MENDITALK: (STORIES) BELOW ZERO

Juan Vallejo

Few climbers survive a fall from a sheer rock face. Juan Vallejo is one of them. But survival came at a price: multiple fractures, countless surgeries, metal implants, and the very real possibility that he would never climb again. As he begins a long and uncertain recovery, one question lingers: can a climber live without the mountains?
From his hospital bed, Juan retraces a lifetime of adventures leading up to the accident. The Pyrenees, the Himalayas, the Karakoram, Patagonia, Yosemite, Peru, Greenland... landscapes and memories intertwine with the stories of some of mountaineering’s greatest figures, including Juanito Oiarzabal, Alberto Zerain, Edurne Pasaban, Mikel Zabalza, and Alberto Iñurrategi. A moving reflection on resilience, identity, and the enduring call of the mountains.