The film follows two mountaineers on a multi-day trip in the swiss alps. From the campsite, up the hill, over the glacier, along the rocky ridge on to the summit. Coupled with this story line is two and a half hours of additional chapters that expand upon the topics covered in the film.
Glacier Travel, Crevasse Rescue, Moving together, Ice Axes, Abseiling, Crampons, Via Ferrata, Huts and Bivouacs, Clothing and Equipment.
We learnt an amazing amount of stuff while filming Alpine Essentials and it’s well worth a look. I’d always been very intimidated by the idea of going climbing in the Alps but the filming trip broke down a lot of barriers.

The beauty and excitement of going up a 3000m plus peak is really within the grasp of any one reasonably fit.
Without wanting to sound a bit of an arse, probably one of the most spiritual experiences I’ve had was being on foot up high on a snow covered Alpine ridge. That said about two hours later I was weeping in to frozen hands after letting my gloves get wet in time for sun down and minus 15.