TOWERS OF THE ENNEDI

In Towers of the Ennedi, veteran climber Mark Synnott—known more for his far-flung adventures than his technical accomplishments—brings young climbing stars Alex Honnold and James Pearson to the Ennedi to explore its untouched landscapes. Together, Synnott, Honnold and Pearson endure a long, bumpy drive across the sand flats of a godforsaken country to reach an incredible destination: gardens of towers filled with graceful fingers of rock, bottle-shaped formations and lithe arches. With its stark and poetic footage of camels and rock, as well as jarring images of unpleasant travels, this film shows that sometimes you can have just as many adventures trying to reach your destination as you can have once you get there.

Always Above Us

The North Face: Always Above Us. Leading the life of a climber involves a tremendous amount of sacrifice and hardship, but for team athletes Conrad Anker and Kris Erickson, there's no living without it. In 1999, on an expedition in Tibet, team alpine climbers Conrad Anker and Kris Erickson lost their good friend and exploration companion, Alex Lowe, to an avalanche that narrowly missed Conrad himself. To preserve Alex's honor, Conrad and Kris establish and send the Nutcracker, a new ice climb route in Hyalite Canyon, Montana. Their story, and climb, are captured here by Sherpas Cinema.

Adam Ondra - first ascent of Change

Last summer, Black Diamond athlete Adam Ondra made a highly productive trip to Hanshalleren, a massive granite cave outside the small town of Flatanger, Norway. Adam not only made short work of the cave s established hard routes (including onsighting two routes graded 5.14c/8c+), he made the first ascent of Thor s Hammer (5.15a/9a+) and bolted a futuristic project out the steepest section of the cave. On October 4, Adam managed to link this 55-meter-long beast, establishing Change, the world s first route graded 5.15c/9b+. Along with his recent first ascent of La Dura Dura in Oliana, Spain, Change stands as one of, if not the hardest route in the world.