The Man Who Skied Down Everest
Directed by Bruce Nyznik
Written by Yuichiro Miura and Judith Crawley
1975/Canada/Japan/US
IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime (free to members)
Narrator: I am alive. They say I skied 6600 feet in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. I fell 1320 feet. I stopped 250 feet from the crevasse. Numbers have meaning in the world below. But in this almost airless world, what do they mean? Was it a success or a failure? That I am alive must be the will of some higher power.
I have a weakness for books and films about dangerous mountain climbing. This film is remarkably dull in comparison to the best of these.
In 1970 daredevil Japanese skiier Yuichiro Miura mounted an expedition with the goal of skiing down the slope of Mount Everest. Miura had already accomplished this goal on some very high mountains. The expedition was supported by 800 porters and a squad of sherpas, medical personnel, scientists, etc. etc. Miura planned to use a parachute to slow down his speed on the 45 degree slope.
First the expedition had to climb the mountain. Six sherpas were killed in a cave-in. In the end Miura lost control of his skis and went into freefall and was lucky to escape with his life.
I thought the film was OK. I found myself thinking about whether the expense, danger, and hardship is worth the glory of setting a record. Especially when so many other lives are at risk.
Miura summited Mount Everest in 2003 at age 70 and again in 2013 at age 80, both climbs making him the oldest person ever to see the top of the mountain. The film received an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary.
