24/G1: Gerhard Baur

**THE DECISION**
Germany 1984, Gerhard Baur, 13 min, German

**GRANDES JORASSES NORTH FACE**
Germany 1982, Gerhard Baur, 50 min, German

**EIGER NORTH FACE – SURVIVAL**
Germany 1990, Gerhard Baur, 42 min, German

Gerhard Baur is one of the most important mountain filmmakers in alpine history. A climber and mountaineer himself, he has scaled all the challenging walls, including several first ascents. In 1970, he joined Reinhold Messner and his younger brother Günther on Nanga Parbat. For Baur, mountaineering and filmmaking have always been intertwined passions. In 1968, he had the opportunity to create his first independent film, capturing the first ascent of the "Great Roof" on the Western Pinnacle of the Dolomites. Baur’s unique strength is that he works as both director and cameraman on location – often directly on the walls – which gives his films an immediacy and authenticity.

This year, Gerhard Baur is a guest at the Mountain Film Festival, where he will discuss his two most significant films, *GRANDES JORASSES NORTH FACE* and *EIGER NORTH FACE – SURVIVAL*, with Michael Bilic.

The Grandes Jorasses North Face was one of the last great alpine challenges in the 1930s. Numerous attempts ended in failure or tragedy. With period equipment, Baur reconstructs the dramatic events of 1934.

Fifty years later, on the Eiger North Face, two young climbers set out without notifying anyone. A sudden storm thrusts them into an icy inferno, with lightning, avalanches, and life-threatening cold. Trapped on a small ledge, they wait for death for nine days. Miraculously, both survive. In *EIGER NORTH FACE – SURVIVAL*, Gerhard Baur reconstructs these harrowing events.