Mellow drops into Rocklands’ “Danger Zone,” a new(ish) bouldering sector just five minutes from Traveller’s Rest, where steep stone, sharp edges, and raw potential collide. With Giuliano Cameroni, Isabelle Faus, Shawn Raboutou, and Keenan Takahashi on the pads, this short film is a fast tour through hard South African granite and the mindset it takes to unlock powerful lines.
What makes it worth your time is the density of top-end climbing in under eight minutes: first ascents, flashes, and quick-turn burns on everything from iconic roof wrestling to uncompromising V11–V13 testpieces, with the stoke of a zone that still has room to grow. If you love watching precision under pressure—micro-beta, full-body tension, and the calm focus that separates “almost” from “send”—this is Rocklands at its most addictive.
HippyTree / Possessed drops you into a year on the road with Jimmy Webb, chasing the kind of climbing that isn’t on anyone’s tick list yet. Filmed and edited by his close friend Kevin Takashi Smith, it follows a restless, map-spanning hunt for untouched stone across the wide-open landscapes of Wyoming, the granite of Lake Tahoe, and the volcanic walls of Red Rocks, with a strong crew along for the ride—Keenan Takahashi, Daniel Woods, Dave Wetmore, Taylor McNeill, Hannah Donnelly, and Rami Annab.
What makes this one stick is the mix of raw adventure and deliberate craft: long drives, remote zones, and the quiet intensity of trying hard on brand-new lines, all cut with a soundtrack that keeps the momentum rolling. It’s a film about first ascents, yes, but more than that it’s about the mindset—showing how obsession, partnership, and the pull of beautiful rock can turn an ordinary year into something possessed.
Step onto the sun-baked blocs of Rocklands, South Africa, with Uncut: Daisuke Ichimiya - Finnish Line (8C/V15), a raw, no-frills snapshot of elite bouldering. In under two minutes, mellow captures Daisuke Ichimiya taking on Finnish Line, an iconic testpiece that sits at the razor edge of power, precision, and commitment.
What makes this worth watching is the simplicity: no montage, no distractions—just the full sequence as it happens. You’ll see the micro-adjustments, the body tension, and the quiet intensity that separates an attempt from a send, all distilled into a single focused moment. Whether you’re chasing hard grades yourself or just love watching mastery on stone, this is a quick hit of pure climbing that leaves a lasting impression.
Glen Nevis trad - boulder - free solo - DWS climbing is a fast-paced tour of one of Scotland’s most iconic climbing venues, led by Dave MacLeod in a film made to celebrate the Polldubh corner of Glen Nevis. In just under fifteen minutes, it strings together classic lines and modern testpieces across trad, bouldering, free soloing and deep water soloing, capturing the character of the glen with a local’s eye for what makes the place special.
What makes it unmissable is the range and intensity: calm movement on exposed ridges, bold soloing, steep roofs, technical arêtes, and the committing splashdown mindset of DWS, all anchored by named climbs and standout ascents from MacLeod and Anna Wells. It’s part showcase, part love letter—an edit that delivers scenery, craft, and genuine consequence, perfect for anyone who wants a concentrated hit of Scottish rock and the unique mix of adventure and precision that defines Glen Nevis.
“Abrasive but nice” drops you into the boulders of Cocalzinho, Brazil, where local powerhouse Rafael Passos links up with Giuliano and Daniel for a session that turns into a deep dive on long-term projects. As daylight fades and the “vibez” stay high well into the night, the crew hunts for solutions on hard, proud lines in a place that doesn’t hand out anything for free.
This short film is worth your six minutes because it captures the full flavor of a real try-hard evening: skin and style, patience and pressure, and the quiet intensity of working moves until they finally go. With first ascents on Esmaga (V14), Mad Max (V14), and Aquamarine (V13), it’s a compact hit of top-end bouldering—equal parts gritty, playful, and motivating, with the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to go outside and pull on rock.
The North Face Presents: Jacopo Larcher’s “Rise” follows the Italian trad climber deep into the quiet woods of Cadarese, where a hidden 30-metre roof line known as “Tribe” becomes the focus of a six-year obsession. More than a single send, it’s a portrait of Larcher’s evolution from trad newcomer to one of the sport’s most versatile talents, shaped by patience, doubt, and the pull of a project that refuses to let go.
What makes Rise worth your time is how it treats difficulty as something richer than a grade: the film builds tension through the grind of attempts, the precision demanded by a brutal roof, and the mental cost of committing to something that may never go. When Larcher chooses to step away from naming a number, the achievement lands as a tribute to everyone who helped—proof that the biggest ascents are rarely solo, and that in climbing, progress is often a shared act.
GRIMPEURS – FILM INTEGRALE (Edizione Italiana) revisits one of the most haunting chapters in Alpine history: the 1961 attempt on Mont Blanc’s formidable Frenéy Central Pillar. From Courmayeur to the tiny bivouac of the Fourche, the story follows Walter Bonatti and his Italian partners as their path converges with a French team equally determined to solve the mountain’s last great problem. United by ambition and necessity, the climbers push upward—until a sudden storm seals them high on the wall, turning a summit bid into a fight to endure.
This is essential viewing for anyone drawn to the raw truth of alpinism: commitment beyond retreat, weather that rewrites every plan, and the thin line between triumph and tragedy. The film builds tension with a measured, human focus on decision-making, partnership, and the cost of “almost there,” letting the mountain’s scale and indifference speak for itself. If you love big-wall history and the legends who shaped it, Grimpeurs delivers a gripping, sobering tribute that stays with you long after the credits.
Hazel Soloing in Dinas Mot (North Wales) drops you into the exposed, atmospheric rhyolite cliffs above Llanberis as Hazel Findlay steps into an uncut solo on one of Wales’ most iconic trad venues. Shot by Hot Aches Productions and extended from their film Free Flow, it’s a short, focused hit of pure movement and focus—no narration to hide behind, just Hazel, the rock, and the space beneath her.
What makes this worth watching is the immediacy: you can feel the calm decision-making, the quiet commitment, and the rhythm of precise footwork as the wall steepens and the air opens out over the Pass. In just a few minutes it captures why North Wales has such a pull—history in the lines, texture in the rock, and that uniquely electric mix of fear, flow, and freedom that soloing brings.
Keenan and Jimmy touch down in Rocklands and waste no time getting into the rhythm—warming up, dialing the movement, and “ramping” from the first pull. Ramping in Rocklands is a short, punchy snapshot of that early-trip energy: crisp stone, big intentions, and the kind of focus that turns a new zone into a playground.
What makes it worth watching is the mix of mellow vibe and serious difficulty. You’ll see them navigate the tension between patience and power as they take on Night Show (8A+), lock in a first ascent on Moon Shadow (8B), and push through Modified Limited Rampage (8B). It’s a quick hit of Rocklands atmosphere with trippy boulders, committed attempts, and the satisfying moments when everything finally clicks.
Adam Ondra #21: The hardest route in the world drops you into the steep limestone of Flatanger, Norway, for a focused look at Silence—the world’s first 9c—and the questions that have followed it ever since. In just over nine minutes, Ondra revisits the line that redefined what “possible” meant in sport climbing, pairing rare archive footage with his firsthand perspective on how the route was solved.
What makes this worth your time is the clarity: you’re not just watching hard moves, you’re watching the process behind them—micro-beta, tiny margins, and the mental grind of trying at the absolute limit. Whether you’re into bouldering, lead, or the Olympic side of the sport, this is a quick, high-impact dose of modern climbing history and the intensity that lives behind a single grade.
