Programme - Saturday (22 October 2022 - Day)

Spring 2020: A group of journalists sets off on the last few lockdown weekends to record in diary format what the mountains look like without hikers. They walk on openly accessible trails that are usually popular with tourists and mountain lovers. The mountains appear empty, silent and alienated. In some cases, the paths are even guarded or shut down for safety reasons, and it seems as if the animals are returning to the spaces deserted by humans.

In 1984, Zoltán Demján climbed two eight-thousanders without supplementary oxygen. First, he conquered the south face of Lhotse Shar, then the south pillar of Mount Everest, where the weather turned his descent into a dramatic experience. His first attempt at Dhaulagiri teaches him the lesson of a lifetime. What awaits him at its vertical southwest pillar is not only top difficulty climbing but also a life-changing realisation.

Pavol Barabáš’s film “Metamorphoses of the Tatra Mountains” received an Honourable Mention by the Jury in 2006.

A scientific, adventurous documentary about the history and development of alpine and high-altitude medicine around the Margherita Hut in the Italian Monte Rosa massif, the highest building in Europe. High-altitude mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner grants personal insights into her experiences with oxygen depletion at high altitudes, while medical professors Oswald Oelz and Peter Bärtsch report in many anecdotes on their research results in dealing with altitude sickness.

Four young adults use the format of a letter to explore, muse upon and say farewell to their favourite natural settings. Forests, mountains, glaciers and lakes of overwhelming beauty stream by like postcards in a vain attempt to take hold of these landscapes. Soon, they will be changed by the climate catastrophes which this generation will be forced to witness.

The Alps are not only a spectacular natural landscape in the heart of Europe, but also a living space for 13 million people across eight countries, whose multitude of languages, dialects and ways of life reflect the cultural diversity of this unique region.

The film tells of people whose life perspectives between economy and ecology could not be more contrastive – and who, despite difficult circumstances, are deeply connected to their homeland.

The Trans Salzburgerland traverse is the ski touring adventure everyone dreams of. Three female professional athletes, an Olympic champion and two freeriders, dare a mid-winter ski traverse from Sportgastein to Hinterglemm. Viktoria Rebensburg, Sabine Schipflinger and freeriding pioneer Sandra Lahnsteiner fight their way across ridges and glaciers. After the wildest ski descents in the world, they spend five days touring the Trans Salzburgerland to discover the mountains of their home country. As a finale, Austria’s highest mountain awaits.

With its clumsy shape and funny behaviours, the marmot is one of the most representative and likeable animals of our mountains. The film tells the life story of a young male across a period of four years. Vigilant, short-fused, solidary, cunning and greedy, he develops into the clan leader. Among the world’s most beautiful flower meadows, the journey begins.

The films of the Lapied family have already received numerous awards in Tegernsee.

If you want to survive in the high mountains, you need really thick skin. Because on ice-covered peaks and dangerously steep slopes, the air can quickly become thin. This environment is not suitable for every kind of animal, nor for every plant. But it’s the perfect setting for Pia’s latest adventures!

As part of an expedition to Pakistan, Simon Messner and his father Reinhold Messner circumnavigate Nanga Parbat. They recall the great tragedies of the 1930s and the fateful expedition of 1970, when Simon’s uncle Günther lost his life during the descent along the Diamir flank. Afterwards, father and son continue into the remote Geshot Valley. Here, they try their hand at the hitherto unclimbed Geshot Peak, before Simon sets off with his climbing partner Martin Sieberer for the Karakoram.

With a height of about 6,500 ft (almost 2,000 m), the north face of Mount Chamlang is one of the last large, unclimbed walls of the Himalayas. Benjamin Védrines, who discovered the north face on a previous ascent of the 24,012 ft (7,319 m) peak, decides to team up with Charles Dubouloz, who is a very strong mountaineer, but a newbie at high altitudes. Spindrifts, portaledges, mixed passages and vertical ice passages are among the challenges of this route. This film allows us to immerser ourselves in the best of 21st century Himalayan mountaineering.

Leaving old paths, discovering new ones. “More than a Route” accompanies ecologist and top climber Lena Müller on her Ecopoint tour. Together with her friend Judith, she covers 217 miles (350 km) of distance and 16,732 ft (5,100 m) of altitude gain by gravel bike so as to climb two stellar trad routes. Not bringing a car proves a great bonus: “Our time, the spaces traversed, the people, everything gains in importance.”

Adam Ondra is one of the best climbers of our time and has conquered the world’s most difficult cliffs and walls. As he prepares for the debut of sport climbing at the Tokyo Olympics, we observe the impact of commercial pressure, mass media and the audience’s longing for a spectacle both on his private life and on the sport itself

Two-time Olympic biathlon champion and seven-time biathlon world champion Laura Dahlmeier was already a passionate climber during her days of professional athletics. Nowadays, when choosing her climbing destinations, her intense sporting ambition is still discernible: At the Brouillard Pillar on Mont Blanc, she completes the rarely climbed Bonington Route together with the “Huber boys” Thomas and Alexander. Footage from her childhood climbs is on show as well as scenes in which she overcomes her nerves during the demanding tour and finally enjoys the great view from the summit of Mont Blanc as a reward.

Two women, the same mountain peaks, the same passion: to discover paths that no one has ever walked before. In 1901, British mountaineer Gertrude Bell succeeded with a spectacular first ascent in the Engelhörner Mountains, a traditional limestone climbing area in the northern Bernese Alps. In the film, Monika Romang from the Bernese Oberland completes the sport climbing route “Queen of Desert” on Gertrudspitze’s west face, which she opened with Daniel Anker in 2015. Their tours take both women into the past and to their limits.

For “Schwerelos – Das Leben, ein Pfeifen” (Weightless – Life is Whistling), the director received an Honourable Mention by the Jury in 2021.

Pete Whittaker, known for his world-class crack climbing and roped solo ascents, opens a new chapter on the Kjerag Big Wall (3,549 ft / 1,082 m) in Norway: He hopes to succeed with his first free solo ascent as well as his first big wall ascent without the protection of a rope. The camera zooms in close as he climbs the increasingly difficult and highly exposed line, grip by grip.

In 2010, Alastair Lee received the German Alpine Club Award in the category Mountain Adventure for “The Asgard Project”.

An adventure, a journey, a forgotten success. In 1976, a group of young mountaineers from Pamplona wrote mountaineering history when they successfully reached the summit of Mount Shakhaur (23,346 ft / 7,116 m) in Afghanistan. It was “the first Basque seven-thousander”, yet the joy soon turned into sadness.

Saudi Arabia is an almost undeveloped climbing paradise. The local climbing community still remains in its infancy – the sport has only really established itself in the past three years. The film takes us into the epic landscape of Neom in the northwest of the country. It documents the development of the largest Saudi Arabian climbing area to date, which will be inaugurated with an international festival and which challenges Western perceptions of Saudi Arabia.

Wildlife photographer Jérémie Villet traverses the white deserts of the northern hemisphere all alone with his pulka sledge and telephoto lens, in order to find animals that survive in extremely cold conditions. On his expedition to Northern Canada, he will explore the Yukon region with the aim of photographing its legendary mountain goat.

For “La quête d’inspiration” (Gathering Inspiration) Mathieu Le Lay received the 2015 Prize for the Best Film in the category Mountain Nature as well as the Otto Guggenbichler Prize for a Junior Film Maker.

At 9,718 ft (2,962 m), Mount Zugspitze is Germany’s highest peak. More than 500,000 people visit it every year to experience the breath-taking views for themselves. The Zugspitze is not only a mountain of superlatives in terms of mountain railway technology, its natural world is still spectacular, despite excessive use. Wild flanks and shy animals can be found here, but also evidence of climate change.