Mountains on Stage : The Vertical Interview

Today we have a conversation with the legendary Beth Rodden. Beth has been a huge inspiration to many, with incredible ascents in Yosemite, like the third free ascent of the Nose, or the first ascent of Meltdown, still considered to be one of the hardest pitches in the valley 15 years later. We had the opportunity to talk with Beth at the end of her annual family pilgrimage to Fontainebleau. She talked to us about her accomplishments, but also about her fight with eating disorder and her mental battles. Mountains on Stage film festival will be on tour this April and May, and will feature 4 amazing films, taking place in the Himalayas, Corsica and Yosemite. All the info on www.mountainsonstage.com

I am really honored to have a conversation with the legendary Tommy Caldwell. Tommy has lived 100 lives already from climbing the Dawn Wall after a seven year fight, to climbing the Nose in less than 2 hours with Alex Honnold. Tommy is currently spending time with his family in Fontainebleau and we had the chance to talk to him about a few of his most amazing climbs, from the Fitz Roy traverse to the Dawn Wall. Tommy also gave us his insight on the project Cap on El Cap, currently on tour with Mountains on Stage film festival around the world. All the info on www.mountainsonstage.com

Alex Honnold is probably the most famous climber in the world since the film Free Solo, documenting his amazing free solo up El Capitan. But Alex has way more achievements under his belt than free solos. We had him in our program at Mountains on Stage film festival several times, from the long bike trips called Sufferfest with Cedar Wright, to the Fitz Roy traverse with Tommy Caldwell, that earned him a Golden Ice Axe, or Piolet d’or, for the best alpine achievement of the year. Alex is currently spending a month in the mecca of bouldering that is Fontainebleau, and we had the privilege to talk to him after a climbing session.

Jimmy Chin is probably the most awarded mountain documentary film maker in the world, with an audience award at Sundance for Meru and an Oscar for Free Solo. But before being a successful director, Jimmy was an elite rock climber and alpinist. In this interview, he shares with us the struggles of climbing Meru, the reason why he wanted to document Alex Honnold's free solo of El Capitan, and why it is important for him to share those stories to a wider audience. Jimmy is also a talented photographer, and he took the photo of the official poster of the 2023 Summer Edition of Mountains on Stage film festival, on tour from April 13th 2023!