Alstrin Films

Scenes from the Making of Metanoia

Alstrin Films — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 12:53:00 +0000

Below is a video showing the making of the movie in a few key locations on the Eiger.
We’re finishing up the filming here. It’s been a great couple weeks of one days being the Eiger and the next sport climbing down in Interlacken. The final days have been perfect weather. Tomorrow Josh is going to solo the Heckmair route while the Cineflex camera documents it.

The filming continues on The Eiger Nordwand

Alstrin Films — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:33:00 +0000

We had a fun day Friday. Loranze fixed ropes for Josh and myself as we all descended down from the West Face to recover the pack Jeff Lowe left twenty years ago. The pack was almost completely buried. Josh spent over two hours digging the pack out. It was way more work than we expected and the pack was much heavier than imagined. Originally we thought Josh would put the pack on and climb out. Upon digging the pack we realized that wouldn’t happen. The pack weighed over 80 pounds. His sleeping bag must have filled with water and ice and the entire 80 litre pack was a giant ice cube. Needless to say we had to haul the pack 200 metres up the face. That alone was adventure enough for me.

But No…The scene we had to capture was Josh lifting the 80 pound pack into the helicopter. Jeff left his pack below on route because a storm was rolling in and he had to get off the mountain by helicopter before the storm fully arrived. I’m not sure if we captured the exact scene of Jeff stepping onto the heli because as you can see in the video below it was pretty sketchy. After filming this adventure I thought to myself, “Shit….I have to get on the heli the same way” We all made it safely and had the weekend off for sport climbing in Lehn. Gotta love Switzerland!

Stay tuned for more adventures from the Swiss Alps

Filming on The Eiger

Alstrin Films — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:23:00 +0000

Things are going great here. We’ve had fantastic weather for the last 5 days. We have one more day of blue bird and we’re planning to fly to the summit and do a few more scenes tomorrow. The last three days have been spent on the face around the Hinterstoisser. We’ve been re-creating scenes in the exact location from the route Jeff Lowe climbed back in 1991. The route looks super crazy. I can’t image climbing this thing in the winter by yourself.

We were filming Josh Wharton dry tooling some of the pitches and the roof pitch Josh says is around M9. It’s not the easiest line up the wall that’s for sure. Here’s a few more production stills and a short video for you to enjoy.

Filming in Switzerland

Alstrin Films — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:45:00 +0000

There’s a group of us including Jeff Lowe, Greg Lowe, Josh Wharton, Dave Black and myself currently in Switzerland filming on the North Face of the Eiger. Jeff is producing a movie titled “Jeff Lowe’s Metanoia.” Metanoia is a greek word meaning a fundamental change of thinking: a transformative change of heart.

In the winter of 1991 Jeff spent 9 days by himself climbing a new route on the North Face of the Eiger.

As Jeff climbed, every choice was tested by his purist ethic. No partner, no help from ropes left by others, no bolts – in mid-winter. Alone and increasingly at risk, climbing among ghosts and relics, and hammered by storms, he slowly transcended the recent chaos that had commandeered his life.

Near the top, out of food, pinned in a shallow limestone cave, and faced with yet another storm, Jeff heard a strange song. It lasted much of the day, and seemed to come from within the mountain. Next morning he emerged from his grotto and continued up. Barely surviving a fall that he actually jumped into, he finished the climb but disregarded the summit just 300 feet distant and 100 feet higher. Instead he accepted a helicopter descent rather than chance an avalanche and incoming storm, while climbing down the west side.

We are here now to re-enact some key scenes of this story. View his webpage here. www.jefflowemovie.com Check out the pictures below as we set up fixed ropes on the North Face to film some of the scenes.

Strong winds made it nearly impossible to be lifted off the summit. A bivy on the summit would not have been fun without a sleeping bag or tent.

Our Bivy on the summit of the Eiger. Yes, it’s really that cold

Lorenz about to be lifted from the summit. You really have to trust those helicopter pilots. One mistake and it’s Adiós baby!!

Our studio in Grindelwald

The Eiger as seen from Kleine Scheidegg

Getting Ready for the tour

Alstrin Films — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:48:00 +0000

It’s Sunday morning. My wife and I climbed at Shelf Road yesterday in beautiful weather. Got a little bit of sun on our pale faces, I saw a bunch of friends out there and had a great time. I can’t wait for spring. It’s now back to reality. My tour is all scheduled and last week I bought a 95 Subaru Legacy to drive for the tour. I didn’t own a car for the last 6 months so I figured this was as good as time as any to purchase one.

I got a “good deal” on this car…or I thought anyway until I drove it home and started finding multiple things wrong with it. No car stereo, suspension is shot, leaks antifreeze, small oil leak, heater doesn’t totally work, outside looks like I hit a deer then went into a ditch, inside smells like I’ve been smoking like a SOB. But for the price I figured it would work for the tour and it’s all good. I took it in on Friday to get the oil and the other fluids changed. I was all excited to pick this car up when the mechanic looked at me and asked, “How long have you owned this car.” I said, “One week.” He then proceeded to ask, “Do you want to know the things that are wrong with this car?” I thought about it for a second and said, “Yes, give it to me Doc.”

He looks at his long list he created and says, “First of all you have a blown head gasket, but that’s minor compared to the accident that this car was in and what the previous owners did to get it “running” again. You see, they welded a different car to the front of this car. There are two different colors, but that’s not the biggest problem. The problem is when they made the cut they didn’t cut it straight so it’s got a slight curve to it so when they decided to weld the two pieces together it doesn’t quite match and they weren’t able to get a “good weld” on there”. “Is that all” I asked. “No, after repairing the antifreeze leak we noticed there was no thermostat so we replaced the thermostat and now it overheats within minutes of driving”. “So, would you recommend me driving this 5000 miles next week”, I asked. He looks at me and says, “You’ll be lucky to get this home depending on where you live”.

Stoked!!! Not sure what to do. As my temporary fix I have rented a car for the tour which is what I should have done to begin with. I think my wife is going to take the car to the demolition Derby and see if she can take a few laps and try and earn a little bit of our money back from it. My friend Trask mentioned I should take it to “Dragon Mans”, which is a shooting range out east of Colorado Springs where you can rent fully automatic 50 caliber machine guns and go to town on targets. My “Subaru” being the target.

But no worries everyone. I just received my box of goodies from Arcteryx as door prizes for the show. I’m driving to Salt Lake first thing Wed morning in a fresh new rental car, the weather looks great for the drive so there shouldn’t be any delays.

The Salt Lake show is at Brewvies Cinema at 7:30pm. From there I drive straight to Ashland, Oregon where we will premiere the film at Southern Oregon University.

Click here to see the whole tour calendar. I want to personally thank Arcteryx, The American Alpine Club and the Access Fund for helping support my tour.

Hope to see you out there.

chris

The Continuum Project going on Tour

Alstrin Films — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:52:00 +0000

We are organizing a small tour to the Northwest for “The Continuum Project” climbing film. See below for our schedule. Please check our website for the most recent schedule as we are adding new locations by the day. Are you interested in hosting an event in your town? Please contact us.

Spring Tour Schedule

Salt Lake City, UT March 10, 2010
Ashland, OR March 11, 2010
Eugene, OR March 12, 2010
Portland, OR March 14, 2010
Bend, OR March 15, 2010
Leavenworth, WA March 16, 2010
Bellingham, WA March 18, 2010
Seattle, WA March 19, 2010
North Bend, WA March 21, 2010
Tacoma, WA March 23, 2010

Check out the details for our tour

The Continuum Project

Alstrin Films — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:06:00 +0000

Hey All,

It’s that time again. The weather is cooling down and the ice is starting to form. I am super pumped this season to climb ice because I’ve been trapped in my basement for the last couple months editing my newest film, “The Continuum Project” From what I’ve been reading in the posts and forums and all that jazz people are pretty psyched to check it out. It ships Nov 27th, just in time for the holiday season so don’t be shy. Get that certain someone a nice climbing DVD. He or she will thoroughly enjoy it. You can purchase it at alstrinfilms.com

Be sure to check out Alpinist.com for 6 exclusive shorts from the Continuum Project.

Win a free copy of the Continuum Project!!! E-mail me an exciting story about the outdoors, whether it’s your first experience climbing or an exciting trip to Patagonia, I want to hear about it. The top three stories sent to me I’ll send you a free Continuum DVD and post your story on my blog next month. chris@alstrinfilms.com

The Continuum Project follows some of the world’s best climbing talent around the globe to document bold new routes and daring repeats on ice, rock, and in the alpine.

Shot entirely in High Definition, watch as Guy Lacelle, Audrey Gariepy and Mathieu Audibert establish terrifying new ice routes in Norway and Rob Pizem and Mike Anderson crush brawny off-widths and delicate face climbing in Zion. Get on route with Ines Papert and Cory Richards as they blitz Kwangde Shar in Nepal and witness Majka Burhardt and Sarah Watson free the Beckey Route on Elephant’s Perch in the Sawtooths. Discover the rewards and risks of exploration with Jon Walsh and Ian Welsted as they establish a beautiful new mixed line in the remote Icefall Brook range of British Columbia and cool down on the difficult sport routes of Lions Head in Ontario with Sam Elias, Emily Harrington, Leslie Timms and Lauren Lee.

Extending the focus of Higher Ground, gain new perspective on the motivations and courage of some of the world’s top climbers through the superb cinematography and innovative approach of The Continuum Project.

Fundraising event in Crested Butte

Alstrin Films — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:47:00 +0000

Thanks to all of you who came out and enjoyed the film with us this past weekend. Rocky Kimball contacted me a couple months ago and asked if I’d be willing to show Luxury Liner in Crested Butte as a fundraising event for the Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI). I immediately jumped on board for this. I think more climbers who recreate and climb in Indian Creek need to step forward and do their part for this area. For those of you who don’t know RMFI began working with the Bureau of Land Management and the Dugout Ranch in 1989 to preserve Indian Creek Canyon and mitigate recreational impacts. In conjunction with groups from Outward Bound, Prescott College, Western State College, Colorado College, and Montrose High School, RMFI has built trails to many popular climbing sites and completed major restoration in several side canyons. RMFI has also completed a comprehensive trails and campsite inventory to assist the BLM and the Nature Conservancy in developing a recreational impact mitigation and management strategy for the area.

Saturday night we raised $1000 for RMFI to help with the continued efforts of Indian creek. Jim Donini with the American Alpine Club was there to talk about the trail day they are putting on with RMFI in Sept. So thanks again for everyone who came out to show their support.

Climbing in the Bugaboos

Alstrin Films — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:26:00 +0000

Woke up at 2:45am, brewed some coffee, loaded our granola bars and started our 3.5 hour approach to the Becky-Chouinard route on South Howser Tower in the Bugaboos Provincial Park located in British Columbia. The goal was to be back before dark.

Whenever you hear the words, “the goal was” you know it didn’t go

as planned.

Let me start off by saying I finally went on a climbing trip without my video camera. It was a

shock to hike in somewhere without cords, batteries, laptop and my camera. Laura (my wife) and I decided it was time to take our first vacation together. We opted for the Bugs. I’ve always wanted to climb in the Bugs, the granite looks bomber and the climbs look amazing.

We warmed up on the Pigeon Spire, we got our alpine start. Left the boulder camp located

below the hut around 9:30am. It was a fun outing. The next day we left a little earlier 8:30am to climb the Northeast Ridge of B

ugaboo Spire. Maybe we got

off route a little to access the col because the guidebook says to scramble. We roped up for 3 pitches to access the co

le. The rock was super loose on fifth class climbing.

Once at the base of the route the climbing went super fast. I wish I would have taken the time to read about the traverse from the North to South summit. We did the tr

averse with a few rappels and some very exposed ridge traverses but made it back to camp just before dark.

We thought we hadn’t had enough adventure yet and we really wanted a long day so we decided to climb the Becky-Chouinard route on S. Howser Tower. We took a rest day to figure a few things out and try to get some local beta from Sean Isaac who was in the cabin guiding.

As I mentioned earlier we were up by 2:45 and out of camp by 3:30am. We were doing very well getting

to the base and scrambling to the first pitch of the climb. There was a party ahead of us but by a few pitches and they motored on ahead pretty fast. We only saw them one other time throughout the day. The first ten pitches went very good. We were keeping a good pace and looking at our watch we knew we were going to be back at camp just afte

r dark….or so we thought.

Towards the upper pitches I decided to not read the topo description as closely and got off route on almost every pitch. We both started loosing

steam a little and next thing we knew we were a pitch from the summit and it was 9:45pm. Damn I thought. This sucks. Here we are with no extra clothing and we’re about to spend the night on the summit of the South Howser Tower. I’m sure many people have done this but for me it was a very humbling experience. I’ve never been benighted on anything. To me this meant I failed. I didn’t complete this route in a day and that was my goal.

This time was different though. I was up there with my wife. This is the first time I am doing a big climb without one of my regular “dude” climbing partners. I realized I had a lot more fun climbing the route with her. Sure, I would be at camp by now if I climbed it with a friend but now we get to experience the bivy together. I can’t explain it much more but once I came to terms of being benighted I started laughing. We both started laughing once we decided to sleep on this exposed ledge with rocks digging into our hips and kidneys all night. Did we sleep? Not really. Did we freeze? Hell yeah we did. But we also made it down safely in the morning and in the end that’s the success of the trip. You always want to come home from a trip.

Sport Climbing in Lions Head, Ontario

Alstrin Films — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:41:00 +0000

That’s right. You heard it. Call me a sell out I don’t care. I spent 8 days filming sport climbing and guess what. It was fun. It was walk up and steal the low hanging fruit sort of thing compared to my typical alpine, ice, and big wall filming. The crew was awesome. I headed up there with climbers; Sam Elias, Lauren Lee and Emily Harrington and of course accompanied by the man himself Keith Ladzinski as still photographer. We were the full on media circus. It was great. Actually the best part about shooting with Keith is his sense of humor. Here we are two fellows; Keith shooting stills and myself shooting video hanging from ropes at times and just talking smack the whole day. Thanks for those great rappell shots off Lions Head Terry!!

Talk about easy access. The approach is a mellow 20 minutes on pretty flat trails. You come up to the edge of the cliff and either rappell in to shoot or just hang out on top and shoot down on the climbers.

This trip really allowed me to get pretty dialed with my Letus Ultimate setup. I purchased a lens adaptor for my camera last year and haven’t had a whole lot of opportunity to really shoot with it in the field because it adds a lot of weight to the setup. Because of the short approach and easy stances on the cliff I was able to use multiple lenses and zoom into these climbers at really cool and wild angles.

All of us concluded that the local climbing scene at Lions Head is the best. The people are the most psyched about climbing and they are all there to climb and push their friends to the next hardest grade. I have never been to a crag and experienced this type of warm welcome as a visitor. You guys are all the Bomb!!!

I recommend anyone thinking about climbing here to buy your plane ticket, gas up your car, or stick your thumb out, stop making excuses and get up there to climb. You will not regret it. Soon to follow a new short about the area but until then you can probably find photos by looking at any of the athletes blogs. Sam Elias or Lauren Lee