Seven years in the making, Valley Uprising is a feature-length documentary by Sender Films that explores the history of climbing in Yosemite National Park, aka The Valley, as well as the counterculture roots of outdoor sports.
Come out in Charlottesville, Virginia, Saturday evening October 18, for a showing of this incredible look at the birth and evolution of modern climbing in the U.S. Valley Uprising tells the story of the bold men and women who broke with convention and redefined the limits of human possibility in America’s legendary national park.
For the past 60 years, generations of climbers have dropped out of society and made a pilgrimage to Yosemite, living a simple life among the pine trees while dedicating all their time and energy to climbing the valley’s soaring granite walls. As the legendary Yosemite pioneer Yvon Chouinard says in the film, “The idea of devoting your life to climbing didn’t exist anywhere else. No one expected to ever have a job. We were going to be hoboes, basically. And we were going to climb forever, and that was the extent of it.”
Valley Uprising tracks the evolution of climbing in Yosemite, but also the rivalries between climbers, and the increasingly tense relationship with the National Park Service – as their freedom-loving, extreme bohemian lifestyle chafes against the rules and regulations of the federal government. Generation after generation of Valley climbers has carried the torch, pushing the limits of climbing, pissing off the authorities, and vying for supremacy on Yosemite’s cliffs.
Narrated by American film and stage actor Peter Sarsgaard. The film features digitally-animated archival photography, spectacular climbing footage and interviews with Yosemite climbing legends – from pioneers like Royal Robbins, Lynn Hill and John Long to cutting edge modern athletes like Dean Potter and Alex Honnold.
The local sponsor for this screening is Rocky Top Climbing!
Ticket Information: $16.50 sold online
