Lost in China with climbers Ines Papert and Luka Lindic
A long list of achievements accompany the biography of German ice-climber Ines Papert. With more than 20 world cup victories on the ice-climbing circuit and successful ascents of many of the Alps hardest routes, Ines has broken difficulty records for women climbers and has been setting new standards for Ice/Mixed, Rock and Alpine Climbing all across the globe over the past two decades.
Last October, Ines and her Arc’teryx team mate Luka Lindic made a successful first ascent of the south-east face of Kyzyl Asker (a 5,842 meter peak in China) The 1200m route, “Lost in China” is rated WI5+ M6. To acclimatize they made the second ascent and first free ascent of “Border Control” WI5 M7 650, on Great Wall of China.
Thanks to a partnership between Arc’teryx and ChopShop aimed at driving athlete-produced content, Ines and Luka were able to self-document their adventures while on the road with the help of Chinese photographer and videographer Rocker, and submit their footage for editing upon their return.
The result is a series of 3 Instagram edits, showcasing the different stages of their trips for social media sharing, as well as for Ines and Luka to play during their climbing lectures and presentations.
“We had such great support from our main sponsor Arc’teryx to be able to get the Kyzyl Asker route. By capturing the story on film, we were able to give something back to them.”
Ines credits the partnership between her sponsor and ChopShop for production of the film series:
“We would have never played with the footage we have, since we are climbers and not so much nerds when it comes to computers. Thanks to ChopShop each of us could focus on our skills and avoid wasting time.”
We caught up with Ines to find out more behind her experience climbing in China and producing her own mini-adventure film.
What inspired you to go climb this route on Kyzyl Asker?
Ines: Probably the beauty and the uniqueness of the line. To find such a perfect ice line on a high alpine mountain like the southeast face on Kyzyl is quite rare. The fact it has never been climbed was a big reason we were attracted to it. It is always a special challenge, to climb untouched terrain- since you can’t learn from people’s previous ascents.
In your mind, what are the most important elements of a great adventure?
Ines: Culture, people, landscape, weather… Yes, even bad weather can be an important element of a great adventure sometimes.
What do you look for in a climbing partner for an expedition like this?
Ines: Skills of course, plus the fact that you have to get along with the person for quite some time. You have to be able to share in the good and not so pleasant moments.
Why did you want to share this adventure story through film?
Ines: It was not the priority to capture footage during the climb. We focused on the climb first, but if there was a moment where we had a hand free, we turned on the camera.
I personally like to watch short clips of unique adventures, it makes the experience for spectators more colorful and real than just looking at photos. I also like to share these moments with the audience of my lectures. Seeing it on a big screen it makes the fun and the pain even more real ;).
How does telling your story through film differ than simply writing it?
Ines: It’s easier to consume than reading a story. People are more and more lazy and the easier we can make a story to take in, the more they will watch.
How did you capture the footage for this project?
Ines: We filmed ourselves and used one compact camera each:
- Lumix LX 7
- Panasonic RX 100 II
Plus the Garmin VIRB. We had it in a pocket to keep the batteries warm, attached to our harness and pulled it out only for shooting by hand.
Do you have any new projects on the horizon?
Ines: Yes always;)
We will let you know when we have some footage for you again.
To create your own adventure film get in touch : hello@chopshop.co or visit chopshop.co
