A Line Across the Sky
The “line” referred to in the film A Line Across the Sky is the Fitz Roy Massif, the mother of all climbing traverses. Patagonia’s iconic toothy skyline traces seven summits, spans four miles and includes 13,000 imposing vertical feet of rime- and snow-covered climbing. Who better to attempt the first-ever successful traverse of the ambitious alpine route than legendary American climbing sensation Tommy Caldwell? For this trip, Caldwell brings along fellow all-star Alex Honnold, who isn’t shy about his preference of warmer climates for the sport, for the ultimate crash course in alpinism. A Line Across the Sky is a work in progress that follows Caldwell and Honnold on their five-day push to complete the epic route during a rare window of good weather in February 2014. What unfolds is high-flying adventure, complete with mishaps, hilarity and camaraderie.
The Man Behind the Mask
Mike Libecki is the consummate adventurer — a lone wolf who has traveled from Borneo to Venezuela, Afghanistan and Antarctica in search of unclimbed routes, unskied lines, unbagged peaks and untouched pockets of the world. He's also a colorful character who dons Chinese masks while climbing, films himself incessantly and has a healthy fascination of modern-day mysteries.
Ticking off expeditions at an astonishing rate and with an ambition that doesn’t ebb, he shows no sign of slowing. But he does have a new travel companion: his young daughter. This new work in progress by Sender Films shines a light on a quirky climber who has somehow remained on the fringe of the adventure world’s conscience.
Rinpoche Speaks
Ngawang Tenzin Norbu, who was born in Nepal in 1935, is believed to be the first reincarnation of Lama Gulu, the Tengboche Rinpoche. Over the course of his lifetime, he has witnessed a seismic change in his homeland, which has gone from a remote and unvisited landscape to the bustling hub of a multi-million-dollar Everest expedition industry.
In this short film, the Rinpoche speaks about the destruction of beyuls, sacred places high in the mountains, caused by the presence of too many people. The Himalaya, he says, are where gods dwell. “You think and say that climbing mountains is good…that you will gain something from it,” he says. “But climbing mountains is also a form of greed… If you stopped some of the climbing on Everest, it will mean more to those who do summit.”
Down to Nothing
In the fall of 2014, a five-person team from The North Face and National Geographic set out on an ambitious trek to summit an obscure Burmese peak, Hkakabo Razi, and determine once and for all if it is Southeast Asia’s highest point. What unfolded was a harrowing expedition that pushed the group to the brink mentally and physically and carved them down to nothing. Led by Telluride mountaineer Hilaree O’Neill, the team encountered one pitfall after another: interminable overland train rides, sketchy motorcycle trips in the rain, hellish jungle slogs, dwindling food supplies, logistical failures, howling winds, false summits, hypothermia, perilous gendarmes and — perhaps the most threatening of all — personality clashes that threatened to unravel the expedition. Down to Nothing is a searing story about the motives that drive people to tackle the insurmountable, the suffering they’ll endure for the sake of their dreams and the cracks that can appear in even the best laid plans.