The Quest
The first episode of the 2 part series 'Everest: Mountain of Dreams, Mountain of Doom', includes the incredible stories of the early climbers, including George Leigh Mallory and Sir Edmund Hillary's legendary summit climb, and much more. From George Mallory to the 1996 tragedy, the series explores the major personalities and expeditions covering an 80-year span. The second episode, titled 'Tempting Fate', explores the triumphant (and tragic) expeditions of the modern era and takes an in-depth view of the terrible events of 1996, the deadliest year in the history of Mount Everest.
Qomolangma
"In 1983, a French expedition, led by Yannick Seigneur and including Jean Afanassieff, left for Tibet to climb the western ridge of Everest on the Chinese side in alpine style. Jean Afanassieff films the Tibetan population between tradition, religion and modernity and tells us about this expedition."
Untrodden Karakoram
"The 1961 RAF Karakoram Expedition was, like the 1955 RAF Expedition to Lahul, an exploratory expedition to an unknown region. The RAF team in 1961 did not do everything they intended. They did not climb K6, but at least contributed to human knowledge on this peak. With two 22,000 feet and two 20,000 feet summits attained, a glacier system opened up, and a good map, they have no reason to be disappointed with their results. The expedition consisted of twelve British climbers of whom eleven came from the RAF, and one guest climber."
Hillary and Tenzing - Everest and After
Hillary and Tenzing - Everest and After is a documentary about alpinism that takes place on Everest. It was directed by David Upshal in 1997 and produced by BBC. It is a part of the series Reputations. It features George Band, Peter Hansen, Charles Warren, Mike Westmacott, Raymond Lambert, John Hunt and others.
Americans on Everest
"In 1963, Swiss climber Norman Dyhrenfurth began 'a little war against a big mountain.' Leading 19 Americans, 32 Sherpas, and 909 porters carrying 27 tons of gear, Dyhrenfurth spearheaded the highly successful 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition for his adopted country. Jim Whittaker, accompanied by Nawang Gombu Sherpa made the first ascent by the Hillary-Tensing route. On May 22, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld made the first ascent by the unclimbed West Ridge. They descended by the South Col, making the first traverse of Everest. Orson Welles narrates the spectacular record, and the film includes the first ever filmed images from the summit."
The Death Zone
To understand the difficulties of an ascent to over eight thousand metres, it is enough to remember the almost 300 victims these peaks have claimed. The Swiss alpinist Ehrart Loretan, the third alpinist in the world to have climbed all 14 8,000, and the Austrian alpinist Kurt Diemgerger cover the whole history of the conquest of the world’s 8,000, from the fifties to the present day, together with other alpinists and film directors who have climbed them. They talk about their experienced when they ventured into the death zone.
NZAC Himalayan Expedition Barun Valley 1954
"Filmed by George Lowe and taken on the New Zealand Alpine Club’s 1954 Expedition to the Barun Valley in Nepal. Ed Hillary was the leader of the expedition. It was a large expedition involving a number of New Zealand’s best mountaineers at the time. Roland Ellis did a great deal of organising for this expedition and I think in the end, as a keen amateur film buff, also financed the movie. He edited it and organised Ed to be the commentator."
Wings on the Himalayas
In 1955 the Royal Air Force Mountaineering Association underwent an ambitious expedition to climb several unnamed peaks north of Manali in India. The expedition the the Lahoul region, led by Captain Tony Smyth was the first successful mountaineering expedition to this region. The team made several first ascents, among them, to the peaks Taragiri, Tambu, Shikar Beh and Ashagiri.
Through the Unknown
"Verso L'Ignoto" (Towards the Unknown) is an Italian documentary that follows mountaineer Daniele Nardi and his team in their attempt to achieve the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat, an 8,000-meter peak in Pakistan, nicknamed the "killer mountain" due to its exceptional danger. For three years, the camera follows the preparation and several successive expeditions, showing the extreme cold, avalanches, fatigue, and the setbacks that constantly force the climbers to choose between continuing their quest for the summit or preserving their lives. More than just a story of sporting achievement, the documentary highlights doubt, defeat, and human fragility, showing that the "unknown" is not only the mountain, but also the element of risk, desire, and need for self-transcendence that each of us carries within.
The Northeast Pillar Of Tengkangpoche
In the fall of 2021, Tom Livingstone and Matt Glenn traveled to the Khumbu region of Rolwaling, Nepal. Faced with Covid restrictions, limited budgets, and last-minute planning, they decided to travel to this relatively accessible region. They opened a new 1,400-meter route called "Massic Attack" on the northeast pillar of Tengkangpoche (6,487 m) in seven days and reached the summit on October 30, 2021, at 12:15 p.m.
Dhaulagiri, Mountain of Winds
In October 1984, Pierre Béghin, an engineer from Grenoble, and Jean-Noël Roche, a high-mountain guide, completed the Himalayan ascent of Dhaulagiri (8,172 m). The expedition's context: seven people crossed Nepal to Muri, collected accounts from trekkers—including that of the author Robert Rieffel—and attended Sherpa prayers at base camp. Then, the two of them embarked on a rocky and snowy route without supplemental oxygen. At over 5,000 meters, on the mountain of winds, Jean-Noël Roche made a paragliding flight. The climbers brought back footage with their Super 8 camera from 6,500 meters, but only photographs have been able to confirm their presence on the summit ridge of the seventh highest peak in the world.