Inspired by the adventures of Jeff Johnson in his 2010 epic tribute film to Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins, 180° South, Full Circle° follows ski mountaineers Erich Roepke, Stein Retzlaff, Rafael Pease, and Thor Retzlaff as they attempt the first ever ski descent of Volcán Corcovado in Chilean Patagonia. Faced with myriad challenges from leech-infested bogs to torrential rainstorms, simply reaching the base of the fabled peak is an adventure few undertake and even fewer complete. Yet as the team neared its goal, just a few pitches from the legendary summit, they encountered a new challenge: Could they reconcile with the purpose of adventure, and homage to their heroes, if the summit eluded them?
Director Bios:
Erich Roepke is a professional ski mountaineer, adventure photographer and videographer but if you ask Erich he describes himself as a true ski bum. He spent his teenage years with the Wallowa Mountain Range in NE Oregon as his backyard playground, galvanizing his love and commitment to wild places. He currently lives in Olympic Valley, CA.
Erich has shot several expedition short films from Roam’s “The Line” on Mt. Everest to “The Big One” on Denali. He currently is working on National Geographic’s Emmy Award winning show “Life Below Zero” as a camera operator.
Throughout his career, Roepke has been a strong advocate for environmental causes and nonprofit organizations including Tompkins Conservation, Sea Legacy, Protect Our Winters, Do Good Sh*t and Ice Legacy. Roepke is sponsored by One Eleven Watches, Volkl/Dalbello/ Marker, HempFusion, Mammut and Revo.
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Stein Retzlaff: Stein's parents put him in skis at 10 months old - it was a cold day in Lake Tahoe and he was crying. 21 years later, Stein went to the Arctic for his first time and between 2017-19, he spent 8 months in either the Arctic or Antarctic ski mountaineering or on film projects. His first experience ski mountaineering was when he climbed and skied from the summit of Mt Shasta in his mom's old ski racing boots - a couple years later, he brought a team to ski Arctic couloirs in one of the Northernmost mountain ranges of the World.
Stein is now a professional ski mountaineer, adventure photographer/filmmaker, entrepreneur and activist that ultimately just wants to live one hell of a story with his best friends.
Stein and his best friend, Erich, have created stories from Antarctica to Everest to the Arctic to Patagonia and have supported various international non-profits in the process such as SeaLegacy, Do Good Sh*t, Global Green USA, Protect Our Winters, Climbers of Color, and the Ice Axe Foundation. They have helped create adventure stories for OutsideTV, SeaLegacy, ROAM Media, Snapchat, Instagram, Warren Miller Entertainment and more.
Stein is honored to be trained under the mentorship of explorers, conservation heroes, visual artists, and entrepreneurs. Onward