History of the first ascent of Aconcagua by the south face in February 1954 by the French shock team led by René Ferlet and composed of Lucien Bérardini, Adrien Dagory, Edmond Denis, Pierre Lesueur, Robert Paragot and Guy Poulet. In seven days of combat, they extricate themselves from the mountain in a pitiful state; all except Robert Paragot will be victims of severe frostbite which earned them amputations, some important as for “Lulu” Bérardini who lost part of his left hand.
Director Damien Roz was twelve years old when he attended a conference by mountaineer Jean-Marie Choffat who told of his passion for the mountains and his fight against cancer. Shocked, the young boy said to himself that one day he would tell the story of this extraordinary man. 29 years ago Jean-Marie Choffat, a seasoned mountaineer, suffered from liver cancer. It was then announced to his parents that he only had a few months left to live. But Jean-Marie, who had just had a son, promised himself that he would see his son grow up until he was at least 20… His son Marcelin is almost thirty today and Jean Marie is still there. Jean-Marie lived through the golden age of mountaineering with some 1,200 ascents around the world and many firsts... If he remembers an ascent of the north face of the Grandes Jorasses between two chemotherapy sessions, he evokes his strong friendships with Yannick Seigneur, René Desmaison or Gaston Rébuffat...
Before tackling the ascent of urban buildings, Alain Robert was considered one of the best specialists in the "climbing" of cliffs. His passion nearly cost him his life in 1982, when a fall rendered him 66% disabled. At the time the doctors were convinced that he could no longer indulge in this passion. This does not prevent him, by dint of motivation and training, from climbing more than 170 buildings around the world to date, and from soloing technical routes at his maximum level, such as "La Nuit du Lézard". (8a+) in Buoux (France), where here is "L'Ange en Décomposition", in 1991, a mythical course in the Gorges du Verdon.
French powerhouse climber Mélissa Le Nevé tries to become the first woman to traverse Action Directe, one of the most revered and challenging routes in the sport.
Account of the first French expedition to the Himalayas, which attempted to climb the hidden peak (Gasherbrum I) in 1936, from the preparations for the trip to the end of the ascent. After a long approach walk through quasi-desert regions, then on a huge glacier, the caravan of 700 porters arrives at the foot of Hidden Peak. The expedition was led by Henry de Ségogne, with Jean Charignon, Pierre Allain, Raymond Leininger, Jean Carle, Jean Deudon, Louis Neltner, Jacques Azémar, doctor Jeand Arlaud and director Marcel Ichac. Weather conditions, logistical problems and a strike among Sherpas forced the team to retire at 6900m on the south face. The film received the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1938.
In 1950, a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog went to central Nepal to conquer the highest peak (8,091 meters): Annapurna. The film is not only made of what we see, but even more of what we don't see. Its imperfections are the negative imprint of the adventure. Memory is the most faithful of films.
In this film, following in the footsteps of Patrick Edlinger, Christian and Olivier build the legendary roof of La Piade (Toulon, France) solo in deep water. Up to 18 m high, the two climbers are keen to work the route without a rope. The Piade site appears in the first minutes of the film “La Vie Au Bout Des Doigts” by Jean-Paul Janssen. At a height of 15m, after several summers of work, Olivier is one of the rare local climbers to have completed this route. Today, it is Christian who is taking on this same challenge. The two climbers are keen to work it without the help of a rope. After each fall, they must start the route from the beginning. Guided by his elder, the film recounts Christian's progression and success on the path. It is also the story of their friendship and the joy they share together, suspended, “at their fingertips”. Determined, Christian works the route in summer, as in winter, despite the sometimes unpredictable conditions.
Discreet legend of Fontainebleau, Charles Albert, nicknamed Mowgli, continues to push the limits with his barefoot block creations. Climbing without slippers forces him to find original methods, to compensate with the strength of his arms and fingers. "Climbing is not just about a grade", he explains, "We have the possibility of doing what we want, climbing blindfolded, barefoot... All while seeking fluidity in our movements. The only limit to creating new challenges is your imagination.” He very rarely appears in the specialized media, has not made the Olympics or even major international competitions. Yet he is one of the best bouldering climbers in the world. For the record, in January 2019, he was the second in the world to offer a 9a rating for his long-standing project "No Kpotes Only". A year later, his boulder will be downgraded to 8c/+, still remaining one of the most extreme passages on the planet.
The "Lyon Premier 8000-Gasherbrum II 8035m" expedition, organized and led by Jean-Pierre Frésafond in 1975, was sponsored by the Lyon section of the Club Alpin Français and by Louis Pradel, Mayor of Lyon. The film traces the departure from Lyon of Berliet heavy trucks loaded with equipment, daily life in Pakistan, preparation for the expedition and the approach march with the porters, daily life at the base camp and in the camps. altitude of the members of the expedition: L. Audoubert, Marc Batard, F. Bourbousson, A. Chariglione, J. Dupraz, J.J. Forrat, H. and JP. Frésafond, B. Macho, Doctor A. Raymond, Y. Seigneur, J. Soubis, F. Valençot, B. Villaret de Chauvignypuis. Finally On June 18, 1975, Yannick Seigneur and Marc Batard reached the summit by opening a route along the south ridge. Bernard Villaret de Chauvignypuis, who was killed during the second assault, was the first victim of the Gasherbrum.
Marcel Ichac accompanied the mountaineer Armand Charlet, in 1943, in the repetition of the first crossing of the Aiguilles du Diable that the guide of the Chamonix valley had made in 1925. A roped party joined on snow and ice the Col du Géant, reached at the Mont-Blanc-du-Tacul stop and on the Col du Diable. The men cross the needles by climbing chimneys, cracks and abseiling walls. They access the eastern slope of the Mont-Blanc massif which offers a panorama of the Grandes Jorasses and Mont-Blanc. Armand Charlet was the first to reach the summits of four needles above 4000 meters: the Devil's Horn, Pointe Chaubert, Pointe Médiane and Pointe Carmen; he also tells how he successfully climbed the furthest, the Isolated. Marcel Ichac shot these scenes as close as possible to his subject, he responded with this film with a “truth” cinema, the principle of which we find in his later productions.
"The ascent of the Aiguilles Ravanel and Mummery", climbed by young guides in cycling pants: The brothers Armand Charlet and Georges Charlet, Arthur Ravanel, Henri Couttet and Charles Balmat. The film was shot by Georges Tairraz II, Chamoniard mountain photographer, representative of the third generation of a family line of mountain photographers and filmmakers. George Tairraz II's film will lay the groundwork for a French vision of mountain film; In the 1930s, a French school of mountain cinema emerged, less expressionist, more stripped down and realistic than the German school. These are the films of Marcel Ichac, Roger Frison-Roche, Samivel, Georges Tairraz II, etc. It develops according to the principles set by Marcel Ichac, in opposition to the German school. It is both about getting out of the dramatic vision of the mountain and placing the mountain and the climbers at the heart of the plot.
