It began with a newspaper notice about five mountaineers who had climbed, four men and one woman. Arnold Fanck, himself a mountaineer and filmmaker, was inspired by this to make a grandiose nature film about men and women who want to conquer the mountain and put themselves in mortal danger. He hired the legendary aerobatic pilot of the time, Ernst Udet, for the rescue scenes of the climbers trapped in the ice. Leni Riefenstahl as the young fiancée Maria shows courage and mountaineering skills in her role, establishing her fame as an actress. And Arnold Fanck makes a name for himself as a director of dramatic mountain films with DIE WEISSE HÖLLE VOM PIZ PALÜ.
Since his wife died in an accident on Piz Palü, a widower climbs the mountain every anniversary of her death. This year he meets a young couple in a mountain hut who join him on the way to the summit. On the way, they become the victims of a snow avalanche. Only thanks to the stubborn endurance of the experienced climber do the young people survive, while he pays for his care with death.
