In the shady campgrounds of Yosemite valley, climbers carved out a counterculture lifestyle of dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service. And up on the walls, generation after generation has pushed the limits of climbing, vying amongst each other for supremacy on Yosemite's cliffs. "Valley Uprising" is the riveting, unforgettable tale of this bold rock climbing tradition in Yosemite National Park: half a century of struggle against the laws of gravity -- and the laws of the land.
The Tyrolean David Lama has climbed an 8a route already at the age of ten, and he has become several times Youth World Champion and European Youth Champion in bouldering and lead climbing. In 2010, at the age of 20 years, David decided to leave the indoor climbing and competition world behind him. Since then, he is focusing on Alpinism, the most difficult routes and first ascents in the Alps, but as well in India and America. This documentary portrays David Lama from his first climbing attempts as a little boy to his big adventures in present time. We see famous locations, such as the climbing paradise on Lake Garda, the notorious Sagwand Face in the Zillertal Alps, and the 7.821m high Masherbrum in the Karakorum with its still untouched north east face.
Jim Bridwell was one of the best climbers in the world in the 70s, 80s. The documentary chronicles Bridwell's career from those early days to his final ascents in 2001. The film traces Jim Bridwell's journey through numerous interviews with other legendary free climbing personalities such as Leo Houlding and Ron Kauk. See him climb some of Yosemite's historic routes with today's young climbers paying homage to this true legend of free climbing. In an unpublished document from 1981, he is seen in one of his famous Zodiac ascents in El Capitan with and Fred East.
Yosemite National Park, in California, is one of the most fascinating in the United States. In the eastern part of the park, isolated granite peaks rise 3,900 meters above the valley floor: El Capitan, Half Dome, and Sentinel. El Capitan is the largest unbroken mass of granite in the world and a legendary site for mountaineering and free climbing. Every year, the world's best climbers challenge its impressive face. The film, enhanced with interviews and spectacular footage, follows the preparations for and ascent of El Capitan by a group of elite climbers: Scott Burk, Leo Houlding, Jim Bridwell, Jean-Marc Troussier, and Valerio Fulco, with whom humor is one of the essential ingredients of this adventure.
Jim Bridwell (July 29, 1944 – February 16, 2018) was an American climber and mountaineer. Active since 1965, particularly in Yosemite Valley, but also in Patagonia and Alaska, he is renowned for having pushed the standards of free climbing and multi-pitch climbing, and later alpine climbing. He wrote numerous articles on climbing for major sports publications. He trained with Royal Robbins and Warren Harding (climber), both free climbing pioneers in the 1970s. He was the unofficial leader of the Stonemasters. Bridwell is credited with over 100 first ascents in Yosemite Valley, in addition to leading the first one-day ascent of The Nose of El Capitan on May 26, 1975, with John Long and Billy Westbay. He founded the Yosemite National Park Search and Rescue (YOSAR) team and led numerous rescues, including techniques included in search and rescue manuals. He was a leading innovator/inventor in the evolution of climbing techniques and widely used and copied climbing equipment, including copperheads and bird beaks. Jim resided in Palm Desert, California, until his death on February 16, 2018, from complications of hepatitis C, which he contracted while getting tattooed in Borneo in the 1980s.
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