June 13, 2021 · Matias Contreras
We know these are hard times, and that we miss doing the things we love so much. But we can also find ways to connect with what we're passionate about and enjoy. In our case, outdoor activities and especially those related to mountaineering. That's why today we want to share with you a list of great movies and documentaries, as a curated selection; you've probably already seen some of them. We consider these to be different films, from documentaries to fiction films, that show exceptional places, wonderful landscapes, but above all, tell life experiences, possible situations and human perspectives. They'll help you learn, discover, share, experience feelings and reflect. Let's use this free time to enjoy a film about what we're passionate about. Without further ado, here's a list to choose from according to your personal interest.
1) Pura Vida (2013)
Director: Migueltxo Molina, Pablo Iraburu
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 52 minutes
A documentary that tells the story of the rescue attempt for Iñaki Ochoa de Olza on the south face of Annapurna
in 2008. An invitation to reflect and consider another take on what happened. Over four days,
a dozen men from ten different countries set out to try to rescue their injured
companion.
In Spanish
Film: CLICK HERE
2) Obsession (Patagonia in Winter, 2019)
Director: Jorge Saffie 
Genre: Short, Documentary
Runtime: 20 minutes
This short film (22 min) follows Carlos Suárez alongside Scott Becker attempting, in
winter, the Ferrari route on Cerro Torre (Patagonia). Base jumping, philosophy, adventure and incredible mountains.
Spanish subtitles
Film: CLICK HERE
3) The Dawn Wall (2017)
Director: Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 100 minutes
Climbing legend Tommy Caldwell stars in this moving story, a genuine
roller coaster from his escape from kidnappers in Kyrgyzstan to taking on his
biggest free-climbing dream, the hardest and newest route up El Capitan: the Dawn Wall.
Spanish subtitles
Film: on Netflix
4) The Pathan Project (2018)
Director: Guillaume Broust
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 45 minutes
This original documentary follows the climbs of Mathieu Maynadier, Nicolas Favresse, Jean Luis Wertz
and Carlos Molina in a remote valley in Pakistan. An unexplored mountain range, a virgin bigwall, and a
solid team of Belgian, French and Argentine climbers, ready to combine exploration,
music and humor.
Choose subtitles.
Film: CLICK HERE
5) Eigerwand - North Face - Nordwand (2009)
Director: Philipp Stölzl
Genre: Survival, based on true events
Runtime: 121 minutes
In 1936, four German climbers set out to climb the north face of the Eiger, at the time an
impossible summit that would become legendary. A true story brought to the screen in this 
Austrian-German co-production, unreleased in our country but featured in the rankings of
climbing films.
Spanish subtitles
Film: CLICK HERE
6) The Summit (2012)
Director: Nick Ryan 
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 95 minutes
In August 2008, twenty-four climbers from different expeditions and nationalities
converged at the last stop before attempting to climb the most dangerous mountain on
Earth: K2. Eleven of them never returned.
Spanish subtitles
Film: CLICK HERE
7) Nanga Parbat (2010)
Director: Joseph Vilsmaier
Genre: Biography, Drama 
Runtime: 104 minutes
Spectacular mountain landscapes for a harsh, true story: that of mountaineer Reinhold
Messner, who was the first to reach the summit of all 14 eight-thousanders. In 1970 he climbed the
mountain that gives the film its title, alongside his brother Günter. "Nanga Parbat," meaning "Naked
Mountain," is the ninth-highest summit in the world.
Spanish subtitles
Film: CLICK HERE
8) Latin Rhythm on the West Face (2006)
Director: Ramiro Calvo
Genre: Documentary-Mountaineering 
Runtime: 45 minutes
The musicians on one side and the climbers on the other. The former dream of
filming a music video in the "Circo de los Altares," an incredible natural setting at the foot of the west face
of Cerro Torre. Because of how hard it is to get there, the musicians debate whether to play live or record
lip-syncing. Meanwhile, the climbers make their ascent up the west face of Cerro Torre
via the natural route opened in 1974 by the Ragni di Lecco.
Original language: Spanish
Film: CLICK HERE
9) Meru (2015)
Director: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi 
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 87 minutes
When you ask climbers why they do it, they usually say: “because it's there.” But this
film draws you in and shows you it's sometimes much more than that. The famous Shark's Fin route
up the northwest face of Meru's central peak in the Himalayas is the "Everest” of climbing.
Which means it was as impossible as it looked.
Spanish subtitles.
Film: CLICK HERE
10) Zabardast (2018)
Director: Jérôme Tanon / France 
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 54 minutes
A documentary about an incredible expedition into the Karakoram range, one of the
best mountains on the planet for skiing, at a height of 5,880 meters. An adventure in which
any kind of mistake can be fatal.
English subtitles.
Film: CLICK HERE
11) Hard Rock: Masters of Stone II (1993)
Director: Eric Perlman
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 56 minutes
"Hard Rock" is an "old school" rock climbing documentary set at El Capitan and Rifle. It was directed by Eric Perlman in 1993 and produced by Perlman/Hatchett. It's part of the Masters of Stone series (2/6). It features Dan Osman, Ron Kauk, Hidetaka Suzuki, Rick Lovelace, Kurt Smith, Dan McQuade and others.
Language: English.
Film: CLICK HERE
12) Valley Uprising (2014) 
Director: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen, Josh Lowell
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 90 minutes
For some, Valley Uprising is the best mountain and climbing documentary ever made. A look back at the social and cultural history of the United States as reflected in Yosemite and its climbers. From the feud between Warren Harding and Royal Robbins to Alex Honnold's solos and Dean Potter's base jumps.
English subtitles.
Film: CLICK HERE
13) Reel Rock 14 (2019)
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 120 minutes
The Reel Rock Film Tour, one of mountaineering's biggest celebrations, returns this fall with a new collection of world premieres. In The High Road, the fearless and powerful Nina Williams tests herself on some of the tallest and hardest bouldering problems ever climbed. In United States of Joe's, climbers cross paths with a conservative mining community in rural Utah, with surprising results. And in The Nose Speed Record, legends Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold go head to head with Yosemite's despised Jim Reynolds and Brad Gobright in an all-or-nothing race for glory.
Spanish subtitles.
Film: CLICK HERE
