Produced by Alessandro Baù, Alessandro Beber, and Emanuele Confortin, with support from the Italian Alpine Club, the project retraces the legendary climb by Munich alpinists, set against the iconic Northwest face of Civetta—a wall that has witnessed some of the most thrilling moments in Dolomite climbing history. The film weaves together archival footage and firsthand accounts from key figures in Civetta’s climbing legacy, past and present.

At the heart of the project is a visual exploration of the route, undertaken “as slowly as possible” to fully capture its defining features and the essence of the climb. The two climbing teams featured Marco Bergamo, Lorenzo Bellenzier, Matteo Pavana, along with Baù, Beber, and Confortin, who also directed the on-wall filming. Leonardo Vianello, the seventh team member, documented the ascent from the Tissi Refuge using a drone, adding a unique aerial perspective to the journey.

100 Solleder-Lettenbauer takes us back to August 7, 1925, when—after an earlier attempt with Franz Göbel, who was injured a third of the way up—the two German alpinists returned and completed the first ascent of the massive wall to the left of the Cristallo, the hanging glacier at the center of Civetta’s Northwest face, following a direct line to the summit. It was an unprecedented achievement, defined by over 1,100 meters of sustained vertical rock, exposure facing north, and formidable technical challenges—all completed in a single day without the need for bivouac, a necessity for many later climbers.

From the moment of its opening, the Solleder-Lettenbauer route became the benchmark by which Willo Welzenbach defined the VI grade in a climbing difficulty scale previously detached from real-world ascents. The feat’s impact was so profound that the Northwest face earned the nickname die Wand aller Wände—“Wall of Walls.” From that point on, Civetta became emblematic in the collective imagination as a proving ground for the evolution of climbing difficulty, pushing the perceived limits of what was humanly possible on a vertical face. The Solleder-Lettenbauer has thus served as a testing ground for generations of climbers, a legendary route that remains iconic even a century after its first ascent.

The historical reconstruction of the climb draws on the expertise of Alessandro Baù, Alessandro Beber, and Manrico Dell’Agnola, all deeply familiar with the Northwest face. Equally invaluable are the insights of Luca De Zordo (Coldai Refuge), Valter Bellenzier (Tissi Refuge), and Venturino De Bona (Torrani Refuge), who are both witnesses and guardians of Civetta’s rich climbing history.

The editing and post-production of 100 Solleder-Lettenbauer were handled by Lara Piovesan, Elena Barban, Nicolò Mattia Colombo [The Studio], and Emanuele Confortin, with original music composed by Sebastian Soso. In creating the documentary, the team made use of photos and videos from the first winter ascent, kindly provided by the Redaelli family. Equally invaluable were the original images and writings of Solleder—preserved by the Archiv des Deutschen Alpenvereins in Munich and the G. Angelini Foundation—as well as testimonies from climbers who shaped Civetta’s history, including Marcello Bonafede and Roberto Sorgato, protagonists of the first two (almost simultaneous) winter ascents in 1963, together with Ignazio Piussi, Giorgio Redaelli, Toni Hiebeler, and Natalino Menegus.

Not to be overlooked is the moving account of the winter ascent by Marco Toldo, Diego Dellai, and Nicola Bertoldo of the Gruppo Roccia 4 Gatti, along with material documenting Marco Anghileri’s first solo winter ascent and Alex Pivirotto and Ferruccio Svaluto Moreolo’s first winter ascent completed in a single day.

In addition to these sources, the editing also incorporated videos and photos from the archives of Baù, Beber, and Tondini; Bepi Pellegrinon; Manrico Dell’Agnola; Matteo Pavana; and Alex Pivirotto.

The realization of the documentary was made possible thanks to the support of Montura, the Italian Academic Alpine Club (Club Alpino Accademico Italiano), and the CAI Section of Agordo.

Watch the trailer