Le skieur de l'Everest

Although I commend Yuchiro Miura for ascending Mount Everest at the age of eighty (I'm seventy five and hearing such things tends to lift my spirits) I have to say that I came away from this documentary with a cordial dislike of the fellow. He makes Sandy Hill, the entitled villainess of "Into Thin Air", seem Gandhi like in comparison. The last straw was that, after six Sherpas died so that this guy could go blissfully skiing and following his rather disappointing downhill, complete with extended spill and slide, he opines that he was spared death out of "love". I guess if you're okay with this New Age/post "Siddhartha" gush then you'll adore this film. I'm not and I didn't. Solid C.

Before extreme skiing gained popularity there was Yuichiro Miura of Japan who pulled off the most and still extreme downhill run of all. A shot down the earth's highest peak Mt Everest. An interesting documentary which shows the preparations, ascent and eventual descent down Everest on skis. This 1975 film is rarely shown and with the apparent decline of skiing interest in the United States a film such as this one certainly can excite people about the sport. While the actual footage of Miuras descent on his skis is short in length the film essentially is about the determination of an individual to achieve a goal that seems both challenging and unrealistic. If you're a fan of skiing films the likes of what Warren Miller produces then you'll enjoy this one.

If you watch this movie because you expect a skiing movie, you will be disappointed. This is a movie about assaulting mount Everest and all that was involved in doing so in 1975. It is combined with a healthy dose of Japanese philosophy and a haunting narrative by Doulas Rain, the voice of Hal the computer in 2001. The narrator reads from the diary the skier kept during the assent. That combined with the music and the films overall look and pace makes it unlike anything I have every scene before. It is a dark journey up the mountain.

I found it very moving and throughly enjoyed it. If you are a sports guy, skip it... Otherwise, give it a try.

"The Man Who Skied Down Everest" won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature back in 1976. I most of this is because of the amazing cinematography. That's because apart from that, I found the film a bit pretentious, boring and disingenuous.

The film consists of a western actor reading the journal entries of a Japanese guy who loves skiing in extreme situations. Some of these entries are insightful and interesting, others extremely pretentious. Regardless, you get LOTS of talk, when the film would have been so much better had it had some quiet moments. Additionally, when he eventually gets to this feat, you learn that he only went NEAR the top of this huge mountain and then skied down a very small portion. It's an amazing act, but not at all what you'd expect given the film's title. The bottom line is that I found myself nodding off a lot as I watched this film and that is not a good sign. Easy to skip.

The movie is well made with great photography and narration. However, the subject of the film takes himself way too seriously. His actual feat of skiing "down Everest" is massively exaggerated. From what I could tell, he appears to be skiing down about half of the Lhotse face. The narrator claims that he is skiing from a level where the 1952 Swiss expedition reached. Not true. They reached 28,500 feet, just short of the Hillary step. Miuri starts from somewhere below the South Col (26,000 feet) with the aid of a parachute too slow him down. He tries to hold a wedge shape (an amateur move to control speed) then sits down on a traverse at about 24,000 feet and subsequently slides/bounces on his butt another 500 to 1,000 feet. I figure he skied from about 25,500 to 23,000 feet.

This is presented as a successful and amazing run. Miuri states "I cant believe I'm alive" and "why have I been allowed to survive?", blah blah blah...etc. I'd like to know how the 800 porters, sherpas, other climbers, and families of the 6 dead men feel about this. I'm surprised the Japanese expedition didn't try to put some climbers on the summit while they were there. Apparently, it was all about Miuri and his lame ski run.