Meru (Documentary)
Three climbers, Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin and Renan Ozturk,
attempt to ascend Meru, a mountain in the Himalayas, up the Shark’s Fin route
which looks exactly as it sounds. They
are not successful. While planning a
return trip all three face hardships, each worse than the last. Conrad has to decide if he can leave his wife
and children, a family that already lost one father to a climbing
disaster. Jimmy miraculously survives an
avalanche and is soul searching to figure out what to do with this second
chance at life. Renan suffers a horrific
head and neck injury but against all odds recovers and believes he is ready to
climb Meru, despite the warnings of his doctors. All three return in October 2011 to Meru and
conquer the peak.
I have no desire to rock climb, and this movie reaffirmed that
for me, but the visuals are astounding.
Seeing the tent secured in midair off the side of a peak and knowing
that these guys were able to sleep that way was the perfect illustration to me
that these guys love what they are doing and trust in their gear and each
other. This is a stunning film that
brings home the realities of the dangers of this sport in a number of ways, but
the perseverance of these men, and the sights we as the audience get to see,
make this a documentary not to miss.
