Remnants of Everest: The 1996 Tragedy

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing everything they ever wanted to do and an unrealized need to come to terms with who they are. Together they embark on the road trip of a lifetime, becoming friends along the way and learning to live life to the fullest, with insight and humor.

May 25, 1996 - Bruce Herrod, a South African mountaineer reached the summit of Everest at 5 p.m. On the radio, we urge him to come down as soon as possible because the descent is dangerous in the middle of the night. A few hours later, no news from him. From this South African expedition which turned into a fiasco and another expedition carried out in parallel, the testimonies of the members of these expeditions show to what extent the thirst for climbing to the top of certain mountaineers, combined with the lack of oxygen , can alter the lucidity of climbers to the point of changing their relationship to death and thus lead them to neglect other expedition members in order to ensure their victory or save their own life.

The French adventurer Eliott Schonfeld crosses the Himalayas from west to east. Off the beaten track, his way leads him first through the wide valleys of Ladakh and over barren passes and glaciers to Nepal. There is always some seven-thousander in sight, but people and villages are the exception. Eliott's only companion on this lonely hike is his horse Robert. While the snowy and icy passages become a real challenge for the four-legged friend, Eliott feels in the bitterly cold nights on his own body that he may have saved too much on his equipment. Nevertheless, the minimalist adventurer explores his limits along the way and does without the last comforts of civilization: tent, sleeping bag and lighter. How little is just enough?

Record of the first ascent of Everest made without the use of oxygen equipment, made in May 1978 by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. Could it be done? Would their blood vessels burst? Would they suffer brain damage leading to madness? Nobody was sure. Messner: 'I would never come here for trying Everest with oxygen. That is not a challenge for me.' A fascinating piece of history, well filmed by Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones (above the South Col Messner used a cine camera to continue the filming), featuring Messner and Habeler's thoughts. The film follows the usual sequence from Namche to Base Camp, through the Icefall, to Camps I, II and III. It also shows historical footage of the pioneering Mallory and Shipton expeditions.

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Llaso, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

Matti and Niila, growing up in the mid-sixties in the harsh and conservative environment of a Finnish-speaking part of Tornedalen in Swedish Laponia, close to the Finnish border. Their big dream is to become rock stars. In the present the now grown-up Matti feels guilt for the death of his drug-addicted rock star friend Niila.

Sur le fil des 4000 is a documentary film by Gilles Chapaz, which traces the last rope of the mountaineering duo Patrick Berhault and Philippe Magnin. The objective of the roped party was to climb the 82 peaks over 4000 meters in the Alps, by carrying out the connecting routes on foot, on skis or by bike. All at the end of winter and the beginning of spring. They left on March 1, 2004, from Saint Christophe en Oisans. The film shows us in images this alpine adventure, from which the spirit of competition is excluded, to make way for the simple pleasure of being in the mountains. This posthumous film was edited after the disappearance of Patrick Berhault, which occurred during the expedition on April 28, 2004.

The documentary, born in collaboration with the Italian Alpine Club, talks about a mountain guide and an exceptional young pupil. Hervé Barmasse and Tudor Laurini - alias Klaus - venture to discover the Italian territory to spread the beauty of the mountain, promote the outdoor activities connected to it, defend and promote the culture of those who love and respect our planet. An itinerary to discover the values ​​of the Italian Alpine Club.

Every year, over a thousand climbers try to reach the summit of Mount Everest, with the annual record for successful attempts currently standing at 633. But of that number, nearly half were Sherpas - the mountain's unsung heroes. Yet the Sherpa community has remained secretive about their nation, culture and experiences living in the shadow of the world's highest mountain. Now, for the first time, they open the door into their world. Without the expertise of the Sherpas, only the hardiest and most skilful climbers would succeed. Every day they risk their lives for the safety of others, yet they seek neither glory nor reward, preferring to stay in the background. Following the stories of four such Sherpas - Phurba, Ngima, Ngima Tenji and Gelu - this film reveals the reality of their daily lives, not just up the mountain, but with their families after they return home.