Everest: The Other Side

Friday, September 18: This screening will be presented with open captions.

Thousands of people have ascended Mount Everest from the southeast ridge in Nepal. But only five had ever summited from the more daunting direct North Face route from China. This became a quest for Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson, who sought not only to summit, but then to ski down through the near vertical Hornbein Couloir. It’s a test of athleticism that only a few have attempted with a zero success rate. The last person to try disappeared on the descent.

Filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin are renowned for capturing adventurers who push to extremes in films such as the Oscar-winning Free Solo (TIFF ’18). In this new work, made for the IMAX screen, they enable us to witness a history-making endeavour, while revealing the interior lives of risk takers. Opinions may vary on whether these acts are courageous or crazy. Even the two directors have differing viewpoints that arise in a raw moment in the film.

What’s undeniable is the determination shared by Morrison and Nelson. They gained recognition separately for their outdoor adventuring, then came together each having been in a prior marriage. As they both approach age 50, they’ve already set records and are well acquainted with tragedy. Their goal for the North Face will require many exhausting days of climbing, followed by a descent on skis that will take several hours. One false move is the difference between mortality and immortality. The film is its own achievement of spectacle and emotion in capturing what took place.

THOM POWERS