Two Shorts From My Winter in Nepal

So While I was in Nepal this winter I did a bunch of shooting.... Here are two of the pieces to come out of that trip!!!  One profiles the legendary alpinist Pete Athans, and is available thanks to the north face as a sneak peek, only on vertical carnival!!!  The Emily and Matt piece features a bunch of music from the new album .... so if you like it... buy the album!  Cheers!!!  Cedar.

Read more...

Alex Honnold_The Neverending Ticklist

Hey Guys, Cedar here!! Check out this Alex Honnold profile piece I cut for Black Diamond.  I shot this last summer during the same week that "Squamish in a Day" and the infamous "Boogie til you Poop" videos were shot!! Cheers, Cedar.

Read more...

Lhoste Dispatch #5!

Thanks for following these dispatches from the high himalaya. I know Hennie and the guys put their full on heart and soul into these so enjoy this final epic post! ~reo



Read more...

Shed Some Light, My New Album!!!

 So, after a year of tweaking in my humble home studio I have put together a new album.  The last three years and three albums has been a huge learning process with lots of setbacks, breakthroughs and moments of pure joy.  I'm proud of this album... it's far and away my best work.  All the songs are completely original from the Vocals to the Guitar to the beats to random Mbira licks and Synth embellishments.  This is truly a labor of lover and has been my most cherished creative outlet of late...so I  really hope you guys like it!  The Album features 20 songs and is optimized for  itunes.  To everyone who bought one of my last two albums... thanks a lot... if you liked that you'll love this...Cheers!!!  You can Buy it right HERE>

Read more...

Telluride Film Festival!

This past weekend a number of our films graced the the big screen at the amazing Telluride Mountain Film Festival.  Situated deep in the mountain of Colorado this festival is one of the most recognized on the planet for bringing stories of postive change for the planet to thier audience.  It is always a big energy boost to attend and a huge honor to have our expedition stories screen in the same group as films that tackle huge political, social and environmental issues.  The TNF line-up of films included COLD (Forge Motion Pictures), TOWERS OF THE ENNEDI (Camp 4 Colective), DOWN OUT AND UNDER (Sender Films) and ON ASSIGNMENT (Camp 4 Collective). 

As an athlete and filmmaker there is nothing more exciting (and scary!) than to be able to premier your work in front of a packed theatre of liked minded people hungry to absorb the adventure.  Being able to see peoples reaction in real time and answer question on stage is one the most powerful ways I can imagine to share stories.  For me, this realization of the power of film really stemmed from this particular festival in 2009 when Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and myself premiered SAMSARA and it took the Charlie Fowler Climbing film award.

I'm so proud to report that the TNF film hightlighting the historic ascent of G2, which is a very real and visceral depiction of what it is like to undergoe climbing a 8000M peak in winter won the Charlie Fowler Climbing Film award.  Furthermore our film "Towers of the Ennedi" recieved a honorable mention in this catagory and was also nominated for the cinematograpy award.  Athough I'm not much of a competive person it is always a bit nerve racking to attend the award ceremony and see how your peers, mentors and audieneces judge your art of storytelling.  In the end it is all about all those special intactions you have throughout with event with the amazing people that inpsire you to take action to keep sharing & creating positive change for the planet!   Thanks for reading and hope to see you all at the next T-Ride Mtn Film Fest :)   Cheers,  ~renan Read more...

Lhoste Dispatch #4

The team gets some pow turns :)
Read more...

Lhoste dispatch #3

The boys in nepal are getting really close to the final push!

Read more...

Lhoste Dispatch #2

Hennie is a bit of gaper when it comes to this big mountain stuff, but he’s already been up to above Camp 2 with the crew on an acclimatizing mission and seem to be holding up well. Check out his second dispatch sent via the satellite connection, really impressive stuff! ~reo

Read more...

Lhoste Dispatch #1

Hennie, our South African friend and Camp 4 Collective colleague is on his first trip to the Himalaya documenting a quest to ski a new 8000 meter ski descent on Lhoste in Khumbu region. He is primarily a resort/park skier so this trip with seasoned TNF expedition athletes is going to blow his mind, burn out his lungs and push his creativity to the next level! I had fun contributing art & working with Marty Blumen an animator in New Zealand on the intro animation, the red line is the LINE! Check it out, fresh from the sat modem at 18K ft! cheers, ~reo


Read more...

BlueWater Anthem

Hey there V.C. viewers!!! Hope all is well and you are squeezing some adventure out of life! As most of you know by now Renan had a terrible skiing accident. He cracked open his head pretty good and broke his neck in a couple places. But, by nothing short of a miracle he is neither paralyzed nor dead. A few months from now he'll be out of the neck brace and back to filming and climbing. So everyone think good thoughts and in the mean time, enjoy this short Anthem piece I cut for BlueWater Ropes. Read more...

'Towers of the Ennedi' behind the scenes

Our crazy first year as a production team ended with a wild adventure to document the first ever climbing in the remote Ennedi desert of Chad, Africa. After 4 days/800km following a GPS coordinate on a roadless wasteland we found ourselves among thousands of beautiful unclimbed towers.

Tim​, Jimmy and I all have a lot of experience in expedition storytelling from the high himalaya to the jungles of Borneo but this trip redefined 'remote' for all of us. We were so psyched to collectively push our gear and creativity with our athlete friends at TNF.

Besides the knife fights with the locals and a few lenses lost to the sand things went pretty smooth. We were able to run our entire work flow without a generator using goalzero solar and battery setups. It was also our first time shooting the motion time-lapse setup on the kessler pocket dolly which was the secret weapon in so many ways.

A director's cut of the final film "Towers of the Ennedi" will screen at 5point ​at the end of April before the full premier at Mountain Film ​at the end of May!

Thanks for checking out this tid-bit. Cheers from the c-collar ~reo

Music:
Ki:Theory
"Step Outside"

Computer Vs Banjo
"Give Up On Ghosts"

Random Rab
"For My Corpse" Read more...

Towers of the Ennedi - The North Face sneak peak of the film festival edit!!

This is an exclusive preview presented by The North Face of the film festival edit that will be showing at the 5point film festival and Telluride Mountain Film. If you have the ability to make these festivals I highly encourage it! Meeting the filmmakers, the big-screen viewing experience and the variety of amazing adventure film subjects are not to be missed.

At any rate, make sure you have solid 12 minutes to sit down and enjoy this cut of the Chad story. Thanks for taking the time to check it out, lots of love has gone into this edit so far. Cheers, ~reo

Read more...

A Close Call

Hey all Vertical Carnival followers out there. Just a quick update on some recent catastrophic events. Although we really love taking on every project all the time and going full-steam 24/7, sometimes the powers that be overwhelmingly tell us to slow down.

In my case it all came to a halt last week in Jackson, Wy during a C4C/TGR collaboration that was supposed to follow big mountain riders into the Grand Teton National Park. During a pre-production shoot at the JH resort to capture b-roll on mellow terrain I caught an edge with to much speed just above a cliff band. What would have been a normal little fall turned into full on nightmare. My arms pinwheeled in the air fighting for life before the inevitable impact into the rock. During the unconscious lapse that followed my good friend Jimmy Chin 1st responded, playing a major role in saving my life. As I came back to consciousness I was still in the process of being extracted on a sled through the tight tree terrain below Rock Springs buttress by the highly skilled JH Ski Patrol. I shivered uncontrollably and was only able to see intermittently through the fogged oxygen mask and wallops of snow falling from the tight trees. The toll of injuries included a massive depressed skull fracture, collapsed lunge and 2 broken vertebrae. Any one of these could have easily killed, paralyzed or caused permanent brain damage. Luckily the emergency craniotomy and other surgeries were successful. The road to recovery will be slow but the recovery will also be a full one. So, besides just being thankful to be alive I'd also like to thank all of friends and supporters for the love and kindness during the painful start to this healing process. I will still continue to follow my dreams of adventure and creativity in the mountains but will do my best to pay attention to when the universe is telling me to slow down and not take anything for granted. ~reo Read more...

Cuba Chapter5_The Cock Fight

This is the last of the Cuba series, thanks for following this tropical "vacation" adventure. Although there are a few hurdles for US travelers to go to Cuba once you arrive the culture is welcoming and the climbing is world-class at all grades. Highly recommended in all ways! ~reo
Read more...

Cuba Chapter 4_The Life of Leo

A story about one of the dedicated Cuban cranksters of vinales. ~reo

Cuba Chapter_4_The Life of Leo from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Read more...

Chad Expedition Teaser

I've been putting in a lot of time lately working on a ~14min festival piece based on the Chad adventure to the Ennedi dessert. There will be a sneak peak at 5point Film Festival and a hopefully a premier of the finished version at Telluride Mtn Film later in the spring. Here is the teaser so far. Enjoy! ~reo

Read more...

Cuba Chapter 3_The Competition

Another installment of the Cuba series. Thanks for following! ~reo

Cuba Chapter 3_The Competition from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

music recorded on location

Read more...

Cuba Chapter 2_Enter Vinales

Psyched to share the next chapter of the Cuba installments...this is first glimpse of the climbing! As always, thanks for checking it! ~reo

Cuba Chapter 2_Enter Vinales from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

Music Recorded On Location

Read more...

Nepal 2011_Namaste_K.C.C.

I know, I know, Vertical Carnival has been a barren content free wasteland for the last month and a half, that's because Renan and I have been busy shooting on bigger projects, but good times are here again. Renan will be kicking down some beautiful Cuba Dispatches, and I have a little Nugglet for you guys that captures my month spent Volunteering for the Khumbu Climbing School. To find out more about the school CLICK HERE. On another note Renan and I are honored to have recieved the "Urby" from Urban Climber magazine for "Best Blog" We think that's pretty Baller! NAMASTE!!! love Cedar.
Read more...

Cuba Chapter 1_Havana City Bustle

CUBA CHAPTER 1_Havana City Bustle from renan ozturk on Vimeo.

music recorded on location

Read more...