When the snow melts and the hills of Appenzell are dotted with green and white, buckets of water slowly make their way up and down the slope. After a time, the gentle movement turns into violent swaying. Shots ring through the air, the buckets are punctured. Slowly the water begins to flow. This is the high point of a ritual that begins deep within the bowels of the mountain. Then trails of water spurt through the air to the thawing slopes and the water begins to gush, nearly causing the well in the valley to overflow.
1987-09-07
0
10.0A documentary portrait of the legend Eric Escoffier at the height of his mountaineering career. A true athlete, Escoffier has comprehensive, cutting-edge preparation in three different climbing disciplines: rock climbing, ice climbing and solo free climbing, without any safety devices. Philippe Lallet's camera follows Eric in his performances and in his preparation for one of the first La Sportroccia climbing competitions, in 1985 in Bardonecchia in Italy.
10.0In southern Germany, winter can still be admired in all its glory every year. With its white coat of snow and icicles and myriads of small crystals that look like geometric works of art. In the valleys and on the slopes the snow is still so thick every year that the alpine huts are snowed in up to the windows. Cows and dairymen are safe in their farms at lower altitudes. But not the wild creatures of the mountains! They need strategies to survive the cold season and to defy snow masses, cold and ice. And some seem to do it so easily that they even raise their young in the middle of winter. But how do animals, plants and fungi cope with the annually recurring ice age, which from our perspective is a time of need? The many adaptations in nature prove that winter is an integral part of the natural cycle of the year and the living environment of species. They are adapted to cold and frost. That is why the animals and plants at the edge of the Alps suffer particularly from climate change!
6.8In 1966, John Harlin II died while attempting Europe's most difficult climb, the North Face of the Eiger in Switzerland. 40 years later, his son John Harlin III, an expert mountaineer and the editor of the American Alpine Journal, returns to attempt the same climb.
8.0Looking at whether the history of early human evolution should be rewritten. For decades, most experts have been convinced that Africa is the cradle of mankind and many fossil finds from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa and Chad seemed to prove it.
Sepp Holzer explains some of the innovative, labour-saving agricultural techniques he applies at his farm in the Eastern Alps of Salzburg, Austria.
10.0This film by Yannick Bacher tells the passion of brothers Frédéric and François Nicole for climbing. Through the sites of Cuzzago (Italy), Zurich, Murg, Pelzli, Montreux, St-Loup, Yverdon-les-Bains, Saint-Triphon or Erde, we learn to know these 2 living legends better, their life choices, their philosophy... United by blood ties, those of fraternity but also by the same passion, that of the rock, of climbing. Fred made climbing history by pushing back the difficulty ladder in the discipline of bouldering. François him, founded a family and carried out a parallel professional career. But both have never stopped exploring, traveling and climbing.
10.0Marcel is on the eve of his 95th birthday. He trained his two sons, Claude and Yves, in the world of climbing where they are key figures. When old age came, a climbing buff, Marcel could not give up his passion. He then begins a final procession towards his last Mirror at the age of 94, accompanied by his sons. The northwest wall of the famous 450-meter Argentine Mirror (canton of Vaud, Switzerland) is the scene of Marcel's adventure, at the height of his art, a feat and a beautiful family story.
10.0The Trail of Toni - Toni Gobbi from Citizen to Mountain Guide is a documentary on Antonio, known as Toni, Gobbi (1914-1970), a renowned Italian mountaineer and mountain guide. It is a universal story of a man who followed his passion for the mountains with vision and determination, making it his life and leaving a legacy that, over 50 years later, withstands the test of time.
7.2Surrounded by the mountains and people who are his inspiration, in ‘Path to Everest’, the mountain athlete Kilian Jornet reveals his most intimate fears, contradictions and passions. Summits of My Life is the personal project of Kilian Jornet, in which for five years he has traveled to some of the most important peaks of the planet to try to establish FKT (fastest known time) of ascent and descent of some of the most emblematic mountains of the world. The project is closely linked to values and a way of understanding the purist and minimalist mountain. The experiences lived in each challenge have been captured in different films.
10.0In the austere "Horseshoe Cirque", attempts on ice are so impressive and require such a high degree of skill, that after a discrete beginning in 1976, there was a wait of twenty years before new pioneers dared the challenge. Each has returned, marked for life by the extraordinary experience. The opening of The White Witch in January, 2006 by Philippe Batoux, François Damilano and Benoît Robert was the occasion to revisit this emblematic site. Here is an exceptional panorama where incredible ice formations give way to challenging rocky climbs and vibrant testimonials...
10.0He climbed solo, without a rope, the north face of the Eigers in 2h47. Below him the rock wall steigen über 1000 Meter ab. Mehr Ueli Steck, the lone wolf, does not lose his temper. For a year, Steck has meticulously prepared this record of less than three hours. The portrait of an extraordinary man who takes us on a journey to the most beautiful and challenging peaks in the world.
10.0Six big north faces of the Alps. The film consists of six films: "Die Wand der Wände" (Eger by Robert Jasper, Roger Schäli), "Das letzte Wort hat der Berg" (Matterhorn by Michael Lerjen, Jorge Ackermann), "Selig, wer in Träumen stirbt" (Grandes Jorasses by Felix Berg, Robert Steiner), "Licht und Schatten" (Piz badile by Hansjörg Auer), "Grenzen der Felskletterei" (Drei Zinnen by Alexander Huber) and "Der zerfallene Berg" (Petit Dru by Steve House, Andy Parkin).
0.0The filmmaker travels to the mysterious land of the “poor souls.” He visits eyewitnesses in rural areas of Central Switzerland. They offer their account of mystifying experiences in connection with the afterlife, of evil deeds by people who passed away long ago in need of atonement. The film investigates the hidden signs of mountain magic and reminds us of our own myths, ghosts and primal images. It also looks for paths to self-awareness that could be revealed to us within and under layers of centuries-old Catholic cultural sediment.
10.0The guide Gaston Rébuffat, shares with us his view of his job and the nature that surrounds him by showing us some beautiful climbs made with friends, noting the importance of the friendship of the rope party. Born near the Calanques, he could have been a sailor, like him linked to storms and the stars. We follow him with Edwin Mattews (USA) in their ascent of the Barre des Ecrins, then in La Meije. Accompanied by Jean Juge (Switzerland), in the Mont Blanc Massif, for a crossing of the Aiguilles de Chamonix. With his Italian friend Lino Donvito, he climbs the Torre de Vijolet in the Dolomites. Then with Massulu Suzuki (Japan) in the Mont Blanc massif (Rochefort ridges, Dent du Géant via the south face). Christian Ringeval (France) accompanies him for an ascent of Vignemale. And finally return to the Mont Blanc massif, to the Grand Capucin (Bonatti route) with Konrad Krirch.
7.5Catherine Destivelle is an ambassador for the French Alps and is well known in France and abroad. In Beyond the Summits, viewers will feel like they are climbing up the mountain with her. The film shows three classic Chamonix routes with three different climbing partners. Each partner was chosen because they had a profound impact on her life. The camera captures the magnificent scenery, as well as frank and intimate moments during the ascents ...