Sarah Hueniken

It’s a route that you cannot climb in summer and that you don’t really want to climb in winter: Helmcken Falls. But ice-climber Will Gadd knows that the technically challenging mixed route on the rear wall of the 141-metre waterfall can only be mastered at sub-zero temperatures, because that’s when the loose rock is literally frozen up by the spray. However, what works for the route doesn’t necessarily help the athlete. The centimetre-thick layer of ice which Will has to remove from his safety rope at regular intervals doesn’t really make it easier for him to warm up to the route.

Told from the perspective of some of the best ice climbers in the world today, paired with archival footage from the infancy of the sport, this documentary honours the spirit of Guy Lacelle.