Hazel Findlay and Will Stanhope head to the gritstone edges of Froggatt for a short, high-focus session of “cordless” climbing: soloing classic lines with nothing but rock, movement, and composure. In under nine minutes, Hot Aches Productions captures the quiet intensity of two top British climbers stripping things back to the pure essentials.
What makes this worth watching is the contrast between the calm atmosphere and the razor-sharp precision soloing demands—every foot placement, every pause to breathe, every decision to commit. If you love trad, grit, and the mindset behind climbing at your limit without a safety net, this is a concentrated hit of psych and a reminder of how powerful simple climbing can be.
Step into Boulder Canyon’s storied stone with The Orb, a tight, punchy sport climb tucked in the shadow of Castle Rock. In just over seven minutes, Lynn Hill teams up with Fred Knapp to puzzle out sequences, trade tries, and savor the kind of focused effort that hard climbing demands—equal parts curiosity, grit, and good humor in Colorado’s Front Range.
What makes this short film sing is its simple, honest view of the process: testing wits, committing when it counts, and finding joy in the margins between attempts. With crisp filming from Kyle Ward and a feel for the local scene, The Orb is a quick hit of motivation—proof that even when it’s steep, it’s still possible, and it’s still fun.
Black Diamond Presents: Adam Ondra—The Balkans Road Trip follows one of climbing’s most electrifying talents as he heads into Southeastern Europe with a van, a rack, and an appetite for the unknown. From the limestone walls of Bosnia to Croatia’s steep, sea-swept cliffs, Adam Ondra turns a simple road trip into a high-stakes tour of new lines, big goals, and the kind of movement that looks a few years ahead of the rest of the sport.
What makes this film worth your 17 minutes is the mix of intensity and joy: hard first ascents, bold attempts on serious multi-pitch terrain, and the behind-the-scenes moments that show how world-class climbing actually happens day to day. It’s a fast, inspiring watch that captures not just cutting-edge sport climbing, but the friendships and shared obsession that tie together a global climbing community—no matter what country you’re in.
On a three-month road trip in the summer of 2018, Jimmy Webb makes a spontaneous detour into legend: Dreamcatcher, Chris Sharma’s iconic 9a/5.14d in Squamish, British Columbia. Jimmy Webb: Dreamcatcher follows the build-up and the battle, capturing the mix of ambition and uncertainty that comes with deciding, almost on a whim, to test yourself against one of sport climbing’s most storied lines.
What makes this film worth your 11 minutes is the feeling of being right there for the process—training, dialing movement, managing frustration, and returning with that quiet insistence that keeps elite climbers trying when it would be easier to walk away. It’s a focused, intimate look at high-end performance without the noise: crisp Squamish atmosphere, real attempts, and the tension of a true limit fight—shot with a clean, understated eye by Kevin Takashi Smith.
Unearthed from the archives, Daniel Woods: Witness the Fitness drops you into a brief, high-impact slice of bouldering history as Woods works through Witness the Fitness (V15/8C). Filmed in a raw, focused mellow style, it captures a rare moment around one of the sport’s most talked-about problems—where reputation and reality meet on unforgiving rock.
What makes this worth watching is the nuance behind the headline grade: with key holds broken since the earlier ascents by Chris Sharma and Fred Nicole, the challenge shifts from “can it go?” to “how does it go now?” In under six minutes you get the tension of attempts, the precision of micro-beta, and that unmistakable feeling of commitment when everything depends on a few fingertips—perfect for anyone who loves seeing elite power, problem-solving, and persistence distilled to their essence.
Shawn Raboutou delivers a masterclass in elite bouldering in “Off the Wagon sit (8C+/V16),” capturing the first ascent of a brutal sit-start in Val Bavona, Switzerland. Filmed and edited by Raboutou himself on November 27, 2018, this short film follows a precise, high-stakes battle on one of the hardest lines of its grade—where every move is measured, every attempt counts, and the margin for error is razor-thin.
What makes this worth watching is the blend of raw difficulty and quiet composure: powerful body tension from the very first pull, microscopic adjustments on unforgiving rock, and the kind of problem-solving that defines cutting-edge climbing. In just a few minutes, it distills the full arc of a breakthrough ascent—focus, frustration, refinement, and release—set against the stark beauty of Swiss granite and the unmistakable intensity of V16 climbing.
Kintsugi (V15) and The Nest (V15) follows Keenan Takahashi into the sandstone corridors of Red Rocks as he takes on two iconic, life-list boulders. In 2018, he ticks The Nest in January—his first V15—then returns later in the year to complete the arc with Kintsugi, turning a season of attempts into a concise story of progression, patience, and precision.
This short film is worth your time for its focus and atmosphere: high-stakes bouldering without the noise, where every move feels earned and every reset carries intention. With clean editing, additional angles that sharpen the sense of height and commitment, and a steady musical pulse underneath, it captures the quiet intensity of hard climbing—those moments when doubt is loud, friction is everything, and a single sequence can define a trip.
Sleepwalker (8C+/V16) First Ascent drops you into the cold, focused grind of elite bouldering as Jimmy Webb, Daniel Woods, and Keenan Takahashi square up to one of the hardest remaining projects in the United States. Across 11 days of effort, the crew returns again and again to the same razor-thin sequence—testing skin, strength, and belief—until December 15, 2018, when Webb finally links it all for the first ascent and proposes 8C+/V16.
What makes this one hit is the contrast between the simplicity of the goal and the brutality of the details: tiny adjustments, failed links, and the quiet pressure that builds as a line turns from “possible” to “must be done.” It’s a short, high-intensity watch that captures the addictive rhythm of projecting—shared sessions, mutual stoke, and the moment when everything clicks and an impossible problem becomes a piece of climbing history.
Climbing The Americas (Road Trip) - vlog #14 drops you into Adam Ondra’s November 2018 journey through the Americas, stopping in the splitters of Indian Creek as he dives deeper into the craft of crack climbing. In this short episode, Ondra and his crew chase clean lines and hard moves on Hot Pork Sundae (5.13+ / 8b), capturing the gritty rhythm of jamming, stacking, and fighting for every inch of progress in Utah’s iconic desert sandstone.
What makes this one pop is the perspective: alongside the usual up-close intensity, the route is revealed from above with drone footage that turns the fissures into graphic slashes across the cliff. It’s a quick, high-energy watch that mixes Ondra’s world-class precision with the raw, sun-baked vibe of Indian Creek—perfect if you want a compact dose of road-trip climbing, big-air visuals, and a reminder of how committing crack climbing really is.
Climbing The Americas (Road Trip) - vlog #13 drops you into Adam Ondra’s November 2018 travel series as he and his team bounce between iconic climbing zones in the USA and Chile. This episode lands in Utah’s Indian Creek for the final stop of the U.S. leg, where Adam takes on Belly Full of Bad Berries (5.13b): a wide, brutally steep, 45-degree overhanging crack that demands equal parts technique, endurance, and stubbornness.
What makes this one so fun is how unfiltered it feels—less “perfect send,” more raw battle. You get the grit, the awkwardness of wrestling a wide crack, and Adam’s own blunt take on the struggle as the climb fights back. In under seven minutes it delivers a punchy hit of road-trip energy, big-crack intensity, and the kind of honest effort that reminds you why hard climbing is as much about the fight as the finish.
