascent line. This is a story of exploration and discovery, a journey of friendship and solitude, a quest to fuel an obsessive passion. Starring Paul Robinson, Jimmy Webb, Daniel Woods, Chris Sharma and Niky Ceria.
Six blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer.
While shooting Gerard Mordillat's film, "Billy ze Kick", Christophe Profit, one of the best climbers in the world, was asked to stand in for an actor. He will, without ropes or belay, climb the smooth side of a 60 meter building.
Since the dawn of time, humankind has felt the need to explore, whether through terrestrial, subterranean, underwater, or space exploration. This film follows the attempt to connect the Fromagère chasm with the legendary Berger chasm, located in the Vercors massif. The exploration is undertaken by Cédric Lachat, a former world climbing champion, and David Parrot, a highly motivated speleologist. From preparation to success or eventual abandonment, this adventure explores the various facets of speleology: sport, science, and heritage.
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.
Rotpunkt documents the advent, the agony and the art of the redpoint through Alex Megos’s efforts to redefine the boundaries of the form. The film traces the redpoint—which transformed rock climbing from an engineering problem into a brilliant test of mental and physical strength—from its origins with a ragtag bunch of tights-wearing revolutionaries in rural Bavaria, to its golden era with Wolfgang Güllich, to its new ideal in the German phenom Megos as he battles to unlock new levels of human potential.
A journey at high altitude seen through the eyes of three mysteriously connected hikers. After their coincidental meeting we follow these three on their personal odysseys. The levels of concentration they exhibit in trying to avoid mistakes makes their experience of the overwhelming landscape even more intense.
On the border between Argentina and Chile, Katia Lafaille, widow of the mountaineer Jean-Christophe Lafaille, sets out on one of the hardest treks in the world. Thirteen days of joy and suffering, to conquer the summit of Mount Aconcagua, the 'Colossus of America', which stands at 6,962 meters... Trek movie, a roadmap of an exceptional human adventure, the film is to see for the breathtaking beauty of the landscapes and for the will of this woman who seems to have some accounts to settle with the mountain.
Among the last unclimbed peaks on earth there stands a little-known mountain in a remote region of China. Follow a climbing expedition as they make three attempts over the span of three years to summit the 6060-meter Yangmolong Mountain.
Movie about David Lama climbing the Patagonian mountain Cerro Torre for the first time free, a mountain that has been dubbed the most difficult to climb in the world.
The mountain reveals honesty to oneself like nothing else. Dopamine, inner peace, or simply being unreachable are all understandable reasons why someone seeks the summit. With personal stories and individual connections to the mountains, "Sariri" brings together five protagonists from Switzerland, Austria, Bolivia, and Peru. Descending steep walls on skis in the Andes at over 6,000 meters pushes the group to their limits. With a first descent of the 6074-meter high "Chachacomani" in Bolivia, the mountaineers consciously take certain risks. The invisible power of altitude presents a significant obstacle to overcome. The film explores the question of why mountains play such an important role in some lives and why these cloud-catchers made of stone, snow, and ice are the closest place to heaven. The willingness to undertake long journeys and the mountain itself are what shapes "Sariri."
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.