Chamonix: la mer de glace. Descente.
Four roped men descend through the seracs of the Mer de Glace. One of them falls and has to be hoisted. The shot belongs to a collection of scenes that were presented together as a kind of travelogue film under the title of 'Voyages animés' in a diorama pavilion in the Universal Exhibition of Paris of 1900. The mountaineering scenes in this series include four scenes in the Mer de Glace and one in the Meije glacier. These five scenes, under a minute long, are the first mountaineering images ever filmed. Several of the 'Voyages animés' scenes were included in the Lumière catalog in 1901 under the title of 'À travers la France'.
La Traversée du Grépon
In 1923, André Sauvage produced his first film La Traversée du Grépon. Dedicated to mountaineering in the Mont Blanc massif, this documentary is a performance that earned him the recognition of his peers. André Sauvage and his companions decide to climb the Grépon, the best known of the Aiguilles de Chamonix, in the Mont Blanc Massif. Early in the morning, they cross the Mer de Glace, climb rocky peaks, abseil summits, cross crevasses, snowfields and long seracs. After sixteen hours of effort, the climbers return to the refuge. With his camera, Sauvage documents the difficult undertaking, also showing his strong passion for the mountains. "The deepest perception of mountains begins where intelligence ends." (A. Sauvage). Two long versions of the film have disappeared, one of 90 and the other of 51 minutes and only eight minutes are preserved.
Dure Limite: Caving in a mill, Mer de Glace
The Mer de Glace in Chamonix, November 86: every summer the meltwater that runs on the surface of the glacier flows into a huge crevasse called "a mill". In 1897, Joseph VALLOT had explored it to a depth of 60m, a lake had prevented him from going any further. Since then no one had descended into this well. In the fall, a multidisciplinary team made up of mountaineers including Jean Marc BOIVIN, speleologists and scientists descending into the crevasse... Superb images and live comments in a temperature of 0° and a humidity of 100%. The team reached 110m deep under the ice, a world first in glacier exploration. Jean marc BOIVIN seems delighted with his first speleological exploration. With the participation of Serge AVIOTTE, Jean Michel ASSELIN, Jean Marc BOIVIN, Janot LAMBERTON, Pierrot PILLET, Louis REYNAUD, Jean Luc RIGAUD and Denis TERMIER.
Eagleswing Panorama of the Mer de Glace
1901 film of the Mer de Glace, cinematography by Frank Ormiston-Smith.
Crossing the Mer de Glace, Chamounix
Released in 1901
Chamonix - Montée à travers les Glaciers
Four men walk accross the upper part of the Mer de Glace Glacier. All they walk unroped and using ice axes as a cane. The shot belongs to a collection of scenes that were presented together as a kind of travelogue film under the title of 'Voyages animés' in a diorama pavilion in the Universal Exhibition of Paris of 1900. The mountaineering scenes in this series include four scenes in the Mer de Glace and one in the Meije glacier. These five scenes, under a minute long, are the first mountaineering images ever filmed. Several of the 'Voyages animés' scenes were included in the Lumière catalog in 1901 under the title of 'À travers la France'.
The High Life
In the final season of the original 119-year-old Le Refuge de la Charpoua, hutkeeper of eight years, Sarah Cartier, and her two children, embrace the high life and all its history in the mountains near Chamonix, France. The timeworn little building, set to be rebuilt in the same place in 2023, is surrounded by towering granite walls and alpine light providing them with a mystical setting to do all the dailies of cooking, cleaning and climbing; a place to breathe in the freedom of the high life while the sights and sounds of the busy world below fall away.
A la conquête des cimes - Pathe Baby
A short version of the film 'A la conquête des cimes' by René Moreau released for the domestic market in two Pathe Baby big reels. In the film, the mountain guide Hermann Perren prepares the ascent of Dent du Requin with a companion. He checks the equipment necessary for any mountaineer, rope, ice axe, glasses, double socks and iron shoes. They leave Chamonix, cross the Mer de Glace and arrive at the Requin Refuge. The next morning, Perren and his companion cross the glacier and encounter huge crevasses and seracs, which slow their progress. They cautiously cross a snow bridge and bivouac a few hours later. The climb is more and more difficult. They reach the Requin shoulder and have to climb the vertical wall to the summit.