Skye High
A travelogue film on the Isle of Skye by Stanley Watson, including some mountaineering and rock climbing. Stanley Watson is a keystone in the history of British climbing. He established the British Mountain Guides organisation in 1930. Watson made the first Britain's complete rock climbing film, High Hazard, in 1935, a film about climbing in the Lakes.
The Challenge
During an early, unsuccessful attempt at climbing the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper finds himself rescued by an italian guide, Jean Antoine Carrel. The two men quickly build a friendship and agree to reach the peak together. However, local villagers ploto to divide the alliance of Whymper and Carrel and both men join rival teams as they set out in a race to conquer the mountain. A mountaineering drama based on the novel by Carl Haensel and inspired in the dramatic true story of Edward Whymper, who led the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. There is another version of the film titled Der Berg Ruft, shot the same year in German.
The Mountain Calls
During an early, unsuccessful attempt at climbing the Matterhorn, Edward Whymper finds himself rescued by an italian guide, Jean Antoine Carrel. The two men quickly build a friendship and agree to reach the peak together. However, local villagers ploto to divide the alliance of Whymper and Carrel and both men join rival teams as they set out in a race to conquer the mountain. A mountaineering drama based on the novel by Carl Haensel and inspired in the dramatic true story of Edward Whymper, who led the first successful ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. There is another version of the film titled The Challenge, shot the same year in English.
Ski Flight
Shortened version of the film 'Snow flight' distributed by Warner Bros. The film was produced by Jerome Hill as 'a document of skiing according to the principles of Hannes Schneider.' It features Otto Lang, director of the Mt Rainier and Mt Baker ski schools. As the film opens, Otto emerges from a cabin beneath Table Mountain at the Mt Baker ski area with his canine friend. He applies wax-on climbing skins to his skis. Then he steps into his bindings and climbs to a scenic ridge. The narrator describes each technique in detail as Otto demonstrates again. Several of the maneuvers are done in slow motion on a slope meticulously packed by side-stepping.
Love Letters from the Engadine
Constance, the young widow of a wealthy American, gets a love letter from the Engadine region, signed by the famous guide Toni Anewater she had met during a holiday in the previous year. Constanze and her friend Dorothy therefore go to Switzerland for winter sports. But identical love letters to other ladies in London, Paris and Rome have been sent. Toni does not know anything about the letters. Everything seems to be a cunning of the hotel owner to attract tourists.
The Beneficent Reprobate
The negative affects from ingesting "The Spirit of Wine" are demonstrated here through experiments on the Students of Northwestern University Medical School.
Scuola di roccia
An exceptional cinematographic document on Emilio Comici, shot in 1938 in Val Rosandra by a MGM operator. The documentary shows Comici with the mountain guide Gianni Macor, in all the stages of the rock climbing technique, in the way of an instructional film. Comici, nicknamed the 'Angel of the Dolomites', is considered as the most extraordinary climber of the period between the two World Wars. He made over 200 first ascents in the Dolomites during his short career. Comici perfected the Bavarian technique of mountain climbing, and began the era of 'sixth grade' climbing. It was Comici who originated the concept of climbing direttissima routes, following the path a drop of water would take down the mountain.
Kampf um den Himalaja
Epic documentary about the German expeditions to Nanga Parbat up to 1937. After a first unsuccessful attempt in 1932 and the tragic second expedition led by Willy Merkl in 1934, in 1937 Karl Wien led another expedition to the mountain following the same route as Merkl's expeditions. Progress was made, but more slowly than before due to heavy snowfall. About 14 June seven Germans and nine Sherpas, almost the entire team, were at Camp IV below Rakhiot Peak when it was overrun by an avalanche. All sixteen men died. The film was assembled in 1938 with rescued 16mm material shot during the 1937 attempt and footage from the previous expeditions.
With the Camera to Nanga Parbat
Record of the 1937 German Expedition to Nanga Parbat, led by Karl Wien. This was the third German expedition to the mountain, and the team followed the same route than the 1932 and 1934 expeditions, led by Willy Merkl by the Rakhiot Face. During the ascent, progress was made, but more slowly than previous expeditions due to heavy snowfalls. Sometime between 14 and 16 June, Wien was camped with other six German climbers and nine Sherpas at Camp IV, below Rakhiot Peak, when it was overwhelmed by a massive avalanche. All sixteen men were killed in what remains as the worst single disaster ever to occur on an eight thousand meter peak. Uli Luft, Carl Troll and Dawa Thondup, who stood at the base camp, were the only survivors of the German and Sherpa teams respectively. The film shows images of the members of the rescue team, led by Paul Bauer, that arrived one month later.
I Denti della Vecchia
An old film about the mountains of I Denti della Vecchia, a mountain group in the Lugano Pre-Alps, between Switzerland (Val Colla) and Italy (Valsolda). It was produced the year of the inauguration of the Capanna Pairolo, the hut on the Italian side. The film features some of the first rock climbing enthusiasts in Ticino. Hugo Bernasconi, Aldo Magistri and Arturo Belloni climb the Spigolo Sud Est and later, they make an spectacular rappel.
Bergeller Kletterbissen
Three rock climbing ascents in Val Bregaglia, Italy by Karl Freimann and Philipp Wieland, who made the first ascent of Fiamma in 1936. The film starts with valley scenes. Wieland and Freimann climb up the waterfall to the old Albigna hut. Then they start the heavy climbing work on the extremely exposed needle of Fiamma in a repetition of their first ascent two years before. The team also climbs the needle of Ago di Sciora and Monte Sissone. A film by Werner Stauffacher and Swiss mountain photographer Andreas Pedrett.
Liesels schönste Kletterfahrt
The film is presented as a climbing film from Tirol's mountain world based on an idea by Kurt Maix, and it's a touristical film of the series 'Bilder aus Österreich' (Pictures of Austria). A man and a woman leave the city to go to the mountains of the Austrian Tirol to make some rock climbing. They spend one night at a mountain hut and next morning they walk up to the base of the wall and start climbing. The couple, with the man always leading, overcome a series of difficult passages and reach the summit. There they sign in the book of ascents with the names of Peter Martin and Lial, and start the descent doing several rappels.
Conquest of Nanda Kot
Record of the Japanese expedition to Nanda Kot (6861m) in Himalaya in 1936. The expedition was organized by the Mountaineering Club of the Rikkyo University and included Sakuta Takebushi, who had represented Japan at the Olympic Games. They were the first to climb the mountain and carried a camera to the summit. Six party members made it all the way to the top, using all-Japanese gear. The party, without previous Himalayan experience, had been training in in the Japanese Alps in winter conditions.