China Jam

In September 2013 Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll, Nicolas Favresse, Stephane Hanssens and filmmaker Evrard Wendenbaum travelled to a remote valley in the far west of China, where they found a 4000-foot vertical pillar on Kyzyl Asker, a mountain topping out above 19,000 feet. They spent 14 days on it, instruments included. This is the crew's formula pushed into genuinely alpine terrain, and the weather makes them pay for it. The film is honest about the battle that becomes: relentless obstacles, harsh conditions, and a long argument with their own limits. It is also very funny, which is the thing that keeps these expedition films watchable long after you have forgotten the pitch count.