“Getting to the top matters,” or so says veteran alpinist Mark Richey as he prepares to climb Saser Kangri II, at 7,518 meters the world’s second highest unclimbed mountain. In “The Old Breed”, co- director and climber Freddie Wilkinson takes the audience with him on a journey to the heart of one of the last unexplored patches of mountain wilderness: the war-inflicted eastern Karakoram range. As Richey and Steve Swenson, both in their 50s, push the limits of physical health and will power to be the first to claim this final summit, a gripping psychological thriller unfolds.
“Getting to the top matters,” or so says veteran alpinist Mark Richey as he prepares to climb Saser Kangri II, at 7,518 meters the world’s second highest unclimbed mountain. In “The Old Breed”, co- director and climber Freddie Wilkinson takes the audience with him on a journey to the heart of one of the last unexplored patches of mountain wilderness: the war-inflicted eastern Karakoram range. As Richey and Steve Swenson, both in their 50s, push the limits of physical health and will power to be the first to claim this final summit, a gripping psychological thriller unfolds.
2012-04-24
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Getting to the top matters.
The Sharp End is an adrenaline-soaked journey up the world's most challenging walls: the French Alps, the Eiger, the Utah desert, the Diamond of Colorado, Indian Kashmir, Yosimite Granite, and the sandstone spires of the Czech Republic. Run-out routes, scary high-ball boulder problems, ice-covered alpine walls and all-or-nothing free-solo ascents will keep your palms perspiring.
Georges Livanos, nicknamed the Greek but pure child of Marseille, amateur mountaineer, opened more than 500 routes in the Calanques, 40 in the Dolomites, and repeated many of the greatest routes in the Alps in the company of the best climbers of his time, d friends, and especially his wife Sonia. He is also the author of the classic "Beyond the vertical". This report follows for a day the legend, still 71 years old, of his apartment in the Marseille city in the Calanques. As a true Provençal, he speaks without filter of the exploits that made him famous, gives his opinion on modern climbing and on life in general: the portrait of a great climber and above all of a fascinating character with a sense of humor sharp.
In 1984 Ron Fawcett, is one of the most athletic climbers, he takes pleasure in taking up the challenge of climbing "free" without artificial aids, the equipment and rope being used only for safety, a revolution at the time. The documentary is part of "Pushing The Limits", a 10-episode series by Leo Dickinson documenting sporting adventures that push the limits of human endurance. Each episode focused on an extreme sport, ranging from rock climbing to hot air ballooning.
In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay made history as the first people to reach the top of Everest. Now, 50 years later, three sons of Everest's most celebrated climbers return to the mountain to challenge it again. Join their journey as they brave the elements and face death to climb 29,000 feet of wind-blasted rock and ice. And, relive the dramatic history of Everest from great triumphs to deadly tragedies, enduring rivalries and the unsung role of the Sherpa people—as National Geographic exposes the untold stories that lurk in the mountain's epic shadow and takes you on the ultimate Everest experience.
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.
Avid for steep slopes, Marco Siffredi (1979-2002) obeys only one rule: not to fall. This gifted kid with hair sometimes blond peroxidized, green or blue clashed in his valley: Chamonix, mecca of mountaineering. His thing was to go up and down on a snowboard. . 90 minutes September 8, 2002, altitude 8848 meters, rare oxygen, his head already brushing the sky and his snowboard running, Marco Siffredi, 23, rushes from the summit of Everest in the Horbein corridor and its slopes at 50 degrees . A year earlier, he had already made the first descent of the mountain on a snowboard. But there remains another corridor… more direct. It's not a challenge, just a reason to be... However, that day, at the top of the roof of the world, his trace is lost...
After their success climbing the world’s hardest offwidth, the Wide Boyz, Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall, embark on their next crack climbing mission. This time their sights are set on the thinner end of the crack climbing spectrum. Their goal is the mighty Cobra Crack in Squamish BC, considered to be the hardest finger crack in the world. First climbed by Canadian ‘rock star’ Sonnie Trotter after battling it out with Didier Berthod, the route hit the media spotlight in the film First Ascent. With no local hard cracks to train on, the Wide Boyz refit their underground training dungeon and commit to a year of torturous finger training. With only a short trip to Canada planned, the Boyz face their biggest challenge yet against the sharp granite bite of the mighty Cobra Crack!
Since a 100 foot fall in 2002 that took his right leg and left him with spinal injuries, Colorado climber Craig DeMartino has led one hell of a life, including lauded First Disabled and In-A-Day Ascents on El Capitan. But his day-to-day life story is the one that should be making headlines.
Esteban ‘Topo’ Mena is an Ecuadorian mountain guide and rising star in alpine climbing whose dream is to climb the first ascent of a new route on Mount Everest. He teams up with Cory Richards, a National Geographic photographer and the first American to climb an 8,000-meter peak in winter, and they attempt a never-before-tried climb on the north face of Everest. Though they fail on their first attempt, they vow to return the following season. However, due to the global pandemic, the North side of Everest remains closed, so the ambitious duo turns their attention to a futuristic new route on Dhaulagiri, the seventh highest mountain in the world. When the risk of death on Dhaulagiri stresses the team to a breaking point, the climbers are forced to confront the question of why they climb—and why it’s all worth it.
At the start of the 80’s sport climbing was in its embryonic stages. Bolted routes were beginning to make a regular appearance, indoor climbing walls as we know them nowadays had not yet been invented and there was no such thing as being a pro athlete. During that period standards rose exponentially, from 7b+ as the cutting edge to 9a becoming the new world standard at the end of the ’80’s. In such a short period the sport changed beyond recognition and, in Britain, was fuelled by a small group of climbers who would do anything to climb full-time: sleeping in sheds underneath crags, shoplifting for food and clothes, and living off unemployment benefits. As illustrated in this film directed by Nick Brown, these climbers were living outside the rest of society and went on to become the most influential figures in the history of British sport climbing.
Starting from the Swiss village of Zermatt, two people and a guide make a perilous ascent of the Matterhorn. Local villagers mount a torchlight rescue of a British couple trapped on the famous mountain. Irving Allen shot footage for this documentary while filming his feature film 'High Conquest'. Filmed in Ansocolor, the documentary won the Academy Award for Best Short Film in 1947.
Record of the first ascent of Everest made without the use of oxygen equipment, made in May 1978 by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Could it be done? Would their blood vessels burst? Would they suffer brain damage leading to madness? Nobody was sure. Messner: 'I would never come here for trying Everest with oxygen. That is not a challenge for me.' A fascinating piece of history, well filmed by Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones (above the South Col Messner used a cine camera to continue the filming), featuring Messner and Habeler's thoughts. The film follows the usual sequence from Namche to Base Camp, through the Icefall, to Camps I, II and III. It also shows historical footage of the pioneering Mallory and Shipton expeditions.
Daredevil mountain climbers on their attempt to break yet another speed climbing record.
Every year, over a thousand climbers try to reach the summit of Mount Everest, with the annual record for successful attempts currently standing at 633. But of that number, nearly half were Sherpas - the mountain's unsung heroes. Yet the Sherpa community has remained secretive about their nation, culture and experiences living in the shadow of the world's highest mountain. Now, for the first time, they open the door into their world. Without the expertise of the Sherpas, only the hardiest and most skilful climbers would succeed. Every day they risk their lives for the safety of others, yet they seek neither glory nor reward, preferring to stay in the background. Following the stories of four such Sherpas - Phurba, Ngima, Ngima Tenji and Gelu - this film reveals the reality of their daily lives, not just up the mountain, but with their families after they return home.
Ueli Steck may be the greatest speed alpinist the world has ever seen. In this film he tells the stories of his record-breaking ascents in the Alps, accompanied by stunning aerial footage of him racing up 8,000 foot alpine faces. Ueli joins Alex Honnold in Yosemite to attempt speed records there. His ultimate goal: take his one-man alpine speed game to the largest, highest walls in the world.
King Lines follows Chris Sharma on his search for the planet's greatest climbs. From South American fantasy boulders to the sweeping limestone walls of Europe, Sharma finds and climbs the hardest, most spectacular routes. Off the coast of Mallorca he discovers his most outrageous project yet, a 70 foot arch rising from the Mediterranean Sea...