Climbing in Czechia

This film records Adam Ondra’s free climb of an enormous arch at the bottom of the Macocha abyss in the Moravian Karst. Access to the site is highly restricted — the catalogue notes a five-day window each December and entry by permission only — and the setting is an underground, 138-metre vertical void where cold, humid, wildly overhanging rock meets old protection. The route filmed, Příklepový strop, strings five pitches graded in the 8b+ to 6c range and includes rusty pegs and old bolts, giving the ascent a distinctive protection challenge alongside the physical difficulty.

The video frames the climb as much through its environment as through hard movement: the subterranean mood, the pressure of limited days to work the line, and the Czech climbers who found and developed the route before Ondra are all given space. English subtitles are available in the video settings, and the film is described by the climber as one of his favourite climbing experiences, in part because of the unusual combination of grade, protection and setting.