Everest IMAX

This is a film that contains some of the most stunning photography I have ever seen. Everest is the story of what it’s like to climb Earth’s highest peak and then live to tell about it. It’s the only way most of us could ever see what life is like at the summit, in a cruel and harsh environment that only the most hearty could endure.

Noted mountain climber David Breashears made this IMAX film shortly after the worst tragedy to ever occur on Mount Everest took place. In this event, eight climbers perished due to a combination of bad decisions, poor preparation and a variety of other wholly avoidable miscalculations. Breashears wanted to know what those climbers went through and maybe shed some light on what forces they faced that could have led to their deaths. So, he leads an IMAX crew to the top of this mountain with the goal of getting the answers to some of these questions. He also provides viewers with the only 360-degree view from the summit available to non-climbers today.

The film explores the various obstacles those ill-fated climbers faced – things like scarce oxygen, hazardous walls of pure ice, violent avalanches and even a deadly snowstorm. When taken in combination these events show that sometimes even if you make all the right decisions, bad things can still happen. When your brain is suffering from lack of oxygen, however, you can’t even begin to make the best decisions to preserve your life.

I enjoyed this film, but it certainly didn’t inspire in me any desire to climb mountains. I’d prefer to watch, from the comfort of my armchair, and let others do that dangerous work.