adventure-eye.com - Matterhorn

First Filmed Winter Ascent of Matterhorn North Face - 1975

	The first filmed ascent of the Matterhorn North Face in Winter by highly acclaimed adventure film maker Leo Dickinson. Winner of "Grand Prix" at the Les Diablerets Film Festival in 1976. The Matterhorn is everyone's idea of what a mountain should be. It has a classic outline, awesome outcrops, treacherous slopes, and commands the respect of every climber.

The film follows the fortunes of three mountaineers as they tackle the difficult North Face in the cruel grip of winter. To set the scene, the catastrophe which struck Edward Whymper's first ascent party where four of his companions tragically plunged to their deaths, is expertly reenacted. The modern expedition is also plagued by problems: Eric Jones was hit by an avalanche and only manages to stop perilously near the edge of a 1,000 ft cliff edge. Then one of the worst storms ever recorded in Zermatt strikes the Matterhorn. Blazing sunshine can turn to blizzard in minutes making climbing appallingly arduous. The climbers have no alternative but to retreat. Battered but not beaten and with time and bad weather against them, the climbers launch a second attempt. They climb in the dark while thunderstorms rumble around them. Given the conditions, the camerawork of Leo Dickinson was of remarkable quality; breathtaking photography despite appalling weather conditions. This film is a mountaineering classic.

Grand Prix - Les Diablerets Film Festival

Leo Dickinson on filming the Matterhorn North Face in Winter:

"…from time to time I pulled the rope to see if there was still someone on the other end…."
"If you break the rules, there is rarely a second chance.......We were either more watchful or more fortunate than those hapless Matterhorn pioneers of a century before, and we brought film back to show what it had been like on that gentle Swiss mountain."

Welsh mountaineer Eric Jones had always enjoyed making difficult ascents alone. Eric was the first British climber to solo the Matterhorn North Face, the Bonatti Pillar on the Dru and the Central Pillar of Brouillard on Mont Blanc.

Eric Jones is a close friend of filmmaker Leo Dickinson's and has taken part in many world record and first ascent expeditions documented by Leo Dickinson on film:
Matterhorn North Face in Winter (1975) - first filmed winter ascent of Matterhorn North Face;
Dudh Kosi (1976) - first kayak descent of Dudh Kosi, River of Everest;
Everest Unmasked (1978) - first ascent of Everest without oxygen masks by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler;
Ballooning Over Everest (1991) - first ever balloon flight over Everest, in which Eric co-pilots one of the two balloons.

Daily Mirror - This film is literally a stunning cliff-hanger. It has everything - drama, intrigue, pathos and a tremendous sense of achievement when the climbers finally make it to the summit.

The Daily telegraph - Given the conditions, the camerawork of Leo Dickinson was of remarkable quality; the shots of that rested alpine peak hit by a sudden storm were majestic.

The Observer - Spectacular, ambitious film which provides the first visual record of the ascent of the treacherous North Face. Breathtaking photography despite appalling weather conditions.

The Sunday Times - It was a remarkable week for men who grit their teeth and plough on, or in the case of Matterhorn upwards. The camerawork on the mountains north face frequently ignored the advice given to timid climbers ("Never look down") resulting in some terrifying views of the quickest way back to Zermatt.

Reviews and comments on this film from our visitors

No reviews posted yet. Feel free to post your review of this film.

Post A Review or Comment on this film
Name:
Email Address:
Subject:
Comment / Review:

$22.95 US / Canada
$29.95 Rest of world

Matterhorn VHS

- North Face in Winter First Filmed Winter Ascent of the Matterhorn North Face. Filmed in 1975

VHS video in NTSC released by Adventure Eye Inc
Color, digitally remastered.
Run time approx. 52 minutes.

$24.95 US / Canada
$27.95 Rest of world

Matterhorn DVD

- North Face in Winter First Filmed Winter Ascent of the Matterhorn North Face. Filmed in 1975

DVD in NTSC released by Adventure Eye Inc
Color, digitally remastered.
Run time approx. 52 minutes.

FREE shipping & handling

If you got to this page from an email or search link and do not see the navigation bar
to the left of this page, please click on home to return to the fully navigable site.

home - filmography - video store - trailers - contact - about