K2: The Impossible Descent

Abandoned

A crew of backcountry skiers set out to explore Colorado’s lost ski areas in hopes to find adventure amongst the ruins. Instead, they discover the truth behind what made these areas close their doors for good and illustrates what skiing used to be like before mega resorts and climate change wreaked havoc on independently owned ski areas. Through heart-wrenching interviews with former owners, ski patrol, and historians, The Road West Traveled uncovers what it’s like to be a skier in Colorado's backcountry and what it means to go from lost to found.

Chronoception

On the trail of nomadic peoples and the ancient Silk Roads, Thomas Delfino, accompanied by Léa Klaue and Aurélien Lardy, embark on an expedition to reach one of the most remote places on the continent. The Kokshaal-Too range is located in the Tian Shan mountain range, on the border of Kyrgyzstan and China, and harbors unexplored mountains and faces. This skilled team, accompanied by renowned guides Hélias Millerioux and Jean-Yves Fredriksen, finds themselves propelled into a space where time seems to have suddenly come to a halt.

Lindsey Vonn: The Final Season

Universally recognized as the greatest female skier ever, Lindsey Vonn went on a remarkable journey that was defined by unexpected twists and turns and dramatic peaks and valleys in its final chapter. LINDSEY VONN: THE FINAL SEASON intimately recounts the iconic skier’s last competitive campaign while looking back on her transcendent career, from child prodigy to decorated Olympian to global superstar.

Stars at Noon

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.

Gary Hemming, le beatnik des cimes

The American mountaineer Gary Hemming marked the era of the 1960s. The story of this "exceptional" character is intimately linked to that of the rescue of the two German mountaineers on the west face of the Drus, in 1966, a rescue which he had took the initiative. While the official emergency services of the EHM try to reach them from above, a pirate rope made up of Gary Hemming, René Desmaison, Lothar Mauch, Gil Bodin, Mike Brurke, François Guillot, the filmmaker Gérard Bauer organizes to join them from below and succeeded after a fierce struggle the rescue. The press seizes the event and elevates Gary Hemming to the rank of national hero. All the newspapers feature this big guy with a cool attitude, mismatched clothes, jovial smile and long blond hair on the front page. From then on, he was nicknamed: "the beatnik of the peaks".

In Pursuit Of Soul 2: Midwest Independence

Teton Gravity Research and Indy Pass bring you a short film celebrating the independent spirit of the Midwest ski and snowboard community. Those who ride the Midwest will tell you - they don’t need endless storm cycles, 4,000 feet of vert or fancy base areas to have fun. A few rope tows and rails, a set of slalom gates to bash, reliable snowmaking and a sense of adventure is all it takes. The ski industry could learn a few tricks from these tried and true Midwest ski areas: Family-first means affordable passes, after school programs, volunteer-led race clubs and most importantly, a sense of camaraderie. In Pursuit of Soul 2: Midwest Independence was filmed on location at Buck Hill, Caberfae Peaks, Granite Peak, Little Switzerland, Lutsen Mountains, Nordic Mountain, The Rock Snowpark, and Tyrol Basin.

Touching the Void

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.

Jòlha Ròc, following in the footsteps of the Ravier brothers

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.

Entre Ciel et Neige

René Collet, skier member of the French team, guides a friend from the summit of the Aiguille du Midi. This descent is an opportunity to focus on the remarkable elements of the terrain: the cable car and its work still in progress, the surrounding peaks (Capucin, Mont Maudit, Mont Blanc). The two skiers stop regularly, here to observe climbers scaling the south face of the Aiguille, there to visit the Cosmiques Laboratory. They even take the time to rescue a skier stuck in a crevasse at the Séracs du Géant, before continuing their descent in style onto the Mer de Glace.

Tissalatine - Le Rappel Du Hoggar

In the heart of the Hoggar Mountains, Algerian and French climbers meet on the legendary walls of the central Sahara. More than just an ascent, Tissalatine tells the story of an encounter with oneself, with the land, and with history. The film also retraces Thomas Dulac's return, ten years later, to a site he helped to open up. Driven by the profound voice of singer Djam and the vision of director Hamza Mendil, Tissalatine unveils a living, vibrant Sahara, far removed from clichés, in a sweeping epic of adventure, brotherhood, and spiritual elevation.

Galahad of Everest

Brian Blessed plays George Mallory in this intrepid recreation of his ill fated 1924 climb to Everest. Meeting Sir Chris Bonington, Rheinhold Messnerhe learns of the pitfalls that await him before setting off for his epic struggle with the mountain. Against all odds he reaches 26000 feet on the North face of Everest, and is a changed man

Unparalleled 4: The Lost Season

Unparalleled 4: The Lost Season is the fourth film in Unparalleled Productions' award winning series of Freeheel films. A different kind of ski film born of a different group of skiers, The Lost Season follows Lorenzo Worsted, Max Mancini, Scott Schield, Ben Dolenc, Mark Sanders, and Ty Dayberry along with rising stars Hilary Larkin, Seth Steffen, Cody Smith, and Decker Jory. Through their talent and enthusiasm for freeheel skiing we see not only possibility, but a zeal for life that affects us all and provides an appreciation for times passed and an awareness for the speed with which we each lose our own season.

Free Rider

Sam Anthamatten (ski) and Victor de Le Rue (snowboard) push new boundaries in the wildest corner of Alaska. A bush pilot drops the small crew of five on a remote, unexplored glacier to conquer the spine walls in a series of ascents, each one more committed. Narrator Jérôme Tanon describes with honesty and a touch of sarcasm what exactly is going on here. Above all, he wants to feel what it’s like to be in their shoes, to understand what so called “free riders” are made of, and what could be the purpose and beauty of “freeriding”.

The Pillar of Solitude

La Grande Cordée

Hoggar Expedition 79

TSR documentary on the 1979 expedition to Algeria in the Atakor massif (Hoggar desert), organized by Geneva mountaineer Michel Vaucher and Jean-Blaise Fellay. The climbers make a dozen ascents including the famous summit of Adaouda (which means "finger" in Tamasheq, the Tuareg dialect), by several routes. Then a new route on the peaks of the southern Tezoulegs. They discover the volcanic geological characteristics of the Atakor massif and meet the nomadic inhabitants of the region, the Tuaregs, who are increasingly settling in the town of Tamanrasset.

Anatomy of a First

In February 1966, Pierre Mazeaud and Lucien Berardini traveled to the Atakor massif, in the Hoggar mountain range of the Sahara in southern Algeria. There, they attempted a challenging first ascent: the Takouba spur, one of the peaks adjacent to Garet El Djenoun, a legendary mountain in the Hoggar massif, first climbed by Roger Frison-Roche and Raymond Coche in 1935. The documentary, superbly filmed by Jacques Ertaud, won the Grand Prize at the Trento International Mountain Film Festival in 1966.

As Long As We Love Her

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.

Sulle orme del K2

Eight women, 8,611 meters to climb. A feat that will go down in history. Seventy years after the first ascent of K2, an extraordinary all-female expedition—comprising Italian and Pakistani mountaineers—will aim to reach the coveted summit of K2 to celebrate a unique anniversary and make it truly memorable.