First Ascent DVD Box Set is Here!

Back at the 5 Point Film Festival in May, we were treated to several excellent film segments from the guys at Sender Films, including the haunting Point of No Return, which detailed Johnny Copp and Micah Dash’s fateful trip to China. Each one was well done, and reported to be part of an upcoming box set. That box set launched today as First Ascent: The Complete Series, and can be purchased over at the Sender Films website.

The entire series was co-produced with National Geographic, and has received awards and accolades from across the world. While some of the episodes have been seen here and there, the box set is the first time for fans in the US to get the complete series.

The first 2 discs of the box set feature the following episodes:

1. Alone On The Wall
   Twenty-three year old Alex Honnold is taking the high-stakes sport of free solo climbing to new heights. Climbing truly massive walls without a rope, and zero chance of survival if he falls, Alex is calm and fearless (except when it comes to girls). But attempting the 2,000-foot wall of Half Dome, the greatest free solo ever attempted, would finally teach Alex the meaning of fear.
2. Patagonia Promise
   Climber Stanley Leary and his two friends venture across South America to the wild peaks of Patagonia on a journey of the heart. Their mission: to attempt a first ascent, and spread the ashes of Stanley’s lover Roberta from the summit, thus granting her dying wish.
3. Impossible Climb
   For a decade, Chris Sharma has ruled the climbing world, establishing the most difficult first ascents in existence. Now Sharma has found the longest, hardest, most beautiful climb of his life. Training for months on end, braving hundred-foot falls and throwing every ounce of his superhuman energy and ability at this seemingly impossible route, he aims to once again.
4. Point Of No Return
   Elite alpine climbers Jonny Copp and Micah Dash travel to a little-explored and treacherous mountain range near the border of Tibet to make a first ascent of a high-altitude face. When tragedy strikes, the dark and dangerous side of climbing is revealed.
5. Brother’s Wild
   Two brothers – Timmy O’Neill, a pro climber, and Sean O’Neill, who is paralyzed from the waist down – push the limits of adaptive climbing, conquering the 3,000-foot face of El Capitan. Then it’s on to the Ruth Gorge of Alaska, where they cross a treacherous glacier to climb a remote rock wall. In a storm-stricken land that would challenge even able-bodied climbers, Timmy and Sean face their greatest challenge yet.
6. Fly Or Die
   Aerial samurai Dean Potter combines his two passions of free solo climbing and BASE jumping to create the most outrageous and visionary style of climbing ever conceived: The BASE Free Solo. Climbing with no rope, and only a parachute to catch him if he falls, Potter turns the adrenaline levels up to maximum and pushes climbing into new and dangerous territory, while chasing ever closer on the heels of his childhood dream of human flight.

“First Ascent: The Series” Trailer from Sender Films on Vimeo.

The 3rd disc features over an hour of bonus footage, with outtakes, behind the scenes, making-of, trailers and additional climbing, high-lining and BASE jumping scenes. The entire box set retails for $49.95, which isn’t bad considering you get 3 DVD’s worth of footage.

The episodes we saw at 5 Point were incredible, and I can’t wait to check out the rest. Stay tuned for a full review once we get our hands on them!