In First Ascents in Val Bavona, Giuliano Cameroni, Keenan Takahashi, and Jimmy Webb drop into Ticino’s granite chaos to hunt down untouched boulders and turn blank stone into new problems. In just over six minutes, you’re taken into the wild shapes and quiet intensity of Val Bavona as the crew scopes landings, dials sequences, and commits to first ascents in one of Switzerland’s most striking valleys.
What makes this one worth your time is how much story it packs into a short, mellow watch: real projecting, real uncertainty, and the satisfying moment when a line finally goes. It’s a clean hit of modern bouldering—strong climbers moving with purpose, crisp filming from the team themselves, and the simple motivation that keeps everyone coming back outside: finding something new, and earning it on the rock.
Primitivo (8C/V15) First Ascent drops you into the granite corridors of Val Bavona, Ticino, where one of Switzerland’s most coveted new boulder problems came to life in spring 2019. Following the mellow crew and a stacked cast—Isabelle Faus, Daniel Woods, Giuliano Cameroni, and Jimmy Webb—the film traces the buildup, the attempts, and the decisive moments that culminate in the first ascent of Primitivo, a modern testpiece at the cutting edge of bouldering.
What makes this worth your 17 minutes is the mix of world-class climbing and the human rhythm behind it: reading subtle features, refining beta, managing skin and conditions, and returning with purpose after failure. It’s a crisp look at how top climbers collaborate and compete on a single line, set against the raw beauty of Ticino stone—equal parts travel vignette, session energy, and a reminder of why a few moves can become a benchmark for an entire season.
Ryuichi Murai takes you to Japan’s Hourai boulders for “Mona Lisa 8B+ (V14),” a short, focused film centered on one of the area’s hardest testpieces. With the camera locked on the stone and the sequence, you get a clear view of the line’s character—steep, precise, and unforgiving—and the calm intensity it takes to put the problem together. Sent on December 26, 2018, this is a compact snapshot of high-end bouldering in a wild, natural setting.
What makes it worth your six minutes is the purity of it: no distractions, just an elite climber solving a brutally tight puzzle on rock. You’ll feel the incremental progress in each attempt, the commitment required when the moves finally link, and the satisfying release of a clean top-out on a grade that leaves no room for hesitation. If you love watching real outdoor bouldering—power, tension, and control distilled into a single decisive sequence—this one delivers.
Giuliano Cameroni: Two V16 FA follows Swiss bouldering standout Giuliano Cameroni through an electric February 2019 in Ticino, where he puts his stamp on the cutting edge with first ascents of two of the hardest lines in the region: Poison The Well in Brione and REM in Cresciano. Set against the granite and gneiss of southern Switzerland, the film captures the precision and composure it takes to turn futuristic sequences on tiny crimps into something real.
What makes this one worth your 13 minutes is the rare mix of next-level difficulty and grounded process: the tension of dialing moves, the patient repetition, and the quiet confidence that separates a near-send from history. If you love bouldering at its absolute limit—where every micro-adjustment matters and the margin for error is basically zero—this is a tight, satisfying look at what “V16” actually demands.
Wild Boyz: Ashima and Zach drops you into a crisp, 12-minute session with Ashima Shiraishi and Zach Galla as they hunt down bouldering classics in the American South. Filmed and edited by Brian Boyd for mellow, it’s a tight, focused portrait of two wildly talented climbers moving through stone with equal parts playfulness and precision.
What makes it worth your time is the blend of effortless power and thoughtful problem-solving—micro-adjustments, bold commits, and that familiar cycle of attempts, resets, and sudden breakthroughs. Whether you’re here for hard grades, clean movement, or the simple joy of watching great climbers wrestle with beautiful lines, this one delivers a satisfying hit of motivation that lingers well after the last top-out.
In February 2019, tvmountain heads to Chamonix–Mont-Blanc for an intimate look at one of the Alps’ most legendary north faces: the Grandes Jorasses, Pointe Walker, via the historic Voie Cassin on the Éperon Walker. Across 1,200 meters of steep granite, ice bands, and shadowed corners, the film traces an iconic line first opened in 1938 by Riccardo Cassin, Luigi Esposito, and Ugo Tizoni—an itinerary that has defined generations of alpinists.
What makes this worth your 29 minutes is the mix of atmosphere and ambition: winter light on a mythic wall, crisp conditions that turn the climb into a rare window of possibility, and a guided passage through famous features like the Dièdre Rébuffat, the Bandes de glace, and the final chimneys to the 4,208-meter summit. It’s a compact hit of classic alpinism—part history, part topo come to life, and all about the pull of committing terrain where every pitch feels earned.
Jimmy Webb heads to Switzerland for a sharp, focused bouldering session in Ephyra (8C+/V16) First Ascent. In under six minutes, this mellow film captures him moving from a quick hit on From Dirt Grows the Flowers (8C) to a deeper battle with one of the country’s oldest, most stubborn projects—where every attempt is earned and every improvement is hard-fought.
What makes it worth watching is the contrast: pure power and precision on world-class granite, followed by the grind of a true limit line that refuses to give in. You’ll get crisp visuals, no wasted time, and the kind of subtle tension only high-end bouldering delivers—micro-adjustments, razor-thin margins, and the quiet persistence behind a first ascent at 8C+/V16.
Tom Randall takes on The Kraken V13, a wildly overhanging 40-foot roof crack at Hartland Quay that looks more like a sci‑fi set piece than a boulder problem. In this short film from teamBMC, Tom talks through the sequence on his Devon Roof Project and what it feels like to commit to moves so violent he genuinely thought something in his arm might “explode with a loud bang.”
What makes this worth your five minutes is the mix of pure spectacle and precise craft: the long horizontal reach to a backhander mono, a 270-degree spin, and the fight to latch thin hands and a brutal ring-lock while hanging upside down. If you love crack climbing, power-endurance bouldering, or just watching a master problem-solver stay calm in the steepest terrain imaginable, The Kraken delivers intensity, insight, and inspiration in equal measure.
Free Flow follows Hazel Findlay on a fast-and-light day in the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia, blending trail running with solo climbing on iconic North Wales rock. As the miles tick by and the exposure ramps up, Hazel reflects on what it means to move efficiently, stay present, and find calm in consequential terrain.
Worth watching for its pure sense of motion, the film pairs sweeping mountain cinematography with a thoughtful soundtrack and Hazel’s understated mindset. In just a few minutes it captures the addictive rhythm of linking ridgelines, rock, and focus into a single “flow” state—equal parts inspiring, meditative, and quietly intense.
SAWANOBORI drops you into Japan’s wild, water-carved mountains for a 12-minute immersion in the little-known tradition of climbing up rivers instead of rock. A small team of The North Face climbers—among them James Pearson, Matty Hong, Yuji Hirayama, and Caroline Ciavaldini—heads into the steep valleys near Shomyo and Fudo Waterfalls to experience “sawanobori,” where the route is a living stream and the terrain is always changing.
What makes this film so gripping is how unfamiliar the challenge feels: slick stone, pounding spray, cold water, and constant force pushing you back, turning normal gear and instincts upside down. It’s part climbing, part canyon adventure, and part lesson in humility—beautiful scenery, committed movement, and a quiet intensity that builds with every upward step. If you love stories that expand what “climbing” can be, SAWANOBORI is a short, visceral watch that leaves you wanting a deeper look into this vertical playground.
