Ultimate Survival: Everest

I've watched a lot of documentaries about Everest because it fascinates me. My biggest gripe about this one is the narration - so very sexist at times. There are women who climb Everest; get over it.

This is a gripping series that charts the attempts of 4 Discovery Team climbers to summit Everest in 2004. There is video footage for every stage and the climbers are actually quite likeable! Andrew Lock, Hector Ponce de Leon, Ben Webster and Shauna Burke make up the Foursome. Marred a little by an over dramatic use of voiceovers and the traditional failure to give proper prominence to the Sherpas roles it is nevertheless one of the better Everest documentaries. Will Cross making an attempt to summit as an insulin dependent diabetic also makes an inspiring appearance.

A decent documentary about Everest. Some very nice footage. The high altitude workers in Team Discovery are background characters as usual, the focus is almost exclusively on Whitey McPaleface. The overly dramatic music (not to mention the narration) almost killed this documentary.

I've watched a lot of films and documentaries on Everest and what made this one stand out was the footage of parts of the climb you don't usually see. The relatively long length of the program means they had time to explain lots about the equipment, the various parts of the route up and interestingly a bit about coming back down (which is actually the bit most people die on). They also captured the steepness of the climb better than most of the other programs I've watched on it. Yes the music and commentary were at times a little over-dramatic but the stunning footage in my opinion more than made up for it. It's quite long overall so probably only for those already interested in climbing rather than a "must-see" for everyone.

This documentary was very inspiring. Obviously, shot quite a while ago so the format is a bit old school. However, the content itself is exciting, with raw humanity which is to be expected when people try to conquer the highest peak of all continents. I have watched Everest, prior to this doc, about the 1996 disaster which is often referenced in this so I would recommend seeing that before it too because it really helps understand the danger of overcrowding on the mountain. At any point it did not feel too slow, felt like I learned a lot along the way. Very enjoyable doc.