Adam Ondra steps into the razor-edged world of hard trad to take on Bon Voyage (E12/9a), a stunning sandstone line in the countryside of southern France. Drawn in by the route’s beauty and the promise of what might be the hardest trad climb on pure physical difficulty, he teams up with first ascensionist James Pearson to unlock the moves and the mindset it demands.
This film is as much about precision and tactics as it is about nerve: dialing sequences, managing rest, trusting marginal gear, and committing above protection when the climbing turns into boulder-problem intensity. If you love the intersection of elite difficulty and real consequence, Bon Voyage delivers a rare, high-tension look at what it takes to push trad climbing to the limit.
Nina Williams returns to a childhood dream with China Beach, a storied New Hampshire testpiece that’s as meaningful as it is difficult. Presented by The North Face and captured with Mellow’s signature eye, RIDING THE WAVE follows Nina’s long arc toward a first female ascent of the “king line” at 5.14b/8c.
This film is for anyone who loves the blend of history, pressure, and pure movement that defines top-end sport climbing. Expect persistence, sharp decision-making on the rock, and the kind of emotional payoff that only comes when a route has been living in your head for decades.
Jakob Schubert returns to Mallorca’s legendary sea cliffs to take on one of deep water soloing’s most iconic challenges: Es Pontas. Fresh off previous successes on the island, he narrows his focus onto this famed line, where every move hangs above open water and every attempt demands total commitment.
Part 2 captures the real process—early tries, adjustments, setbacks, and the gritty determination it takes to keep coming back for a single explosive crux. Between sessions on other striking psicobloc testpieces and the final push on Es Pontas, you get a front-row seat to elite-level climbing where power, precision, and nerve all have to show up at once.
Tyler Karow, Imanol Amundarain, and Cedar Christensen head deep into Patagonia, Chile for a ten-day siege on the East Face of the Central Tower of Paine, chasing a team free ascent of the legendary South African Route. It’s big-wall climbing at full scale: hauling, fixing ropes, and committing to life in portaledges thousands of feet off the deck.
What sets this ascent apart is the absurdly good living in an otherwise brutal environment—wine on the wall, a mini cast iron oven, and daily baked meals that turn a suffering mission into a strange, floating kitchen. If you love expedition logistics, partner dynamics, and the quiet intensity of sustained 5.12c terrain in one of the world’s wildest ranges, this is a feast worth watching.
Ryuichi Murai returns to Shiobara, Japan to establish Nexus—a razor-sharp new boulder problem and first ascent at V16/8C+. In this tight, no-nonsense session, you get a clear look at the movement, the intensity of the attempts, and the commitment it takes to link everything together on a true top-end line.
What makes this worth watching is the combination of precision and power: body tension through steep terrain, problem-solving on the fly, and the satisfying arc from tries to send. It’s a short film that captures the real feel of hard bouldering—small margins, big effort, and a clean finish on an iconic new climb.
Ryuichi Murai heads to Red Rocks for a bouldering session centered on Sleepwalker, a futuristic V16 (8C+) testpiece that demands total commitment. With a clean, focused style, he brings the intensity of cutting-edge climbing into a tight, watchable edit.
What makes this worth your time is the progression: big moves, subtle body positions, and the kind of precision where one slip ends the attempt. Along the way, bonus sends on Atlas Shrugged (V12) and Squoze (V14/15) round out a stacked day on stone, giving you a satisfying look at power, control, and problem-solving at the highest level.
Darkest Before Dawn follows Belgian climber Siebe Vanhee as he steps onto one of the most intimidating stages in climbing: Yosemite’s legendary Dawn Wall. It’s a candid look at a first full season of learning, failing, adapting, and returning to the stone—where the challenge isn’t just the moves, but everything that comes with being thousands of feet off the deck.
What makes this film pop is its raw, unpolished honesty paired with cinematic big-wall atmosphere: the quiet battles with fear, fatigue, and doubt, the micro-progress that only a wall can teach, and the hypnotic beauty of bodies working on tiny edges in vast space. If you love stories about process over podiums, this is a gripping reminder that breakthroughs are built in the darkest hours before dawn.
Black Diamond Presents: Focus follows Timmy Kang into the granite giants of Bishop, California, where highball bouldering blurs the line between problem-solving and real consequence. Drawn to the area’s towering blocs, Timmy spends years building the confidence and precision needed to stand on top of some of Bishop’s most iconic lines.
The payoff is a rare kind of goal: linking five legendary highballs—Footprints (V9), Too Big to Flail (V10), This Side of Paradise (V10), Ambrosia (V11), and Evilution Direct (V11)—all in a single day. It’s a film about pacing, pressure, and commitment when the top-outs get serious, turning an “obsession project” into one unforgettable day of sends.
