Broadcaster
CBBC, BBC iPlayer
Episode Count
1 x 30'
- Sheffield Adventure Film FestivalWINNER2014
Credits
Produced, Directed & Filmed: Des Henderson
Executive Producer: Ed Stobart
Production Managers: Emma McGrath, Jenn Burgis
Shooting Directors: Brian Martin, Darragh Cox, Sam Jones, Connall McStravick, Jane Wong
Climbing Camera & Director: Ben Bevan-Pritchard
Editor: Luke Price
Description
13 year old Ella Kirkpatrick sets out to be the youngest girl ever to climb El Capitan, in California’s Yosemite Valley – a towering rock monolith made famous by ‘Free Solo’
The Big Climb tells the story of 13-year-old Ella, a rock climber who plans to scale El Capitan with her Dad. El Capitan is a towering rock in California’s Yosemite Valley the height of six London Eyes stacked on top of each other, and climbing it is a challenge that even the most seasoned of pro climbers would baulk at.
We follow Ella and her dad all the way from Sheffield to California and on to the wall as they live and sleep in a vertical world over a four-day period. They battle soaring temperatures, rope tangles and each other’s patience as they make their way slowly up the rock face. While the rest of her year-nine friends are studying hard in school, Ella is getting to grips with her first experience of big-wall climbing and pushing her body to the limit trying to make it to the top. If she does make it, she’ll be the youngest girl to have ever conquered this iconic rock.