Excursion on the Chain of Mont Blanc
In 1910, Arrigo Frusta and the operator Giovanni B. Vitrotti took the camera up to the 4000 meters high of the Mont Blanc chain to make three short mountaineering films for the Società Anonima Ambrosio. They were the first in Italy to realize documentaries in the high mountains. In this first film, a party of three mountaineers, including Arrigo Frusta make a mountaineering traverse in the Mont Blanc Massif. The purpose of the film is not to show a concret ascent, but to show the beauty and spectacularity of the high mountain landscapes and the the fascination of those who venture to conquer the high peaks. The other two films of the series are: 'Da Courmayeur al Colle del Gigante' and 'Sulle dentate scintillanti'.
Ascending a Rock Chimney
A thrilling incident showing a climber ascending a cleft or chimney by hanging on with his finger tips and pushing his back and knees into opposite walls of rock.
The Alps
The Alps – wild mountains, extreme lives, but also a magical world. This majestic mountain range connects eight countries and reaches heights of up to 4,000 metres above sea level. At a length of 1,200 kilometres, the Alps form both a connecting bridge between western and eastern Europe and a high barrier between southern and central Europe. The mountains act as a mighty water reservoir and continental watershed, feeding innumerable rivers that flow into three different oceans. Their highest peak, Mont Blanc, is surrounded by long, soaring mountains with ice-covered slopes. These great summits are just one reason the so-called “Roof of Europe” continues to fascinate – across the continent and around the world. The incredible diversity of landscapes, flora and fauna makes the Alps a unique natural treasure at the heart of Europe.
Always Alive
Living in Chamonix means observing Mont Blanc all the time. It's such an iconic summit." For several years, athlete Hillary Gerardi has shone on the podiums of the biggest trail races, but her gaze is set on high altitude. Victim of a terrible accident a few years earlier, she questions her legitimacy as a mountaineer to measure herself against the most prestigious mountain running record. The round trip starting from the church of Chamonix, the capital of mountaineering, to the summit of Mont Blanc. Secretly, Hillary has dedicated her last three years to this meticulous preparation, but that was without counting on climatic hazards that are much less controllable than her own determination... On the eve of the International Year of Glacier Preservation in 2025 (UNESCO), this inspiring film harmoniously combines the sporting performance of Hillary's record and the awareness of the importance of glaciers through the speech of glaciologist Heidi Selvestre.
Adventures on the Roof of the World
The film collects material from different mountain adventures in the Alps filmed by Frederick Burlingham. From alpine climbing on the slopes of the Jungfrau to mountaineering and rock climbing in the glaciers and rock pinnacles of the Mont Blanc Massif. Frederick Burlingham, known at the time as 'The man who kinematographed the Matterhorn', was a traveller cinematographer and one of the mountain film pioneers. Continuing the mountain film tradition established by Ormiston-Smith, Burlingham filmed several mountaineering films largely in Switzerland, taking mountain film in a new direction of immediacy and perceived peril.
Climbing the Final Arete
1902, cinematography by Frank Ormiston-Smith
Entre Terre et Ciel
This is Gaston Rebuffat's fourth film, in which, with several close friends, he discovers the sublime landscapes of the Alps. “Mont-Blanc is beautiful. I climbed it several times depending on the time, the color of the sky and the shape of the cornices and ridges. Because of the weather and also because of this feeling of altitude, Mont-Blanc provides great pleasure. For the guide, Mont Blanc is his garden, but the garden becomes more beautiful when shown to a friend. Personally, I really like the bivouacs; only there one penetrates a little the mystery of the altitude. That's why I immediately accepted when Tazieff expressed the desire to spend the night at the top of Mont Blanc in an igloo. The film won the Grand Prix at the Trento Film Festival in 1961.
Montagnes De Rêve: Le Mont-Blanc
The ascent of Mont Blanc takes two days. First, you have to climb the Aiguille du Goûter, at the summit of which, at 3,817 meters, clings the Goûter refuge, a small metal box where you spend the night. The climb is 1,500 meters long, including some of the most technical sections. 2:00 a.m. The alarm rings, and Carole Dechantre and Jean-Paul Lemercier begin their ascent of the Dôme du Goûter by the light of their headlamps. With the first rays of sunlight, the Arête des Bosses is illuminated. Already, the surrounding mountains seem smaller. One last effort, and they finally reach the summit of Mont Blanc, the roof of the Alps, at 4,810 meters.
Objectif Mont-Blanc 4808m
Mont Blanc, the roof of Europe, attracts the attention of mountaineers from all over the world, from seasoned climbers to novices. With its extensive media coverage, this mountain represents a dream of adventure for an ever-growing audience. Catherine and Maël, natives of Chamonix, also dream of reaching its summit. But climbing the giant of the Alps is a major undertaking that requires rigorous high-altitude training. Aware of the risks, the two novices enlist the help of Jean-Paul Lemercier, a high-mountain guide. He will give them the opportunity to learn about this challenging environment during a "Mont Blanc Course," which includes ice climbing school, two acclimatization peaks, and the ascent of the legendary mountain over three days. Set against the majestic backdrop of the Mont Blanc massif, this film retraces their preparation, their attempts, and the realization of their dream, day by day.
Explore Mont Blanc
The Ascent of Mont Blanc
Joseph Vallot and his team of guides and porters climb Mont Blanc in 1906. Their ascent will take three days. They spent their nights at the Grands Mulets refuge and the Grand Plateau refuge. This is the very first successfully filmed ascent. Joseph Vallot (1854-1925), rich heir of Lodève in Occitania. He devotes part of his fortune to the observation of the Alps, sometimes opposing the scientific community. He built an observatory, still standing today.
La Voie Bonatti
In October 2010, two of France's top mountaineers, Christophe Dumarest and Yann Borgnet, fulfilled a mountaineer's dream: a six-day alpine-style ascent of Walter Bonatti's great routes through the Mont Blanc massif. Dumarest and Borgnet first climbed the north face of the Grandes Jorasses; they then climbed the Grand Capucin and the Pilier Rouge du Brouillard, completing their feat with the ascent of Mont Blanc. Their paragliding descent in Chamonix completes their feat with a touch of fun. The climbers and the director made the ethical choice not to use helicopters to shoot the film.
Walmsley the Film
WALMSLEY is a feature-length documentary that follows Jim Walmsley’s journey from the depths of a US Air Force Missile Silo to becoming the first American man to win UTMB by running 100 miles faster than anyone else in the world.
The Unfamous of Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps, rises to 4,810 m and was first climbed on August 8, 1786. Chamonix natives Jacques Balmat and Michel Paccard set out on the afternoon of August 7 and returned victorious on the morning of the 9th, after two nights spent outdoors. This film is a staging that reconstructs this great event with all the problems it created and resolved, thus contributing to the emergence of the modern concept of mountaineering. Denis Ducroz, guide and filmmaker, immerses us in the minds and times of these two men, 224 years later.
The Ascent of Mont Blanc
A pioneering mountaineering film made by Frank Ormiston-Smith for the Warwick Trading Company in 1902. Ormiston-Smith himself led and filmed an expedition of seven men up to the top of Mont Blanc. The party left Chamonix the 23rd of september up to Pierre-Pointue and Grands Mulets and reached the top the 25th. The film consists of 18 scenes including a final scene of the team on the summit. This is the first major mountain film shown widely in cinemas. The mountaineering filming is rudimentary by later standards, but in 1902 it gave audiences moving pictures of places, and altitudes, which they could never expect to witness otherwise.
Perilous Assignment
"Perilous Assignment" is an episode of ABC's Walt Disney Presents. Disney loved to show viewers behind the scenes of the daring shoots of its theatrically released or TV shows. The theme of the episode is the making of his next film, The Third Man on the Mountain, an adaptation of James Ramsey Ullman's novel Banner in the Sky, based on the true story of the first ascent of the Matterhorn. Walt Disney will not be limited to a simple promotional making-of. He offers to meet exceptional people, including the French mountain guide Gaston Rébuffat. The latter will show climbing techniques and then reveal breathtaking images of his ascents of steep cliffs with a client for the ascent of Mont-Blanc, filmed for the occasion. In 1958, Walt Disney will therefore offer him to be deputy director on the high mountain scenes of the film "The Third Man on the Mountain".
Une Belle Trace
July 2022. Two high mountain guides, Frédéric Dégoulet and Benjamin Ribeyre embark on a journey around the Mer de Glace via the most legendary peaks of the Mont-Blanc massif.
Crossing a Snow Bridge
1902, cinematography by Frank Ormiston-Smith
Les Habitants des Flammes de Pierre
"Les Habitants des Flammes de Pierre" is the making-of documentary for the film "The Pillar of Solitude," which recounts Walter Bonatti's historic 1955 ascent of the southwest pillar of the Drus (the Bonatti Pillar) in the Mont Blanc massif, an 800-meter-high vertical face, climbed solo in six days, despite having only three. In the film, the renowned Swiss mountaineer Michel Vaucher portrays Bonatti. Unlike the film "The Pillar of Solitude," which was shot in black and white, the making-of documentary was filmed in color.
