EOFT 15/16

In 2012, Tamara Lunger saw the 8,611-meter summit of K2 for the first time. The sight of it was awe-inspiring, not least because K2 is considered the most dangerous of the 8,000-meter peaks: More than 80 climbers have lost their lives here.

Still, in 2014, the 28-year-old made her way back to Pakistan with alpinist Nikolaus Gruber to take on the biggest challenge of her mountaineering career. Between fear, passion and happiness—this is a portrait of a woman who lives and loves extremes.

Childhood dreams often drive the most unusual and monumental achievements. Ben Masters’ dream was to ride horseback across his native United States, a 3,000-mile adventure through the American West from Mexico to Canada.

But it wouldn’t be on just on any horse. Ben and his friends Thomas Glover, Ben Thamer and Jonny Fitzsimons wanted to do the trip on adopted wild mustangs that they had broken in themselves.

Riding narrow desert trails, through the Grand Canyon, and traversing the wide-open plains, the dream became an extraordinary journey through America’s vanishing wilderness.

Professional mountain biker Brandon Semenuk found it – that other world where endless singletrack trails snake through the lush green alpine landscape. It’s a world beyond concrete high-rises, a world without limits or deadlines, where Anthill Films has made the unreal a reality.

Racing herds of horses, jumping glaciers and landing the biggest front flip in MTB history, Unreal is the mountain biking film of the year that’s knocking the world off its axis. It’s time to get off the beaten path.

When you are the fastest in the world, your only competition is your own head. Dani Arnold breaks one speed record after another. In 2011 he took a full 20 minutes off Ueli Steck’s best time for the Eiger North Face.

Now he’s going after the Matterhorn. But what makes Dani Arnold tick? A fascinating glimpse into the psyche of an exceptional athlete.

Somewhere between Kamchatka and Hokkaido is an uninhabited, largely inaccessible island in the middle of one of the coldest regions in Russia.

For professional free riders Matthias Mayr, Matthias Haunholder and Phil Meier the adventure begins just trying to get to Onekotan. Their goal: the first descent of the volcano at the center of the island, but with temperatures of -20 degrees and unrelenting storms the expedition quickly becomes a dangerous odyssey.

Bouncing on a slackline Jaan Roose and Andy Lewis have probably had more ups and downs in their lives than most other people. These two very different personalities are united by a deep love of their sport and a conviction that wearing clothes is sometimes overrated.

Jaan, who comes from the isolated forests of Setomaa in Estonia, is a natural slacklining talent. He became one the world’s top athletes in just five years – eventually surpassing Andy, the “Godfather of Slacklining”, who had dominated the competition scene before deciding to celebrate “slacklife” instead.

A portrait of two contrasting characters and their lifestyles which proves you’ll never find your balance by standing still.

Alex Honnold on a rope is a rare sight, but he and Tommy Caldwell chose a real monster for their first major alpine route. Together the pair ventures to the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia, seven pinnacles at frosty elevations that will demand more than just the standard climbing know-how from these two Yosemite veterans.

In terms of weather and climbing, Patagonia is nothing like California. It’s a fact these two learn the hard way, but they never lose their sense of humor. The story of a crazy adventure.