"Burning The Flame": the story of the feat of La Sportiva athletes Jacopo Larcher and Barbara Zangerl protagonists at Reel Rock 2023

Reel Rock Italia, the exhibition of short and medium length films on the theme of climbing, returns for its annual event with a tour of 20 stops spread across the main Italian cities. It is scheduled to begin in Milan on Monday 25 September and La Sportiva will once again be a main sponsor for this seventeenth edition of Reel Rock.

For the 2023 edition, the three new feature films we will see in theatres are: Burning the Flame, DNA and Resistence Climbing. Three films that take a fresh, transversal look at the relationship between man and rock, stories of climbing that are echoed by tales of friendship, love, passion and social inclusion. A festival capable of thrilling an ever-growing community of climbers (and more) every year, who, thanks to the magic of the big screen, become spectators of almost impossible feats, set in remote, legendary and unreachable places.

This year, with the film Burning the Flame, La Sportiva athletes Jacopo Larcher and Barbara 'Babsi' Zangerl will hold the room in suspense. Their free ascent of the Eternal Flame (VI 7c+ [5.13a], 650m), on the south face of Trango Tower (6240m) in the Trango Group of the Pakistani Karakorum, finds expression in the 50-minute feature film directed by Peter Mortimer. This feat has tested the world's most experienced climbers over the years. This route, completed by the pair of climbers after six days of study and attempts on 23 July 2022, consists of 24 pitches along 650m. This is one of the most complex long routes above an altitude of 6000m. Then there is the technical difficulty of weather conditions that are not particularly favourable, making an ascent of the Trango Tower possible only for a small window of time each year.

"The Eternal Flame has always been a dream for both of us. It is one of those iconic routes, opened up by true climbing legends, whose photos have made generations of climbers dream, including us, of course,"  say Jacopo Larcher and Barbara Zangerl. "For years it seemed to us to be something completely utopian, but with the passage of time, and with experience, it began to appear more attainable. When we decided to embark on this adventure in 2021, we didn't feel 100% ready for something like this yet.Despite the numerous big-walls we had faced around the world, we had never yet done a real expedition together, and the unknown of the altitude worried us a little. We set out without expectations, only with the desire to venture into a new experience and visit a place that has always made us dream. Perhaps this was the key to success! The climb, especially in this style, was not just the realisation of a dream, but a real surprise”.

The premiere screening of Burning The Flame will take place on Monday 25 September at 21:00 in Milan at Cinema CityLife Anteo, in the Sala Maestoso.

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