Everest takes top tour-guides and has last word

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2015)

This movie is well shot and a dire warning to mountaineering freaks that in the end only Everest rules, which is illustrated in the opening scene. Because no man made air propelled flying machine is able to elevate high enough to get a top down shot of the Everest, the highest viewpoint is taken at the balcony level. The Russian guy knows whats coming and refuses to rely on oxygen bottles as aid to battle the height. In the spring of 1996 two truckloads of people are aspiring to reach the Everest summit and a discussion arises how to manage all these climbers within the same two week window to the top. Anatoli Boukreev says "We don't need competition between people. There is only competition between every person and this mountain. The last word always belongs to the mountain." The story of Texas American Beck Weathers (Josh Brolin) is very well covered in this movie, who complains to tour-guide Hall that for a $65,000 fee he doesn't expect to queue up to cross a death pass like standing in line at some Wall Mart's. After that Beck is on his own, literally, a very telling experience. The aim for summit is planned on May 10th, by both tour-guides, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, and leads to heated verbiage and risk taking actions. When first climber reaches summit, Everest has seen enough little hands and feet of this commercial climbing parade and a devastating storm hits all base camps simultaneously which endures for two days. The end checks and balances in loss of life and limbs are devastating. Everest has spoken and has the last word.