Get a Flick

Next time you're going to the video store, take our list of top mountain films. You're sure to find one to get you psyched for your next adventure.

 

Cold Fusion (2001)—Director Warren Miller joins athletes around the world for extreme sporting. Highlights include skiing a glacier in Kenya, snowboarding in Alaska, and aerialists in Winter Park, Colorado.

 

Everest (1998)—An epic journey to the summit of Everest, shot in IMAX format. Filmed during the 1996 storm made famous by John Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, Everest follows a different team, but documents the same treacherous conditions and devastating consequences documented by Krakauer in his book.

 

Touching the Void (2003)—British mountaineers Joe Simpson and Simon Yates reconstruct their adventure in the Peruvian Andes. After conquering the 20,814-foot Siula Grande, the climbers find that the descent is much more perilous.

 

Return 2 Sender (2005)—This documentary by Peter Mortimer has spectacular climbing footage. It begins with Indian Creek crack lines, but goes on to include free soloing, BASE jumping, and bouldering.

 

Storm (2002)—More extreme snow sports around the world. In Storm, Warren Miller teams up with director John Teaford to film heli-skiing in British Columbia and skier-climbers on Antarctica’s South Georgia Island.

 

The Man Who Skied Down Everest (1975)—A documentary following world-champion skier Yuichiro Miura in his quest to ski Mount Everest. Miura ultimately skis 6,600 feet of the icy slopes, only to hit a boulder and plummet 1,320 feet more. Its conclusion has been called the most exciting six minutes of film ever shot.

 

National Geographic: Everest: 50 Years on the Mountain (2003)—Sons of three well-known climbers—Sir Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay, and Dr. Barry Bishop—attempt to conquer the mountain that made their fathers famous. Along with their climb, National Geographic looks at the history of Mount Everest, including a revealing look at the Sherpa people.

 

Journey (2003)—Director Warren Miller looks at extreme sports in remote locations. Journey includes a chapter on ski mountaineering in France, and high-altitude stops in Chile and California.

 

Front Range Freaks (2003)—A film following several of Colorado’s top climbers, with a focus on hard trad leading, bouldering, and soloing. Much of the movie is a tribute to soloist Derek Hersey, who died while soloing.

 

Ride (2000)—This film continues in typical extreme and exotic fashion, but with Warren Miller’s son, Kurt, taking over most of the narration. The father-and-son team offers a look at Whistler’s avalanche hunters and ski trips in the North Cascades, New Zealand, France, and Russia.

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